Patent ID: 8234729

Claim:
A hospital bed comprising a height-adjustable mattress support attached to a height-adjustable end panel operated by an actuating cylinder, said panel comprising a lower frame resting on a floor and a movable upper frame to which said mattress support is attached, the lower and upper frames define between them two spaced vertical uprights of telescopic structure, the lower and upper frames comprise two respective articulation points, the actuating cylinder also comprises two articulation points, a first articulation point of the actuating cylinder being connected to the articulation point of one of said upper and lower frames and a second articulation point of the actuating cylinder being connected to an extension amplification mechanism arranged between one of the lower and upper frame to which said actuating cylinder is articulated and the articulation point of the other of the lower and upper frame, wherein the actuating cylinder is such that its second articulation point is capable of being connected directly to said articulation point of the other of the lower and upper frame, wherein the extension amplification mechanism comprises a set of elements articulated to each other as well as to the actuating cylinder and to the articulation point of the other of the lower and upper frame, the paths of said elements falling within the same plane, wherein the extension amplification mechanism comprises a lateral upright secured to the lower frame, an intermediate lever articulated at one end to the lateral upright and at its other end to a connecting link, the connecting link in turn being articulated at the articulation point of the upper frame and the actuating cylinder being articulated at the intermediate lever.