Patent Grant
9320663
Not Applicable.
The present invention relates generally to a gap filler, and more specifically to a gap filler between mattress sections of a bed, including an expandable width bed.
Hospital beds are well known in the art. One type of hospital bed is an articulating bed. Another type of hospital bed is an expandable width bed. Expandable width beds generally include an expandable frame and supplemental mattress sections therewith. While such articulating and expandable width beds according to the prior art provide a number of advantageous features, they nevertheless often have certain limitations, including possibly having undesirable gaps between various sections of the mattress and/or between various supplemental mattress sections. Such undesirable gaps may be present in standard hospital beds as well. The present invention seeks to overcome certain of these limitations and other drawbacks of the prior art, and to provide new features not heretofore available. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present invention is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The present invention generally provides a gap filler assembly for filling a gap between adjacent mattress sections of a bed. According to one embodiment the gap filler comprises a deck plate, a hinge connected to the deck plate, a backing member connected to the hinge and opposing the deck plate, a slider connected to the backing member, and a first mattress component supported by the deck plate, wherein the first mattress component has an angled surface on a bottom portion thereof adjacent the slider.
According to another embodiment, the gap filler assembly further comprising a second gap filler opposing the first gap filler, the second gap filler comprising a deck plate, a hinge connected to the deck plate, a backing member connected to the hinge and opposing the deck plate, a slider connected to the backing member, and a second mattress component supported by the deck plate, wherein the second mattress component has an angled surface on a bottom portion thereof adjacent the slider.
According to another embodiment, the first gap filler assembly is adjacent a head section of the bed and the second gap filler assembly is adjacent a seat section of the bed. In this embodiment the first mattress opposes and contacts the second mattress when the bed is in a horizontal position to fill a gap between the head section of the bed and the seat section of the bed.
According to another embodiment, the first gap filler assembly is connected to a first section of the bed and the first mattress component extends beyond a midline between the first section of the bed and an adjacent second section of the bed. The second gap filler assembly is connected to the second section of the bed and the second mattress component extends beyond a midline between the first section of the bed and the second section of the bed. In this embodiment an interference is established between the first and second mattress components when the first and second sections of the bed are in a horizontal position.
According to another embodiment, the gap filler assembly comprises a first supplemental mattress connected to a first section of the bed adjacent a first side of the main mattress. The first supplemental mattress has a patient support surface generally planar with a patient support surface of the main mattress to increase a width of the patient support surface of the bed. The first supplemental mattress has an extension at one end thereof that extends between a gap between the first section of the bed and an adjacent second section of the bed. Additionally, the first supplemental mattress may extend beyond a midline between the first section of the bed and an adjacent second section of the bed.
According to another embodiment, the gap filler assembly further comprises a second supplemental mattress connected to a second section of the bed adjacent the first side of the main mattress. The second supplemental mattress has a patient support surface generally planar with the patient support surface of the main mattress to increase a width of the patient support surface of the bed. The second supplemental mattress has an extension at one end thereof that extends between a gap between the first section of the bed and the second section of the bed. Additionally, the second supplemental mattress extends beyond a midline between the first section of the bed and the second section of the bed.
According to another embodiment, the first supplemental mattress is connected to a hinge assembly and comprises a deck plate, a hinge connected to the deck plate, a backing member connected to the hinge and opposing the deck plate, and a slider connected to the backing member, and the first supplemental mattress has an angled surface on a bottom portion thereof adjacent the slider.
According to another embodiment, the first supplemental mattress has an angled surface on a bottom portion thereof toward a top surface of the supplemental mattress. Additionally, the slider may be connected to the supplemental mattress adjacent the angled bottom surface of the first supplemental mattress.
According to another embodiment, the gap filler assembly comprises a first supplemental mattress connected to supplemental mattress frame that adjusts between a narrow retracted position and an expanded position. The first supplemental mattress is positioned adjacent a first side of the main mattress in the expanded position. The first supplemental mattress has a patient support surface generally planar with a patient support surface of the main mattress to increase a width of the patient support surface of the bed, and the first supplemental mattress has an extension at one end thereof that extends outside the supplemental mattress frame.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification taken in conjunction with the following drawings.
To understand the present invention, it will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspect of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
Referring now to the Figures, there are shown various embodiments of a gap filler assembly 10 for a hospital bed 12. The term “bed” herein is used to denote any embodiment of a support for a patient. As such, in different embodiments the “bed” may be provided as a standard hospital bed, an articulating bed, a chair bed, an expandable width bed, a stretcher, a gurney or some other patient support or combination thereof. For example, in the chair bed configuration the bed is manipulated to achieve both a conventional bed position having a substantially horizontal patient support or sleeping surface upon which a user lies in a supine position, and a sitting position wherein the user's feet are on or adjacent the floor and the back of the user is supported by a raised back support. Similarly, as another example, in the expanding width bed configuration the bed is manipulated to convert to a wider patient support surface at various portions of the bed. The width of the expanding width bed 12 may be narrowed, however, to that of a conventional hospital bed to provide for ease of mobility of the bed 12. Additionally, in another embodiment the bed 12 is a bariatric bed, meaning it is provided to support morbidly obese patients.
The bed 12 generally comprises a base assembly 14, an intermediate frame assembly 16, and a patient support assembly 18. The patient support assembly 18 preferably comprises a support deck assembly 20 and a mattress 22, however, either component individually or both collectively may be identified as the patient support. In one embodiment at least a portion of the support deck assembly 20 extends from and is connected to the intermediate frame assembly 16. The patient support assembly 18 may also include a patient support extension assembly, also referred to as a deck or mattress extension assembly. The mattress 22 may be a foam mattress, inflatable mattress, fluidized mattress, percussion mattress, rotation mattress or any other type of mattress known in the art. As explained above, in one embodiment the bed 12 will be capable of transitioning to a chair orientation and to an expanded width orientation.
The bed 12 preferably has a head end 24, a foot end 26 opposing the head end 24, a first side 28, and a second side 30 opposing the first side 28. The term “head end” is used to denote the end of any referred to object that is positioned to lie nearest the head end 24 of the bed 12, and the term “foot end” is used to denote the end of any referred to object that is positioned to lie nearest the foot end 26 of the bed 12.
Additionally, in a preferred embodiment the bed 12 has a plurality of different sections, which may be articuable sections. For example, in the embodiment illustrated, the bed 12 has a head section 32, a seat section 34 and a foot section 36. The head section 32 may also be referred to as a first section, the seat section 34 may also be referred to as a second section, and the foot section 36 may also be referred to as a third section. The seat section 34 is positioned between the head section 32 and the foot section 36. In various embodiments of the bed, the head section 32 is generally moveable from a generally horizontal position to a more vertical back-support position. Similarly, in various embodiments of the bed 12, such as a chair bed as shown in
In a preferred embodiment, the bed 12 can assume a plurality of positions/orientations via manipulation of the intermediate frame assembly 16 and the various sections of the bed 12. Further, as detailed herein, in different embodiments the mattress 22 can also attain a variety of positions/orientations.
As examples of the different orientations that can be attained, the bed 12 can assume a standard bed position such that the support deck assembly 20 is in the horizontal position, the bed 12 can assume a chair orientation such as shown in
In one embodiment of the bed 12 wherein the bed 12 has a variable width component, the bed 12 may have supplemental mattresses 38, 40 that are used to increase the width of the mattress 22 for the bed 12. In one embodiment first supplemental mattresses 38 are provided at the first side 28 and second side 30 of the head section 32 of the bed 12, and second supplemental mattresses 40 are provided at the first side 28 and second side 30 of the seat section 34 of the bed 12. In a preferred embodiment the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are connected to the bed 12 in the expanded and the retracted positions. Preferably, the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are made of foam, however, it is understood that they may be made of other materials or configurations, including air/inflatable configurations and fluidized configurations. Additionally, in one embodiment shown in
In one embodiment the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are supported by one or more of a variety of patient support extension assemblies, which may include mattress or deck extender assemblies, hereinafter referred to as mattress extender assemblies. As with the supplemental mattresses, the mattress extender assemblies may be provided at one or more sections of the bed 12. Additionally, mattress extender assemblies may be provided at each side of any section of the bed 12. In one embodiment, a first head mattress extender assembly 42 for one of the head section supplemental mattresses 38 is provided at the first side 28 of the head section 32 of the bed 12, and a second head mattress extender assembly 42 for the other head section supplemental mattress 38 is provided at the opposing second side 30 of the head section 32 of the bed 12. Similarly, in one embodiment, a first seat mattress extender assembly 44 for one of the seat supplemental mattresses 40 is provided at the first side 28 of the seat section 34 of the bed 12, and a second seat mattress extender assembly 44 for the other seat supplemental mattress 40 is provided at the opposing second side 30 of the seat section 34 of the bed 12. The head and seat first side mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 are utilized to increase the width of the bed 12 at the first side 28 of the bed 10, and the head and seat second side mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 are utilized to increase the width of the bed 12 at the second side 30 of the bed 12. Generally, the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are connected to supplemental deck plates 39 that are then connected to the appropriate mattress extender assembly 42, 44.
In a preferred embodiment, the head mattress extender assemblies 42 are movably connected to the head section 32 of the bed 12 and allowed to move relative thereto, and the seat mattress extender assemblies 44 are movably connected to the seat section 34 of the bed 12 and allowed to move relative thereto. Generally, the head and seat mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 are each independently moveable from a first retracted position located a first distance from a centerline of the bed 12 to a second expanded position located a second distance from the centerline of the bed 12, the second distance being greater than the first distance. As explained above, a first supplemental mattress 38 is connected to the first mattress extender section 42 in the first and second position, preferably through the supplemental deck plate 39, and a second supplemental mattress 40 is connected to the second mattress extender section 44 in the first and second position, also preferably through the supplemental deck plate 39. Thus, in a preferred embodiment the supplemental mattresses are connected to the bed 12 in all positions and are not needed to be removed from the bed 12 when the bed is transitioned to the narrow configuration.
As explained above, the mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 each move from a first retracted position to a second expanded position. Moreover, in a preferred embodiment, the mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 slidably engage the main deck to move from the first retracted position to the second expanded position. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are positioned underneath the main deck in a first position, and adjacent the main mattress 22 in a second position. The supplemental mattress 38, 40 increases the width of a surface supporting a patient in the second position.
In one embodiment, as shown in
Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment, the mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 each have independent supplemental mattresses 38, 40, respectively, associated therewith. Preferably, the first and second side head and seat mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 are each independently moveable from a first retracted position to a second expanded position. In one embodiment the distance from the centerline of the bed 12 to an edge of the mattress 22 is identified as distance W1, and the distance from the centerline of the bed 12 to an edge of either of the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 after the supplemental mattress 38, 40 has been repositioned to be in the expanded position is identified as distance W2, and W2 is greater than W1. In a preferred embodiment, the width of the supplemental mattress 38, 40 is approximately 5 inches, and thus the distance from W1 to W2 is approximately 5 inches. Thus, in a preferred embodiment the width of the supplemental mattress 38, 40 is adapted to increase the width of the mattress 22 of the bed 12 approximately 5 inches per side, for a total mattress width increase of 10 inches. In a preferred embodiment, the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are movably connected to the mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 in both the retracted positions and the extended positions. And, in a preferred embodiment, the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are independently rotatably connected to the mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 in both the retracted positions and the extended positions. It is further understood that in a preferred embodiment, the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are connected to the bed 12 in both the first position and the second position.
In a preferred embodiment, each of the mattress extender assemblies 42, 44 operate completely independently. Accordingly, any mattress extender assembly 42, 44 of the bed 12 may be in the retracted or non-deployed position, or the expanded or deployed position at any time, irrespective of any other mattress extender assembly 42, 44.
According to another embodiment, the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are rotatably connected to the mattress extenders 42, 44. In such an embodiment, the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are connected to the supplemental deck plates 39, which are rotatably connected to the appropriate mattress extender assembly 42, 44. Additionally, in one embodiment the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are moveable from a first position, wherein a portion of the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are under a plane of the main deck, to a second position wherein a portion of the supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are over the plane of the main deck. This is shown in
As explained above, referring to
In one embodiment, as shown in
In one embodiment the cap member 54 is secured to the hinge assembly 52 as shown in
As shown in the side view of
Referring again to
Referring to
In a preferred embodiment the deck plate 66 is fixedly connected at its head end 24 to the first double hinge member 58, preferably by welding, and the double hinge member 58 is fixedly connected to the first backing member 60, also preferably by welding such as spot welding. Additionally, the deck plate 66 is fixedly connected at its foot end 26 to the second double hinge member 68, preferably by welding, and the second double hinge member 68 is fixedly connected to the second backing member 70, also preferably by welding. The seat section supplemental mattress 40 is connected, such as with an adhesive, to the deck plate 66, first double hinge member 58, first backing member 60, second double hinge member 68 and second backing member 70. The deck plate 66 is subsequently connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 of the seat mattress extender assembly 44. In one embodiment the deck plate 66 has internal receivers, such as PEM® nuts, to allow the deck plate 66 to be secured, such as by bolting, to the supplemental deck plate 39. After the supplemental mattress 40 is connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 it can be manipulated between the deployed and non-deployed positions in the seat mattress extender assembly 44.
In one embodiment the first cap member 54 at the head end 24 of the seat section 34 gap filler assembly is secured to the hinge assembly 64 as shown in
As shown in the side view of
As explained above, at the area of intersection between the head section supplemental mattress 38 and the seat section supplemental mattress 40 the foam mattresses 38, 40, both gap filler assemblies have a first double hinge member 58, a cap member 54, a top portion of the supplemental mattresses 38, 40, respectively, that extend beyond the cap member 54, and an end surface that is angled outwardly and up toward the top surface of the respective supplemental mattress 38, 40. Accordingly, as shown in
Also, in one embodiment the foot end 26 of the seat section supplemental mattress 40 is preferably angled from the top surface toward the bottom surface of the supplemental mattress 40. This allows the bottom surface at the foot end 26 of the seat section supplemental mattress 40 to extend further toward the foot end 26 of the bed 12, including extending beyond the side rail 46 of the seat mattress extender assembly 44. Additionally, in a preferred embodiment a top portion of the supplemental mattress 40 at the foot end 26 of the seat section supplemental mattress 40 has slits 76 therein to allow the foot end 26 of the supplemental mattress 40 to be more easily bent back when placing the supplemental mattress 40 in the stored position as shown in
The supplemental mattresses 38, 40 are designed to be moved from the deployed position, shown in
Another embodiment of the gap filler assembly 10 is provided in
As shown in the side view of
Accordingly, this embodiment differs from the prior embodiment in that a single hinge member 57 is utilized, rather than the double hinge member 56 of the prior embodiment. Additionally, cap members 72 are provided at both the head end 24 and the foot end 26 of the head section 32 supplemental mattress 38 of this embodiment. It is understood, however, that a head section 32 gap filler assembly 10 of this embodiment, having a single hinge member 57, instead of a double hinge member 58 may also be modified to only have a cap member 72 at the foot end 26 of the supplemental mattress 38 similar to the prior embodiment of
Referring again to
Referring to
In a preferred embodiment the deck plate 66 is fixedly connected at its head end 24 to the first single hinge member 57, and at its foot end 26 to the second single hinge member 57, preferably by welding. Additionally, a backing member 61 is also connected to each single hinge member 57 to allow the cap member 72 to be fixed thereto as is explained herein. The seat section supplemental mattress 40 is connected, such as with an adhesive, to the deck plate 66, both single hinge members 57, and both backing members 61. The backing members at the head end and foot end of this gap filler assembly may, or may not be identical, generally depending on the configuration of the supplemental mattress at the head end and foot end of this section. The deck plate 66 is subsequently connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 of the seat mattress extender assembly 44. After the supplemental mattress 40 is connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 it can be manipulated between the deployed and non-deployed positions in the seat mattress extender assembly 44.
As shown in the side view of
Also as shown in the side view of
The supplemental mattresses 38, 40 of this embodiment are designed to be moved from the deployed position, shown in
Another embodiment of the gap filler assembly 10 is provided in
As shown in the side view of
Referring again to
In a preferred embodiment the single hinge member 57 is fixedly connected to the foot end 26 of the angled component 59 of the deck plate 56 because, as explained above, the head end 24 is generally flat. The hinge member 57 in this embodiment allows roller 80 to rotate toward the main body of the supplemental mattress 38 as shown in
As best shown in
In this embodiment the supplemental mattress 38 is connected, such as with an adhesive, to the deck plate 56, single hinge member 57 and backing member 61. The deck plate 56 is subsequently connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 of the head mattress extender assembly 42. In one embodiment the deck plate 56 has internal receivers, such as PEM® nuts, to allow the deck plate 56 to be secured, such as by bolting, to the supplemental deck plate 39. Alternately, the deck plate 56 may be connected to another receiving member to be connected to the supplemental deck plate 39. Once the supplemental mattress 38 is connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 it can be manipulated between the deployed and non-deployed positions in the mattress extender assembly 42. As shown in
As best shown in
Referring to
In a preferred version of this embodiment the deck plate 66 at the head end 24 of the seat section 34 gap filler assembly 10 is identical to the foot end 26 of the deck plate 56 used in the head section 32 gap filler assembly 10. Accordingly, the head end 24 of the deck plate 66 for the seat section 34 has an angled component 59 to angle the end portion of the deck plate 66 up and away from the planar surface of the deck plate 66. The angled component 59 may be a bent portion of the deck plate 66, or it may be welded or otherwise connected to the flat portion of the deck 66 during manufacture thereof. The backing member 61 at the head end 24 of the seat section 34 is connected to the deck plate 66 with a single hinge member 57 at the angled component 59 of the seat section deck plate 66. The hinge member 57 in this embodiment allows roller 80 at the head end 24 of the seat section 34 to rotate toward the main body of the supplemental mattress 40 as shown in
The modified cap member 72′ at the foot end 26 of the seat section 34 gap filler assembly 10 of this embodiment is similar to the cap member 72 at the foot end 26 of the seat section 34 gap filler assembly 10 of the embodiment of
Referring to the modified cap member 72′, a roller is added to the plastic cap to assist in providing a smooth transition as the seat mattress extender assembly 44 is manipulated, preferably in a sliding manner, from the second expanded or out position, as shown in
As explained above, in a preferred embodiment the deck plate 66 is fixedly connected at its head end 24 to the first single hinge member 57 (preferably at the angled component 59 as explained above), and at its foot end 26 to the second single hinge member 57, preferably by welding. Additionally, a backing member 61 is also connected to each single hinge member 57 to allow the roller 80 at the head end 24 and the modified cap member 72′ at the foot end 26 to be fixed thereto as is explained herein. The seat section supplemental mattress 40 is connected, such as with an adhesive, to the deck plate 66, both single hinge members 57, and both backing members 61. The backing members at the head end and foot end of this embodiment of the gap filler assembly are typically not identical, based on the configuration of the supplemental mattress at the head end and foot end of this embodiment. The deck plate 66 is subsequently connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 of the seat mattress extender assembly 44. After the supplemental mattress 40 is connected to the supplemental deck plate 39 it can be manipulated between the deployed and non-deployed positions in the seat mattress extender assembly 44.
As shown in the side view of
Also as shown in the side view of
The supplemental mattresses 38, 40 of this embodiment are designed to be moved from the deployed position, shown in
While different beds are referenced herein, such as a standard bed, a chair bed, an expanding width bed, etc., it is understood that any feature of the gap filler assembly 10 disclosed herein may be utilized with any type of patient support mechanism, and reference to one type of bed respecting a particular feature does not preclude incorporation of that feature into any other type of bed.
Several alternative embodiments and examples have been described and illustrated herein. A person of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate the features of the individual embodiments, and the possible combinations and variations of the components. A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the embodiments could be provided in any combination with the other embodiments disclosed herein. Additionally, the terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and “fourth” as used herein are intended for illustrative purposes only and do not limit the embodiments in any way. Further, the term “plurality” as used herein indicates any number greater than one, either disjunctively or conjunctively, as necessary, up to an infinite number.
It will be understood that the invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or central characteristics thereof. The present examples and embodiments, therefore, are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and the invention is not to be limited to the details given herein. Accordingly, while the specific embodiments have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying Claims.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application No. 12/459,207, filed on Jun. 26, 2009, which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/133,267, filed on Jun. 27, 2008. This application also claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/277,301, filed on Sep. 23, 2009, which is expressly incorporated herein by reference and made a part thereof.
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