Patent ID: 8109525

Claim:
A guiding wheel assembly, adapted for mounting to a hospital bed, comprising: a frame; an arm having an elongated track; a first substantially horizontal axle pivotally mounting said arm to said frame for enabling swinging movement of said arm in a vertical plane; a wheel adapted for engaging a floor upon which the hospital bed is supported; a second substantially horizontal axle mounted to said arm and oriented substantially parallel to and spaced from said first axle and fixed against swinging movement about a vertical axis, said wheel being rotatably mounted to said second substantially horizontal axle; a pressing element extending between said frame and said track, said pressing element including an engagement portion and a spring for biasing said engagement portion into engagement with said track, said pressing element further including a pin swingably mounting said pressing element to said frame for enabling movement of said engagement portion of said pressing element along said track; and wherein said track includes an integral lifting protrusion positioned on an opposite side of the second substantially horizontal axle relative to the wheel, said engagement portion of said pressing element being movable along said track from a first position on said track proximate said second substantially horizontal axle for biasing said wheel against the floor, to a second position on said track on whereby said engagement portion is biased against said lifting protrusion for raising said wheel above the floor.