Side guards for hospital beds

Nov. 1, 1955

2,722,017

F- J. BURST ET AL

SIDE GUARDS FOR HOSPITAL BEDS

Filed Nov. 16, 1951

Sheets-Sheet 1

<img file="US2722017A_D0001.tif" />

<img file="US2722017A_D0002.tif" />

Nov. 1, 1955

2,722,017

F. J. BURST ET AL

SIDE GUARDS FOR HOSPITAL BEDS

Filed Nov. 16, 1951

Sheets-Sheet 2

<img file="US2722017A_D0003.tif" />

Nov. 1, 1955

2,722,017

<img file="US2722017A_D0004.tif" />

F. J. BURST ET AL

SIDE GUARDS FOR HOSPITAL BEDS

<img file="US2722017A_D0005.tif" />

INVENTORS.

<img file="US2722017A_D0006.tif" />

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent Office , ,. _Ν^2,7?² *¹⁷

Patented Nov. 1, 1955

2,722,017

SIDE GUARDS FOR HOSPITAL BEDS

Francis J. Burst, Batesville, Ind., and Fred G. Carter, Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to Hill-Rom Company, Inc., Batesville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana

Application November 16,1951, Serial No. 256,659

Claims. (CI. 5—331)

This invention relates to hospital beads, and particularly, to safety devices adapted to be applied to a hospital bed of the type wherein the head portion of the spring and mattress may be elevated to dispose the patient in a sitting or semi-sitting position.

For the convenience of doctors and nurses, hospital beds are relatively high in comparison with beds for home use, and since the floors of hospital wards and rooms are devoid of carpeting or similar floor covering, for sanitary reasons, the fall of a patient from a hospital bed is more dangerous than a fall from a bed in an ordinary home bedroom. Even the obvious danger of falling from a high hospital bed is distressing to some patients, particularly to those suffering from nervous disorders. Further, in a hospital, the patient may be delirious part of the time or may be under the influence of drugs or sedatives which impair the patient’s natural ability to take care of himself or herself. Accordingly, where the hospital attendants recognize danger of bed fall, or notice fear of bed fall on the part of the patient, side guards, or side restraints as they are called by hospital personnel, should be applied to the bed. But, as presently constructed, traditional side guards or restraints extend the full length of the bed. These guards customarily are attached to the frame of the bed in such a way as to convert the bed into an adult crib. Consequently, many patients, particularly older people, resent them; not only because of their crib-like appearance, but because of the feeling of imprisonment which accompanies their use.

The present invention is predicated upon the concept that where patients need a guard device of this character, it should be such that it provides a sense of security, and not a feeling of imprisonment or clastrophobia. Thus, it is the primary objective of the invention to provide a multi-purpose safety device, in the nature of a side guard, which may be applied in pairs to the sides of hospital beds to afford the protection of traditional side restraints, in that they serve to prevent the patient from falling out of bed accidentally, but do not make leaving the bed difficult or impossible. It is in this latter particular that the concept of the present invention is in contradiction to traditional thinking with respect to side restraints, because the present devices are designed to give assistance to the patient should he desire to leave the bed.

As a matter of fact, the term “restraint” as applied to traditional side guards is somewhat of a misnomer, because experience has proven that if a patient makes up his mind to get out of bed, and is physically able to make the effort, he will do so one way or the other, either by going over one of the side guards or over the head or foot of the bed. Thus, in many cases, traditional side guards have served to make a bed fall far worse than if they were not used.

The side guards of the present invention are not “restraints” in the sense that past guards were intended to be. In the preferred embodiment the side guards are disposed along the sides of the upper or head board half of the. bed only, .When the patient rolls to the side of the bed, by contact with the guard he is reminded of his proximity to the edge of the bed. Since the greater part of the patient’s weight is in the upper half of his body, the side guard is effective to prevent a fall. However, if the patient is determined to get out of bed and continues to roll, the guard, in striking him at approximately hip level, rights him, causing him to swing out of bed feet first, rather than head first as is so often the case where a patient tries to crawl over full length side restraints.

Traditional side restraints also make it unhandy for an attendant to get at the patient. Furthermore, their size and the manner in which they are affixed to the bed make their handling and installation both awkward and difficult with the result that in many instances they are not made use of when they should be. With this in mind, another object of the invention is to provide a side guard which is easily handled, simple to install, and when installed, adapted to be quickly and with a minimum of effort raised or lower to or from an effective position. In the lowered position the guard is completely out of the way of a nurse or doctor and is disposed so that it does not interfere with an attendant changing the bed linen or otherwise administering to the patient.

It is a further, and important, object of the invention to provide a side guard which offers no obstacle to the tilting or adjustment of an articulated type hospital bed in the normal manner. In the preferred embodiment the guard is designed to be attached to the tilting head section of the bed alone, and thus move with it. Attached in this manner, a pair of guards serves to cradle the patient even while he is sitting up, adding to the patient’s comfort and general sense of security. An additional feature of this arrangement is that the side guards do not interfere with the use of an over-bed table.

As indicated above, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a side guard which serves to assist the patient in leaving the bed. In this respect the present guard has particular utility when utilized with hospital bed steps of the type disclosed and claimed in the copending application, Serial No. 229,986, filed June 5, 1951.

Other objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a typical articulated hospital bed showing the side guards of the present invention in place.

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the guard in place on the bed and in lowered position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing the guard in raised position.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 in which the head section of the articulated bed is elevated.

Figure 5 is a top plan view of the guard showing the manner in which it is attached to the head section of the spring assembly.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary, front elevational view of the mid-section of the guard.

Figure 7 is a detailed cross sectional view taken on the line 7—7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line 8—8 of Figure 6.

Figure 9 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 9—9 of Figure 6.

In the drawings, a hospital bed, indicated generally at 10, is provided with an articulated spring assembly 11 comprising a head section 12, which extends to about the middle of the bed, a mid section 13 and two hinged leg sections 14 and 15. Cranks 16 and 17, exposed at the foot end of the bed, are provided for raising and lowering the head and foot sections respectively. This arrangement is conventional for hospital beds and the mechanism for raising and lowering the spring sections

2,722,017 is not shown in detail as it may be of any of the several conventional types.

The side guards of the invention are indicated generally at 20—-20 in Figure 1. The guards are attached to the respective side tails, indicated at 21, of the head section 12. Attachment is made by means of clamps indicated generally at '22, which are structural and functional parts of the side guards. The side guards with the clamps preferably are integral units which may be attached to any hospital bed.

More particularly, each side guard 20 is a two piece structure which includes the clamp 22 and the guard framework, indicated generally at 23, which may be raised and lowered in relation to the clamp. Preferably the framework 23 is fabricated from light metal tubing such as aluminum, which may be in any desired shape. In the instance shown, the framework comprises a central rectangle with two ear-like rectangles disposed one on either side of the central rectangle. As disclosed, the height of the central rectangle from top to bottom is greater than the heights of the ear-like side rectangles. Preferably, the top of the three rectangles collectively constitutes a continuous top rail 24. Between the top and bottom of the central rectangle and within its outlines are two vertically disposed slide bars 25—25 which are attached to the top and bottom of the central rectangle by means of bolts 26 or other fastening means. These slide bars preferably are fabricated from steel tubing which is more wear resistant than aluminum. Tubes 25 may be chrome plated if desired.

Preferably, clamp 22 is cast as an integral unit and is generally yoke-shaped, having two forwardly disposed bosses 27—27, each of which includes a vertical bore 28 constituting journal means. The slide bars 25 are disposed through these bores. Preferably, although not necessarily, anti-friction bushings 30 are seated in the upper and lower ends of each of the bores for sliding engagement with slide bars 25. In assembling the side guard, the slide bars 25 are first disposed through bores 28 after which the aluminum framework 23 is fitted to them. For attachment purposes bolts 26 extend through appropriate bores in the aluminum tubing and thread into plugs 31 which may be welded or otherwise fixed in the ends of the slide bars. At the upper ends of each of the slide bars, rubber bumpers, such as those shown at 32 may be installed, these bumpers serving as cushions upon engagement with the upper surfaces of bosses 27 when the side is in its lowermost position relative to the clamp, as shown in Figure 2.

The side guards may be latched in other positions of elevation relative to their clamps by means of upper and lower detents indicated at 33 and 34 respectively. In each instance, these detents are formed at the respective upper and lower ends of a metal rod 35 which is secured inside the slide bar by means of a plug 36, the plug including a vertical groove at one side which embraces the rod 35. The plug itself is secured in place in the slide bar by means of a pin 37 which extends through the wall of the slide bar. Upper detent 33 is formed by doubling over the upper end of bar 35, which end extends through a slot 38 cut through the bar. The lower detent 34 is formed by bending an offset in the lower end of bar 35, which end is exposed through a slot 39. It will be seen that the detents are manually depressible to permit the slide bars to be freely raised and lowered past the clamp, and permit the safety side guard to be adjusted to either one of two elevated positions. The lowering of the side guard requires the depression of two detents at once, an operation which a nurse or other attendant can very easily perform, but which could not be easily performed by the patient in bed.

Clamp 22 also includes two lugs 40—40 which extend rearwardly from the respective bosses 27. Each lug includes an adjustment screw 41 which is vertically adjustable within a threaded bore. The screws are designed to contact the upper surface of the angle iron 42, shown in Figure 9, which comprises the side rail 21 of the head section 12 of the spring assembly. At the center of the clamp 22, midway between the two lugs, is the gripping member of the clamp which comprises a stationary jaw 43, a movable jaw 44, and a screw member 45. The stationary jaw extends upwardly from the lower end of the clamp at roughly 45 degrees to provide a niche engageable with the lower edge of angle iron 42. The movable jaw member complements the stationary jaw and in addition has a nut 46 welded to its upper surface which is in threaded engagement with screw member 45. Member 45 extends through a slot 47 in the body of the clamp and has a collar 48 seated in a groove 49 surrounding slot 47 on the outer face of the clamp. In the front of collar 48, screw member 45 is bent over at right angles to provide a handle 50. As shown in Figure 8 it will be seen that when screw member 45 is tightened the movable jaw 44 is drawn against the inner edge of angle 42 so that the angle is gripped tightly between the respective jaws of the clamp. This clamping action, in addition to the support offered by the adjustable bolts 41 provides a very rigid attachment for the side guard. The particular clamp shown is easily and conveniently attached to a great number of the hospital bed spring assemblies now in use. It will be understood however, that the specific design of the clamp shown may be altered, without departing from the spirit of the invention, in order to accommodate the side guard to beds having side rails of different design.

The various positions of adjustment of the side guard are illustrated in the drawings. In Figure 3, the side guard is raised and in effective position. In Figure 2 it is in its lowermost position. In the latter position it will be seen that no obstacle is placed in the way of an attendant in changing the bed linen. An intermediate position, between those shown in Figures 2 and 3, in which the upper detent 33 rests upon the bosses 27 of the clamp is also provided. This position may be utilized when the side guard is lowered temporarily by a doctor or nurse in order to attend the patient. The lowermost position is that preferred when the side guard is not needed. In this position the guard is in an out of the way place, and thus it is practical to affix it to the bed permanently.

It is an important consideration that the frame 20 of the guard have a horizontal extent sufficient, but only sufficient, to extend from the head of the hospital bed to about the middle portion as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings. In the raised position the guard is effective to prevent accidental falls from the bed, but it does not prevent the patient from leaving the bed. On the contrary, the lower end of the guard provides a steady hand rail which may be grasped by the patient to assist him should he desire to get out of bed.