Abstract:
Disclosed is a support mechanism that may be installed onto a conventional bed and/or a hospital bed frame to assist a person into and out of a bed. The support mechanism comprises a tubular support member formed with a pair of vertical and substantially parallel legs, each of which is adapted to fasten to the bed frame.

Description:
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/059,096, filed May 10, 1993, still pending. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to support mechanisms and more particularly, to a mechanism for assisting a person into and out of a bed. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     For a variety of reasons, many people have difficulty getting into and out a conventional bed. For example, it is not uncommon for elderly persons to use an apparatus commonly referred to as a &#34;walker&#34; to move from one room of the house to another. When the person desires to get into a conventional bed, the person typically positions the &#34;walker&#34; adjacent to the bed and attempts to place themselves onto the bed by using the walker as a support. Quite often, however, the walker will move when the person applies their weight to the walker thus making the process of getting into bed difficult and dangerous. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,200 discloses a support apparatus which is mounted to the bottom surface of rails 13 and 14 of a conventional bed frame 10 by a plate 20, clip members 28, and screws 26. The apparatus further employs a tubular member 22 connected to and positioned adjacent to plate 20 and which is adapted to receive a variety of support tubes. 
     While providing some degree of support to a person getting into and out of bed, apparatus of the type disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,195,200 have several drawbacks. In particular, the support apparatus has numerous components which makes it cumbersome to mount to the bed frame insomuch as it fastens to the bottom plate of two bed rails and secured by multiple clamps and screws thereby making installation very difficult. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a support apparatus that can be easily attached to a conventional and/or a hospital bed frame to provide a rigid support structure which may be used by a person to get into and out of the bed. The support apparatus generally comprises a tubular support member formed to have two legs which are attached by a bracket to the side rails of the bed. The support apparatus may further comprise a clamp designed to secure one of the legs of the support member to the bed post. The present invention overcomes the drawbacks associated with conventional support apparatus for beds in that it provides a solid and rigid support structure so that a person may confidently apply their weight to the support structure as they get into and out of the bed. Moreover, unlike conventional devices, the support apparatus of the present invention can be easily installed onto a conventional bed and/or a hospital bed thereby providing quick installation. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The following detailed description will become better understood with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the support apparatus of the present invention mounted to a conventional bed frame; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the support apparatus of the present invention mounted to a conventional bed frame; 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the support apparatus of the present invention mounted to a conventional bed frame; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the support apparatus of the present invention mounted to a conventional bed frame; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-section view taken along line 6--6 of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-section view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 5; 
     FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a fifth embodiment of the support apparatus of the present invention mounted to a hospital bed frame; 
     FIG. 9 is a side view of fifth embodiment of the support apparatus of the present invention; and 
     FIG. 10 is a cross-section view taken along line 10--10 of FIG. 9. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring to FIGS. 1-3, one embodiment of the support apparatus 10 of the present invention is shown mounted to a conventional bed frame generally consisting of a side rail 12 having a vertical portion 14 and a horizontal portion 18 attached to a bed post 20 by a bracket 15. Also shown are mattresses 16 and 17 which would normally rest on horizontal portion 18 of side rail 12. 
     The support apparatus 10 generally comprises a tubular member 22 formed by conventional bending operations to have vertically extending and substantially parallel legs portions 24 and 26 with ends 28 and 30, respectively, which are bent inwardly about 30 degrees from each corresponding leg, and a top portion 32. By bending ends 28 and 30 inward, brackets 34 (to be described) are offset from the legs portions 24 and 26 which allows the leg portions 24 or 26 to be affixed to the best post 20 without any interference with support bracket 15. Tubular member 22 has an outside diameter of 1.0 inch and may be made from mechanical tubing. 
     The support apparatus 10 further comprises a bracket 34 rigidly connected to each of ends 28 and 30 of leg portions 24 and 26 and which is adapted to connect the support apparatus 10 to the side rail 12. As shown in FIG. 3, the bracket 34 comprises a downward and vertically extending channel 36 adapted to securely engage with the vertical portion 14 of side rail 12. The bracket 34 further comprises a horizontal portion 38 extending from the lower end of the channel 36 which is adapted to engage with horizontal portion 18 of side rail 12. The depth of channel 36 relative to the position of horizontal portion 38 should be sufficient to ensure that the upper portion of channel 36 will not engage with the upper portion of vertical portion 14 in a manner that would prevent horizontal portion 38 from engaging with the horizontal portion 18. Further, the horizontal portion 38 should be of sufficient length such that it will extend substantially the full length of horizontal portion 18 of side rail 12 so that a mattress 16 when placed onto bed frame 12 will provide additional support to brackets 34 and thus tubular member 22. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the support apparatus 10 further comprises a clamp 40 adapted to securely mount the leg portion 24 to the bed post 20. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, the clamp 40 has a semi-circular portion or cavity 42 which is adapted to receive and capture the leg portion 24, and a flat portion 44 having an opening 46 which is fastened by screws (not shown) to bed post 20. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, clamp 40 may be replaced with a clamp 48 adapted to securely mount the leg portion 24 to a cylindrical shaped bed post 50. As shown in FIG. 7, the clamp 48 comprises a first portion 52 and a second portion 60 securely engaged to each other by a bolt/nut combination 53. First portion 52 comprises semi-cylindrical sides 54 and 56 adapted to fit around and capture leg 24. Sides 54 and 56 are secured together by means of a bolt/nut combination 58. The clamp 48 further comprises a second portion 60 having semi-cylindrical sides 62 and 64 adapted to fit around and capture the post 50. Sides 62 and 64 are secured together by means of a bolt/nut combination 66. 
     As shown in FIGS. 4-5, the bracket 34 of both the embodiments of FIGS. 1 or 2, may be replaced with a bracket 68 which is adapted to mount to a bed frame consisting of a vertically extending side wall 70. In these types of bed frames, the side wall 70 has a thickness considerably larger than the thickness of vertical portion 14 of side rail 12. As such, bracket 68, unlike bracket 34, may be formed with only a channel 72 (FIG. 6) adapted to securely engage with side wall 70. The size of channel 72 and side wall 70 are large enough to provide adequate support to tubular member 22. 
     Although not shown in the drawings, the support apparatus may be configured with an additional mounting member connected to one or both of legs 24 and 24 and which extends outwardly therefrom such that it can be placed between mattresses 16 and 17. This mounting configuration which provides substantial support to tubular member 22 thereby eliminating the need to have one of legs connected to the bed post. 
     Referring to FIG. 8, where a fifth embodiment of the support apparatus of the present invention is shown and designated generally as 82 which is adapted to mount to a frame 80 having a vertically extending side rail 76 and a horizontally extending side rail 78. This type of frame is commonly used in connection with hospital beds. 
     The support apparatus 82 generally comprises a tubular member 83 formed by conventional bending operations to have vertically extending and substantially parallel legs portions 86 and 88 with ends 90 and 92, respectively, which are bent inwardly about 30 degrees from each corresponding leg, and a top portion 84. Tubular member 83 has an outside diameter of 1.0 inch and may be made from mechanical tubing. 
     The support apparatus 82 further comprises an upper bracket 94 rigidly connected to each of ends 90 and 92 of leg portions 88 and 86. Each of the upper brackets 94 comprise a vertically extending plate 98 the outside of which is rigidly connected at a median portion to each of ends 90 and 92 of leg portions 88 and 86. In the preferred embodiment, vertically extending plate 98 is rigidly connected to each of ends 90 and 92 by conventional welds. The upper bracket 94 further comprises a horizontally extending plate 100 which is generally perpendicular to vertically extending plate 98. In the preferred embodiment, the vertically extending plate 98 and horizontally extending plate 100 may be made from a single piece of conventional angle bracket having a width of about 3.0 inches and a thickness of about 3/16 (0.19) inches. The vertically extending plate 98 and the horizontally extending plate 100 are adapted to be placed into substantial contact with the vertically extending side rail 76 and the horizontally extending side rail 78, respectively, of frame 80. The size and particularly the length of both the vertically extending plate 98 and the horizontally extending plate 100 are such that when they are resting on the frame 80, the free ends of the vertically extending plate 98 and horizontally extending plate 100 are disposed below and/or outside of the vertically extending side rail 76 and horizontally extending side rail 78. This feature is preferred so that the free end of the vertically extending plate 98 can be provided with two thru-holes 120 each of which is adapted to receive a bolt 108 which can extend below the vertically extending side rail 76 to thereby provide a means of securing the upper bracket 94 to a lower bracket 96 (to be described) disposed on the opposite side of the vertically extending side rail 76. Similarly, the free end of the horizontally extending plate 100 is provided with two thru-holes 116 each of which is adapted to receive a bolt 108 which can extend downward and adjacent to the horizontally extending side rail 78 to thereby provide a means of securing the upper bracket 94 to the lower bracket 96 disposed on the opposite side of the horizontally extending side rail 78. 
     The lower bracket 96 is adapted to secure the upper bracket 94 to the frame 80. The lower bracket 96 comprises a vertically extending plate 102 and a horizontally extending plate 104 which is perpendicular to vertically extending plate 102. The vertically extending plate 102 and the horizontally extending plate 104 are adapted to be placed into substantial contact with the bottom or opposite side of the vertically extending side rail 76 and the horizontally extending side rail 78, respectively. The size and particularly the length of the vertically extending plate 102 and the horizontally extending plate 104 are such that when they are in contact with the frame 80, the free ends of the vertically extending plate 102 and horizontally extending plate 104 are disposed below and/or outside of the vertically extending side rail 76 and horizontally extending side rail 78 and are further in substantial alignment with the vertically extending plate 98 and the horizontally extending plate 100 of upper bracket 94. Similarly, this feature is preferred so that the free end of the vertically extending plate 102 can be provided with two thru-holes 122 each of which is in alignment with thru-holes 120 located on the vertically extending plate 98 so that the lower bracket 96 may be secured to the upper bracket 94 by means of the bolts 108 and nuts 114. Similarly, the free end of the horizontally extending plate 104 is provided with two thru-holes 118 each of which is in alignment with thru-holes 116 located on the horizontally extending plate 100 so that the lower bracket 96 may be secured to the upper bracket 94 by means of the bolts 108 and nuts 114. 
     In operation, the upper bracket 94 is mounted onto to the side rail 80 such that the horizontally extending plate 100 is in contact with the horizontally extending side rail 78 of frame 80 while the vertically extending plate 98 is in contact with the vertically extending side rail 76. The lower bracket 96 is then placed on the bottom sides of the vertically extending side rail 76 and horizontally extending side rail 78 and is secured to upper bracket 94 by bolts 108 and nuts 114, thereby securely attaching the support apparatus 82 to the frame 80. 
     The foregoing description has been for illustrative purposes only. As will be obvious to one skilled in the art, the present invention may be readily modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.