Fowler Deck Section Arcuate Path Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional patient support apparatuses face challenges in moving the fowler deck section to a maximum raised configuration due to limited actuator placement, which restricts the path of movement and compromises patient comfort.
Innovation Solution
The patient support apparatus employs an electric linear actuator with a deck articulating assembly and guiding assembly, including a tension link, compression link, and guiding members that move the fowler deck section along an arcuate path, ensuring smooth and stable movement from an initial to a raised configuration, enhancing patient comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a linear actuator is pivotally connected directly to the fowler deck section and the support frame, then the actuator can move the fowler deck section to a raised configuration, but the placement of the actuator is limited and the movement path is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a deck articulating assembly with guide members (curved guides, slots, or rails) as intermediary elements between the linear actuator and the fowler deck section. These guide members constrain and direct the movement of the deck section along a predetermined arcuate path, allowing the actuator to be placed in more flexible locations while maintaining controlled movement trajectory. The guide members act as mediators that translate the linear actuator's straight-line motion into the desired curved arcuate path.
2Ease of manufacture
If the fowler deck section moves along a straight line path, then the actuator placement is simplified, but patient comfort is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs curved guide members including arcuate slots, curved rails, or circular guides that constrain the fowler deck section to move along a predetermined arcuate path. This curvature in the movement path mimics the natural contours of patient body mechanics, providing more comfortable articulation during elevation. The curved guides translate the linear actuator's straight motion into the desired curved trajectory, ensuring both ease of manufacture and patient comfort.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the actuator is positioned to achieve maximum raised configuration, then patient comfort is enhanced, but the movement path control becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates guide members (curved guides, slots, or rails) that are pre-configured to define the desired arcuate movement path before the actuator operates. These guide members are installed on the support frame to establish the predetermined trajectory, allowing the actuator to simply follow the pre-defined path rather than requiring complex real-time control mechanisms. The preliminary setup of the guide members simplifies the overall control system while achieving the comfort-optimized arcuate motion.
Data Source
AI summary
A patient support apparatus includes a support frame and a patient support deck operatively attached to the support frame. The patient support deck includes an adjacent pair of deck sections. An actuator is coupled to a first one of the adjacent deck sections, and the actuator, in combination with a deck articulating assembly, moves the first one of the adjacent deck sections relative to the support frame and second one of the adjacent pair of deck sections between an initial configuration and a raised configuration. In the raised configuration, the inner adjacent end of the first deck section is spaced further from the corresponding inner adjacent end of the second deck section, and the outer end opposite the inner adjacent end of the first one of the adjacent deck sections is spaced further away from the support frame, than in the initial configuration.