Patent ID: 7788748

Claim:
A hospital bed, comprising: a patient sleep surface support having back, seat and foot sections, wherein the seat section comprises first and second opposing longitudinally spaced apart end portions, the first end portion residing proximate the back section and the second end portion residing proximate the foot section; a four way equal platform tilting mechanism attached to an underside of the patient sleep surface support proximate the seat section, the four way equal platform tilting mechanism comprising a rotating plate; a lifting mechanism attached to and residing under the four way equal platform tilting mechanism to be able to lift the back and seat sections of the patient sleep surface support, wherein the rotating plate is configured to rotate the patient sleep surface support from a longitudinal normal orientation to a side egress orientation, and wherein the lifting mechanism and the four way equal platform tilting mechanism cooperate to move the patient sleep surface support to a side standing egress position where the seat section is tilted down so that the second end portion resides below the first end portion and the back and foot sections are substantially vertical; and a pair of side rails attached to opposing sides of the foot section and are configured to reside above the sleep surface when in the bed is in the normal orientation, wherein the side rails translate with the foot section of the patient support surface and tilt 90 degrees to reside substantially vertically in the side egress chair and stand egress positions with an upper portion of the side rails residing above the foot section and with a lower portion of the side rails residing proximate a floor.