WO2007054681A1

WO2007054681A1 - Bed frame assembly

Info

Publication number: WO2007054681A1
Application number: PCT/GB2006/004159
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stephen Hayes; Stephen Hollyoak
Original assignee: Huntleigh Technology Limited
Priority date: 2005-11-14
Filing date: 2006-11-07
Publication date: 2007-05-18
Also published as: GB0523179D0

Abstract

A bed assembly (10) includes a frame (22) formed of four frame sections (24-28) which are coupled to one another by means of hinged joints 32. A head retention panel (34) is coupled to the head rest section (24) and can move therewith. A torso retention panel (36) is coupled to a seat section of the frame. A CPR override mechanism is provided, with a manually operated actuator (40) fitted to a sub-frame (42) of the bed assembly (10). The actuator (40) is located in a position beyond the lateral extent of the retention panels (34, 36). The actuator is therefore not obstructed by the retention panels (34, 36) and allows the retention panels to be moved during the time in which it is activated by hospital staff. It is preferred that the actuator (40) is located proximate the knee break (44) of the frame (22).

Description

BED FRAME ASSEMBLY

The present invention relates to a bed assembly, in the preferred embodiment to a hospital bed and an override mechanism for rapid reconfiguration of the bed, especially for allowing nursing and medical staff to carry out emergency procedures on a patient, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Typical modern hospital beds are configurable into a plurality of different profiles to suit the needs and comfort of the patient and hospital staff. For example, many hospital beds can be adjusted so as to place the patient in one of numerous sitting positions, some with the patient's knees raised, as well as numerous lying configurations other than a flat horizontal configuration, such as with the head higher than the feet and vice versa. Many modern hospital beds of this type are electrically operated, being provided with a plurality of electrically operated actuators coupled to move and pivot the different sections of the bed. These enable hospital staff and the patient to adjust the configuration of the bed by the simple pressing of one or more buttons on a control panel.

Should a patient require urgent medical treatment, for example if the patient suffers a cardiac arrest, it is important that the patient is placed as quickly as possible in a lying position so that emergency medical procedures (in this example cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR)) can be carried out without delay.

A problem with modern hospital beds is that the electric motors which move the various sections of the bed operate relatively slowly. In emergency circumstances, such as on cardiac arrest of the patient, it is a requirement to place at least the patient's torso in a flat position within at most two to five seconds. However, the electrical motors of the bed are unable to achieve this position within this time period. As a result of this, electrically operated hospital beds of this described type have been provided with mechanical override mechanisms which disengage the electrical actuators operating the back rest section and allow the back rest to be brought down to a substantially flat position as quickly as possible, typically by allowing it to free fall.

The mechanical override mechanisms are typically provided by a handle located on the bed frame assembly and which is pulled by hospital staff to effect the CPR repositioning routine. The systems generally require the operator to keep the handle in the deployed position. If the handle is released, the reconfiguration of the bed ceases and the various bed portions are made to remain in the positions they held at the moment of release of the handle. This enable medical staff to carry out any emergency procedures without having to wait for the bed to be completely reconfigured.

Thus, it is necessary for the handle to be in an easily accessible position, which can be challenging given the configurability of modern hospital beds and the additional features being constantly added thereto. hi a known hospital bed, there is provided a bed frame having first and second patient retention panels, one at the head end of the bed assembly and the other at the around a patient's torso position. A CPR override handle is located adjacent the patient torso position of the bed, below the torso retention panel, hi order not to obstruct the handle, the torso retention panel is hinged to the head retention panel and can swivel upwardly and then to overlie the head retention panel. Although such an arrangement can work satisfactorily in many circumstances, there are situations where it may be necessary but difficult to pivot the torso retention panel out of the way, particularly since such movement will temporarily obstruct the side of the bed and thus concern to the patient. In another known hospital bed, the CPR override handle is located between the head and torso retention panels. These panels can be moved between upper active positions and lower inactive positions by swinging around a hinge structure. The panels are shaped so that the CPR override handle can be accessed when the panels are both in their upper and their lower positions. However, CPR repositioning must be completed, stopped or delayed if it is desired to move the patient retention panels. This can be a serious inconvenience in some circumstances.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved hospital bed assembly and CPR override function.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bed assembly including a bed frame, at least one of first and second patient retention panels, one at a head position of the bed assembly and the other at a torso position of the assembly, and a CPR override mechanism including an actuator located at least partially beyond a lateral extent of the patient retention panel or panels.

Preferably, the CPR actuator is located at least partially beyond a side of the torso retention panel. In this arrangement, the patient retention panels do not interfere with the CPR actuator and also allow the panels to be moved downwardly into an undeployed position without having to interrupt the CPR procedure and without losing access to the bed.

Preferably, the actuator is a lever. Not only is a lever easier to use than a pull handle, given the often significant force which must be applied to activate the function, but a lever can also be arranged such that a portion of the lever can be located behind a patient retention panel without impeding access to the user operative part of the handle. hi the case of a configurable bed provided with a thigh rest section and a leg rest section in which the thigh rest section is pivotably coupled to the leg rest section, the CPR actuator is preferably located on the bed assembly in a location proximate the point of pivot of the thigh rest section to the leg rest section. Advantageously, the CPR actuator is located substantially aligned with said point of pivot, hi the preferred embodiment the actuator is located immediately below this point of pivot. The advantage of such a location is that due to the manner in which modern hospital beds can be configured, it is unlikely that it would be desired to place any other bed components in this location. Furthermore, at this location, the actuator is likely always to be readily accessible.

Embodiments of the present invention are described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a side elevational view of an embodiment of bed assembly with patient retention panels in a raised position; and

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the bed assembly of Figure 1 showing the patient support panels in a lowered position.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a preferred embodiment of bed assembly 10 which includes a wheeled base 12 provided with four castors 14 of conventional type. Coupled to the base 12 is a bed platform 20 which can be raised and lowered relative to the base 12 and tilted by means of one or more electrical actuators (not shown), also of conventional type.

The platform 20 is provided with a frame 22 formed, in this embodiment, of four frame sections, three of which, 24-28, are visible in the Figures. These framed sections are coupled to one another by means of hinged joints 32.

A head retention panel 34 is coupled to the head rest section 24 of the frame 22 and can move therewith. A torso retention panel 36 is coupled to a seat section (not shown) of the frame. As can be seen, the head retention panel 34 has a shape which follows the contour of the torso retention panel 36 and the back rest section 24 is pivoted between lying and sitting positions.

Both retention panels 34, 36 are coupled to their respective frame locations through latched hinge assemblies of a type known in the art. They can be positioned in the deployed position shown in Figure 1 and can be lowered into a non-deployed position, as shown in Figure 2, by release of a latch 38, also of a type known in the art. The retention panels 34, 36 will move in a downward motion to their lowered position, swinging only slightly outwardly beyond the side of the bed 10, as a result of a pivotally connected hinge mechanism connected to the latches 38. Typically, the retention panels are kept in the deployed position when a patient is resting on the bed or otherwise needs to remain on the bed, and are moved to a non-deployed position when moving the patient onto and off the bed and when carrying out medical procedures. It will be apparent that in some circumstances, the retention panels 34, 36 must be moved out of the way in order to have unrestricted access to the patient.

The various movable parts of the bed are provided with electrically controlled actuators so as to be moved by electrical control, via one or more keypads, not shown in the drawings. The bed assembly 10 is also provided with a CPR override mechanism which can be actuated to override the electrically controlled functions during patient emergencies, in particular to move the back rest 24 to a lying position as soon as possible so that CPR can be administered as soon as possible. Typically, the CPR override mechanism unlocks the back rest 24 from its electrically operated actuator and allows the back rest 24 to drop by gravity towards its lying position. The electrical systems and override control mechanism can be of conventional type so are not described herein. In order to actuate the CPR override procedure, the assembly is provided with a manually operated actuator 40 which in this embodiment is fitted to a sub-frame 42 of the bed assembly 10. It is preferred that the actuator 40 is a lever because the forces required to actuate the mechanical release of the back rest 24 can be quite high.

It is preferred that the actuator 40 is located in a position on the bed assembly 10 which is beyond the lateral extent of the retention panels 34, 36, in this example beyond the lateral extent of the torso retention panel 36. As can be seen by a comparison of Figures 1 and 2, the actuator 40 is accessible when the panel 36 is in both its deployed and lowered positions, and can also be held during the motion of the retention panel 36 between these two positions. Thus, during an emergency procedure, the actuator 40 can be deployed and at the same time, possibly by another member of staff, the retention panels 34, 36 lowered in order to gain better access to the patient. The panels 34, 36 are moved downwardly, therefore not producing any significant obstruction to access to the patient during this movement. TMs can be particularly important during medical emergencies, such as during cardiac arrest or during a patient seizure.

It is preferred that the actuator 40 is located proximate the knee break 44, that is proximate the location of the point of pivot between the thigh rest section 26 and the leg rest section 28 of the frame assembly 22. The reason for this is that due to the range of movements of such beds, the location adjacent the knee break 44 is kept clear (the leg rest can usually also move to as to be at least partially below the level of the sub-frame 42). Furthermore, since the CPR override procedure is more important when the patient is in a raised position, for example as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the knee break is typically raised as shown. This makes it even easier to gain access to the actuator 40. hi the preferred embodiment, the actuator 40 is located substantially immediately below the knee break 44.

Claims

1. A bed assembly including a bed frame, at least one of first and second patient retention panel, one at a head position of the bed assembly and the other at a torso position of the assembly, and a CPR override mechanism including an actuator located at least partially beyond a lateral extent of the patient retention panel or panels.

2. A bed assembly according to claim 1, wherein the CPR actuator is located at least partially beyond a side of the torso retention panel.

3. A bed assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the actuator is a lever.

4. A bed assembly according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the bed assembly in provided with a thigh rest section pivotably coupled to a leg rest section, the CPR actuator being in a location proximate the point of pivot of the thigh rest section to the leg rest section.

5. A bed assembly according to claim 4, wherein the CPR actuator is substantially aligned with said pivot point.

6. A bed assembly according to claim 5, wherein the actuator is located immediately below said pivot point.