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 conventionalPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 NextLast modified: November 3, 2007