TWI896494B - electric bed - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is an electric bed, comprising a base, a lumbar support plate, a top frame, an actuator and a connecting rod. The base has a long slot and a bracket located in front of the long slot. The lumbar support plate is pivoted on the base with its rear side. The top frame is located below the lumbar support plate and has a rear end pivoted on the base and a front end. The actuator has a fixed end pivoted on the bracket and a driving end located behind the fixed end. The connecting rod has a plurality of connecting rods. The upper end pivots on the support frame, and the lower end pivots to the actuator's drive end via a pin that passes through and moves along the long slot. When the actuator is shortened, the drive end drives the lower end of the connecting rod forward, causing the connecting rod to swing the support frame and lumbar support plate upward. When the actuator is extended, the drive end drives the lower end of the connecting rod backward, causing the support frame to swing downward, allowing the lumbar support plate to swing downward under its own weight. This allows the electric bed to fold to reduce the volume of materials for transportation or storage, and also prevents accidents such as pinching the lumbar support plate.

Description

electric bed

The present invention relates to an electric bed, and in particular to an electric bed with a lumbar support function.

Most electric beds currently available with adjustable lumbar support utilize an actuator to rotate the lumbar support plate. However, this actuator is located near the center between the head and foot of the bed. Therefore, if the bed frame needs to be designed to fold in half to reduce transportation or storage volume, it will inevitably interfere with the actuator. Furthermore, while the actuator operates the lumbar support plate upward without any problems, operating it downward can cause accidents such as pinching and injuring people, pets, or children. Consequently, these issues have become a focus of research and development for improvements within the industry.

One object of the present invention is to provide an electric bed that has an adjustable lumbar support angle and can be folded to reduce the volume of the bed for transportation or storage. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric bed that can prevent the lumbar support plate from pinching people or other living things.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the electric bed of the present invention comprises a base, a lumbar support plate, a top support, an actuator and a connecting rod. The base has a long slot extending along a front-to-back direction, and a bracket is located in front of the long slot. The lumbar support plate is pivoted on the base with its rear side, and the top support is located below the lumbar support plate. The top support has a rear end pivoted on the base and a front end opposite to the rear end. The actuator has a fixed end pivoted on the bracket and a driving end located behind the fixed end. The connecting rod has an upper end pivoted on the support frame, and a lower end pivoted to the driving end of the actuator by a pin, and the pin passes through the long slot and can move along the long slot; when the actuator is shortened, the driving end can drive the lower end of the connecting rod to move forward, so that the connecting rod drives the support frame to swing upward, and the support frame pushes the waist support plate to swing upward; when the actuator is extended, the driving end can drive the lower end of the connecting rod to move backward, so that the support frame swings downward, and the waist support plate can swing downward by its own weight. Thus, the electric bed of the present invention has the function of adjusting the lumbar support angle and can be folded to reduce the volume of materials for transportation or storage, and can also prevent the lumbar support plate from pinching people or other creatures.

The following describes in detail the technical content and features of the present invention using a preferred embodiment with accompanying drawings. As shown in Figures 1 to 4, an electric bed 1 provided by a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. The electric bed 1 includes a base 10, a lumbar support plate 20, a back support plate 30, a hip support plate 32, a thigh support plate 34, a calf support plate 36, a top support frame 40, an actuator 50, and two connecting rods 60. For ease of description, the front refers to the direction of the head of the bed (i.e., the left side in Figure 2), and the rear refers to the direction of the foot of the bed (i.e., the right side in Figure 2). However, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of the patent.

The base 10 has a front frame 11 and a rear frame 12 pivotally mounted on the front frame 11 so that the rear frame 12 can be rotated and folded relative to the front frame 11. As shown in FIG7 , the base 10 is used to be placed on the ground or on a bed board, and can also be equipped with legs to raise it. The front frame 11 of the base 10 has a receiving groove 13 extending along a front-to-back direction A, and a bracket 18 is located in front of the receiving groove 13. The cross-section of the receiving groove 13 is U-shaped and has a bottom wall 14, two upright walls 15 extending upward from two sides of the bottom wall 14, and two long grooves 16 respectively opened on the two upright walls 15 and extending along the front-to-back direction A, so that the bracket 18 is also located in front of the two long grooves 16.

The lumbar support plate 20 is used to support the user's waist. The lumbar support plate 20 is pivoted to the front frame 11 of the base 10 at its rear side 22 via two hinges 24, so that the lumbar support plate 20 can be rotated upward relative to the base 10 from a horizontal state.

The back support plate 30 is provided in front of the waist support plate 20 to support the user's back; the buttocks support plate 32 is provided behind the waist support plate 20 to support the user's buttocks; the thigh support plate 34 is provided behind the buttocks support plate 32 to support the user's thigh; the calf support plate 36 is provided behind the thigh support plate 34 to support the user's calf.

The support frame 40 is located below the lumbar support plate 20. The support frame 40 has a rear end 42 pivoted on the front frame 11 of the base 10, a front end 44 opposite the rear end 42, and two rollers 46 located at the front end 44 (Figures 3-4 only show one of the rollers 46). The front end 44 is located in front of the rear end 42, and the two rollers 46 are in contact with the bottom surface of the lumbar support plate 20.

The actuator 50 has a fixed end 52 pivotally mounted on the bracket 18, and a driving end 54 located behind the fixed end 52 and accommodated in the accommodating groove 13. The actuator 50 can be extended to increase the distance between the driving end 54 and the fixed end 52, and the actuator 50 can be shortened to reduce the distance between the driving end 54 and the fixed end 52. The actuator 50 can be an electric push rod, a pneumatic cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, or a similar device.

The two connecting rods 60 each have an upper end 62 pivoted on the front end 44 of the support frame 40, and a lower end 64 pivotally connected to the driving end 54 of the actuator 50 via a pin 66. The pin 66 passes through the two long slots 16 and can move back and forth along the two long slots 16. To increase the smoothness of the movement, the pin 66 can be fitted with a wheel 68. The wheel 68 is located in the accommodating groove 13. The bottom wall 14 of the accommodating groove 13 is used to support the wheel 68 so that the wheel 68 can roll back and forth in the accommodating groove 13, as shown in Figure 5. However, the wheel 68 can also be omitted. Regardless of whether the actuator 50 is extended or shortened, the upper end 62 of the connecting rod 60 remains located in front of the lower end 64.

When the actuator 50 is shortened, the driving end 54 can drive the lower end 64 of the connecting rod 60 to move forward, so that the connecting rod 60 drives the support frame 40 to swing upward, and the support frame 40 uses the roller 46 to push the lumbar support plate 20 to swing upward, as shown in Figures 1 to 5; conversely, when the actuator 50 is extended, the driving end 54 can drive the lower end 64 of the connecting rod 60 to move backward, so that the support frame 40 swings downward, and the lumbar support plate 20 is able to swing downward by its own weight, as shown in Figure 6.

Because the lumbar support plate 20 rotates downward under its own weight rather than being driven by the actuator 50, if the lumbar support plate 20 is obstructed during downward rotation by catching a person, pet, or other living thing, or object, the actuator 50 will not continue to extend and continue to rotate downward, thus preventing the lumbar support plate 20 from catching or injuring a person or other living thing. Furthermore, because the actuator 50 is located on the front frame 11, the rear frame 12 can be folded relative to the front frame 11, as shown in FIG7 , significantly reducing the volume of materials required for transportation or storage, thereby achieving the purpose of the present invention.

Based on the design spirit of the present invention, the structure of the electric bed 1 may have other variations, for example: All such easily conceivable structural variations should be covered by the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

1: Electric Bed 10: Base 11: Front Frame 12: Rear Frame 13: Receiving Slot 14: Bottom Wall 15: Upright Wall 16: Long Slot 18: Bracket A: Front-Back Direction 20: Lumbar Support 22: Rear Side 24: Hinge 30: Back Support 32: Hip Support 34: Thigh Support 36: Calf Support 40: Top Support 42: Rear End 44: Front End 46: Roller 50: Actuator 52: Fixed End 54: Drive End 60: Connecting Rod 62: Upper End 64: Lower End 66: Pin 68: Wheel

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an electric bed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of an electric bed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figures 3-4 are partial perspective views of an electric bed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of an electric bed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the electric bed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in operation; Figure 7 is a diagram of the electric bed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention in a folded state.

1: Electric bed

10: Base

11: Front rack

12: Rear rack

13: Storage Tank

16: Long Groove

18: Bracket

A: Front and back direction

20: Lumbar support plate

22: Back

30: Back support plate

32: Hip support

34: Thigh support

36: Calf support board

40: Top rack

50: Actuator

60: Connecting rod

66: Pins

Claims (7)

An electric bed comprises: a base having an elongated slot extending in a front-to-rear direction, and a bracket located in front of the elongated slot; a lumbar support plate pivoted on the base at its rear side; a top support frame located below the lumbar support plate, the top support frame having a rear end pivoted on the base and a front end opposite the rear end, the top support frame further having a roller located at the front end, the roller abutting against the lumbar support plate; an actuator having a fixed end pivoted on the bracket and a driving end located rearward of the fixed end; and a connecting rod having an upper end pivoted on the top support frame and a lower end pivoted to the driving end of the actuator by a pin, the pin passing through the elongated slot and movable along the elongated slot; When the actuator is shortened, the driving end can drive the lower end of the connecting rod to move forward, so that the connecting rod drives the support frame to swing upward, and the support frame pushes the lumbar support plate to swing upward; when the actuator is extended, the driving end can drive the lower end of the connecting rod to move backward, so that the support frame swings downward, and the lumbar support plate can swing downward by its own weight. The electric bed as described in claim 1, wherein the base has a receiving groove extending along the front-to-back direction for accommodating the driving end of the actuator. The electric bed as described in claim 2, wherein the accommodating tank has a vertical wall and the long groove is opened on the vertical wall. As described in claim 2, the electric bed, wherein the pin is further provided with a wheel located in the accommodating groove, and the accommodating groove has a bottom wall for supporting the wheel. An electric bed as described in claim 1, wherein the base has a front frame and a rear frame pivotally mounted on the front frame, and the long slot and the bracket are both located on the front frame. An electric bed as described in claim 1, wherein the lumbar support plate is mounted on the base via at least one hinge. An electric bed as described in claim 1, wherein the upper end of the connecting rod is maintained in front of the lower end.