Patent attributes
A patient support incorporates a lying surface and at least one siderail on at least one side of the support. The siderails are operable between a raised position, an intermediate position, and a lowered position. When unlocked and urged from the raised position to the intermediate position, a latching mechanism automatically locks the siderails in the intermediate position. When urged from the lowered position to the raised position, the locking mechanism permits the siderails to pass through the intermediate position without locking, and to subsequently lock at the raised position. In the intermediate position, the siderails may define a gap through which a patient can ingress or egress the bed. In the raised and intermediate positions, the siderails may define gaps between each other and/or between the siderails and a headboard and footboard, that are sufficiently small to prevent accidental egress, and sufficiently large to prevent pinching and entrapment.