Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02747107 2011-07-22
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
A BED HAVING A TILTING MATTRESS DECK
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention pertains to the field of beds and more particularly to a bed
having a tilting mattress deck.
BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations define musculoskeletal injury
(MSI) as an injury or disorder of the muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints,
nerves,
blood vessels or related soft tissue including a sprain, strain and
inflammation,
that may be caused or aggravated by work. Some of the tasks performed at
work-such as lifting, reaching, and repeating the same movements-can strain
our bodies. In some situations, these tasks can result in an injury to the
muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, blood vessels, and joints of the neck,
shoulders, arms, wrists, legs, and back. This type of injury is called a
musculoskeletal injury, or MSI. MSI-related workers' compensation claims
associated with overexertion and repetitive motion account for about one-third
of compensation claims.
Nurses and hospitality workers such as cleaners and house-keepers are most at
risk. For example, there are two main risk factors for back injury among
nurses: lifting and transferring patients, and bed-making. Bed-making
increases the risks of back injury because of the bending and stretching
involved in putting sheets onto a bed.
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Training is one method to reduce MSI but a more effective solution is to
provide
equipment that reduces the strain on the worker. For examples, beds having a
mattress deck at a proper height to prevent over-reaching and related back
injuries are required. However, insofar as the present inventor is concerned,
there are no beds available that have been ergonomically designed to prevent
or at least reduce the risk of MSI to workers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To overcome the problems noted above, my invention is a bed having a tilting
1o mattress deck. The bed comprises a bed frame having a top surface for
supporting the tilting mattress deck. The bed frame has a vertical front panel
having an inside surface and a vertical rear panel having an inside surface
parallel to said vertical front panel. The left side and the right side of the
frame
are enclosed. The tilting mattress deck is connected to the frame by an
elongated hinge running the length of the mattress deck and connecting the
tilting mattress deck to the bed frame. For easy lifting of the mattress deck
and
tiling towards a worker to change bedding there is provided a lifting
mechanism connected between the bed frame and the tilting mattress. The
lifting mechanism comprises a first gas charged lifting and telescoping piston
connected between the inside surface of the vertical front panel and a front
end
of the mattress board bottom surface and a second gas charged lifting
telescoping piston connected between the inside surface of the vertical rear
panel and a rear end of the mattress board bottom surface.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a sectional front elevation view of one embodiment of the
invention.
Figure 2 is a plan view of one embodiment of the frame of the invention.
Figure 3 is a sectional left-side elevation view of one embodiment of the
invention.
Figure 4 is a front top perspective view of one embodiment of the invention
with the tilting mattress deck raised.
Figure 5 is a view of the bottom bracket of the piston in one embodiment of
the
invention.
Figure 6 is a view of the second piece of the locking mechanism of one
embodiment of the invention.
Figure 7 is a view of the two-finger pull handle of one embodiment of the
invention.
Figure 8 is a front top perspective view of one embodiment of the invention
with the tilting mattress deck in a horizontal position and two drawers open.
Figure 9 is the same view as Figure 3.
Figure 10 is a left side view of one embodiment of the invention.
Figure 1 1 is front top perspective view of one embodiment of the invention.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The present invention will now be described in detail hereinafter by reference
to
the accompanying drawings. The invention is not intended to be limited to the
embodiments described; rather, this detailed description is provided to enable
any person skilled in the art to make and use the invention.
Referring to Figures 1 there is shown a front elevation view of one embodiment
of the invention which is a bed 10 comprising a bed frame 12 and a tilting
mattress deck 14A shown in an elevated position. The view is a sectional view
1o behind the front vertical panel 18.
Referring to Figures 1, 2 & 3 there is shown in Figure 2 a plan view of the
bed
frame 12. In Figure 3 there is shown an elevation left-side view of the bed
frame 12. The bed frame 12 comprises a top surface 16 for supporting the
tilting mattress deck 14B shown in the horizontal position. The bed frame
further comprises a vertical front panel 18 having an inside surface 20 and an
outside surface 22 and a vertical rear panel 24 comprising an inside surface
26
and an outside surface 28. The vertical rear panel 24 is parallel to vertical
front
panel 18. There is also an enclosed left side 30 and an enclosed right side
32.
Figure 1 illustrates a hinge 34 connecting the elevated tilting mattress deck
14A to the bed frame 12. A lifting mechanism 36A connects the bed frame 12
to the tilting mattress deck 14A when elevated. The lifting mechanism 36B is
shown in a telescoped position when the tilting mattress deck 14B is
horizontal
on the bed frame surface 16. Figure 1 also illustrates a supporting member 40
to which the bed frame side of the hinge 34 is fixed.
Figure 1 and Figure 4 illustrate the tilting mattress deck 14 comprising a
mattress board 42 comprising a bottom surface 44 and a top surface 46 for
supporting a mattress 50. A mattress frame 52 surrounds the mattress board
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42 so that there is a partial enclosure of a bottom portion 54 of the mattress
50
so that the mattress 50 is symmetrically retained on the mattress board 42 top
surface 46.
Referring to Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, there is illustrates the lifting
mechanism
36 comprising at least one (and in the embodiment shown, two) gas charged
lifting and telescoping pistons 56 and 58. The piston 56 connects the inside
surface 20 of the vertical front panel 18 and a front end 60 of the mattress
board 42 bottom surface 44. Piston 58 connects the inside surface 26 of the
1o vertical rear panel 24 and a rear end 62 of the mattress board 42 bottom
surface 44.
In Figure 1 and Figure 4 the bed 12 further comprises a first 66 and second 68
top bracket for a pivoting connection between a respective upper end (70 & 72)
of the first piston 56 and said second piston 58 and a respective front end 60
and rear end 62 of the mattress board 42 bottom surface 44. There are also a
first 74 and a second 76 bottom bracket for a pivoting connection between a
respective lower end (80 & 82) of the first piston 56 and the second piston
58.
Referring to Figure 5, the bottom bracket 74 is fixed to a left-inside bottom
portion 90 of the front vertical panel 18. The bottom bracket 76 is similarly
fixed to the left-inside portion of the rear vertical panel 24.
Referring to Figure 2 to 4 inclusive, the bed 12 further comprises a plurality
of
bulkheads (100, 102 and 104) disposed parallel to and equally spaced between
the vertical front panel 18 and the vertical rear panel 24. In the embodiment
shown there are three bulkheads and this is the most common configuration.
Each of the three bulkheads (100, 102 & 104) comprises a pair of joined
parallel and adjacent bulkhead panels (106/108, 1101112 & 114/116). The
three bulkheads (100, 102 & 104) form four equally sized compartments (120,
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122, 124 & 126) within the bed frame. In the embodiment shown there is also
included a fourth bulkhead 128 disposed adjacent to the first gas charged
strut
56 and a fifth bulkhead 130 disposed adjacent to the second gas charged strut
58. The fourth and fifth bulkheads are used to separate the contents of
compartment 122 and 128 respectively (which might be clothing) to prevent the
contents from interfering with the operation of the pistons. As well, in the
unlikely scenario that the pistons leak oil the contents of these compartments
will not be stained.
Referring to Figures 4, 6 & 7) the bed 12 further comprising a locking system
to
lock the tilting mattress 14 deck in a horizontal position on the bed frame 12
top surface 15. The locking system comprises a locking latch comprising a
first piece 140 fixed to the bottom surface 44 of the mattress board42 and a
second piece 142 fixed to a bulkhead 102 inside wall 1 10 for locking
engagement with the first piece 140. To release the locking hatch there is
provided a cable release mechanism 144 mechanically connected between the
second piece 142 and a handle 146 in a pulling engagement so that when said
cable release is pulled the first piece is released and the mattress deck is
permitted to rise due to the gas pressure being exerted by the gas pistons 56
and 58. The release handle 146 is a two-finger pull handle mounted to the bed
frame in an easily assessable position. In the embodiment illustrated in
Figure
7, the release handle 146 is hidden behind a drawer 1 50.
Referring back to Figure 5, the first bottom bracket 74 is accessible from
within
the bed frame through a first access way 160 cut into the fourth bulkhead 128.
The second bottom bracket 76 is similarly accessible from within the bed frame
through a second access way (not shown) cut into the fifth bulkhead 130.
In one embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in Figure 4, the three
3o bulkheads (100, 102 & 104) form four top loading storage compartments (122,
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124, 126 & 128) within the bed frame 12. In this embodiment, there would be
no access from any of the side panels. In the embodiment 170 illustrated in
Figure 8, there are four compartments below the tilting mattress deck 172. The
two central compartments 1 74 & 1 76 house pull-out drawers 1 78 & 1 80. The
drawers are mounted on sliding mechanism 190. The front compartment 182
and the rear compartment 184 are accessible by doors 186 & 188.
Referring to Figure 9 to 11 inclusive there is shown in Figure 9 a right side
sectional elevation view of one embodiment of the invention. Figure 10 shows
1o the left side of the invention from the front and Figure 1 1 shows the
right side
of the invention from the front. One advantage of the invention is that it can
be
transported to a sight and assembled in-situ. The bed comprises a kit
comprising a plurality of light weight and easily handled members which are
easily fastened together using such fastening means as dowels, nuts and bolts.
Another advantage of the invention is that it can be easily manufactured using
the least number of different parts. For example, referring to Figure 9, the
front panel 200, rear panel 202 and intermediate panels 204 to 214 inclusive
are identically sized and may have identical or similar patterns of through
holes
for attachment to each other and other components of the bed. Similarly,
bottom panels 216 to 222 comprise similar sized panels for the floor of each
compartment 224 to 230. Holes for nuts and bolts and for dowels would be
placed in suitable positions and in suitable numbers to ensure that the bottom
panels are adequately supported to bear the weight placed in the
compartments. The mattress deck comprises a single supporting member 232
and the surrounding frame comprises four members 234 to 240 which are
easily assembled and fixed to member 232. Bulkheads 242 and 244 are also
identical in size.
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Referring to Figure 10, the left side panels 250 to 256 are identical and
fixed to
the front, back and intermediate panels using nuts, bolts and dowels. Figure
illustrates one example of a fastener 260 which is a nut easily screwed into
pre-drilled holes using a simple tool like an Allen wrench. Door panels 270
and
5 drawer panels 272 are also standard sizes and easily assembled.
In the drawings and the specification, there has been set forth preferred
embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, the
terms are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose
10 of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following
claims.
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