Patent ID: 7913336

Claim:
A patient support apparatus comprising: a frame; a deck supported by said frame and configured to support a patient, said deck having a foot end and a head end, said deck including a head section oriented adjacent said head end of said deck, and a second section oriented adjacent said head section; a pivot axis about which said head section is able to pivot from a generally horizontal orientation to an intermediate orientation defining a first angle with respect to said horizontal orientation, and from said intermediate orientation to a raised orientation defining a second angle with respect to said horizontal orientation, said second angle being greater than said first angle; and an actuator coupled to said frame and said head section, said actuator adapted to pivot said head section about said pivot axis from said generally horizontal orientation to said raised orientation, wherein said pivot axis remains stationary with respect to said frame while said head section pivots from said generally horizontal orientation to said intermediate orientation, and said pivot axis moves with respect to said frame while said head section pivots from said intermediate orientation to said raised orientation; and wherein said pivot axis moves upwardly from said frame as said head section is pivoted from said intermediate orientation to said raised orientation, and said pivot axis also moves away from said second section in a direction oriented toward said head end of said deck as said head section is pivoted from said intermediate orientation to said raised orientation.