A wooden bed frame to hold the mattress, 4 automotive scissor jacks as actuators and a sliding mechanism between the jacks comprise the mechanical aspect of the design.
In order to tilt the bed, the jacks on one side of the bed will be raised.
The jack being used is pictured below. It is fitted with a 12 V DC motor and has a maximum lifting capability of 2180 lbs.
The slider pictured below is the interface between the jack and the bed frame. It allows the bed to rise without applying lateral forces on jacks which could cause them to tip over.
An Arduino Mega will be used as the central controller for the system. Digital control outputs from the Arduino will control the motors of the four jacks. This will be done using an H-bridge to allow for motor control in both directions. Linear sensors placed on the jack will provide feedback to the Arduino in order for it to accurately position the jacks based on the desired tilt angle.
The user console will be used to send commands to the Arduino. The Arduino will then decide which motors to actuate and in what direction based on the command.
The Arduino will have an SD card mounted on it for storing data. An alarm will be connected to the Arduino, and will be sounded when an emergency situation is detected or when the user wants to call for help. A UPS system will ensure that power outages do not cause the bed to be left in an awkward position and will also alert the control system if a power outage does occur.
A console with 4 buttons will be used to control the movements of the bed. the left and right buttons result in the bed tilting to the left and right respectively in pre-defined increments. The stop button stops all movement and optionally sounds the alarm to call for help. The level button brings the bed back to the level position. The seven segment display on the console indicates the current angle of the bed.
- The maximum tilt angle of the bed can be preset and will never be exceeded by the system
- The speed of operation will also be customizable through the PC application
- An alarm will be sounded when the system detects an emergency (such as a power outage while the bed is in operation)
- The user can manually sound an alarm
- No moving parts will be exposed in order to ensure a safe environment around the bed
- The motors and other sources of noise will be muffled to keep the noise level to a minimum
