Patent ID: 8007039

Claim:
Apparatus movable between an erected condition and a substantially flattened collapsed condition substantially adjacent a supporting surface on which the same is mounted, said apparatus comprising: a frame having a plurality of members, leg members having pivot points, and an actuating member having a pivot point; sheet material suspended between the leg members and the actuating member of the frame and by which a person may be supported, the sheet material being attached at one end to a rotatable member of said frame on which a movement means acts and another end of the sheet material is attached to one of the leg members or actuating member in a fixed position; movement means are provided which allow selective movement of the apparatus between said erected and collapsed conditions by acting on the sheet material while said apparatus provides support to the person thereon so as to move the person between a lying position when the apparatus is in the collapsed condition and a substantially seated position when the apparatus is in the erected condition; and wherein a portion of said sheet material passes around and acts on the actuating member to pivot one end of the actuating member toward the supporting surface and another end of the actuating member is drawn upwardly to initiate movement of the apparatus when the sheet material is wound up by the movement means and commences the movement of the leg members from the flattened collapsed condition to the erected condition.