US2795473A - Hospital bed accessory - Google Patents

Description

June-11, 1957 L. SMITH 2,

' HOSPITAL BED ACCESSORY 'Filed June 21, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

June 11, 1957 L. SMITH HOSPlTAL BED ACCESSORY Filed June 21. 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TOR.

June 11, 1957 SMITH 2,795,473

HOSPITAL BED ACCESSORY Filed June 21. 1952 4 She ets-Sheet s June 11, 1957 L. SMITH HOSPITAL BED ACCESSORY 4 Sheets-Shut 4 Filed June 21. 1952 Z M W, w w m w a w 9 5 My F/ w & WU W #0 1 7 w J w o HOSPITAL BED ACQESSORY Lee Smith, Ludington, Mich, assignor to Cari-om Industries, 1122., Ludington, Mich, a corporation of gan Application June 21, 1952, Serial No. 294,870

6 Claims. (Cl. 312-295) The present invention relates to hospital accessory and special utility tables and is concerned with articles of this class which are particularly adapted for use by immobilized, bedridden or other in-patients who may be physically restricted or confined under a wide variety of restraints.

A principal object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a multiple purpose utility table which serves as a hospital bed accessory by possessing an uninterrupted top surface and a wide range of adjustability, simplicity, and facility toward control and universal adaptability as for right and left hand access to hospital beds without physical protrusion of mechanical or structural parts.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such a table which is equipped with a fully concealable and protuberant-free book rest and mirror auxiliary supportable at conventional tilt angles and with a stationery supply or general utility drawer, both of which are so constructed and arranged as to be fully useable from either side of the table.

With these and other objects in view attention is now directed to the following detaiied specification and to the annexed disclosure drawings in both of which corresponding parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multiple utility hospital table having embodied therein various features of the present invention and illustrated with its mirror and back rest board in utility position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same device viewed from an opposite vantage with certain of its concealable accessories shown partially exposed;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view corresponding with the illustration in Fig. 2 with the mirror back rest accessory in a changed position of operation;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the device;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken approximately on line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the same line as Fig. 5, but showing the inclined back rest in various of its alternative positions of utility;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail sectional view taken approximately on line 77 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional detail view taken approximately on line 88 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional plan detail view taken approximately on line 9-9 of Fig. 5.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings, a smooth planar uninterrupted table top element 21 which may be made of hardwood veneer plywood or laminated composition, is secured as at 22 to a cast iron, cast aluminum, Tenzaloy (a material composed of .8% copper, 8% zinc, .4% magnesium and 90.8% aluminum) or forged spider bracket 23. The spider bracket 23 has integrally formed with it a principal socket or hub 25 in which is snugly fitted and preferablywelded a length of sturdy tubing 26. The latter slidably receives 2,795,473 Patented June 11, 1957 an upstanding tubular beam 27 which'is securely anchored in a hub formation 28 of a pedestal casting 29 which forms part of a rigid base framework and is matched by a companion pedestal casting 31.

In order to afford abundant stability against unbalancing, the two pedestal castings 29 and 31 are spaced apart and securely integrated by an intermediate tubular length of beam 32which enters opposed sidewardly projecting hubs 33 and 34 in the castings 29 and 31, respectively. The two pedestal castings 29 and 31 are contoured in gracefully sloping convergence, each from its intermediate or center body portion Where it is largest towards its opposite extremities where each pedestal casting receives a swivel mounted caster roller 35.

Adjustment of the table height is achieved by means of a crank handle 46 proportioned as best indicated in Figs. 2 and 4, and mechanism (not shown) associated therewith.

Near its pedestal end the table top 21 is arcuately rounded with relatively large radius curvatures while at its remote end it is correspondingly rounded but with minor radius curvatures. The table top is a smooth substantially rectangular unit which has an uninterrupted top surface that is easily kept clean in accordance with highest hygienic requirements. Moreover, it is to be noted that the table top 21 is at all times level so that it reliably supports medicine vessels, food dishes or other articles which may be placed upon it by the patient or by the attendants, and that it is comparatively secure against tilting because of its substantial balance throughout as well as because of its rigid pedestal post and height adjustment feature.

For the convenience of patients desiring to read or comb their hair, etc. an accessory built to operate like a drawer is slidably mounted on the bottom of the table top for selective use from either side of the table top. This accessory constitutes a rectangular frame 56, Fig. 9, made of side frame members 57, secured at their ends to front and rear frame members 58 and 59. Sturdiness is assured by the provision of corner blocks 61 shaped so that they flare as at 62 from the narrow heighth of the side frames 57 to the relatively greater heighth of the rear end frame 59 to provide vertical as well as angular stability.

The slide frame 56 is supported between a pair of guide rails 63 and 64 which are secured to the under-surface of table top 21 as best indicated in Fig. 8. Each rail 63 and 64 is rabbeted along its guide surface with a wide groove 65 preferably located in the upper part thereof in which are placed certain strategically, as more fully described hereafter, located limit stops 66, 67, 68 and 69 (Figs. 2 and 3). The frame rail members 57 rest upon metallic flange plates 71 and 72, Fig. 8, which are offset and secured to the bottom edges of the guide rail and extend across the full width of the table terminating just short of the apron trims 73 and '74 on opposite sides of the table.

On its inner surface the rear rail 59 carries a pair of slide bolts 75 and 76, Fig. 8, frictionally mounted in housings 77 that are secured to the rail at the ends thereof. When extended the ends of bolts 75 and 76 project beyond the side frame members 57 where they are received in the rabbeted grooves 65 to cooperate with the stops 66, 67, 68 and 69. The bolt 75 on one side is disposed higher than the bolt 76 on the other side and is located to move within the upper portion of the groove 65 on that side while bolt 76 moves within the lower portion of the groove 65 on the other side. Stops 66 and 68 are located at opposite ends in the groove 65 of side rail 63' while the stops 67 and 69 are located atopposite ends in the groove 65 of side rails 64. Moreover, as bestlower portion of its groove v6 5, while stop 69 "at the other end is located in the upper portion of its groove '65.

By means ofthis arrangement full 180 reversability.

of the slide'frame 56 is attained. That is to say, by withdrawing the bolts 75 and 76 to clear the stops the entire frame 56 may be withdrawn from'betwecn the side rails 63 and 64 on one side of the table, turnedlSO, and reinserted from either sideto open from the other side of the table 21, thereby accommodating right or left hand use depending upon which side the patient is when the table is rolled into place from one or the other side of the bed. After the frame 55 is inserted from either side with orientation'as indicated in Fig. the stops are forced outwardly by a persons fingers with access had from the bottom through the open frame. Thereafter, the forward stops 66 and 67 constitute limits for the bolts '75 and 7 6 to prevent forward removal of the frame while the ends of the aprons overlapping the ends of the grooves 65 serve as back stops. Under these circumstances the bolts 75 and 76 do not encounter the rear stops 68 and 69 but instead permit the frame 56 to be pushed clear into the table until a rail 81 hinged to the front of the frame by hinge elements 84 and 85 comes into alignment with the apron rail 73.

For cushioning the back stops, small resilient pads of felt or rubber 52 are secured to the ends of the aprons where exposed by the grooves 65 to soften the engagement of the projecting bolts 75 and 76. On the other hand with the frame 56 arranged to open on the opposite side of the table as best indicated in Fig. 1 the bolts 75 and 76 are adapted to encounter the limit stops 69 and 68in order to prevent removal of the frame from that side of the table, under which circumstances they are not interfered with by the limit stops 66 and 67. Thus, the frame may be inserted its full depth under symmetrically opposite conditions.

The hinged rail 81 is part of a second frame which carries a rnirror hd and includes (Pig. 6) 'a backing panel 88', bounded by the hinged rail blit'self in front, aback rail 33 and side frame elements 89 and 91. Grooves 90 in the rails $1 and 33 slidably receive the mirror edgewise therein in supported relation as held in place by side braces 80 applied in suitable'manner as by screws after the mirror is in place.

The entire mirror panel thus in itsreposed "position, Fig. 5, occupies very little space and rests snugly on the top of frame 56 so that it may be entirely concealed under the table top 21. By withdrawing the frame 56 to theposition in which it is shown in Fig. 5 until the rail 88 is clear of the table top 21; the mirror- 86 may be raised and then inclined any one of many positions of which two have been illustrated in Fig. 6 'in dotted and solid outlines.

The angular position or tilt imposed at will upon the mirror frame 86 at any time is preserved by the combined positioning of slide frame 56 and the'resting of the mirror frame against the edge of the table at the particular angle of inclination imposed on the mirror frame 86. This position is maintained and slippage or marring of associated parts is avoided by a pair of thick sponge rubber strips 93 and 94 embedded in the side rails 89 and 91 (Fig. 7) as will now be discussed.

The rubber strips 93 and 94am preferably made of thick sponge rubber having a rough surface so as to provide deep compressibility as well as a surface of a high coeflicient of friction. Thus the corner edges 95 or 96 of thetable top 21 (Fig. 6) bite deeply into the rubber strip at any degree of inclination of the mirror and therebysupport the mirror at a. given tilt without being scarred or permitting slippage. Thus, not only "do the strips serve the purpose of preventingany damage, however slight, from being done to the table top corners and 96, but moreover, cooperate cushionwise with these corners to permit them to become detents deeply embedded into the rubber to hold a given position. This makes it possible to place heavy books, magazines or other objects on the mirror panel and use it as a book rest at an angle established to suit the convenience of the patient.

For the purpose of securely anchoring and retaining the rubber strips 93 and 94, the side frame members 89 and 91 are grooved deeply to receive these strips to a limited depth where they are cemented in'place. This practice not only prevents the strips 93 and 94 from creeping and curling, but also it permits them to have additional thickness desired to improve their cushioning or compressibility when encountered by the table corners 95 and 96.

Since the tray 56 is insertable from either side of the table top 21, as already explained and since its sliding movement is similarly regulated by the slide bolts 75 and 76 encountering the limit stops 6669 the availability of the book rest mirror tray 36 is rendered universal while being totally concealable when its use is not required.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the treatment of the ends of the apron rails 73 and 74 are shown. Their ends at the free end of the table are squared and rounded with a finished corner. At the ends nearest the pedestal support the rails are curved as at $7, Fig. 1, with the side edges correspondingly filleted so that the table can be moved over an occupied bed with little, if any, possibility of catching in the bed clothing.

In order to achieve still more utility and efiiciency afforded by this design, the space between the apron rails 73 and '74 at the free end of the table 21 is utilized to support a shallow convenience drawer 101 which has adequate capacity to receive stationery or other items of interest to patients. Each of the apron strips 73 and 74 are equipped on their facing side with suitable strips serving as tracks on which the adjacent edges of the drawer 101 are slidably carried. The face panel 102 of the drawer 101 is smooth and flush and so dimensioned as to conform artistically with the height and shape of the apron strips 73 and 74, when fully inserted.

-While the present invention has been explained and described with reference to precise embodiments of structural detail, and the attainment of the objects is thereby understood, nevertheless, it will be appreciated that numerous modifications and variations can be made Without departing from the spirit of'the invention,the scope of which is commensurate with the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An overbed table comprising a cantilever supported table member having a smooth uninterrupted'top surface, apron elements depending from the side edges of said plate having a transverse channel intermediate the extremities of said apron elements, guide rails flanking said channel and having in their facing surfaces opposing longitudinal grooves, a rectangular frame slidable in said channel and insertable from either end thereof,-bolts carried on opposite sides of said frame and each shiftable between retracted and projected positions correspondingly withdrawing or inserting the extremities of said bolts in respect to said grooves, one of said bolts being disposed at an upper level and the other at a lower level, and limit stops secured in said grooves at levels corresponding with said bolts for each direction of inser tion of said frame.

2. In a hospital table or similar article, a table top constructed of a continuous surface rectangular plate, a skirting rail extending downwardly-from'the side edges on opposite sides of said plate having a; transverse aperture therethrough, track rails flanking-said opening-and having longitudinal grooves in their facing surfaces, a

frame slidable in said aperture and insertable thereinto from either end, bolts carried by said frame shiftable between positions disposing or retracting their extremities in respect to said grooves, said bolts being disposed at different levels, and limit stops in said grooves at levels corresponding with related bolts for each direction of insertion of said frame.

3. A hospital bed accessory comprising a horizontally disposed table top, depending rails at both sides at the undersurface of said table top, said rails interrupted by an intermediate transverse channel, guide plates flanking said channel and provided with inset grooves facing said channel, a frame member adapted to be received slidably within said channel and including side frame elements, a back frame element, and a front frame element, a bar hinged to said front frame element, a back rest secured to said bar, a mirror carried by said back rest, and means for confining said frame member and its carried back rest which comprises a pair of slide bolts carried by said back frame element, one of said slide bolts being disposed at a higher level than the other, and limit stops secured within said guide plate grooves, certain of said stops being offset from each other in correspondence with the bases of said slide bolts at each end of its related plate groove to constitute an obstruction to its said slide bolt when said frame member is inserted in a characteristic side of said table.

4. In combination, a drawer-like slide apparatus for reversible insertion relative to a cantilever suspension table, a pair of parallel guide members secured to the table each having on its inner surface a channel and stop means at different levels, said drawer-like apparatus being proportioned to be slidably received between said guide members, a pair of slide bolts carried on the interior of said apparatus and each shiftable to protrude into a related channel level defined by said stop means in its adjacent guide member, one of said stop means being located in each end of said channels, a pair at one end lying in the path of retraction and encountering the protruding slide bolts when said apparatus is inserted at one side of said table, a pair at the other end lying displaced and out of the path of encounter with said protruding slide bolts, said pairs of stop means being in symmetrical opposite displacement and having total reversed engagement with said slide bolts when said apparatus is inserted from the opposite side of the table.

5. In combination with a hospital bed table or similar device a table top comprising a horizontal planar surface element having a perpendicular peripheral bounding surface with insignificant corner filleting between said planar and bounding surfaces, a drawer-type slide frame 'having substantial depth, means carried by the underside of the table for slidably supporting said frame, a back-rest panel hinged to the fore portion of said frame and pivotable thereon between horizontal concealing position above said frame and an erect utility position for pivotal movement about an axis exposed below the frame, said panel including side rail members having in their inner and table top facing surface shallow grooves extending longitudinally across the mid point of the side rail members, strips of compressible resilient material secured in said grooves and having such sufficient thickness to protrude above the facing surface of said side rail members and support the panel upon said frame in said horizontal concealed position, said frame when withdrawn from beneath the table underside support means rests in inclined position against said table top corner in supported relationship by engagement with said table top at a level approximately in the vertical middle of the panel, said resilient strip material being compressed by said corner with frictional traction therebetween to resist limited load forces tending toward slippage between said panel and said table top.

6. In combination a frame for reversible insertion relative to a cantilever suspension table, a pair of parallel spaced guide members secured to the table having channels formed on the inner surfaces thereof adapted to slidably receive said frame, a pair of slide bolts disposed at one end of said frame, one slide bolt being secured at the bottom of said frame and the other slide bolt being secured at the top of said frame, and a stop at each end of each of said channels, the stops at each end of each of said channels being adapted to engage said bolts upon withdrawal when said bolts are disposed at the opposite end in the fully inserted position of said frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 282,087 Jowett July 31, 1883 573,089 Haynes Dec. 15, 1896 806,550 Marstall Dec. 5, 1905 1,108,082 Pennock Aug. 18, 1914 1,569,010 Geimer Ian. 12, 1926 1,902,425 Stouges Mar. 21, 1933 1,902,443 Grumman Mar. 21, 1933 2,171,772 Vie'hmann Sept. 5, 1939 2,294,749 Harbison Sept. 1, 1942 2,318,458 Boren May 4, 1943 2,329,902 Hillenbrand Sept. 21, 1943 2,565,784 Sheean Aug. 28, 1951 2,628,147 Berner Feb. 10, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,623 Great Britain 1891

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