US20250280964A1

US20250280964A1 - Low-profile electric bed

Info

Publication number: US20250280964A1
Application number: US18/598,642
Authority: US
Inventors: Chuan-Hang Shih; Yu-Chi Yang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Shih Chuan-Hang
Priority date: 2024-03-07
Filing date: 2024-03-07
Publication date: 2025-09-11

Abstract

A low-profile electric bed includes a stationary frame, an upper frame pivotally connected with the stationary frame and provided with two slide connecting portions, a push frame having a swivel rack pivotally connected with the stationary frame and two moving arms pivotally connected with swivel rack, and an actuator having two ends pivotally connected with the stationary frame and the upper frame, respectively. The actuator is arranged in a way that when the actuator extends, the upper frame is driven to upward swing relative to the stationary frame. As a result, the low-profile electric bed may have a reduced thickness to minimize packing volume thereof while maintaining a normal function.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to an electric bed and more particularly, to a low-profile electric bed having a thin thickness.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventional electric beds are basically composed of essential parts, such as base frame and back, buttock, thigh and lower leg supporting frames located on the base frame, as well as two actuators, such as electric cylinders, mounted to the base frame for driving the back supporting frame and the thigh supporting frame to swing respectively. To get a longer force arm, the back supporting frame and the thigh supporting frame are usually and respectively provided with a downwardly extending support arm to be connected with one of the two actuators, such that the actuators may generate sufficient torque to drive the back supporting frame and the thigh supporting frame to swing.
Since the two support arms each have a considerable length, they may extend downward beyond the bottom surface of the base frame. If the base frame is intended to be placed on the ground or bed surface, it needs to have sufficient thickness to accommodate these two support arms. As a result, the packing volume of a conventional electric bed is larger, leading to higher transportation and storage costs. Therefore, reducing the packing volume of an electric bed without compromising its normal functionality becomes a technical challenge to be addressed in the industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been accomplished in view of the above-noted circumstances. It is an objective of the present invention to provide a low-profile electric bed, which has a thin thickness, thereby reducing the packing volume thereof.
To attain the above and other objectives, the present invention provides a low-profile electric bed comprising a stationary frame, an upper frame, a push frame, and an actuator. The upper frame has a side pivotally connected with the stationary frame and two slide connecting portions. The push frame comprises a swivel rack and two moving arms. The swivel rack includes a connecting rod and two support arms disposed with two ends of the connecting rod. Each of the two support arms is pivotally connected with the stationary frame via a first pivot, pivotally connected with one of the two moving arms via a second pivot, and pivotally connected with a push wheel via a third pivot in a way that the third pivot is located between the first pivot and the second pivot, and the first, second and third pivots are located at three vertices of a triangle respectively. Each of the two support arms has a stopping portion configured in a way that when each of the two moving arms is rotated relative to associated one of the two support arms at a predetermined angle, each of the two moving arms is stopped at the stopping portion of the associated one of the two support arms to prevent the two moving arms from further rotation. Each of the two moving arms is pivotally connected with a roller via a fourth pivot. The actuator has two ends pivotally and respectively connected with the stationary frame and the swivel rack in a way that when the actuator gradually extends at a first stage, the two push wheels are in contact with the two slide connecting portions respectively, causing the swivel rack to swing about the first pivot and to drive the upper frame to upward swing relative to the stationary frame, and when the actuator further extends at a second stage, the two moving arms are respectively engaged with the two stopping portions, causing that the two rollers are in contact with the two slide connecting portions respectively, and the swivel rack and the two moving arms collectively swing about the first pivot in a way that the two push wheels are disengaged from the two slide connecting portions, and the swivel rack and the two moving arms collectively drive the upper frame to upward further swing relative to the stationary frame. As a result, the low-profile electric bed may have a reduced thickness to minimize the packing volume without affecting the normal function.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a low-profile electric bed according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the low-profile electric bed of the embodiment of the present invention, showing the electric bed is in use at a first stage;

FIG. 3 is another schematic perspective view of the low-profile electric bed of the embodiment of the present invention, showing the electric bed is in use at a second stage;

FIG. 4 is a schematic lateral view of the low-profile electric bed of the embodiment of the present invention, showing the electric bed is in use at the second stage; and

FIG. 5 is a lateral view of the low-profile electric bed of the embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The structure and technical features of the present invention will be detailedly described hereunder by an embodiment and accompany drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1-4 , a low-profile electric bed 1 provided by an embodiment of the present invention is composed of a stationary frame 10, an upper frame 20, a thigh supporting frame 26, a lower leg supporting frame 28, a push frame 30, and two actuators 50.
The stationary frame 10 is the stationary part of the low-profile electric bed 1 during use, comprising a front base frame 11, a rear base frame 12 pivotally connected to the front base frame 11, a front buttock supporting frame 13 fixed to the top side of the front base frame 11, and a rear buttock supporting frame 14 fixed to the top side of the rear base frame 12. The front and rear buttock supporting frames 13 and 14 are used to support the mattress (not shown) at the user's buttock position.
The upper frame 20 is pivotally connected at one side thereof to the stationary frame 10. In this embodiment, the upper frame 20 serves as a back supporting frame, and is pivotally connected at its rear side to the front buttock supporting frame 13 and used to support a mattress for the user's back position. The upper frame 20 has two slide connecting portions 22 extending in a front-and-rear direction. In this embodiment, the so-called front-and-rear direction refers to the direction passing through the head and the tail of the bed.
The thigh supporting frame 26 is pivotally connected at its front side thereof to the rear buttock supporting frame 14 and used to support the mattress for the user's thigh position. The lower leg supporting frame 28 is pivotally connected at its front side thereof to the rear side of the thigh supporting frame 26 and used to support the mattress for the user's lower leg position.
The push frame 30 includes a swivel rack 31 and two moving arms 40. The swivel rack 31 has a connecting rod 32 extending in a left-and-right direction, and two support arms 33 extending in the front-and-rear direction and being connected with two ends of the connecting rod 32, respectively. Each support arm 33 is pivotally connected to the stationary frame 10 via a first pivot 34, to an associated moving arm 40 via a second pivot 35, and to a push wheel 37 via a third pivot 36. The third pivot 36 is located between the first pivot 34 and the second pivot 35, and the first, second and third pivots 34, 35 and 36 form three vertices of an imaginary triangle T. Each of the two ends of the connecting rod 32 is positioned between paired one of the first pivots 34 and one of the third pivots 36. Each support arm 33 has a stopping portion 38 adjacent to the second pivot 35. When the moving arm 40 rotates relative to the associated support arm 33 to a predetermined angle, the moving arm 40 will be stopped by the stopping portion 38 to prevent the moving arm 40 from further rotation. Each moving arm 40 is pivotally connected to a roller 44 via a fourth pivot 42.
As shown in FIG. 4 , the first, second and third pivots 34, 35 and 36 are configured in a way that there is a first imaginary surface P1 passing through the first pivot 34 and the third pivot 36, and a second imaginary surface P2 passing through the second pivot 35 and the third pivot 36. Specifically, the first pivot 34 and the third pivot 36 are situated on the first imaginary surface P1, and the second pivot 35 and the third pivot 36 are situated on the second imaginary surface P2 that is defined with the first imaginary surface P1 an included angle ranging from 150° to 170°. In this embodiment, the aforesaid included angle is 165°; however, through actual testing, the included angle ranging from 150° to 170° may satisfy the requirement to achieve the same effective function. When the moving arm 40 swings downward and is stopped by the stopping portion 38, the fourth pivot 42 is just located on the second imaginary surface P2. However, in another embodiment, the positions of the two moving arms 40 relative to the swivel rack 31 are not restricted when the moving arms 40 are stopped by the stopping portions 38.
Regarding the actuator 50 located on the left side of FIG. 1 , the actuator 50 is, in this embodiment, an electric cylinder, i.e., a rod type linear actuator, having two ends pivotally connected to the front base frame 11 of the stationary frame 10 and the connecting rod 32 of the swivel rack 31. In another embodiment, the actuator 50 may be realized as a pneumatic cylinder, hydraulic cylinder, or other suitable actuator, and moreover the actuator 50 may be pivotally connected to other parts of the swivel rack 31.
In an initial state during actual operation, as shown in FIG. 1 , the upper frame 20 is parallel to the stationary frame 10. At this state, the distance between the third pivot 36 and the slide connecting portion 22 is less than the distance between the first pivot 34 and the slide connecting portion 22 and less than the distance between the second pivot 35 and the slide connecting portion 22. In other words, the third pivot 36 is closer to the slide connecting portion 22 than the first pivot 34 and the second pivot 35 are, and the two push wheels 37 are in contact with the two slide connecting portions 22. When the actuator 50 gradually extends to prolong its length, the two push wheels 37 maintain in contact with the two slide connecting portions 22, causing the swivel rack 31 to swing about the first pivot 34 and simultaneously to drive the upper frame 20 to upward swing relative to the stationary frame 10, as shown in FIG. 2 , representing the first stage. When the actuator 50 continuously extends to prolong its length further, the two moving arms 40 will swing relative to the two support arms 33 until the two moving arms 40 are stopped by the two stopping portions 38. At this point, the fourth pivots 42 are located on the second imaginary surface P2, the two rollers 44 are in contact with the two slide connecting portions 22, and the swivel rack 31 and the two moving arms 40 collectively swing about the first pivot 34, causing that the two push wheels 37 are disengaged from the two slide connecting portions 22, and the swivel rack 31 and the two moving arms 40 collectively drive the upper frame 20 to upward swing relative to the stationary frame 10, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , representing the second stage.
By means of the structural design of moveable joints of the push frame 30, the height of the push frame 30 can be limited between the bottom side of the stationary frame 10 and the bottom side of the upper frame 20. Without the need of using a larger actuator, sufficient torque can be applied to drive the upper frame 20 to swing upward. This design allows the overall thickness of the low-profile electric bed 1 to be only about 7-8 centimeters, as shown in FIG. 5 . Compared to conventional structures of prior arts, the low-profile electric bed 1 provided by the present invention effectively reduces the overall thickness thereof so as to minimize the packing volume thereof, thereby achieving the objectives of the present invention.
Based on the technical features of the present invention, various modifications to the low-profile electric bed 1 may be made. For example, the shapes of the stationary frame 10 and the upper frame 20 may be changed, and the connecting rod 32 may have a different shape, such as a plate shape, as long as it can connect the two support arms 33. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A low-profile electric bed, comprising:

a stationary frame;

an upper frame having a side pivotally connected with the stationary frame, and two slide connecting portions;

a push frame comprising a swivel rack and two moving arms; wherein the swivel rack includes a connecting rod and two support arms disposed with two ends of the connecting rod; wherein each of the two support arms is pivotally connected with the stationary frame via a first pivot, pivotally connected with one of the two moving arms via a second pivot, and pivotally connected with a push wheel via a third pivot in a way that the third pivot is located between the first pivot and the second pivot, and the first, second and third pivots are located at three vertices of a triangle respectively; wherein each of the two support arms has a stopping portion configured in a way that when each of the two moving arms is rotated relative to associated one of the two support arms at a predetermined angle, the each of the two moving arms is stopped at the stopping portion of the associated one of the two support arms to prevent the each of the two moving arms from further rotation; wherein each of the two moving arms is pivotally connected with a roller via a fourth pivot; and

an actuator having two ends pivotally and respectively connected with the stationary frame and the swivel rack in a way that when the actuator gradually extends at a first stage, the two push wheels are in contact with the two slide connecting portions respectively, causing the swivel rack to swing about the first pivot and to drive the upper frame to upward swing relative to the stationary frame, and when the actuator further extends at a second stage, the two moving arms are respectively engaged with the two stopping portions, causing that the two rollers are in contact with the two slide connecting portions respectively, and the swivel rack and the two moving arms collectively swing about the first pivot in a way that the two push wheels are disengaged from the two slide connecting portions, and the swivel rack and the two moving arms collectively drive the upper frame to upward further swing relative to the stationary frame.

2. The low-profile electric bed as claimed on claim 1, wherein one of the two ends of the actuator is pivotally connected with the connecting rod of the swivel rack; each of the two ends of the connecting rod is located between one of the two first pivots and one of the two third pivots.

3. The low-profile electric bed as claimed in claim 1, wherein when the upper frame is parallel to the stationary frame, a distance between the third pivot and the slide connecting portion is less than a distance between the first pivot and the slide connecting portion and less than a distance between the second pivot and the slide connecting portion.

4. The low-profile electric bed as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first pivot and the third pivot are situated on a first imaginary surface, and the second pivot and the third pivot are situated on a second imaginary surface that is defined with the first imaginary surface an included angle ranging from 150° to 170°.

5. The low-profile electric bed as claimed in claim 4, wherein when the moving arm is stopped by the stopping portion, the fourth pivot is situated on the second imaginary surface.