초록 ▼

The legs of a hospital bed are mounted on discrete casters with brakes for the wheels and blocking devices for the wheel frames. The wheel frames can be unblocked to swivel in their carriers which are mounted in or on the respective legs, and contain cylinders for vertically movable plungers serving

The legs of a hospital bed are mounted on discrete casters with brakes for the wheels and blocking devices for the wheel frames. The wheel frames can be unblocked to swivel in their carriers which are mounted in or on the respective legs, and contain cylinders for vertically movable plungers serving to engage or disengage the respective brakes as well as to activate or deactivate the blocking devices. At least two plungers are movable to three different positions in one of which the respective wheels are free to rotate and the respective frames are free to swivel, in another of which the wheels are braked and the frames are blocked, and in the third of which the wheels are free to rotate but the frames are blocked. This is achieved by the provision of a control system employing discrete cylinder and piston units for the casters and conduits which can supply metered quantities of hydraulic fluid from the cylinders of the respective units to the cylinders in the corresponding carriers or vice versa. The pistons of all cylinder and piston units are biased against a common indexible cam.

대표청구항 ▼

Supporting apparatus for mobile commodities, such as hospital beds, comprising ground-contacting means including a plurality of casters each having a wheel, a frame mounting the wheel for rotation about a first axis and a carrier having a cylinder and mounting the frame for rotation about a second a

Supporting apparatus for mobile commodities, such as hospital beds, comprising ground-contacting means including a plurality of casters each having a wheel, a frame mounting the wheel for rotation about a first axis and a carrier having a cylinder and mounting the frame for rotation about a second axis substantially at right angles to the first axis; and means for controlling the movements of said frames and said wheels about the respective axes, comprising a discrete liquid-operated plunger reciprocably mounted in the cylinder of each carrier for movement between a plurality of positions, a discrete brake provided on each frame to engage the respective wheel in response to movement of the respective plunger to a first position, a discrete blocking device for each of said frames, each blocking device being operative to prevent rotation of the respective frame in response to movement of the respective plunger to at least one second position, and means for moving the plungers between said positions including motors having means for supplying metered quantities of liquid to said carriers, each of said motors comprising a discrete cylinder and piston unit, means for displacing the piston with reference to the cylinder of the respective unit, and discrete means for conveying liquid between the cylinders of said carriers and the cylinders of the respective units in response to displacement of pistons of said units, said displacing means comprising a common indexible displacing member for the pistons of said units, and units including a first and a second unit and said displacing member being disposed between said first and second units, at least one of said brakes being disengaged and the respective blocking device simultaneously permitting rotation of the respective frame in a third position of the respective plunger.