Hospital Bed Frame Assembly Using Deformable Brace Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collapsible medical beds are difficult to assemble and disassemble, particularly for a single person, due to the complexity of handling multiple parts and the risk of parts being lost or misplaced during assembly/disassembly, which increases the time and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
A medical bed design featuring a frame with a deformable crosspiece and articulated bars, along with mounting fingers and pins, allows for ergonomic assembly and disassembly by supporting the handling of parts, reducing the number of components and facilitating the alignment of bed base parts for secure connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the bed is made up of three sub-assemblies with multiple detached parts for collapsibility and storage, then the bed can be stored and moved when not in use, but many parts are detached during assembly or disassembly which can be a source of degradation or loss of these parts
Solution Approach 1:
A tray is introduced as an intermediary component to hold and organize the detached parts (screws, nuts, pins) during assembly and disassembly operations. This mediator prevents parts from being lost or misplaced while maintaining the collapsible design that requires multiple detached components.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray is prepared in advance with compartments and positioning features to receive and organize parts before assembly begins. This preliminary arrangement ensures that all necessary components are readily available and properly positioned, preventing loss during the assembly/disassembly process.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the bed is made up of three sub-assemblies with multiple detached parts, then the bed can be dismantled for storage and moving, but it is difficult to retain the different parts when they are separated and fall under the action of their weight
Solution Approach 1:
The tray serves as a mediator between the operator and the detached parts, providing a stable platform that prevents parts from falling under gravity. This intermediary structure makes it easy to handle and retain multiple small components during dismantling operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of letting parts fall in the vertical dimension under gravity, the tray provides a horizontal plane with lateral confinement (sides or walls) that restricts part movement to a controlled two-dimensional surface, preventing parts from falling away.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional assembly methods are used for the bed sub-assemblies, then the bed can be dismantled and reassembled, but the operations require significant time and may need multiple persons due to difficulty in handling parts
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is prepared in advance with all necessary parts positioned in their correct locations or compartments. This preliminary organization eliminates the time-consuming search and handling of scattered parts during assembly and disassembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray's design with compartments, guides, or positioning features automatically organizes parts as they are placed or removed, reducing the need for manual sorting and handling. The system serves itself by maintaining part organization throughout the assembly/disassembly process.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple parts are detached during assembly or disassembly, then the bed can be collapsed into sub-assemblies, but the number of parts that can be separated increases the complexity and potential for error
Solution Approach 1:
The tray acts as a central intermediary that consolidates multiple detached parts into a single organized unit. This reduces the effective complexity by grouping numerous small components (screws, nuts, pins) into one manageable tray rather than handling them as separate scattered items.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple separate parts are merged into a single integrated tray assembly. The tray combines numerous individual components into one unified structure that is easier to manage, transport, and organize during assembly and disassembly operations.
Data Source
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AI summary
The bed (1) has an adjusting device for adjusting height of a bed frame relative to a frame (2) and including a deformable brace (3) provided with a front bar. Support and indexing surfaces are adapted to cooperate with a rear part (7) and a front part (6) of the bed frame. Pawns (24) are fixed in an upper part of the bar and arranged with a slide unit of the front part. The front part comprises an assembly finger. An upper end of the bar includes an arm (19) that is provided with a notch and a secondary support surface adapted to cooperate with the finger of the front part. An independent claim is also included for a method for assembling a hospital bed.