A hiatal hernia is an affliction where an anatomical part (such as a portion of the stomach) protrudes through the esophageal hiatus of the diaphragm. Persons suffering with a hiatal hernia and other ailments frequently are advised to lay on an inclined plane with their head elevated while resting or sleeping as part of the patient's medical treatment or recuperation. Keeping a patient's upper extremities elevated assist in reducing symptoms or complications associated with hiatal hernias, as well as with other gastronomical and respiratory ailments.
Methods and devices used to raise one end of a bed are well known. Examples of known devices are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,830,303; 3,247,528; 3,310,289; and 4,312,088. Similarly, furniture leg extenders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,999.
However, previous attempts to design an apparatus for raising a bed have involved complicated structures requiring either separate bed construction, extensive modification of a conventional bed, or manufacture of an apparatus of multiple parts and elements. Moreover, no previous designs have adequately provided a low cost, portable design that properly considers the angle created when a bed is in its raised, as opposed to its horizontal, position. The purpose of this invention, therefore, is to provide an economical and uncomplicated system for raising one end of a bed for therapeutic or other purposes.