Abstract:
A heavy bed transporting device having a pair of dolly devices for moving collapsible hospital beds. Each dolly device has a horizontal base member with a pair of wheels attached to the lower surface thereof and a connecting structure formed on the surface of said base member configured to operatively engage and secure the hospital bed thereto. The front dolly device is equipped with swivel-mounted wheels, while the rear dolly device has fixed unidirectional wheels and a manual braking system. The connecting structures are adaptively formed to engage and secure different configurations of hospital bed frames, including both manual and electric hospital bed frames.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to bed transporting devices, and particularly to a dolly for moving heavy, collapsible hospital beds. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities often use heavy, unwieldy steel beds for their patients and residents. Frequently, there is a need to move, store or clean these beds in a time efficient manner. However, the beds often weigh upwards of 1,000 lbs., and are also very bulky, making them difficult to transport. Although many of them are equipped with wheels, they are often too bulky to be wheeled through doorways or narrow corridors and must therefore be rotated or maneuvered through these passageways. Such activities often require considerable effort on the part of multiple staff members and can easily lead to injuries. 
   Various bed moving devices have been developed for the purpose of transporting heavy beds. These devices include elaborate hydraulic or electrically powered wheeled devices, as well as simple bracketed skating devices that attach to the bed frame. U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,659, issued Apr. 5, 1994 to Imbeault, describes a hydraulically powered bed transporting apparatus with a moveable lower support frame which is connected to a vertical, displaceable bed supporting frame. Lower bed support arms engage a side member of a bed, while an upper strap is connected to an opposed side member of the bed. The strap is wound about a drum which, when actuated by hydraulic pistons, causes the bed to tilt vertically against the supporting frame. The apparatus is supported by four unidirectional casters for rolling the apparatus on a flat surface. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,207, issued Dec. 3, 1996 to Kiebooms et al., shows an electrically powered device for moving wheeled beds consisting of a moveable frame, a lifting mechanism and a steering mechanism. A bed is loaded onto this device by wheeling the device under the bed and then activating a lifting mechanism which engages the underframe of the bed. The bed can then be pulled or pushed and steered in any direction. 
   Other bed transporting devices are simpler in design and function. They include dolly or skate devices that attach to the bed frame. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,098,518 and 4,210,341, issued Jul. 4, 1978 and Jul. 1, 1980, respectively, to Minkoff, describe a bed transporting apparatus having a pair of dolly devices. Each dolly is an elongated base plate with swivel-mounted casters or wheels attached underneath. The base plate is further equipped with an attachment member to engage and secure the hospital bed thereto. U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,601, issued May 25, 1971 to Miles, shows a skate device for transporting large flat objects with large surface areas. The device comprises an elongated base member with a pair of brackets mounted on the surface thereof. The brackets operatively clamp onto the object and the object is wheeled on a set of rollers. Although the aforementioned inventions are used to transport beds or bed frames, they are generally limited to moving fully assembled beds which are larger and more difficult to maneuver into smaller spaces. 
   None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a heavy bed transporting device solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention disclosed herein relates to a transport device having a pair of dolly devices, front and rear, uniquely adapted for transporting collapsible hospital beds. The front dolly has a horizontal base member with a pair of swivel-mounted wheels attached thereto. The rear dolly similarly has a horizontal base member, but is equipped with fixed-mount unidirectional wheels and a set of manual brakes. Each dolly has a connecting structure disposed on the upper surface thereof configured to operatively engage and secure the hospital bed thereto. 
   The swivel-mounted wheels attached to the front dolly device each have a bracket rotatably attached to the horizontal base member and a wheel rotatably attached to the bracket. The connecting structure which engages and secures the bed frame to the dolly devices includes one or more retaining elements. In one embodiment, a pair of retaining elements are disposed on opposite sides of the dolly, and each element has two semi-circular slots which receive protruding metal knobs disposed at the base of a particular type of bed frame. In a second embodiment, the retaining element includes a vertical member with two horizontal prongs connected thereto. These prongs slide into horizontal slots disposed at the end of a vertical bed post member in an electrical hospital bed frame. In both cases the connecting structure is specially adapted to secure the invention to the particular configuration of bed frame being used. 
   In use, the bed is broken down into separate frame elements, each of which is set in a vertical position. A pair of dolly devices are then attached to the respective frame elements. In the first embodiment, the dollies are attached to the bed by inserting the metal knobs found at the base of the frame element into the semi-circular slots disposed on opposite sides of the invention. A retaining pin is then inserted through a chamber disposed between the semi-circular slots, such that the pin extends across the knobs, securing them in place. A pair of straps attach to opposite sides of the bed frame element, which are used to suspend the detachable headboard and footboards of the bed. A pair of elastic cords may be optionally employed to secure the mattress to the side of one of the bed frame elements. 
   In the second embodiment, the dolly devices are specially adapted to receive an electric hospital bed which similarly detaches into two separate frame elements. Each of these frame elements has a vertical post with horizontal slots at its end, which slide over the horizontal prongs that form the retaining structure. A strap is then wrapped around the post and retaining structure, securing the frame element in place. 
   In addition, the rear dolly device having unidirectional wheels is equipped with a manual braking system. The system comprises two U-shaped levers, one for each wheel, which frictionally adhere to the wheels when raised into the “on” position. 
   Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a transport means for moving heavy hospital beds on a pair of dolly devices. 
   It is another object of the invention to provide a quick and convenient method of engaging the hospital bed frame to the invention by providing a connecting structure that is specifically adapted to engage a particular configuration of hospital bed frame. 
   It is a further object of the invention to provide a braking mechanism that will enable an operator to immobilize the invention by manually raising a U-shaped handle attached to the outer axle support member of the rear wheels. 
   Still another object of the invention is to reduce the number of people required to move a hospital bed by providing a steering mechanism for moving the bed through any type of door or hallway. 
   These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of a heavy bed transporting device according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a front dolly device according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a fragmented, perspective view of the front dolly device showing the locking mechanism which secures the bed to the dolly. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the rear dolly device according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 5A  is an environmental, perspective view of a second embodiment of the heavy bed transporting device according to the present invention. 
       FIG. 5B  is an environmental perspective view of the embodiment of  FIG. 5B  configured to transport another portion of the hospital bed. 
       FIG. 6  is an exploded, perspective view of the second embodiment of the bed transporting apparatus according to the present invention. 
   

   Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The present invention is a heavy bed transporting device, designated generally as  10  in the drawings, which comprises, in combination, a pair of dolly devices, including a front dolly device and a rear dolly device, respectively indicated as  11  and  12 , and which is specifically configured for moving a hospital bed  14 . As best shown in  FIGS. 2–4 , each dolly device has a horizontal base member  18  and a pair of connecting structures  20  affixed to the upper surface thereof. The front or proximal dolly device is equipped with a pair of swivel-mounted wheels  22  attached to the lower surface of the horizontal base member  18 . 
   Each swivel-mounted wheel  22  has a bracket  24  rotatably attached to the horizontal base member  18  by a fastener  26  and a wheel  28  rotatably attached to the bracket  24 . The fastener  26  may be an elongated element  30 , such as a bolt having a threaded end, attached to the bracket  24  and extending through the horizontal base member  18  and being secured by a coupling element, such as a nut  32 , attached to the upper end thereof. The elongated element  30  provides a vertical axis about which the bracket  24  rotates, while wheels  28  rotate about an axle extending horizontally through bracket  24 . 
   As seen in  FIG. 4 , the rear fixed wheel dolly device is equipped with a manual braking system having two U-shaped brake levers  33  attached to the outer axle support members  35  by a bolt  37 , the levers  33  pivoting about bolt  37 . The brakes are activated by lifting the respective levers to the up position, causing the open end of the levers  33  to come into frictional contact with the wheels, thereby creating resistance to rotational movement. The brakes are deactivated by lowering the levers  33  and terminating frictional contact between the levers  33  and the wheels. 
   As best shown in  FIGS. 2–4  each connecting structure  20  includes a retainer plate  31  having two retainer notches  34  defined therein to receive the bed as more fully described hereinafter. Each connecting structure further includes a frame lock  36  which consists of a hollow sleeve  38  mounted along the top edge of the retainer plate  31  between the notches  34  and an L-shaped retaining pin  40  (the pin  40  is omitted in  FIG. 2  for clarity) which extends through the sleeve  38  and over the retainer slots. The two connecting structures  20  are disposed on opposite ends of the horizontal base member  18 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the bed  14  is placed in a vertical position and the dolly devices  11  and  12  are attached thereto. The bed  14  has two attachable/detachable rectangular frame elements,  42  and  44  respectively, each having a pair of connecting means  46  formed on opposite corners thereof in the form of two metal knobs  48  which project from the frame elements  42  and  44 . The retainer notches  34  on the dolly devices receive the metal knobs  48  of the connecting means  46  which fit neatly into the notches  34 . The L-shaped retaining pins  40  are then inserted into their respective sleeves  38  so that the pins  40  extend over the respective metal knobs  48  and secure the knobs  48  in place in their respective notches  34 . 
   To affix the dolly devices to the bed  14 , the rear dolly device  12  is first connected to a bed frame element  42  by sliding the knobs  48  into the notches  34  and securing the frame in place by inserting the L-shaped retaining pin  40 . The frame element  42  is then rotated down, so that it rests on the dolly device  12 . The opposite side of the frame element  42  is then lifted up and the front dolly device  11  is similarly attached to the opposite corner. The second frame element  44  is then placed on top of the two dolly devices, parallel to the first frame element  42 , and the connecting knobs  48  are inserted into the remaining open retainer notches  34 . L-shaped retaining pins  40  are again inserted through their respective sleeves  38  and over the knobs  48 , securing the frame  44  to the dolly device. A strap  50  is then attached to the near side of the top of the second frame element  44  by way of a snap hook at the end of the strap  50 . A second substantially identical strap  52  is attached to the far side of the top of the second frame element  44 . Each respective strap  50  is equipped with two metal rings, one at the tip and the other slightly above, which attach to hooks on the backs of a detachable headboard element  54  and a detachable footboard element  56 , respectively. The headboard and footboard elements are thus suspended from the two straps and hang flush against the first frame element  42 . A mattress  58  may optionally be strapped against the frame element  44  by hooking two cords from the bottom of the frame element, on opposite sides thereof, over the mattress and connecting said cords to the top of the frame element. 
   In an alternate embodiment, shown in  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  6 , the dolly devices  100  are equipped with a connecting structure  60  advantageously adapted to attach to the frame of an electric hospital bed  16 . In this embodiment, the dolly devices  100  comprise a horizontal base member  62  with two vertical members  64  affixed to the upper surface thereof and on opposite sides. The connecting structure  60  comprises a vertical member  68  with two horizontal prongs  70  which is disposed in the center of the horizontal base member  62 . As seen in  FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  6 , a horizontal member  72  having openings on either end, connects the two dolly devices by sliding the openings over a vertical member  64  on each dolly. Hollow pole members  66 A and  66 B are then inserted into sleeves disposed at the ends of the vertical members to provide support for the bed frame as it rests upon the dollies. 
   The electric hospital bed  16  to which this embodiment attaches comprises two attachable/detachable frame elements,  74  and  76  respectively, each having a pair of centrally disposed post members  78  with horizontal slots at their respective ends  80 . To affix the dolly devices to the bed, the horizontal prong members  70  on the connecting structure  60  are inserted into the horizontal slots disposed at the ends of the post members. In this way, the prong elements on each dolly  70  fixedly connect to the post members of the bed frame  78  and secure the frame  16  to the dolly devices  100 . A strap  82  further secures the post members  78  to the connecting structure  60 . 
   It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.