Hospital bed with patient weight and displacement sensors

A weight sensing system for a hospital bed, the hospital bed having a base including a fixed frame adapted to be placed on a ground surface and a suspended frame supporting a patient support assembly, the system comprising:

• at least one load sensor adapted to be secured to the suspended frame;
• at least one suspension member configured to extend between the suspended frame and one of the at least one load sensor for vertically suspending the suspended frame from the fixed frame, each suspension member having a lower end secured to one of the at least one load sensor and an upper end abutting the fixed frame, the suspension member being unsecured from the fixed frame to allow free vertical movement of the suspended frame relative to the fixed frame,
• wherein each suspension member comprises a body located at the lower end of the suspension member for engaging the load sensor and a head located at the upper end of the suspension member abutting the fixed frame and wherein the suspension member is inserted in a hole of the fixed frame, the hole having a first diameter and the head of the suspension member having a second diameter larger than the first diameter to maintain the head above the fixed frame;
• and
• wherein each load sensor comprises a connecting plate having a U-shaped slit which defines a cantilevered tongue portion and at least one strain gauge operatively connected to the cantilevered tongue portion.