Patent Application
20230248141
The present invention relates to overbed tables (“OBT”), and more particularly to overbed tables for use in hospitals and other patient care facilities.
Overbed tables are used widely in hospitals and other patient care facilities where patients are treated and otherwise cared for in patient beds. The primary function of an OBT is to temporarily interfit with a bed to provide the patient with a convenient surface that is positioned over the bed and can be used, for example, as a tabletop or a work surface. When the surface is no longer needed, the OBT can be moved away from the bed, thereby eliminating any interference it may have created for the patient and providing caregivers and loved ones with unfettered access to the patient. For example, in use, an OBT may be fitted over a bed when the patient wishes to have a surface upon which to eat or to perform work. When the surface is no longer desired, the OBT can be rolled away from the bed. To facilitate fitting and removal from the bed, OBTs are designed to be easily movable over the floor. Further, to provide convenience and to accommodate movement of a patient within the bed (e.g. varying position and/or degree of incline within the bed), it has also proven beneficial for OBTs to be movable along the length of the bed. For example, if a patient positioned under an OBT changes the inclined of the bed so that the patient it sitting more upright, it may be desirable to move the OBT toward the foot of the bed in correspondence with the change in position of the patient.
A conventional OBT includes a base, a column and a tabletop. The base rests on the floor and provides a foundation of the OBT. The base is movable over the floor so that it can easily be pushed beneath and removed from under the bed. To facilitate movement, such as types of movement discussed above, conventional OBTs are supported on casters, wheels are other rolling components. The base includes an inner end that is fitted under the bed and an outer end that remains out from beneath the bed. Rolling components are typically disposed under the inner end and the outer end of the base. The column is mounted to the outer end of the base and extends upwardly to provide a support structure for the tabletop. The tabletop is mounted to the top of the column and extends inwardly generally parallel to the base so that it will provide a generally horizontal work surface situated over the bed when the base is moved under the bed. In typical embodiments, the column is height-adjustable so that that height of the tabletop can be adjusted as desired to accommodate different height beds and different patient needs.
The design and configuration of hospital and other patient beds have evolved over time. Some of the changes in bed design have caused interference with the desired operation of conventional OBTs. More specifically, many manufacturers of patient beds have redesigned the beds in such a way as to substantially reduce the amount of clearance available under the bed. This reduction in clearance is due, in most cases, to the overall form and function of these beds, but of particular concern is the use of OBTs with patient beds that have a “5th wheel” or “drive wheels”. In these types of patient beds, there is a “5th wheel” located either in the center or close to the center of the bed or two drive wheels somewhere in-between the four casters located on or about the four corners of the bed. In all of these configurations, the 5th wheel or drive wheels (collectively referred to as “under-bed wheels”) are intended for use during patient transport only to make the transport easier on the staff by using the wheels as a fulcrum when turning corners etc. As a result, under-bed wheels are typically configured to be raised and lowered. When a patient is being transported in the patient bed, the under-bed wheels are lowered to the floor for use. However, when a patient is in their room, the 5th wheel or drive wheels are disengaged and lifted off the floor so the four primary casters can sit evenly and level with the floor. Although under-bed wheel specifications vary from bed to bed, even when raised, under-bed wheels can have as little as 1″ of clearance from the bottom of the under-bed wheel to the floor.
Conventional OBT offerings do not work well with patient beds that incorporate under-bed wheels because the clearance afforded by under-bed wheels is not sufficient to accommodate passage of the base of conventional OBTs. More specifically, even when raised, under-bed wheels interfere with movement of current OBT bases. A variety of efforts have been made to redesign OBTs to limit the impact of interference created by under-bed wheels. For example, some bases are U-shaped, with the opening of the “U” facing toward the patient bed (See
Accordingly, there remains room for improvement in the field of OBTs, including the long-felt and unmet need for an OBT that can eliminate the problem of interference created by retractable under-bed wheels.
The present invention provides an improved overbed table (“OBT”) with a base that is configured to eliminate rather than merely reduce the issues associated with interference created by under-bed wheels. The OBT includes a base having an inner end and an outer end, a column extending upwardly from the outer end of the base and a tabletop mounted atop the column and extending in a cantilevered manner over the base. The inner end of the base is supported on one or more low friction glides, while the outer end is supported on one or more casters, wheels or other rolling elements. The inner end of the base has a profile low enough to pass below raised or retracted under-bed wheels.
In one embodiment, the base includes an under-bed portion and an outer portion. The under-bed portion may be generally planar with the casters and the low friction glides configured so that the under-bed portion is generally parallel to and just offset from the floor. In one embodiment, the under-bed portion is spaced above the floor by a distance of about 0.37″. In one embodiment, the under-bed portion is spaced above the floor by a distance in the range of about 0.25″ to about 0.75″.
In one embodiment, the low friction glides and under-bed portion have a collective height of no more than about 0.75″. In another embodiment, the low friction glides and the under-bed portion have a collective height of no more than about 0.95″ or are in the range of about 0.5″ to about 0.95″.
In one embodiment, the outer portion of the base is raised relative to the under-bed portion and is of sufficient height to accommodate one or more casters, wheels or other rolling elements there beneath. The outer portion may be joined to the under-bed portion by a transition portion.
In one embodiment, the under-bed portion is generally Y-shaped having a central portion and a pair of legs extending from opposite sides of the inner end of the central portion. A low friction guide may be disposed near the free end of each leg. The under-bed portion may be generally planar with the casters and low friction glides configured so that the under-bed portion is parallel to and just offset from the floor. The legs may extend from the central portion at essentially any angle.
In one embodiment, the column is mounted atop the outer raised portion, for example, by fasteners that extend upwardly through the outer raised portion into screw bosses or screw receptacles in the bottom of the column.
In one embodiment, the column is a height adjustable column with telescoping upper and lower column segments. A gas assist cylinder may be incorporated into the column to reduce the effective weight of the tabletop and the upper column segment. A control paddle may be incorporated into the OBT to facilitate operation of the adjustable-height column.
In one embodiment, the base includes a one-piece unitary structural fabricated from sheet or plate stock. The under-bed portion, transition portion and outer portion may, for example, be laser cut from a single sheet or plate stock to form a blank or preform. After cutting, the blank or preform may be bent to form the extension portion.
The present invention provides an overbed table that is well suited for use with patient beds that have retractable under-bed wheels. The height profile of the under-bed portion is sufficiently low that the under-bed portion can freely pass beneath the raised under-bed wheels of known patient beds. The combination of low friction glides on the inner end of the base and rolling elements on the outer end surprisingly provide the base with a high degree of mobility that is not appreciably different from conventional bases that are supported entirely by rolling elements. Low friction glides also reduce the cost of manufacture, are low maintenance, have a long life and are easily replaced when necessary.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the description of the current embodiment and the drawings.
Before the embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention may be implemented in various other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may be used in the description of various embodiments. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of enumeration should not be construed as limiting the invention to any specific order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scope of the invention any additional steps or components that might be combined with or into the enumerated steps or components.
A current embodiment of the overbed table (“OBT”) is shown in
As noted above, the present invention provides a base 12 for an overbed table 10 that is specially configured for use with patient beds having retractable under-bed wheels. For purposes of disclosure, the base 12 is described in the context of an OBT 10 having a tabletop mounted to an adjustable-height column (See
Referring now to
Referring now to
The inner end of the under-bed portion 14 is supported on low friction glides (also known as “gliders”, “slides” and “sliders”). For example, in the illustrated embodiment, glides 26 are mounted toward the free ends of the legs 22a-b. The low friction glides 26 may be any of a variety of suitable low friction furniture glides that are readily available from various furniture hardware suppliers. In some applications, pre-manufactured glides may require some modification for use in connection with the base 12. For example, when a furniture glide 26 with a threaded shaft is used, it may be necessary to modify the shaft to interconnect with the base 12. This may include shortening the length of the shaft. Suitable glides 26 will be selected to provide the under-bed portion 14 with a sufficiently low profile that the under-bed portion 14 is capable of passing under raised/retracted under-bed wheels W. For example,
The glides 26 may be secured to the legs 22a-b in any suitable manner. In the illustrated embodiment, each glide 26 includes a threaded shaft that is affixed to the corresponding leg 22a-b. For example, in one embodiment, a through hole may be drilled and tapped toward the free end of each leg 20a-b, and a glide 26 may threadedly installed in each tapped hole. Alternatively, the glides 26 may be attached by adhesive or other types of fastener arrangements. The number, size, location and arrangement of glides may vary from application to application.
The outer raised portion 16 is joined to the outer end 36 of the central portion 20. In this embodiment, the outer raised portion 16 has a relatively high profile that is selected to accommodate casters, wheels or other rolling components (See
In the illustrated embodiment, the outer raised portion 16 is supported on a pair of casters 28 that are positioned toward opposite longitudinal ends of the outer raised portion 16. As perhaps best shown in
Referring now to
As noted above, the column 50 is mounted to the base 12. In this embodiment, the lower section 30 of the column 50 is affixed to the base 12 by fasteners that extend up through holes 60 in the base 12 (See
The tabletop 52 may be mounted to the column 50 using essentially any suitable mounting structure. For example, a mounting plate 64 may be affixed to the upper section 32 of the column 50, and the tabletop 52 can be affixed to the mounting plate 64 by fasteners. In one embodiment, the mounting plate may be joined to the upper section 32 by welding or by fasteners. It should be understood that the described table top mounting structure is merely exemplary and that the present invention may be incorporated into OBT that utilize any table top mounting structure.
In the illustrated embodiment, the under-bed portion 14, outer raised portion 16 and transition portion 18 are formed from a single unitary piece of sheet or plate stock. For example, in one embodiment, the central portion 20, legs 22a-b, transition portion 18 and outer raised portion 16 may be cut as a single piece from sheet or plate stock by laser, plasma, waterjet, CNC mills/machine tools or any other manner of cutting or machining the parts or shape needed. A planar preform P cut from a single piece of plate stock is shown in
The configuration of the under-bed portion 14 of the base 12 may vary from application to application. For example, the height of the under-bed portion may be varied to accommodate different types, styles and models of patient beds, whether it be different beds that are available on the market now or new beds that may be introduced in the future. If bed manufacturers reduce the clearance beneath raised/retracted under-bed wheels, the height of the under-bed portion may be reduced to accommodate that change. Alternatively, if bed manufacturers increase the clearance, it may provide the option of increasing the height of the under-bed portion 14. As another example, the overall configuration of the base may vary from application to application. For example,
As noted above, OBT 10 is merely exemplary and the present invention may be incorporated into OBTs of different designs and configurations. For example,
As noted above, OBT 410 differs from OBT 10 not only in the shape of the base 412, but also in that it includes custom glides 426. OBT 10 (as described above) may include generally conventional furniture glides that are acquired from a third party supplier and attached to the legs 22a-b, such as the types used on chair legs, table legs and other furniture legs. In OBT 410, the glides 426 are fabricated as an integral part of the base 412. As shown in
The glide inserts 482 are configured to support the inner end of the under-bed portion 414 of the base 412 (when the OBT is stationary and when it is moving). To this end, the glide seats 480 and glide inserts 482 are configured so that the glide inserts 482 extend downwardly below the glide seats 480 to engage the ground. The amount to which the glide inserts 482 extend below the glide seats 480 may vary from application to application depending, for example, on the desired height of the under-bed portion, the wear characteristics of the glide inserts and the desired life expectancy. In the illustrated embodiment, the glide inserts 482 extend about 0.25″ below the glide seat 480. However, in other embodiments, the glide inserts 482 may extend in the range of about 0.125″ to about 0.25″ below the glide seats 480. The glide inserts 482 of the illustrated embodiment are manufactured from a low friction, highly wear-resistant material, such as (but not limited to) acetal (polyoxymethylene) (including homopolymers, such as Delrin®, Delrin AF® (Delrin impregnated with Teflon®) and copolymers, such as Tecaform®, Acetron® and Sustarin®), nylon, Teflon® and other similar materials. In this embodiment, each glide insert 482 is a one-piece, unitary component, but other configurations may be implemented in alternative embodiments. For example, each glide insert 482 may in alternative embodiment be a laminated construction in which a low friction, wear-resistant material is joined to the undersurface of one or more substrate materials, such that the low friction, wear resistant material forms the ground-engaging surface.
Although the illustrated embodiment includes two square glides 426 (one mounted toward the free end of each leg 422a-b), the number, size, shape, arrangement and configuration of the glide seats 480 and glide inserts 482 may vary from application to application. In one exemplary alternative embodiment, the glide seats 480 may be circular rings and the glide inserts 482 may be disk-like and configured to be seated in the circular rings. In some alternative embodiments, the glide seats 480 may be eliminated and the glide inserts 482 may be affixed directly to the undersurface of the legs 422a-b, for example, by adhesives or fasteners. In other alternative embodiments, the casters (e.g. 28 and 428) may be replaced by glides, such that the OBT is support by glides at both the inner end and the outer end. To accommodate the use of glides on the outer end of the base, the transition portion (e.g. 18, 118, 218, 318 and 418) may be reduced or eliminated, and the outer raised portion (e.g. 16, 116, 216, 316 and 416) may be modified so that it is not raised, but is instead coplanar (or approximately coplanar) with the under-bed portion 14. The casters may be replaced, for example, by commercially available glides (e.g. 26) or by custom glides (e.g. 426).
Directional terms, such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “upper,” “lower,” “inner,” “inwardly,” “outer” and “outwardly,” are used to assist in describing the invention based on the orientation of the embodiments shown in the illustrations. The use of directional terms should not be interpreted to limit the invention to any specific orientation(s).
In addition, when a component, part or layer is referred to as being “joined with,” “on,” “engaged with,” “adhered to,” “secured to,” or “coupled to” another component, part or layer, it may be directly joined with, on, engaged with, adhered to, secured to, or coupled to the other component, part or layer, or any number of intervening components, parts or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly joined with,” “directly on,” “directly engaged with,” “directly adhered to,” “directly secured to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between components, layers and parts should be interpreted in a like manner, such as “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent” and similar words. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The above description is that of current embodiments of the invention. Various alterations and changes can be made without departing from the spirit and broader aspects of the invention as defined in the appended claims, which are to be interpreted in accordance with the principles of patent law including the doctrine of equivalents. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments of the invention or to limit the scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, and without limitation, any individual element(s) of the described invention may be replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similar functionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes, for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those that might be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future, such as those that one skilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative. Further, the disclosed embodiments include a plurality of features that are described in concert and that might cooperatively provide a collection of benefits. The present invention is not limited to only those embodiments that include all of these features or that provide all of the stated benefits, except to the extent otherwise expressly set forth in the issued claims. Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular. Any reference to claim elements as “at least one of X, Y and Z” is meant to include any one of X, Y or Z individually, any combination of X, Y and Z, for example, X, Y, Z; X, Y; X, Z ; Y, Z, and/or any other possible combination together or alone of those elements, noting that the same is open ended and can include other elements.
