Mattress Support for Imparting a Hospital Bed Functionality to a Consumer Bed
A mattress support for a bed includes a base plate and an upper plate assembly. The upper plate assembly includes a head plate having a head end and a foot end. The head end of the head plate is hinged to the base plate by a first hinge. The upper plate assembly also includes a foot plate in tandem with the head plate. The foot plate is hinged to the foot end of the head plate by a second hinge which is parallel to the first hinge. An actuator system between the base plate and the upper plate assembly is operable to adjust the upper plate assembly between a planar configuration and a nonplanar configuration.
1 . A mattress support comprising:
a base plate;
an upper plate assembly comprised of:
a head plate having a head end and a foot end, the head end hinged to the base plate by a first hinge, and
a foot plate in tandem with the head plate and hinged to the foot end of the head plate by a second hinge which is parallel to the first hinge; and
an actuator system between the base plate and the upper plate assembly, the actuator system operable to adjust the upper plate assembly between a planar configuration and a nonplanar configuration.
2 . The mattress support of claim 1 wherein the actuator system is a single member bladder assembly which directly drives both the head plate and the foot plate.
3 . The mattress support of claim 1 wherein the actuator system is a single member bladder assembly which directly drives only the head plate or only the foot plate.
4 . The mattress support of claim 1 wherein the actuator system is a multiple member bladder assembly.
5 . The mattress support of claim 4 wherein the bladder assembly drives only the head plate or only the foot plate.
6 . The mattress support of claim 4 wherein at least one of the bladder arrays of the bladder assembly drives only the head plate, and other bladder array(s) of the bladder assembly drive only the foot plate.
7 . The mattress support of claim 1 wherein the actuator system acts exclusively on the second hinge.
8 . The mattress support of claim 1 including a flexible connector connecting the foot plate to the base plate.
9 . The mattress support of claim 1 wherein the actuator system is a mechanical linkage.
10 . The mattress support of claim 1 wherein the actuator system is a jack.