US3840917A

US3840917A - Foldable bed guard rail

Info

Publication number: US3840917A
Application number: US00371688A
Authority: US
Inventors: H Taylor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1973-06-20
Filing date: 1973-06-20
Publication date: 1974-10-15
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-15

Abstract

A foldable side guard rail assembly for a bed in which a pair of spaced parallel posts are pivotally mounted on the bed and at least one rail is connected between the posts. The posts are capable of being pivoted between a first vertical position and a second lowered position in which the posts are substantially horizontal. Since the rail is pivotally connected at each of its ends to the posts, the rail is able to maintain a horizontal position during the movement of the posts. When the posts are moved into their first position, they are releasably locked into place by a locking mechanism. This locking mechanism is constructed so that it is capable of being released upon the application of a downward force.

Description

United States Patent 1191 Taylor FOLDABLE BED GUARD RAIL [76] Inventor: Harry E. Taylor, lngalls St., Clifton Forge, Va. 24422 [22] Filed: June 20, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 371,688

Primary Examiner-Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney. Agent, or FirmSpencer & Kaye 1451 Oct. 15, 1974 57 ABSTRACT A foldable side guard rail assembly for a bed in which a pair of spaced parallel posts are pivotally mounted on the bed and at least one rail is connected between the posts. The posts are capable of being pivoted between a first vertical position and a second lowered position in which the posts are substantially horizontal. Since the rail is pivotally connected at each of its ends to the posts, the rail is able to maintain a horizontal position during the movement of the posts. When the posts are moved into their first position. they are releasably locked into place by a locking mechanism. This locking mechanism is constructed so that it is capable of being released upon the application of a downward force.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEBUEHBW 3.840.917

sum 1 or a FIG In FIG. lb

PATENT mom 1 51914 SHEEI 2 0F 3 PATENTEBUBT 1 51974 sum 30f m QE m oE 1 FOLDABLE BED GUARD RAIL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a folded bed guard rail assembly for attachment to the side of a bed.

It is common to utilize guard rails on the side of beds for the protection of patients such as in hospitals and nursing homes. One known embodiment of a foldable guard rail which can be utilized for such purposes is presented in my US. Pat. No. 3,336,609. With the foldable guard rail disclosed by this patent, however, the locking mechanism must be hand actuated thereby making it difficult to tend to the patient while lowering the guard rail. Furthermore, in the disclosed guard rail, the person lowering the rail must be very careful not to get his fingers caught between the vertical posts and the horizontal rails.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an improved foldable bed guard rail assembly which eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bed guard rail assembly which has a locking mechanism capable of being released by a foot actuation. A further object of the present invention is to provide a foldable bed guard rail assembly which can be easily and safely operated.

These objectives are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by providing a foldable bed guard rail assembly which includes two parallel posts each of which is mounted on the bed and a horizontal rail connected between these parallel posts, with the parallel posts being capable of being moved between a raised and lowered position and locked into position when in their raised position. Each of the parallel-posts is connected to a mounting bracket via a respective pivot bar. The parallel posts are rigidly connected to one end of the respective pivot bar, with the other end of the pivot bar being pivotally connected to a respective mounting bracket. The horizontal rail is pivotally connected between the two parallel posts.

The parallel posts, therefore, can be pivoted between a first vertical position and a second folded position, in which they are substantially horizontal, while the rail connected between the posts maintains a substantially horizontal orientation during the pivoting movement of g the posts. When the posts are raised to their first vertical position, they are locked into place by a releasable loking mechanism. This locking mechanism includes a lever which is pivotally mounted on one of the mounting brackets. This lever has two sections which are perpendicularly arranged with respect to each other, with one of these sections being capable of operatively engaging the bottom of the respective pivot bar when the posts are in their first position so as to. prevent the downward movement of the pivot bar and, consequently, also of the posts. Upon applying a downward force to the other section of the lever, the first section is pivoted out of engagement with the pivot bar thereby allowing the posts to be moved into their second position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1a shows a side elevational view of a bed having a foldable side guard rail assembly, according to the present invention, mounted thereon.

FIG. 1b shows a side elevational view similar to FIG. la with one of the guard rails in a lowered position.

FIG. 2 is a transverse elevational view along line 1-1 of FIG. la, with the bed being removed, showing guard rails on both sides of the bed.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged view of the mounting arrangement and locking mechanism of the guard rail assembly of the present invention with the guard rail in its raised position.

FIG. 4 shows the arragement shown in FIG. 3 with the guard rail being pivoted into its lowered position.

FIG. 5 shows an enlarged transverse view along line II-II of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. la, a bed guard rail assembly 1 is mounted on the side of the bed 10. The guard rail 1, which can consist of two sections arranged on opposite sides of the bed 10, includes two parallel posts 3, which are mounted on the bed and rails 2 which are connected between the posts 3'. The posts 3 are rigidly attached to the pivot bars which are in turn pivotally mounted on the mounting brackets 5 which are secured to the frame of the bed, so that the posts 3 are effectively pivotally mounted on the frame of the bed 10.

The guard rail assembly 1 can be lowered from the first position as shown in FIG. 1a to a second lowered position as' shown in FIG. 1b. Upon lowering the guard rail, the posts 3 are pivoted via the pivot bars from a vertical position to a substantially horizontal position. Since the rails 2 are pivotally secured between the posts 3, the rails'2 maintain a horizontal position during the lowering of the guard rail. The second section of the guard rail assembly arranged on the opposite side of the bed is visible in, FIG. 1b.

Both of the sections of the guard rail 1 are interconnected at the bottom of their respective mounting brackets 5 via a rod 13 as shown in. FIG. 2. These mounting brackets 5 are attached to the bed with the use of .l-bolts l2.

In order to provide a sufficient amount of space for one to grip the rails 2 when lowering the guard rail 1, the rails 2 are spaced from the posts 3 by the spacers 8. This spacing between the rails 2 and the posts 3 allow the guard rails to be easily and safely gripped by the person lowering the guardrail. Furthermore, in order to enable the person lowering the guard rail to do so without having his fingers caught between the rails, stops 21, such as for example rubber nubs are attached on the rails 2 so as to limit the movement of the rails toward each other.

As mentioned above, the posts 3 are rigidly connected to the pivot bars 4, this connection is made via the brackets 9, so that there is space between the respective post and pivot bar. The pivot bar is pivotally connected to the mounting bracket 5 via bolt 11.

The locking mechanism includes a lever 6, which has two perpendicularly arranged sections 6a and 6b. The lever is pivotally attached to the mounting bracket 5 so that section 6b is in operative engagement with the bottom of one of the pivot bars 4, as shown in FIG. 3. A spring 7, which is connected between bolt 11 and section 6b of the lever 6 releasable holds the lever 6 in engagement with the pivot bar 4 so that once the guard rail is placed into its upright position the lever section 6b prevents any downwards movement of the pivot bar and, consequently, also of the posts which are rigidly connected to the pivot bars. Since the posts 3 are unable to move, the guard rail is locked in its upright position. When moving the guard rail into its upright movement, the movement of the pivot bars 4 is limited by stop member 20. In raising the guard rail, the the end of the pivot bar fits into the U-shaped member 20, which is closed at the top, such that when the posts reach their vertical position further movement of the pivot bars, and therefore also the posts, is limited by member 20.

Upon appying a downward force on section 6a of the lever 6, which is done by stepping on section 6a, the lever is pivoted out of engagement with the pivot bar 4, as shown in FIG. 4. The pivot bar 4 is now free to pivot about the bolt 11 thereby enabling the guard rail to be lowered into the position shown in FIG. 1b.

The details of the mounting bracket can be seen from FIGS. 4 and S. The bracket 5 includes two plates 14 and l5.- Plate 15 is secured to plate 14 via bolts 18 and plate 14 in turn is secured to the frame of the bed with the use of the J-bolts 12. y

it will be understood that the above description of the present invention is susceptible to various modifications, changes and adaptations, and the same are intended to be comprehended within the meaning'and range of equivalents of the appended claims.

1. A foldable side guard rail assemblyvfor beds comprising, in combination: apair of spaced mounts for engaging the bed; a pair of parallel posts, each associated with a respective one of said mounts; a pair of pivot bars, each of said pivot bars at one end being rigidly connected to a respective one of said posts at the lower end thereof and extending in a perpendicular direction from said respective post; pin means pivotally connecting each of said pivot bars at the other end thereof to a respective one of said mounts so that each of said posts is pivotally connected with a respective one of said mounts; at least one rail connected between said posts so that said posts are interconnected and being pivotally secured therewith at locations above the lower ends of said posts; said posts being simultaneously pivotable between a first vertical position and a second folded substantially horizontal position while said rail maintains a substantially horizontal orientation during the pivoting of said posts and said pivot bars assuming a horizontal position upon positioning of said posts in their vertical position; spacer means disposed between said rail and said posts for horizontally offsetting said rail with respect to said posts to prevent a persons fingers grasping said rail from being caught between said rail and said posts when said posts are pivoted into said folded position; limiting means preventing said posts from moving beyond the vertical position when said posts are pivoted from their second position to their vertical position; locking means for releasably locking said posts in their vertical position, said locking means including a lever pivotally mounted on one of said mounts and said lever having two sections approximately perpendicularly arranged with respect to each other, said first section when said lever is in a first position being operatively engaged with the bottom of the respective pivot bar at a position spaced from said pin means when said posts are in a vertical position so as to prevent downwward movement of said pivot bar thereby preventing movement of said posts, and said lever being capable of being pivoted into a second position when a force is applied in a downward direction to said second section of said lever for enabling pivotal movement of said posts to occur; and bias means for resiliently biasing said lever into its first position.

2. A foldable side guard rail assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said second section of said lever is arranged such that said lever is capable of being foot actuated.

3. A foldable side guard rail assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of parallel horizontally spaced rails each pivotally interconnected between said posts and further comprising stop means on selected ones of said" guard railsprojecting in a vertical direction and being capable of engaging an adjacent one of said rails thereby limiting the vertical movement of said rails towards each other. a

4. A foldable side guard rail assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said bias means isa spring connected between said first section of said lever and said respective mount.

Claims

1. A foldable side guard rail assembly for beds comprising, in combination: a pair of spaced mounts for engaging the bed; a pair of parallel posts, each associated with a respective one of said mounts; a pair of pivot bars, each of said pivot bars at one end being rigidly connected to a respective one of said posts at the lower end thereof and extending in a perpendicular direction from said respective post; pin means pivotally connecting each of said pivot bars at the other end thereof to a respective one of said mounts so that each of said posts is pivotally connected with a respective one of said mounts; at least one rail connected between said posts so that said posts are interconnected and being pivotally secured therewith at locations above the lower ends of said posts; said posts being simultaneously pivotable between a first vertical position and a second folded substantially horizontal position while said rail maintains a substantially horizontal orientation during the pivoting of said posts and said pivot bars assuming a horizontal position upon positioning of said posts in their vertical position; spacer means disposed between said rail and said posts for horizontally offsetting said rail with respect to said posts to prevent a person''s fingers grasping said rail from being caught between said rail and said posts when said posts are pivoted into said folded position; limiting means preventing said posts from moving beyond the vertical position when said posts are pivoted from their second position to their vertical position; locking means for releasably locking said posts in their vertical position, said locking means including a lever pivotally mounted on one of said mounts and said lever having two sections approximately perpendicularly arranged with respect to each other, said first section when said lever is in a first position being operatively engaged with the bottom of the respective pivot bar at a position spaced from said pin means when said posts are in a vertical position so as to prevent downwward movement of said pivot bar thereby preventing movement of said posts, and said lever being capable of being pivoted into a second position when a force is applied in a downward direction to said second section of said lever for enabling pivotal movement of said posts to occur; and bias means for resiliently biasing said lever into its first position.

3. A foldable side guard rail assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of parallel horizontally spaced rails each pivotally interconnected between said posts and further comprising stop means on seleCted ones of said guard rails projecting in a vertical direction and being capable of engaging an adjacent one of said rails thereby limiting the vertical movement of said rails towards each other.

4. A foldable side guard rail assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein said bias means is a spring connected between said first section of said lever and said respective mount.