The present invention relates to a bed for hospital stays.

Nowadays numerous types of beds for hospital stays are known in which the bed surface can be adjusted at the back, at the thighs and at the legs, in order to allow the elevation in rotation of the upper body section or of the leg rest section with an electric or manual system.

These beds are essential for patients with reduced or no motor capacity; however, very often the forward inclination of the upper body section, in order to facilitate the sitting positioning of the patient, causes the patient to slip toward the footboard of the bed. The patient has to be repositioned continuously in order to facilitate breathing and in order to restore postural comfort.

In an attempt to solve this problem, beds have been proposed with an upper body section that can be moved by roto-translation: while the rotation results in the lifting of the backrest, simultaneously the translation results in its retraction, toward the headboard of the bed, so as to compensate the thrust of the patient toward the footboard.

However, this solution is not sufficient to solve the problem, because the patient seated on the bed is still subject over time to sliding toward the footboard.

Furthermore, another problem found with this type of bed for hospital stays is the fact that the position with the upper body section inclined forward causes a compression at the back of the head and shoulder blades.

To this end, types of bed for hospital stays are known in which the upper body section during rotation is able to translate upward, away from the horizontal lying surface.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a bed for hospital stays which is capable of improving the known art in one or more of the above mentioned aspects.

Within this aim, an object of the invention is to provide a bed for hospital stays that is capable of increasing the level of comfort for the inpatient, by reducing abdominal compression and also by reducing it at the back of the head and shoulder blades when the upper body section is sat up in order to bring the patient to a sitting position.

Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the known art in a different manner to any existing solutions.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a bed for hospital stays that is highly reliable, easy to implement and low cost.

This aim and these and other objects which will become better apparent hereinafter are achieved by a bed for hospital stays according to claim 1, optionally provided with one or more of the characteristics of the dependent claims.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become better apparent from the detailed description that follows of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of the bed according to the invention, which is illustrated for the purposes of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings wherein:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a bed according to the invention; - Figure 2 shows an enlarged detail of Figure 1 ;

- Figure 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the bed according to the invention with the upper body section horizontal;

- Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the bed according to the invention with the upper body section inclined.

With reference to the figures, the structure according to the invention, generally designated by the reference numeral 10, comprises a frame 11 surmounted by a lying surface 12 which is articulated in multiple sections including an upper body section 13. The frame 11 is provided with a fixed part 14 substantially on a horizontal plane and with a moveable part 15 which supports the upper body section 13. The moveable part 15 can be inclined with respect to the fixed part 14 and can also translate along the longitudinal direction of the bed by way of adapted actuation and guiding means 16.

The frame 11 is intended to be installed on a conventional supporting structure (not shown).

The fixed part 14 comprises a pair of parallel longitudinal profiled elements 17 and the moveable part 15 comprises a pair of longitudinal members 18 on the back of the upper body section 13, as can be seen in Figure 1. The longitudinal members 18 are parallel and positioned in the longitudinal direction of the bed when the upper body section 13 is on the horizontal plane, as in Figure 3.

The lying surface 12 is drawn partially in dotted lines in Figure 1 in order to render the underlying part of the bed 10 clearly visible, while the upper body section 13 is shown in all three figures. More sections of lying surface than those shown may be provided and they may be mutually articulated, for example at the back, buttocks, thighs and legs of the inpatient.

The bed 10 also comprises means 19 for the translation of the upper body section 13 with respect to the moveable part 15 away from or toward the horizontal plane, respectively during the forward and backward inclining of the moveable part 15.

Such translation means 19 comprise at least one kinematic mechanism 20 between the actuation and guiding means 16 and at least one bracket 21 which is integral with the upper body section 13 and is adapted to translate with respect to the moveable part 15 under the action of the kinematic mechanism 20.

The actuation and guiding means 16 comprise a linkage 22 which is pivoted at an intermediate point thereof to the moveable part 15 and with one of its ends to the fixed part 14, in particular to a wing 23 which is fixed to a respective longitudinal profiled element 17 behind the upper body section 13.

The kinematic mechanism 20 comprises a crank 24 which is pivoted at one end to the end of the linkage 22 which is not pivoted to the fixed part 14 and, at the other end, to the bracket 21.

The moveable part 15 comprises two longitudinal members 18 on the back of the upper body section 13, along which a respective bracket 21 is adapted to translate, the actuation and guiding means 16 and the means of translation 19 being repeated at each opposite longitudinal side of the bed.

In fact, the actuation and guiding means 16 comprise two actuators 25, on opposite sides of the bed and each one connected to a respective longitudinal member 18, the moveable part 15 also comprising two parallel longitudinal members 18 on the back of the upper body section 13. The actuators 25 are installed one per side at a respective longitudinal profiled element 17 of the fixed part 14.

The actuators 25 are conventional, each one comprising a rod 26 designed to protrude from the cylindrical body 27 during their operation, as shown in Figure 2. Each actuator 25 is controlled by an electric motor 30 and is conveniently associated with the end of the rod 26 at the end of the respective longitudinal member 18, this latter end being lower than the opposite end when the upper body section 13 is inclined.

Advantageously, these actuation and guiding means 16 also comprise, at each side of the bed, a slider 28 which is integral with the longitudinal member 18 and is adapted to slide within a C-shaped guide 29 which is integral with the fixed part 14.

In Figure 2 the C-shaped guide 29 is shown in dotted lines in order to show the slider 28 inside it.

Operation of the bed, according to the invention, is the following. The bed can be used in the fully horizontal configuration for the inpatient to rest in the supine position, or it can be brought to a configuration whereby the upper body section 13 is inclined, passively shifting the in- patient to a sitting position.

The initial position with the upper body section 13 lowered on the horizontal plane is shown in Figure 3, where the actuators 25 when inactive are completely retracted.

To incline the bed, the actuators 25 are activated, for example by way of a keypad if they are of the electric type.

The rod 26 protruding from the actuator 25 pushes the respective longitudinal member 18 to retract by translating toward the headboard of the bed, guided with the slider 28 inside the C-shaped guide 29. The translation causes the rotation of the linkage 22 about its end with which it is pivoted to the fixed part 14 and as a consequence the rotation of the moveable part 15 and of the upper body section 13 supported by the latter, as shown in Figure 4.

The rotary movement of the linkage 22 is transmitted to the crank 24 and then converted to straight motion to the bracket 21, which being integral with the upper body section 13 causes its translation upward, away from the horizontal plane.

Figure 3 shows, with X, the distance from the edge of the upper body section 13 closest to the headboard of the bed and one end of the longitudinal member 18, while in Figure 4 it is shown with Y.

The comparison between X and Y makes the translation of the upper body section 13 clear.

The upper body section 13 can be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, bringing the patient to the sitting position and according to all possible intermediate positions.

The lifting of the upper body section 13 away from the horizontal plane is automatic and proportional to the rotation, in order to guard against the possible slipping of the patient toward the footboard, which is also simultaneously limited by the retraction toward the headboard.

The translation upward, away from the horizontal plane, not only contributes to reducing abdominal compression but also reduces it at the back of the head and shoulder blades.

The bed is structurally simple and therefore easy to implement, even though it is capable of generating three simultaneous movements of the upper body section.

In practice it has been found that the invention fully achieves the intended aim and objects, by providing a bed for hospital stays that makes it possible to not have to continually reposition the patient and to improve his or her posture by reducing abdominal compression and also by reducing it at the back of the head and shoulder blades when the upper body section is sat up in order to bring the patient to a sitting position.

The invention, thus conceived, is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, all the details may be substituted by other, technically equivalent elements.

In practice the materials employed, provided they are compatible with the specific use, and the contingent dimensions and shapes, may be any according to requirements and to the state of the art.

The disclosures in Italian Patent Application No. 102017000008199 (UA2017A000455) from which this application claims priority are incorporated herein by reference.

Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, such reference signs have been inserted for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.