with reference first to fig1 there is illustrated the iv stand 1 , iv rack 2 , and hospital bed 3 of the present invention . the bed 3 includes , generally , a wheeled supporting base structure 5 , a patient support 6 mounted atop the wheeled base 5 , and a mattress 7 mounted atop the patient support 6 . the bed 3 includes a pair of side guards 8 , 8 which ideally can be raised and lowered . the bed 3 further includes footboard 9 . a pair of vertical posts 10 , 10 are secured to the patient support 6 and extend upwardly therefrom . spanning between the vertical posts 10 , 10 is an iv rail 11 , being hexagonal in cross section . mounted to the iv rail 11 is a mounting block 12 , the specifics of which will be subsequently described . the iv stand 1 includes a star shaped base 20 , each individual leg 20a of which includes a castered roller 21 . extending upwardly from the base 20 is a first vertical pole 22 which terminates in the platform 23 . platform 23 includes a mounting block 24 thereon , which itself includes a pair of lips 25 , 25 on opposed sides thereof . a second vertical pole 26 extends upwardly from platform 23 , and a rod 27 is adapted for slidable movement upwardly and downwardly into and out of the second vertical pole 26 for telescopic adjustment . the rod 27 includes a number of hooks 28 at its upper end for supporting bags of iv solution thereon . the iv rack 2 includes a vertical spine 35 to which is attached a horizontally oriented arm 36 . connected to the horizontally oriented arm 36 are a plurality of iv poles 37 each of which includes a telescoping rod 38 outfitted with hooks 39 at their upper ends . hooks 39 support a plurality of iv solution bags 40 , the solution for which is pumped by a number of iv pumps 41 secured to the horizontal arm 36 . the iv pumps 41 include plugs 42 which are plugged into sockets 43 in the spine 35 of the iv rack 2 , the rack 2 including therein a suitable power supply . the spine 35 includes a base 44 which has mounted thereon a downturned channel section bracket 45 having inwardly turned flanges 46 , 46 thereon . inwardly turned flanges 46 , 46 of bracket 45 slidably mate with the opposed lips 25 , 25 of the iv stand mounting block 24 . mounting block 12 of the hospital bed 3 similarly includes a pair of opposed lips 50 , 50 for engagement by the inwardly turned flanges 46 , 46 of the downturned channel section 45 of the iv stand 2 . the block 12 further includes a lock lever 51 which rotates a cam 52 for locking the block 12 at any desired longitudinal position along the rail 11 ( fig3 ). the block 12 includes a hexagonal hole 53 which accepts and is adapted for sliding along the rail 11 and for preventing the block 12 from rotating in either lateral direction when the iv rack 2 is mounted thereon . when the iv rack 2 is mounted on the iv stand 1 , and to transfer the rack 2 from the stand 1 to the bed 3 , the stand 1 is rolled up to the bed 3 adjacent its iv rail 11 . referring now to fig4 the bed - facing vertically oriented flange 60 of platform 23 is advanced toward the mounting block 12 , and a pair of pins 61 , 61 mounted on this flange 60 pick up a pair of holes 62 , 62 in the iv stand - facing vertically oriented flange 63 of the block 12 . mounted underneath the platform 23 is a spring loaded lever 64 which is pivoted at 65 , which includes a forwardly projecting tang 66 which has a notch 67 on its upper edge . tang 66 projects through an aperature ( not shown ) in flange 60 . the vertically oriented flange 63 of block 12 further includes a rectangular cut - out 68 for receiving tang 66 of lever 64 . as pins 61 , 61 enter the alignment holes 62 , 62 tang 66 is centered with respect to rectangular cut - out 68 ; the rounded surface 69 of tang 66 rides downwardly against the upper surface 70 of cut - out 68 until such time as notch 67 is directly underneath of upper surface 70 , at which time the tang 66 snaps upwardly , thereby locking notch 67 and hence lever 64 to cut - out 68 . with the stand 1 thus secured to the bed 3 , the iv rack 2 may then be simply slid from the iv stand mounting block 24 to the iv rail mounting block 12 . after the rack has been transferred from the stand 1 to the iv rail 11 , handle 71 of lever 64 is raised upwardly thereby allowing the notch 67 of tang 66 to clear upper surface 70 of aperture 68 , at which time the iv stand 1 can be rolled away from the bed 3 . referring now to fig2 it will be seen that iv rack 2 , when mounted on the iv rail mounting block 12 , falls completely within the footprint 80 of hospital bed 3 defined by projecting downwardly onto a floor surface the periphery of the bed 3 . such a compact configuration greatly facilitates a care provider &# 39 ; s maneuvering of bed 3 with iv rack 2 thereon , as the iv rack 2 does not protrude from or otherwise destroy the integrity of the bed footprint . as care providers are adept at maneuvering the bed 3 down aisles , around corners , through doors and the like , the present invention does not require a care provider to in any way alter or otherwise depart from his or her learned bed maneuvering habits . should a care provider wish to utilize the iv stand 1 alone , that is , not in conjunction with the iv rack 2 of the present invention , the telescoping rod 27 with hooks 28 thereon ( fig1 ) facilitates such usage . those skilled on the art readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the present invention which will result in an improved iv rack , iv stand and hospital bed , yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims . accordingly , the invention is to be limited only by the following claims and their equivalents .
a wheeled hospital bed , a wheeled iv stand , and an iv rack . the stand and rack include means for removably mounting the rack to the stand , and the stand and bed include means for removably mounting the rack to the bed . when the rack is mounted to the bed the rack and any iv solution bags and pumps mounted thereto are positioned within the bed footprint . the iv stand is universal in that it can be used with or without the severable iv rack .