Patent Grant
7434280
1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to bed enclosures and more particularly to bed enclosures intended for use with persons who are prone to falling out of bed or who otherwise may need to be restrained in bed. Such bed enclosures are typically used in health care settings for persons with physical or mental disabilities. They are an improvement over bodily restraints that might otherwise be used to prevent injury.
2. Description of Prior Art
Persons with multiple mental or physical disabilities may have difficulty sleeping in a standard bed. They may not make safe choices and could thus be prone to injury. They may attempt to leave the bed when they are not physically able to safely do so, resulting in falls, or they may leave the bed and wander about, unsupervised, resulting in the possibility of becoming involved in dangerous situations. They may also be prone to self-destructive behavior, such as head banging or flailing about, leading to injury. Consequently, the need to create a safe sleeping environment is a priority for persons with mental or physical disabilities.
Bed enclosures for restraining the users are well known in the art. These include cage-like bed enclosures completely surrounding the bed, with means for entering and exiting the enclosures. These are typically complicated, permanent, expensive devices. Often the enclosures have mechanical positioning devices to raise or lower the bed, as is commonly found in hospital beds. While such devices address the principal goals of providing a safe sleeping environment, they lack the simplicity of construction, inexpensive manufacturing costs, ease of cleaning and repair, and ease of storage.
It is therefore an objective of this invention to provide an improved bed enclosure which safely restrains a person within its interior.
It is a further objective of this invention to provide an improved bed enclosure which is easy to assemble and disassemble for ease of storage and shipping.
It is yet a further objective of this invention to provide an improved bed enclosure which is easy to clean and repair.
It is yet a further objective of this invention to provide an improved bed enclosure which is easy and cost efficient to manufacture.
The invention is directed to an improved bed enclosure which safely restrains a person within its interior while also being easy to assemble and disassemble for ease of storage and shipping, as well as easy to clean and repair and cost efficient to manufacture.
The bed enclosure of the present invention is designed with safety in mind. It is for the young child or adult with disabilities who would not be safe in a standard bed. It provides a safe environment to those who are prone to head-banging, wandering, or making unsafe decisions. Many children with cognitive disabilities such as autism and mental retardation do not sleep well and tend to wander or get into unsafe situations. In many bedrooms the windows, heating systems, electrical outlets, and even the furniture pose a risk to these children in the absence of a safe sleep system.
The bed enclosure's inside corner padding helps to minimize injury from jumping, falling, or head-banging. The manner in which the frame and mattress come together helps to eliminate the probability of a person “burrowing” or getting caught between the mattress and the surrounding material. The way the bed is constructed also eliminates the possibility of any child with a pica disorder (e.g., tendency to eat non-food items) of contacting and chewing any of the frame.
Another important aspect of the bed enclosure is that it allows the caregiver to know exactly where the child or adult is, in the event of a fire or emergency. Many children or confused adults might hide during a fire and be at risk. With the bed enclosure of the present invention a caregiver knows exactly where to find the child.
The bed enclosure has a frame comprised of removable subframes, removable flexible sidewalls, a mattress support component, and an access mechanism for accessing the interior of the bed enclosure, operable from the exterior. The four subframes are removably attached to each other by an attachment component which also serves to removably attach each of the sidewalls independently to the frame. The removable sidewalls are suitably adapted to cover all portions of the frame accessible from the interior. This protects the user from the hard surfaces of the frame.
The preferred configuration of the attachment component comprises small apertures placed through and aligned among the sidewalls, the subframes, and the mattress support component, and fasteners suitably adapted to be placed into and through the aligned apertures. Edges of the sidewalls are placed between elements of the subframes and mattress support component, such that the edges of the sidewalls are sandwiched between the rigid subframes and mattress support component and secured in place by the fasteners. So configured, the bed enclosure may be easily disassembled for storage or shipping. The sidewalls may similarly be easily removed for cleaning, repair, or replacement. They also may comprise mesh portions to provide airflow through the interior of the bed enclosure and to provide visual access. The bed enclosure may be constructed of inexpensive materials, such as dimensioned lumber and canvas.
Other features and advantages of the invention are described below.
The bed enclosure 1 of the present invention is comprised of a frame 10, a mattress support component 500 supported by the frame 10, four sidewalls 610,620,630,640, each removably attached to the frame 10, and an access mechanism 800 to access the interior of the bed enclosure 1. See
The frame 10, mattress support component 500, and four sidewalls 610,620,630, 640 define a sleeping space 50, with the sleeping space 50 formed by and partially enclosed by the frame 10, sidewalls 610,620,630,640, and mattress support component 500. The bottom of the sleeping space 50 is defined by the mattress support component 500 and the sides of the sleeping space 50 are defined by the four sidewalls 610,620,630,640. The top of the sleeping space 50 is left open. A bed mattress 5 is placed within the sleeping space 50 upon the mattress support component 500. This configuration provides sufficient restraint to the user without presenting an overly restrictive sleeping environment, such as with an enclosed top.
The access mechanism 800 is integrated into at least one sidewall and comprises at least one closable aperture 810. See
The state of each closable aperture 810 of the access mechanism 800 is controlled from the exterior of the sleeping space 50. In one embodiment the access mechanism 800 of the present invention further comprises a zipper 812 associated with each closable aperture 810 and a flap 814. Each closable aperture 810 thus may be opened and closed by operation of its associated zipper 812 to free or secure the flap 814. Each closable aperture 810 is in the open state when its associated flap 814 is freed and in the closed state when its associated flap 814 is secured. The flap 814 may further be rolled up and out of the way when it is in the opened state, secured in place by straps, to expose the interior of the sleeping space 50. This is useful when training a user to sleep without restraints, for example when transitioning to a standard bed, as well as for accessing the sleeping space 50 for cleaning purposes. In another embodiment the flap 814 of each closable aperture 810 is formed of a mesh material.
Because the four sidewalls 610,620,630,640 are removable, they can be taken off the frame 10 for easy cleaning, repair, or replacement. The sidewalls 610,620,630,640 may be constructed of different materials, though a flexible material is preferred. This offers protection to the person using the bed enclosure 1, so that a fall against a sidewall does not lead to injury. In one embodiment the sidewalls 610,620,630,640 are constructed of heavy duty canvas. In the preferred embodiment at least a portion of at least one of the sidewalls is constructed of a mesh material. This permits easy viewing into and out of the sleeping space 50 as well as improved airflow. In the most preferred embodiment the sidewall opposite a sidewall having at least a portion constructed of a mesh material or having a mesh flap 814 integrated therein would also have at least a portion constructed of a mesh material, thereby further increasing airflow through the sleeping space 50. Another embodiment utilizes an opaque panel that can cover or uncover the mesh portion of a sidewall. The panel may be attached to the sidewall proximate to the top of the sidewall and rolled up and out of the way, secured by straps, to expose the interior of the sleeping space 50, and unrolled to cover the sidewall to provide privacy.
The bed enclosure 1 of the present invention may further comprise padding 680 located within the sleeping space 50 at each inside corner of the frame 10, and along the frame structure itself. See
The frame 10 of the bed enclosure 1 of the present invention may be constructed of any suitable rigid material, such as metal or rigid plastic. In the preferred embodiment the frame 10 is constructed of wood, specifically dimensioned lumber. The frame 10 is designed to be modular, facilitating assembly and disassembly, and allowing for convenient storage requiring a minimum of space when the bed enclosure 1 is not in use. See
The upper end 212 of the first vertical support member 110,210,310,410 of each subframe is fixedly attached to the first end 132 of the upper horizontal support member 130, 230,330,430, and the upper end 322 of the second vertical support member 120,220,320,420 is fixedly attached to the second end 134 of the upper horizontal support member 130,230,330,430. The first end 242 of the lower horizontal support member 140,240,340,440 is fixedly attached to the first vertical support member 110,210,310,410 at a point located between upper end 212 and the lower end 214 of the first vertical support member 110,210,310,410, this point, designated the connection point 216, being closer to the lower end 214 of the first vertical support member 110,210,310,410 than to its upper end 212. The second end 244 of the lower horizontal support member 140,240,340,440 is fixedly attached to the second vertical support member 120,220, 320,420 at a point 326 located between the upper end 322 and the lower end 324 of the second vertical support member 120,220,320, 420, corresponding to the same location as the connection point 216 on the first vertical support member 110,210,310,410. For each of the subframes, the top edges 148,248,348,448 of the lower horizontal support members 140,240,340,440 are substantially the same distance from the lower ends 214,324 of the vertical support members 110,120,210,220,310,320,410,420 as for the other subframes, resulting in the top edges 148,248,348,448 of the horizontal support frames lying substantially within the same horizontal plane when the subframes are attached to each other by the attachment component 700.
In the preferred embodiment the first vertical support member 110,210,310,410 and the second vertical support member 120,220,320,420 of each subframe are substantially the same height, and the upper horizontal support member 130,230,330,430 and the lower horizontal support member 140,240,340,440 of each subframe are substantially the same length. This allows the vertical support members 110,120,210,220,310,320,410,420 to be oriented substantially parallel to each other, the horizontal support members 130,140,230,240,330,340, 430,440 to be oriented substantially parallel to each other, and the vertical support members 110,120,210,220,310,320,410,420 to be oriented substantially perpendicularly to the horizontal support members 130,140,230,240,330,340,430,440. In the most preferred embodiment the vertical support members 110,120,210,220,310,320,410,420 of all subframes are substantially the same height, while the horizontal support members 130,140,230,240 of the head and foot subframes 100,200 are substantially the same length and the horizontal support members 330, 340,430,440 of the first side and second side subframes 300,400 are substantially the same length and longer than the horizontal support members 130,140,230,240 of the head and foot subframes 100,200.
The attachment component 700 of the present invention is suitably adapted to allow the subframes to be securely attached to each other when the bed enclosure 1 is in use and detached from each other so the bed enclosure 1 may be stored away or shipped. In one embodiment, shown in
The plurality of side fasteners 730 are suitably adapted to be positioned at least partially within the corner apertures. In the preferred embodiment each side fastener 730 comprises a shaft 732, a retaining member 734, and a securing member 736. The shaft 732 has a first end and a second end, and the diameter of the shaft 732 is just slightly smaller than the inside diameters of the corner apertures, thus permitting the shaft 732 of the side fastener 730 to be inserted into the corner apertures. The retaining member 734 of the shaft 732 is substantially planar and fixed to the first end of the shaft 732 in a substantially perpendicular orientation to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 732. The surface area of the retaining member 734 is greater than the inside diameters of the corner apertures, such that the retaining member 734 cannot be drawn into or through the corner apertures. The securing member 736 of the shaft 732 is substantially planar and removably attachable to the second end of the shaft 732, in a substantially perpendicular orientation to the longitudinal axis of the shaft 732. The surface area of the securing member 736 is also greater than the inside diameters of the corner apertures, such that the securing member 736 cannot be drawn into or through the corner apertures. In this embodiment, a side fastener 730 is positioned within an aligned pair of corner apertures by first removing the securing member 736 from the shaft 732, inserting the second end of the shaft 732 into and through the pair of corner apertures until the second end of the shaft 732 is exposed and the retaining member 734 is positioned flush against the first of the pair of vertical support members, and then replacing the securing member 736 onto the second end of the shaft 732 such that the securing member 736 is positioned flush against the second of the vertical support members. So positioned, the side fastener 730 holds together the pair of vertical support members, with the retaining member 734 of the side fastener 730 preventing the shaft 732 from pulling through the pair of corner apertures in one direction, and the securing member 736 of the side fastener 730 preventing the shaft 732 from pulling through the pair of corner apertures in the opposite direction. The side fasteners 730 may be removed from the corner apertures by removing their securing members 736 from their shafts 732 and then withdrawing the side fasteners 730.
In the preferred embodiment the retaining members 734 of the side fasteners 730 are countersunk flush into the vertical support members and the securing members 736 of the side fasteners 730 are countersunk flush into the other vertical support members. In the most preferred embodiment the side fasteners 730 are connector bolts having securing caps. Other configurations of side fasteners 730 are also contemplated by the present invention, for example traditional bolts and nuts.
The mattress support component 500 of the bed enclosure 1, shown in
The mattress support component 500 may further comprise at least one cross piece 560, with each cross piece 560 being substantially elongate and substantially planer and having a substantially uniform thickness, a top edge 568, a first end, and a second end. See
In the preferred embodiment the lateral support members are positioned relative to the lower horizontal support members 140,240,340,440 of the subframes 100,200,300,400 such that the top edges 518,538,548 of the lateral support members are positioned below the top edges 148,248,348,448 of the lower horizontal support members 140,240,340,440. See
The above-described elements of the mattress support component 500 may be fixedly secured to the subframes or removably secured to the subframes. In one embodiment the mattress support component 500 is removably secured to the subframes by a plurality of bottom fasteners 740 placed within bottom apertures 720 formed into and through the lateral support members and the lower horizontal support members 140,240,340,440 of the subframes 100,200, 300,400. See
In the preferred embodiment, the sidewalls 610,620,630,640 are removably secured to the frame 10 by the attachment component 700. In this embodiment, each sidewall has a first vertical edge 652, a second vertical edge 654, a top edge 656, a bottom edge 658, a plurality of first edge apertures 662 located proximate to the first vertical edge 652, and a plurality of second edge apertures 664 located proximate to the second vertical edge 654. See
In another embodiment of the present invention, the top edge 656 of the first sidewall 610 is removably attached to the upper horizontal support member 130 of the head subframe 100, the top edge 656 of the second sidewall 620 is removably attached to the upper horizontal support member 330 of the first side subframe 300, the top edge 656 of the third sidewall 630 is removably attached to the upper horizontal support member 230 of the foot subframe 200, and the top edge 656 of the fourth sidewall 640 is removably attached to the upper horizontal support member 430 of the second side subframe 400. The top edges 656 of the sidewalls 610,620,630,640 may also be wrapped over and around the upper horizontal support members 130,230,330,430 of the subframes 100,200,300,400. See
In yet another embodiment, the bottom edges 658 of the first sidewall 610, the second sidewall 620, the third sidewall 630, and the fourth sidewall 640 are removably attached to the lower horizontal support members 140,340,240,440 of the head subframe 100, the first side subframe 300, the foot subframe 200, and the second side subframe 400, respectively. In one configuration, the first sidewall 610 has a plurality of bottom edge apertures located proximate to its bottom edge 658 and aligned with the bottom apertures 720 of the head support member 510, the second sidewall 620 has a plurality of bottom edge apertures located proximate to its bottom edge 658 and aligned with the bottom apertures 720 of the first side support member 530, the third sidewall 630 has a plurality of bottom edge apertures located proximate to its bottom edge 658 and aligned with the bottom apertures 720 of the foot support member, and the fourth sidewall 640 has a plurality of bottom edge apertures located proximate to its bottom edge 658 and aligned with the bottom apertures 720 of the second side support member 540. The first sidewall 610 is further secured to the frame 10 by placing its bottom edge 658 between the lower horizontal support member 140 of the head subframe 100 and the head support member 510 of the mattress support component 500 such that the bottom fasteners 740 placed within the aligned bottom apertures 720 of the lower horizontal support member 140 of the head subframe 100 and the head support member 510 of the mattress support component 500 pass through the bottom edge apertures of the first sidewall 610. In a similar manner the bottom edges 658 of the remaining sidewalls 620,630,640 are placed between corresponding pairs of lower horizontal support members 240, 340,440 and lateral support members, with bottom fasteners 740 passing through the bottom edge apertures of the sidewalls 620,630,640. See
Modifications and variations may be made to the disclosed embodiments of the present invention without departing from the subject or spirit of the present invention as defined in the following claims.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20070271698 A1 | Nov 2007 | US |
