Patent Publication Number: US-7913334-B2

Title: Bed with a lateral barrier having a tilt feature

Description:
This application claims priority under 35 USC §119 to French application (serial number 08 55418) filed on Aug. 5, 2008. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to a patient bed equipped with a bed frame consisting of a support frame on which is positioned the bedding and at least one lateral safety barrier laterally arranged along one of the lengthwise sides of the bed frame. The invention more particularly relates to an improvement of the lateral barrier enabling the patient to stand up safely under his or her own power. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A patient bed equipped with at least one side barrier preventing the patient from falling is known to the prior art. For example, two lateral barriers are arranged along a common lengthwise side of the bed frame, a lateral barrier known as the head barrier element and a lateral barrier known as the foot barrier element. In the upright position, the two barriers are aligned one along the extension of the other and prevent the patient from falling. However, these two barriers are independently moveable relative to each other so that an exit space can be opened. When the patient&#39;s condition permits it, he or she can sit on the edge of the bed next to the head barrier element and stand up by sliding vertically while using at least one of the barriers for support. 
     When the barrier which the patient is holding during this movement is too close to the edge of the bed, the patient&#39;s center of gravity is in front of the support point, which can lead to a loss of balance and a fall. 
     A system is known in which the end of the barrier of the exit space side is configured as a gate pivot-mounted about a vertical axis. This allows the patient to shift his or her support point outwardly when he or she stands up at the side of the bed. Nevertheless, a disadvantage resides in this system in that it does not permit a controlled offset of the support point compatible with the stability of the bed. If, for example, the patient is overweight and if the patient puts his or her weight on the gate at a point too far out from the bed, the bed could move, causing the patient to lose his or her balance and fall. Furthermore, this gate system makes compliance with the norms defining the width of the exit space difficult. If the gate is too wide, it is necessary to provide enough space in the room for its deployment, and the possibility that the patient could grasp it at a point too far from the edge of the bed increases the risk of the bed tipping. The invention makes it possible to overcome these disadvantages by proposing a barrier system that is at least partially tiltable with a controlled offset compatible with the stability of the bed. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention relates more particularly to a patient bed equipped with a bed frame and at least one lateral safety barrier laterally arranged along a lengthwise side of the bed frame, characterized in that at least a part of this barrier is laterally tiltable along a horizontal axis roughly parallel to the lengthwise side by being hinged in its bottom part, and further characterized in that the barrier comprises suitable stabilization means for keeping the tiltable part in a laterally outwardly deployed position. 
     In a first possible configuration, such a lateral barrier is hinged in its entirety relative to the horizontal axis. 
     In another possible configuration, such a lateral barrier comprises a tiltable part hinged relative to a non-tiltable part. 
     With such a system, the part of the barrier which the patient can grasp in order to get up is offset from the side of the bed at a distance of around 10 to 20 cm, which is sufficient so that the manual support point towards the outside remains in front of the patient (but not too far from the bed) so that the projection of the body&#39;s center of gravity remains within a polygon of support created by the feet and projection of the support points on the barriers to the floor. 
    
    
     
       The invention will be more easily understood and its other advantages will emerge more clearly from the following description of several examples of patient beds conforming to its principle, which is provided solely for illustrative purposes and which refers to the appended drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an elevation of a first embodiment of a patient bed of the invention, with the lateral barriers raised to prevent the patient from falling; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the bed, showing the lateral barriers separated and tilted for facilitating the exit of the patient; 
         FIG. 3  is an elevation of the same bed, showing another possible positioning of the barriers; 
         FIG. 4  is a view similar to that of  FIG. 3 , showing the position of the barriers when it is necessary to have complete access to the patient; 
         FIG. 5  is an elevation of a second embodiment of a patient bed of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is an elevation showing another possible positioning of the barriers; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view showing the positions of the barriers for facilitating the exit of the patient; 
         FIG. 8  is an elevation showing the position of the barriers when it is necessary to have complete access to the patient. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The patient bed as in  FIGS. 1 through 4  consists of a bed frame  11  equipped with a rectangular support frame  13  on which resides a mattress (not shown). The bed frame  11  is equipped with a headboard  15  and a footboard  17 , which extend crosswise. 
     At least one of the lengthwise sides of the support frame  13  is equipped with two lateral barriers  19 ,  21 . One of these is a head barrier element  19 , one end of which is adjacent to the headboard, and the other is a foot barrier element  21 , which is longitudinally displaceable so that in one of its end positions, one of its ends  22  is adjacent to the footboard  17  (see  FIG. 2 ). The head barrier element  19  comprises an upright  25 , on the top of which is attached a horizontal bar  27 . The latter is part of two rectangular frames  28 ,  29  extending towards the bottom on each side of the upright  25 . The upright is slide-mounted in a pivotable base plate  31 , forming a sliding sheath. Said base plate is mounted along the support frame  13  of the bed. It is hinged to a clevis  32  so that it is capable of pivoting relative to a horizontal axis parallel to the lengthwise direction of the bed. The barrier is capable of assuming at least two stable upper and lower positions by sliding the upright  25  relative to the pivoting base plate. The two flanges of the clevis  32  are fastened to the support frame  13 . Furthermore, the base plate is capable of assuming two predetermined stable positions, a raised position ( FIG. 1 ) in which the upright extends vertically on the side of the support frame, and an outwardly tilted position ( FIG. 2 ) in which the bar  27  of the barrier element  19  in the up position is offset by 10 to 20 cm from the lengthwise edge of the support frame. The bar  27  thus constitutes a handhold for the patient wishing to get up. The raised position of the base plate  31  and the upright  25  is stabilized by a blocking/locking system of the base plate. The tilted position can be defined by a simple pivot stop between the base plate  31  and the support frame  13 . 
     Two up and down blocking positions are defined between the upright  25  and the base plate  31 . When the barrier is in the up position ( FIG. 1 ), it assures the safety of the patient. When it is in the down position ( FIG. 4 ), it allows the caregiver access to the patient. 
     The foot barrier element  21  is similar to the head barrier element. It also consists of an upright  35 , at the top of which is fastened a horizontal bar  37  forming part of two rectangular frames  38 ,  39  extending on either side of the upright  35 . The latter is slide-mounted in a pivoting base plate  41  hinged to a clevis  42  along a horizontal axis parallel to the lengthwise direction of the bed. Said clevis  42 , however, is fastened to a support displaceable along a system integrally forming a slide  44  of the support frame and which enables the displacement of said foot barrier element  21  along said support frame. The displacement of the foot barrier element makes it possible to unblock the necessary and standardized exit space  50  between the two barriers elements. 
     When the two barriers elements are raised and aligned one along the extension of the other ( FIG. 1 ), they provide effective protection for the patient, preventing any chance of falling. 
     In contrast, when they are separated from each other ( FIG. 2 ), the foot barrier element being closest to the foot of the bed  17 , said exit space  50  is opened to allow the patient to get up under his or her own power by first sitting on the edge of the bed and then standing up. During this phase, the barriers serve as manual support points for the patient. 
     According to the invention, when at least one barrier  19 ,  21  is in the up position but tilted as shown in  FIG. 2 , the patient is provided with a secure and comfortable support for getting up. This lateral off-setting of the manual support point improves the patient&#39;s balance when going from the sitting position to the standing position. By displacing this support point towards the outside, it remains in front of the patient, and the projection of the body&#39;s center of gravity remains within a polygon of support delimited by the feet and the projection of the support point or support points to the floor. Obviously, preference is given to both of the barriers  19 ,  21  being in the up position and tilted as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
     Other configurations are possible. In  FIG. 3 , the head barrier element  19  is raised and the foot barrier element  21  is in the retracted position along the bed. If the patient wishes to get up, he or she has a larger space to pivot and sit on the bed. Once in this position, he or she can stand up by leaning only on the head barrier element, or an assistant can raise the foot barrier element and move the two barrier elements into the tilted position as in  FIG. 2 . 
     When the two barrier elements are lowered ( FIG. 4 ), the patient is completely accessible. This configuration in particular permits a gurney to be brought in proximity to the bed, allowing the patient to be transferred while in the reclining position. 
     The essential elements of the bed are also found in the embodiment of  FIGS. 5 through 8 , namely the bed frame  11 , its support frame  13 , the headboard  15 , the footboard  17 , a lateral head barrier element  119  and a lateral foot barrier element  121 . The two barrier elements are of a known type. Each barrier element  119 ,  121  is displaceable between an up position and a down position by rotation-translation roughly in its own plane, thanks to a deformable parallelogram mechanism. 
     More precisely, the head barrier element  119  is linked to the bed frame  11  by two hinged arms  125 ,  126 . The barrier consists of a main frame  127  equipped with a horizontal cross member  128  to which the two upper ends of the two arms  125 ,  126  are hinged. The lower ends of said arms are hinged to a cross member  130  of the bed frame, which is disposed below the support frame  13 . 
     In an analogous manner, the foot barrier element  121  is linked to the bed frame by two hinged arms  135 ,  136 . It consists of a main frame  137  equipped with a horizontal cross member  138  to which the two upper ends of the two arms  135 ,  136  are hinged. The lower ends of these arms are hinged to a cross member  140  of the bed frame disposed below the support frame  13 . Typically, the barrier elements can be moved into the up position ( FIG. 5 ) for complete protection of the patient. They can also be moved into the retracted, down position ( FIG. 8 ) in order to care for or transfer the patient. 
     According to the invention, at least one barrier element  119 ,  121  comprises a laterally tiltable part  139 ,  141  pivot-mounted about a lower horizontal axis of the main frame  127 ,  137 , respectively. 
     According to the example, each of the barrier elements comprises such a tiltable part. These two parts are adjacent when the two barrier elements are raised and aligned one along the extension of the other (see  FIG. 5 ). 
     More precisely, the main frame  127  of the head barrier element  119  comprises a horizontal tubular element  145  which forms the pivot axis of the tiltable part  139  of which a bottom side  148  comprises an extension rotatably engaged and mounted in a tubular element  145 . The latter forms a type of support bearing for the tiltable part  139 . 
     In an analogous manner, the main frame  137  of the foot barrier element comprises a horizontal tubular element  151  which forms the pivot axis of the tiltable part  141 . A bottom side  153  of the latter comprises an extension rotatably mounted in the tubular element  151 . 
     The deployed position of the tiltable part  139 ,  141  is stabilized by any suitable blocking means such as, say, a connecting shaft or rod  156 ,  157  mounted between the edge of the main frame and the adjacent edge of the tiltable part. The upper horizontal bar  159 ,  160  of each tiltable part constitutes a handhold element allowing the patient to stand up under his or her own power. Furthermore, the upper horizontal bar of at least one of the tiltable parts (in this case the bar  160  of the tiltable part  141  of the foot barrier element) is fastened to the upper ends of two parallel rods  163 ,  164  capable of sliding in two parallel tubular uprights  165 ,  166 , respectively, of said tiltable part. Therefore, when the head barrier element is raised and when the foot barrier element is lowered, an exit space  150  ( FIG. 7 ) is created; however, the handhold element of the foot barrier element can be raised in order to position it roughly at the same level as that of the handhold element of the head barrier element. The predetermined angle of inclination of the tiltable part of the foot barrier element is less than that of the tiltable part of the head barrier element so that the two bars  159 ,  160  forming the handhold elements are offset roughly at the same distance from the edge of the bed.