Simple Hospital Bed (1A)

Simple Hospital Bed Explanation and Files

File type FCStd. These files can be opened and manipulated using FreeCAD. FreeCAD can be found here FreeCAD: Your own 3D parametric modeler (freecadweb.org) ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Motivation: COVID-19 virus pandemic has created high demand for hospital beds. Industry standard hospital beds are relatively complex with many parts. Creation of a simple hospital bed that can be manufactured and assembled easily is critical.    Goal: To design a simple hospital bed that can be produced in 4 steps and assembled without hardware or special tools and with minimal training.   Summary: This hospital bed consists of 6 separate part designs (some in duplicate) fitted together using slots cut into each part. Each part is designed to be cut out of a 109” by 61” by 18mm MDF board and covered in a vinyl wrap. Mating joints are designed with 1 thousand of an inch tolerance to account for vinyl. (This will need to be adjusted if the melanin back cover is not included in the 18mm thickness dimension.) The bed articulates and has two positions one at 180 degrees and one at 120 degrees to the horizontal. Articulation is facilitated by a “wood hinge” formed at the junction of the hinge slat (part 3) and riser arm (part 7). The bed dimensions are based off of industry standard dimensions for hospital beds. Not included in this design is a mattress.    Parts List:   

1. Side Board (2) 
2. Head Bed Slat (4) 
3. Hinge Slat (1)  
4. Riser Brace (2) 
5. Riser Slat (7) 
6. Riser Arm (3) 

                    Production: The bed is able to be produced in 4 steps: CNC milling of parts, gluing, lamination, and packaging. The bed is designed to be milled from 109” by 61” by 18mm MDF board. Wrapping in vinyl is not critical to the use of the bed but does aid cleaning by medical staff, and provides some extra strength. Beds will then be boxed for shipping.    Assembly: Beds will be assembled on site. No hardware is needed. Parts are bound together by mating slots similar to Lincoln logs. A hammer may be required and this can be milled out of MDF as well.    Explanation of Parts:   

1. Side Board: The side board forms the main support structure of the bed and the sides of the bed. This part contains 5 slots that hold each of the 5 bed slats. The side boards also function as the legs of the bed. 
2. Head Bed Slat: These are the cross members on which the mattress will rest. The slats will span the distance between the two side boards. 
3. Hinge Slat: The hinge slat is a specialized bed slat that sets in the center slot of the side boards. Together with the riser arms, it forms the wooden hinge that allows the bed to articulate.
4. Riser Brace: The riser brace supports the head of the bed when in the raised position. When in use, the riser arm is placed with one end on the head bed slat below the patient's head and to the bottom of the upside down riser slat.  
5. Riser Slat: Boards that span the space between the three riser arms. 6 of these mate to the top facing slots and support the mattress. The last one is mated to the down facing slots and is used to support the riser brace. 
6. Riser Arm: Three riser arms mate loosely to the hinge slat forming the wooden hinge that facilitates the beds articulation. The riser arm acts as the bed frame/support when the bed is in the inclined position.