Hospital Bed Foot Deck Transition to Chair Configuration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hospital beds in the prior art lack a mechanism to transition the foot deck from a horizontal to a vertical position while maintaining the bed close to the floor, making it difficult for patients to exit the bed easily.
Innovation Solution
A hospital bed design featuring a foot deck section that translates longitudinally and rotationally from a generally horizontal position to a generally vertical position, allowing the bed to transition into a chair-bed configuration while remaining close to the floor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the foot deck transitions to a vertical position, then patient exit ease is improved, but the bed height from the floor increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bed deck is divided into three independent sections: head deck, intermediate deck, and foot deck. This segmentation allows the foot deck to be raised independently to a vertical position for patient exit assistance, while the head and intermediate decks remain at standard bed height, thus resolving the contradiction between improving patient exit ease and maintaining low bed height.
Solution Approach 2:
The foot deck is designed with dynamic movement capability, allowing it to transition between horizontal and vertical positions. When the foot deck is in the horizontal position, the bed maintains standard low height. When raised to a vertical position, it creates a chair-bed configuration that facilitates patient exit, thus dynamically adapting to different operational needs without permanently increasing bed height.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the foot deck translates longitudinally and rotationally, then chair-bed configuration is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The foot deck mechanism combines longitudinal translation and rotational movement into a single integrated actuation system. By merging these two degrees of freedom into one coordinated mechanism, the design achieves chair-bed configuration capability while minimizing the number of separate actuators and mechanical components, thus reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The foot deck mechanism is designed to perform multiple functions: it can translate longitudinally to adjust position, rotate to change orientation, and achieve both chair-bed and standard bed configurations. This multi-functionality allows a single mechanism to handle various operational requirements without requiring separate dedicated mechanisms for each function, thereby reducing overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A bed that converts into a chair is provided. The bed includes a base frame assembly, an intermediate frame assembly and a patient support deck. The patient support deck includes a head deck section, an intermediate deck section and a foot deck section.