Improvement in Apparatus for Exchanging the Bed-sheets of Sick Beds.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 30th Apr., 1898-Accepted, 30th July, 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Apparatus for Exchanging the Bed-sheets of
Sick Beds.
1, ALBERT KAEDING, Merchant, resident at Halberstadt, Kingdom of Prussia,
Empire of Germany, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:
The present invention relates to an apparatus for exchanging the bed-sheets of
sick-beds.
For this purpose the bed-sheet on which the patient lies and which is fastened
to cords by means of hooks, is drawn up, whereupon a fresh sheet is placed under-
neath the old one and the latter drawn away from between the patient and the
fresh sheet.
In the accompanying drawing
Fig. 1 is a partial section of the side-view of the mechanism as attached to the
bead stead, with the bed-sheet to be exchanged being partly drawn up.
Fig. 2 is an end-view of the beadstead provided with the mechanism, at one
side seen from the front, the side-board of the beadstead being cut, and the other
side being a backward view.
The apparatus consists of 4 supports a which, by means of the straps b, are
strapped to the corner-posts of the beadstead.
At the upper ends of the supports a and in the 4 inner corners of the beadstead-
frame ring-screws are provided through which the guide-poles d are put.
The latter are serving as a guide to the spring-hooks e.
The apparatus is used in the following manner: The bed-sheet on which the
patient is to rest need only have the width of the beadstead and must be provided
at the ends with a wide seam f¹, through which, for the sake of strengthening, a
cord is drawn. At the ends of the cord and the bed-sheet rings (eyelets) f are
provided. When the spring hooks e are hooked into the rings f, the bed-sheet
is stretched out perfectly tight, thus doing away with the uncomfortable folds
When the patient is to be raised, or the bed-sheet to be renewed, the cords g, which
are guided over rollers h, are fastened to the rings of the carabine-hooks e and the
handles at the ends of the cords are pulled. Thus the patient is drawn up or
raised without having to be touched.
If there is only one attendant the same can by gradual raising the single corners
successively by himself lift the patient, for which purpose, as shown by Fig. 1,
hooks are provided at the posts a.
The exchanging of the bed-sheet is then effected in a simple manner by first
stretching the new bed-sheet underneath, then unhooking the old sheet, and
hooking on the new one; that is to say the old bed-sheet is first unhooked, then
the new sheet is hooked on, and the old one in the meantime hooked on again
on the top until this has been one at all four corners; then the two corners of
the old sheet are unhooked at the head-end, while those of the new sheet remain
in the carabine hooks, then the cord is removed out of the seam of the sheet, where-

page_text: upon the upper, old sheet is drawn away from underneath the body towards the
feet, which can be done without the least inconvenience to the patient, because
the latter always safely rests on the parts of the new sheet as they become free.
Attention must principally be paid to the top part of the old sheet is turned
down in order that the body may not have to be inconvenienced by friction.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. In an apparatus for exchanging the bed sheets in sick-beds the combination
of supports a connected with the legs of the bedstead by means of straps 6 or the
like, and provided with ring-screws and guide-poles d passing through the said
screws and serving as guides to spring-hooks e which are engaging in eyelets f of
the bed-sheet, and means for raising and lowering the spring-hooks holding the
bed-sheet, substantially as and for the purpose set forth."
2. In the above combination of supports a provided with ring-screws c and
guide-poles d passing through the said screws and serving as guides to the hooks c
which engage in eyelets f of the bed-sheet, cords g fastened to the said hooks and
guided over rollers h carried by the supports a, handles i fixed to the said cords
and provided to engage into hooks k which are fixed at the supports a, substantially
as and for the purpose set forth.
1000