Patent ID: 6902019

Claim:
A patient support apparatus for transporting a patient along a floor, the apparatus comprising a frame, a plurality of casters coupled to the frame, a wheel supported relative to the frame for movement between a raised position spaced above the floor and a lowered position engaging the floor, a drive assembly that is operable to drive the wheel and propel the patient support apparatus along the floor when the wheel is in the lowered position, a foot pedal coupled to the frame and movable between a brake position in which the plurality of casters are braked and a steer position in which the plurality of casters are unbraked, the wheel being in the raised position when the foot pedal is in the brake position, and movement of the foot pedal from the brake position to the steer position resulting in movement of the wheel from the raised position to the lowered position, and means for interconnecting the foot pedal and the wheel, wherein the interconnecting means includes a wheel-mounting bracket to which the wheel is coupled, an elongated shaft to which the foot pedal is coupled, and a set of links interconnecting the elongated shaft and the wheel-mounting bracket, and wherein the drive assembly includes a motor, a pulley coupled to the wheel, a belt coupled to the motor and to the pulley, an idler bracket coupled to the wheel-mounting bracket, and an idler coupled to the wheel-mounting bracket, the idler bracket being movable to a position tensioning the belt so that movement of the belt by the motor is transmitted to the wheel through the pulley.