Abstract:
Disclosed is a method for using a bedstead board attached to a bed to support a roller of a patient transport system. A recess extends into the bedstead board and is spaced a distance from the side of the board. The recess retains a roller sufficiently to withstand forces acting upon the roller.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional of application Ser. No 10/789,952 filed Feb. 27, 2004, entitled “Furniture Headboards and Footboards”, and issued on Jun. 20, 2006 as U.S. Pat. No. 7,062,803, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/450,293, filed Feb. 27, 2003. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates to bedstead boards (i.e., a headboard and footboard), and more particularly, to a headboard and footboard for a patient bed which cooperate with a patient transport system for transferring an immobile patient from the bed to a stretcher or vice versa. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     It appears to be widely accepted that a major, if not the major, work-related complaint among nurses and hospital nursing staff is back injuries caused by lifting patients and getting them in and out of a bed and to and from a gurney or a stretcher as it is commonly referred to. A survey of existing practices and techniques suggests that there is no widely adopted simple and safe method of transferring patients from a bed to a stretcher, or vice versa, without lifting them. There are hoist-type lifts where the patient is suspended in a sling. The sling must be first manipulated under the patient and then the patient must be physically lifted, changing the shape of the body and applying pressures different from those existing on the patient when lying prone in bed. There are also roller boards which are inserted partially under the patient and then the patient is pulled onto the roller board. Again, the patient must be manipulated to allow the board to be inserted and then the body is pulled onto the board. In the end, the patient ends up on the board, not on the stretcher or the bed. An additional disadvantage of the roller board is that either the patient must cooperate with the transferrer or more than one transferrer is required to effect the transfer. Patients have also been known to drop off the roller boards and to land on the floor between the bed and the stretcher. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,339, which is hereby incorporated by reference, solves this age-old problem of transferring patients from a bed or a stretcher and vice versa. U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,339 discloses an apparatus for transporting a patient and includes a base, a patient supporting member attached to the base, a conveyor attached to the base, and a removable sheet. The sheet has a first end and a second end where the sheet first end is removably attached to the conveyor and the sheet second end is free. The sheet is adapted to be positioned on the patient supporting member, such as a mattress. In operation, an end of the sheet, which is attached to the conveyor, is rotated around a roller thereby moving the patient from the bed to a stretcher or vice versa. 
     However, the conveyor disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,339 requires that the roller remain affixed to the bed or stretcher, or the complete conveyor be removed from the bed or stretcher. This results in a problem of storing the conveyor in a hospital room and transporting the conveyor when it is not attached to the bed or stretcher. 
     Further, typically, hospital beds vary in length and, in many cases, can be adjusted so that their lengths vary. In this case, a conveyor, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,339, may be inoperative if the length of the roller is different from that of the bed. Further, if the length of the bed is varied during operation, then such a fixed length roller could affect the operation of the bed. 
     The problems associated with the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,339 were solved by the inventions disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,697,109; 6,289,533; 5,996,144; and 6,507,963, which are hereby incorporated by reference. Namely, these patient transport systems accommodate various bed lengths with one conveying apparatus by providing a roller adjustable in length that can be easily engaged with and removed from a bed or stretcher through attachment (or clamping) assemblies. However, the attachment assemblies of these inventions can be cumbersome and difficult to use. Additionally, a bed or stretcher may have a geometry not conducive to accepting the attachment assembly. Furthermore, the various parts of the attachment assembly increase the cost of the patient transport system. 
     Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a patient bed that accommodates (i.e., removably receives) a conveyor typical of a patient transport system as described above, namely, a patient transport system that allows a patient, while lying in a prone position and completely immobile, to be moved, by one person of relatively low strength, safely from the patient bed to a stretcher and vice versa. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A bedstead board for a bed includes at least one recess near a first or a second side. The at least one recess is configured to removably receive a roller of a patient transport system. In use, two bedstead boards are connected to a bed frame. Each of the two bedstead boards includes at least one recess, with the at least two recesses aligning to receive a roller of the patient transport system to be parallel to a longitudinal axis of the bed. Preferably, the at least one recess is tilted from vertical such that the roller will not tend to dislodge from the at least one recess during use. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is perspective view illustration of a bedstead board (i.e., a headboard or a footboard) according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view illustration of the bedstead board shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is another front view illustration of the bedstead board shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a copy of a perspective view of a bed including a pair of bedstead boards according to the present invention and a conveyor of a patient transport system; 
         FIG. 5  is a copy of a perspective view of a partial back view of the bed shown in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a front view of a second embodiment of the bedstead in accordance with the subject invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a front view of a third embodiment of a portion of the bedstead in accordance with the subject invention; and 
         FIG. 8  is a back view of a portion of the bedstead shown in  FIG. 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     A complete understanding of the invention will be obtained from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing Figures, wherein like reference characters identify like parts throughout. 
     For purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “right”, “left”, “vertical”, “horizontal”, “top”, “bottom”, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as it is oriented in the drawing Figures. However, it is to be understood that the invention may assume various alternative variations and step sequences, except where expressly specified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specific devices and processes illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the invention. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics related to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1–5 , the present invention is a bedstead board  10  for a bed  12  ( FIGS. 4 ,  5 ). Briefly directing attention to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the bedstead board  10  is configured to attach to a frame  14  of the bed  12 . Preferably, in use, the two bedstead boards  10  are attached to the frame  14 , one at a head  16  of the frame  14  (a headboard) and another at a foot  18  of the frame  14  (a footboard). 
     The bedstead board  10  may be of any decorative or functional shape, as desired, and has a width W ( FIG. 1 ). For ease of illustration, it is assumed that the bedstead board  10  is generally rectangular. The width W must be sufficient to support a conveyor  20  ( FIGS. 4 ,  5 ) of a patient transport system  22  and the associated patient (not shown) during use of the system  22 . 
     Directing attention to  FIGS. 4 and 5 , two bedstead boards  10 ,  10 ′ include at least one recess  36 ,  36 ′ aligned to receive the rollers  38 ,  38 ′ of the conveyor  20  of the patient transport system  22  to be parallel to a longitudinal axis L of the system  22 . 
     Directing attention to  FIGS. 1–3 , the bedstead board  10  includes a body  24  having a top  26  and an opposed bottom  28 . The body  24  also has a first side  30  and an opposed second side  32 . The bedstead board also includes at least one roller holder  34  configured to removably accept a roller  38  of the patient transport system  22 . 
     The at least one roller holder  34  is preferably a recess  36  configured to removably accept the roller  38  ( FIGS. 4 ,  5 ). The at least one recess  36  extends from the top  26  toward the bottom  28  (i.e., into the body  24  of the bedstead board  10 ). The at least one recess  36  is spaced a distance D from either the first side  30  or the second side  32  which side is referred to as the associated side. Preferably, the bedstead board  10  includes two recesses  36 , one recess  36  spaced in from the first side  30  and another recess  36  spaced in from the second side  32 . 
     The at least one recess  36  is preferably U-shaped with an inner wall  40  and an outer wall  41  extending from a base  42 . Tops  44  of the walls  40 ,  41  distal the base  42  are preferably spaced further apart than bottoms  46  of the walls  40 ,  41  proximate the base  42 . Thus, the receiving space  48  for receiving the roller  38  in the recess  36  is larger than the seating space  50  where the roller  38  will seat in the recess  36 . This configuration requires less precise alignment when placing the roller  38  ( FIGS. 4 ,  5 ) in the recess  36 , thereby providing for easier installation of the conveyor  20 . 
     The at least one recess  36  includes a bearing surface  52 . The bearing surface  52  supports the roller  38  and provides a surface on which the roller  38  rotates. The bearing surface  52  is generally C-shaped, accounting for the base  42  and portions of the two walls  40 ,  41  of the U-shape, to accommodate the roller  38 . 
     The inner wall  41  of the at least one recess  36  is preferably tilted at an angle X from a vertical axis Y such that the inner wall  41 , as it extends upwardly from the base  42 , extends outwardly toward the nearest of the first side  30  or the second side  32 . When the conveyor  20  is used to transport a patient to and from the bed  12 , forces from the patient and a sheet (i.e., a bed sheet) upon which the patient is lying act upon the roller  38  and transfer to the at least one recess  36 . Essentially, the forces will tend to pull the roller  38  toward the patient, or, put another way, away from the nearest of the first side  30  or the second side  32 . Thus, the angle X of the tilt of the at least one recess  36  aids in inhibiting the roller  38  from dislodging from the at least one recess  36  during use. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the angle X of the inner wall  40  is approximately 10 degrees. Depending upon the forces acting to pull the roller  38 , the angle X may be increased.  FIG. 6  illustrates bedstead board  110  having a recess  136  with an inner wall  140  at an angle X with a vertical axis Y of about 60 degrees. Therefore, the recess  36 ,  136  may have an inner wall  40 ,  140  with an angle X that is between approximately 10–60 degrees. 
     In another embodiment, illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the bedstead board  210  may have a recess  236 , similar to those recesses previously described but further including a clip  250  having a resilient section  252  with opposing legs  254 ,  256  wherein at least one of the legs  254 ,  256  is resiliently movable from the other leg. The legs  254 ,  256  define a gap  258  which in a relaxed position has a width less than the width of a roller  38  ( FIG. 5 ) and in an expanded position has a width equal to or greater than the width of the roller  38  such that the roller  38  may be snapped into and held within the recess  236 . The clip  250  may be secured to the bedstead board  210  by bolts  240 . The clip  250  may be made from plastic, steel or any other structural material that provides sufficient resilient stiffness to retain the roller  38  under operating conditions. When the clip  250  is utilized, the angle X between the inner wall  240  of the recess  236  and the vertical axis Y is not as significant and may be selected in view of the retention that will be offered by the clip  250 . 
     The clip  250  may have a base  260  upon which the roller  38  may rest. 
     It will be understood by those skilled in the art that while the foregoing description sets forth in detail preferred embodiments of the present invention, modifications, additions, and changes might be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.