Appeal No. 2005-1471 Page 7
Application No. 10/028,833
Referring now to the drawings of Williams, Figure 1 shows a hospital bed 10
including a support frame 12, side rails 14, and adjustable head and knee sections 16
and 18 respectively. Hospital beds 10 of the type shown in the drawings are well known
to those skilled in the art and typically include electrical control means for independently
adjusting the head and knee sections 16 and 18. The bedside control system of
Williams' invention comprises a control panel 40 supported above the hospital bed by
an articulating arm structure 20 that allows freedom of movement in all planes. The
articulating arm structure 20 is secured to the bed frame by a mounting bracket. The
articulating arm structure 20 suspends the control panel 40 in an overhead position
relative to the hospital bed 10. The articulating arm structure 20 is moveable between a
first position in which the articulating arm structure 20 extends over the hospital bed 10,
and a second position in which the articulating arm structure 20 extends outwardly to
one side of the bed 10. Thus, the articulating arm structure 20 can be used as an
overhead support when the patient is confined to the hospital bed, or as a bedside
support when the patient is sitting in a bedside chair.
Referring now to Figure 2 of Williams, the control panel 40 includes a housing 42
having integral handles 44 on the sides of the housing 42. The handles 44 allow easy
manipulation of the control panel 40 by physically-challenged patients. At the top of the
housing 42, a hand-set receiving area 46 is formed for docking a conventional
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