Patent ID: 8756726

Claim:
A patient support apparatus comprising a frame, a plurality of casters coupled to the frame, a wheel coupled to the frame, a motor coupled to the wheel and operable to rotate the wheel to propel the patient support apparatus along a floor, the wheel being movable relative to the frame so as to reorient a rotation axis of the wheel relative to the frame thereby to propel the patient support apparatus in different directions that are non-parallel with a longitudinal dimension of the frame, an electrical system comprising a controller to control operation of the motor, the controller being configured to signal operation of the motor to rotate the wheel to propel the patient support apparatus along the floor, a push handle situated near a first end of the frame, and a plurality of user inputs coupled to the push handle, a first user input of the plurality of user inputs being operable by a user to signal the controller to operate the motor to propel the patient support apparatus in a first direction parallel with the longitudinal dimension of the frame, and a second user input of the plurality of user inputs being operable by a user to signal the controller to operate the motor to propel the patient support apparatus in a second direction that is other than the longitudinal dimension relative to the frame, the first user input being spaced apart from the second user input.