CA2497995A1 - Diagnostic and control system for a bed - Google Patents
Diagnostic and control system for a bed Download PDFInfo
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- CA2497995A1 CA2497995A1 CA002497995A CA2497995A CA2497995A1 CA 2497995 A1 CA2497995 A1 CA 2497995A1 CA 002497995 A CA002497995 A CA 002497995A CA 2497995 A CA2497995 A CA 2497995A CA 2497995 A1 CA2497995 A1 CA 2497995A1
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- Prior art keywords
- bed
- diagnostic
- control system
- subsystem
- control
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Classifications
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
- A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
- A61G7/0507—Side-rails
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
- A61G7/05—Parts, details or accessories of beds
- A61G7/0507—Side-rails
- A61G7/0512—Side-rails characterised by customised length
- A61G7/0513—Side-rails characterised by customised length covering particular sections of the bed, e.g. one or more partial side-rail sections along the bed
- A61G7/0514—Side-rails characterised by customised length covering particular sections of the bed, e.g. one or more partial side-rail sections along the bed mounted to individual mattress supporting frame sections
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- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G2203/00—General characteristics of devices
- A61G2203/30—General characteristics of devices characterised by sensor means
- A61G2203/42—General characteristics of devices characterised by sensor means for inclination
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G2203/00—General characteristics of devices
- A61G2203/30—General characteristics of devices characterised by sensor means
- A61G2203/46—General characteristics of devices characterised by sensor means for temperature
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
- A61G—TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES, OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS; OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES
- A61G7/00—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons
- A61G7/002—Beds specially adapted for nursing; Devices for lifting patients or disabled persons having adjustable mattress frame
- A61G7/018—Control or drive mechanisms
Abstract
The present invention provides a diagnostic and control system for a bed, wherein the bed comprises one or more of a plurality of electronic elements including for example, load sensors, tilt sensors, actuators for adjusting bed angles and the like, in addition to other electronic elements for example. The diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can enable the specific control of each of these electronic element for desired operation thereof and further can enable the monitoring of the operating conditions of these electronic elements and additional bed conditions. The diagnostic and control system further enables the evaluation and determination of the existence of one or more faults relating to the operation of the bed and the respective one or more electronic elements, for example the existence of a fault can be conveyed to an operator in a form of an error message. The diagnostic and control system can subsequently evaluate the detected fault and can determine for example a cause thereof and a potential remedy. In this manner the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can provide the evaluation of the detected fault and subsequently provide the operator or technician with a remedy for the fault detected, thereby reducing the downtime of a bed including the diagnostic and control system according to the present.
Description
MBMFiIe No. 1364a-!08 DIAGNOSTIC AND CONTROL SYSTEM FOR A BED
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to hospital equipment systems, and in particular to a hospital equipment system having a bed status system for controlling and diagnosing the status of a hospital bed.
BACKGROUND
Temporary and long term care of a patient generally requires that the patient be bedded for the duration of the treatment. Currently available hospital beds are equipped with a number of complex mechanical and electrical subsystems which provide positioning, weight monitoring, and other functions related to patient's care. Despite their inherent complexity, these systems need to be easy to interact with and used by the caregiver. The ease of use and operation is of critical importance, particularly in emergency situations. Due to the complexity and required minimal downtime for these forms of beds, the status of such systems needs to be constantly monitored, which currently is performed by technicians in order to ensure desired functionality of the bed is maintained. This form of monitoring and potentially diagnosis of problems with a bed can be both time consuming and costly.
Therefore there is a need for a control and diagnostic system for integration into a multifunctional bed that can overcome the identified problems in the prior art and provide the desired functionality with a reduced level of human interaction.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to hospital equipment systems, and in particular to a hospital equipment system having a bed status system for controlling and diagnosing the status of a hospital bed.
BACKGROUND
Temporary and long term care of a patient generally requires that the patient be bedded for the duration of the treatment. Currently available hospital beds are equipped with a number of complex mechanical and electrical subsystems which provide positioning, weight monitoring, and other functions related to patient's care. Despite their inherent complexity, these systems need to be easy to interact with and used by the caregiver. The ease of use and operation is of critical importance, particularly in emergency situations. Due to the complexity and required minimal downtime for these forms of beds, the status of such systems needs to be constantly monitored, which currently is performed by technicians in order to ensure desired functionality of the bed is maintained. This form of monitoring and potentially diagnosis of problems with a bed can be both time consuming and costly.
Therefore there is a need for a control and diagnostic system for integration into a multifunctional bed that can overcome the identified problems in the prior art and provide the desired functionality with a reduced level of human interaction.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.
MBM File No. 1364a-108 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a diagnostic and control system for a bed. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a diagnostic and control system for a bed, said bed having integrated therein one or more electronically controlled devices for providing one or more functions to the bed, said system comprising: a control subsystem electronically coupled to one or more electronically controlled devices for transmission of data therebetween, said control system for initiating the functionality of the one or more electronically controlled devices, said control system collecting information relating to operational conditions representative of said one or more electronically controlled devices; and a diagnostic subsystem electronically coupled to the control subsystem for transmission of data therebetween, said control subsystem activating said diagnostic subsystem upon detection of an operational fault relating to the one or more electronically controlled devices, said diagnostic subsystem for receiving information from the control subsystem and analysing said information using one or more evaluation routines for the determination of a potential source of the operational fault.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Figure 1 illustrates an example of a hospital bed into which the diagnostic and control system can be integrated.
Figure 2 illustrates a part of a user interface embedded into the bed illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 3 illustrates the window content of a step in a series of user-bed interaction processes displayed on a detached device such as a general purpose computer according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a part of a user interface intended for use by the bedded person according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 schematically illustrates the electrical architecture of a diagnostic and control system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
An object of the present invention is to provide a diagnostic and control system for a bed. In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a diagnostic and control system for a bed, said bed having integrated therein one or more electronically controlled devices for providing one or more functions to the bed, said system comprising: a control subsystem electronically coupled to one or more electronically controlled devices for transmission of data therebetween, said control system for initiating the functionality of the one or more electronically controlled devices, said control system collecting information relating to operational conditions representative of said one or more electronically controlled devices; and a diagnostic subsystem electronically coupled to the control subsystem for transmission of data therebetween, said control subsystem activating said diagnostic subsystem upon detection of an operational fault relating to the one or more electronically controlled devices, said diagnostic subsystem for receiving information from the control subsystem and analysing said information using one or more evaluation routines for the determination of a potential source of the operational fault.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Figure 1 illustrates an example of a hospital bed into which the diagnostic and control system can be integrated.
Figure 2 illustrates a part of a user interface embedded into the bed illustrated in Figure 1.
Figure 3 illustrates the window content of a step in a series of user-bed interaction processes displayed on a detached device such as a general purpose computer according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a part of a user interface intended for use by the bedded person according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 5 schematically illustrates the electrical architecture of a diagnostic and control system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
MBMFiIe No. 1364a-!08 Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a load cell system that can be used for monitoring movement, evaluating mass or weight of a bedded person.
Figure 7A illustrates an embodiment of a motor control, and motor and actuator system.
Figure 7B illustrates an embodiment of an interface controller.
Figure 7C illustrates an embodiment of a scale or weigh subsystem.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a diagnostic and control system for a bed, wherein the bed comprises one or more of a plurality of electronic elements including for example, load sensors, tilt sensors, linear sensors, temperature sensors, electronic controls and keyboards, wiring actuators for adjusting bed angles and the like, in addition to other electronic elements for example. The diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can enable the specific control of each of these electronic elements for desired operation thereof and further can enable the monitoring of the operating conditions of these electronic elements and additional bed conditions. The diagnostic and control system further enables the evaluation and determination of the existence of one or more faults relating to the operation of the bed, for example the existence of a fault can be conveyed to an operator in a form of an error message. The diagnostic and control system can subsequently evaluate the detected fault and can determine for example a cause thereof and a potential remedy. In this manner the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can provide the evaluation of the detected fault and subsequently provide the operator or technician with a remedy for the detected fault, thereby reducing the downtime of a bed that comprises the diagnostic and control system according to the present.
For example, multifunctional beds can have two or more different kinds of users. Persons who rest on the bed namely bedded persons who may have access to certain functionalities provided by the bed and operators or personnel who can operate the same, more or other functionalities of the bed either on-site or remotely. Operators may ensure that the bed is adjusted to meet the requirements of a bedded person who, for example, would otherwise not be able to adjust such functionality. For improved ergonomics, a bed can have a Mt3M t' Jl2 No. l.f64C1-lUcY
multitude of adjustable characteristics such as providing individually reclinable sections or other functions to control or set the ambient conditions that a bedded person may require for treatment. For example, the bed may include an articulated surface to provide a supine position, as well as cardiac chair positions required for the treatment of cardiac patients.
An example of a hospital bed into which can be integrated the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention, is illustrated in Figure I. The bed 10 has an articulated bed surface including a foot section 11, a seat section 9 and a head section 15 that are supported by a frame 22 and can also comprise a headboard 12 and a footboard 13. The frame 2Z is supported on a base unit 14 by generally upright pivot plates 18, 19, 20 and 21 extending upwardly from the base unit 14. As illustrated, two pivot plates 18 and 21 are pivotally attached to the head portion 27 of the frame 22, and two pivot plates 19 and 20 are pivotally attached to the foot portion 28 of frame 22. Thus, the bed can be raised or lowered when the pivot plates 18, 21, and 19, 20 rotate in order to provide vertical adjustment of the bed 10 with respect to a horizontal plane. Preferably, the vertical adjustment of the bed 10 can be further facilitated by a motor or a hydraulic lift (not shown).
If it is desired to render the bed 10 easily movable, a plurality of wheels 16 can be provided on the base unit 14, typically at the four corners thereof. A brake/steer pedal 17 extends from the base unit 14 to facilitate locking and unlocking of the wheels 16.
A lift arm 24 is pivotally attached to frame 22 at a pivot point 24a at one end and to the head section 15 at pivot point 24b (not shown) at another end. Similarly, a lift arm 25 is also attached to the other side of the frame 22 at pivot point 25a (not shown) at one end and to the head section 15 at pivot point 25b at the other end. The lift arms 24, 25 can be attached to the frame 22 and the head section 15 by a bolt or other fastening means that secures the lift arms 24, 25 to the frame 22 and the head section 15, while still allowing the lift arms 24, 25 to pivot at the pivot points 24a and ZSa, and 24b and 25b.
Accordingly, transverse movement of the head section 15 toward and away from the foot section 11 will cause the respective lift arms 24, 25 to rotate together about the associated pivot points 24a, 25a, and 24b, 25b. In a similar manner, the foot section can be articulated with lift arms 34 and 35 which are pivotally attached at one end to frame 22 and at a distal end thereof to foot S
MBMFileNo, 1364a-108 section 11, respectively, to provide for elevation of the foot section 11 with respect to the horizontal plane of the frame 22. As a result, the foot section I1 and the head section 15 can be configured and positioned at various degrees of inclination with respect to the seat section 9, which is fixed in the horizontal plane.
It would be readily understood that a variety of other bed configuration can have the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention integrated therein and the specific example as described above is not to be considered limiting.
Bed System Components A multifunctional bed can be equipped with one or more of a plurality of electronic devices that can provide a means for controlling the functionality of the bed. For example, electronically controlled drivers or actuators can be provided to help automatically adjust any part or section of a bed, wherein these actuators can be electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic in nature and may require a suitable electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic drive or power supply system for operation thereof. A bed system can additionally include one or more sensors and detectors for sensing and detecting the status of structural or functional components of the bed as well as certain vital signs of a bedded person. For example, sensors or detectors can be appropriately designed load sensors, angular movement sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors or any other type of sensor or detector that would be appropriate for integration into a bed as would be readily understood by a worker skilled in the art. Each of these sensors or detectors can be configured to evaluate a desired piece of informatioxi relating to the bedded person or the bed itself, for example the information can relate to the mass of the patient, the orientation of the bed in terms of position of the bedded person or other characteristics.
In addition, the bed system comprises a form of human machine interface system that can assist in accessing the functionalities that are associated with the bed, for example to enable movement of portions of the bed or to evaluate the condition of desired aspects of the bed's functionality, for example monitoring or fault detection. The interface system can be realised with one or more specific interfaces for enabling access, wherein an interface can be provided on a footboard, side rails or other location on the bed for example. The position MBM File No. 1364a-I08 and number of interfaces can be determined based on the number of desired access points to the functionality of the components of bed.
In one embodiment, the bed system components further comprises a sensor for detecting if a patient is inadvertently obstructing the selected movement of the bed. For example, if a patients arm is below a side rail, a sensor can detect the presence of the arm and not proceed with the lowering of the side rail if this request has been made. In this manner, the diagnostic and control system can monitor and evaluate if a selected movement of bed component would be inhibited by a patient's orientation.
Control, Monitoring and Calibration Subsystem The diagnostic and control system can comprise a single monolithic subsystem or one or more modular subsystems enabling the control, monitoring, and, if required, calibration of the electronic elements of the bed system. In this manner the functionality of each of the electronic elements, for example load sensors, temperature sensors, tilt sensors, actuator position sensors, actuators and the like can be evaluated and assessed for functionality within a desired set of parameters.
The diagnostic and control system can further monitor or query the functionality or status of the electronic elements, including for example, actuators, load sensors and the like. The system can monitor the current status of the operational parameters of these electronic elements and cross-reference the collected data with a set of standard operational characteristics. In this manner the system can be provided with a means for detection of a potential error when a specific electronic element is not operating within a desired range.
For example, if a load sensor is being monitored and an extraneous load reading is detected, the system can re-query the load sensor to evaluate if it was merely an inaccurate reading or if a potential problem exists. This extraneous reading may be for example a reading that may be outside of normal operating conditions of the load sensor or may be evaluated as extraneous upon comparison with other load sensors in the vicinity, for example. Each of the electronic elements associated with the bed system can be monitored in this manner as would be readily understood by a worker skilled in the art.
MBM File No. 1364a-! 08 The diagnostic and control system can perform the monitoring of the bed system components in a continuous manner, periodic manner or on-demand manner. The frequency of the monitoring of these components can be dependent on the electronic element being monitored. For example, the format of the monitoring can be dependent on the level of computation that is required to determine if a component is operating within desired parameters. Constant monitoring may include querying the sensors for current readings for comparison with operational parameters. Periodic monitoring may be performed when evaluation of the orientation and angular position of the bed frame is desired and on-demand monitoring may be performed on the diagnostic and control system itself wherein monitoring thereof would typically comprise a more extensive computation of current status.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system initialises or calibrates the operation of each of the electronic elements, for example actuators, load sensors and tile sensors, in order that these electronic elements can provide the desired level of accuracy and desired functionality to the bed. For example, calibration of a load sensor may be performed when a mattress is positioned on the bed and the load sensor can be zeroed under this condition. Furthermore, one or more of the actuators and tilt sensors can be calibrated or zeroed when a bed is in a known orientation, for example linearly flat.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system, while providing control of the functionality of the bed system, can additionally ensure that a procedure requested by a user is both possible and safe to be performed. In this scenario the diagnostic and control system can evaluate the current status of the bed systems, and subsequently determine if the selected function is possible. For example if an operator requests the elevation of the head portion of the bed, the system can determine if the head portion can be elevated, and if this procedure is possible subsequently perform the desired function. If for example, the head portion was fully raised, and the function was performed regardless, the actuator performing the requested function may be unnecessarily damaged due to overloading, for example. This evaluation of the requested function can additionally be determined based on a current treatment being performed on a patient. For example, if a patient is to be oriented in a particular position, the diagnostic and control system can be MBM File No. 1364a-I08 configured to not allow any adjustment of the bed system until this particular position can be changed according to treatment procedures.
In one embodiment the diagnostic and control system can be designed using an interface-controller-model architecture. The interface can provide user access to functions of the bed, as well as a query or notification system that can provide access to bed functionality, or notify monitoring personnel of important status information about parameters of bed functionality in addition to certain vital information about the bedded person. The model can provide an abstract description of the bed's operational parameters, for example desired operating conditions in the form of a virtual machine, data set or database.
The interface and controller can also read information from the model and based on current detected status of the electronic elements associated with the bed, can determine if the bed is performing within desired parameters. For example, a representational model for a collection of loads sensors can be provided which can provide operational parameters for the load sensors that can additionally be representative of the configuration of a load sensor web, thereby providing a means for evaluating the operational characteristics of the loads sensors during operation.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system can include one or more monitoring sensors that can provide a means for independently monitoring the functionality of one or more of the functions of the bed. For example, a monitoring sensor can be associated with an actuator, wherein this monitoring sensor can be a temperature sensor that may enable the detection of overloading or overuse of an actuator due to an excessive temperature reading. The diagnostic and control system may optionally comprise redundant sensors for example, which may be activated upon detection of extraneous readings for a typically used sensor. This form of redundancy can additionally provide a means for evaluating the operational characteristics of the electronic elements associated with the bed.
In one embodiment, the interface with the diagnostic and control system can provide one or more different classes of functionalities to one or more different categories of users. For example functionalities can be categorized into functions accessible to a bedded person, functions accessible to a monitoring person, and functions accessible to maintenance MBM File No. 1364a-108 personnel for accessing diagnostic functionality. Consequently, there can be user interface subsystems that are available and intended for use by a specific user group.
Functions of the bed can also be grouped according to a person's physical accessibility to the bed and can be accessible on-site or remotely or both. As a result, the bed control system can interact with two or more physical tangible human machine interface subsystems such as for example a console embedded in the bed. Another important aspect of the present invention is the ability to connect to the bed's controller and transfer information from it or instructions to it via a suitable number of user interface subsystems, for example wired or wireless communication systems.
Upon the detection of a fault or error, the diagnostic and control system can activate an alarm setting that can be a visual, audible or other form of fault indication.
For example, the interface associated with the bed can have an error message displayed thereon.
In one embodiment, this error message can provide a means for a technician to evaluate and correct the identified fault.
In one embodiment of the present invention, upon detection of a system fault during the monitoring of the functionality of the bed system, the diagnostic and control system can initiate a full diagnostic subsystem which can perform a more complete system diagnostic evaluation and evaluate and identify one or more sources of the detected system fault. In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system can collect specific information relating to the current status of particular components of the bed system that are directly related to the detected fault, for example one or more sensor readings or the like, for subsequent use by the diagnostic subsystem for analysis of this fault.
Diagnostic Subsystem The diagnostic subsystem can collect and evaluate the collected information relating to the identified fault and perform an analysis thereof in order to determine a source of this fault and a potential remedy to the detected fault. The diagnostic subsystem can indicate malfunctions of the bed control system which can be due to a number of reasons such as for example an actuator break-down, an unacceptable deviation between a parameter of the bed MtlM H lle No. I ~64a-I UcY
and the bed control system's parameter's desired value as, for example, caused by overload or lack of calibration of an actuator, or any other condition of the bed control system. A
diagnostic program may be available in order to diagnose any critical or non-critical function of the bed control system for diagnosing a malfunction.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can also record a number of events including system messages and user commands into one or more log records, for example one or more files in an embedded or a remote controller or computer system. The log records can also contain information from other subsystems of the bed. Information in the log records can be categorized; time stamped, and can contain human or machine readable messages describing the event. The messages can be encoded, encrypted or clear text messages. Each subsystem can have its own logging mechanism for logging events specific to that subsystem, accessible only through an interface of the subsystem or accessible through interaction with a central controller. Events can be categorized into groups according to a severity or other schemes and, depending on the categorization, include varying degrees of detailed information.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can analyse the detected information relating to the functionality of the bed associated with the detected fault, and subsequently evaluate one or more indicators that can be compared with known indicators of know problems relating to bed functionality. In this manner, based on a comparison with the indicators of known problems, the diagnostic subsystem can determine the specific problem.
Once a specific problem has been identified, a respective remedy for this problem can be identified, thereby providing a means for the remediation of the identified problem. The correlation between a calculated indicator defined by information relating to the present status of the bed system, may not precisely match an indicator of a known problem. In this instance a probability of correlation between the evaluated indicator and the known indicator can be determined thereby providing a means for assigning a confidence factor with the identified problem.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic subsystem can evaluate the identified fault through the analysis of previously detected readings, thereby providing for a correlation between the current readings at fault detection and previous readings. This MBMFiIe No. 7364a-108 manner of analysis may provide a means for identifying a malfunctioning component, for example a sensor through the correlation with previously detected values.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic subsystem can be directly integrated into the bed. Optionally, the diagnostic subsystem can be electronically coupled to the bed upon the issuance of a error notification. Moreover, the bed system architecture can comprise a diagnostic interface providing access to the bed system such that a diagnostic subsystem can be separated or detached from the physical bed and provide the same set, a subset or superset of diagnostic tools than an integrated diagnostic subsystem.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system comprises a communication system that can provide a means for transmitting information relating to the evaluated functionality of the bed to another location. In this embodiment, the communication system can enable wired or wireless communication. For example, this form of connectivity of the bed may enable the remote monitoring of bed functionality at a location removed from the location of the bed. For example, in a hospital setting, this remote monitoring can be performed at a nursing station or optionally can be provided at a remote location removed from the hospital. The communication system can enable the transmission of monitoring and diagnostic results to a technician for analysis, for example if a more detailed diagnostic analysis of the bed is required in order to determine the source of the indicated error. This can provide a means for a detailed diagnostic to be performed and an appropriate remedy identified prior to the dispatching of a technician to the bed site. In this manner, time may be conserved as the technician may be dispatched with appropriate replacement parts, which may result in time savings thereby reducing the downtime of the bed.
The functionality of the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can be provided by any number of computing devices, for example one or more microprocessors, one or more controllers or one or more computer systems that can be integrated into the bed itself in order to provide the desired computational functionality. In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic subsystem can be configured for coupling to the bed to subsequently provide the diagnostic capabilities. It would be readily understood how to couple the diagnostic and control system to the one or more electronic MBM File No. 1364a-108 elements in order to data transfer therebetween, for example this connection can be a wired or wireless connection.
Figure l illustrates an example hospital bed having bed components that can be controlled, monitored and diagnosed by one embodiment of the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention. The bed is shown with some of its sections placed in one possible configuration. This example of a bed is not to be considered limiting as the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can be integrated into any number of bed configurations.
Figure 2 illustrates a schematic view of one embodiment of a console or interface that can provide access to some or all functionality of the diagnostic and control system, wherein this user interface may be embedded into a bed. The console can be integrated into the foot board of the bed illustrated in Figure 1 and can provide access to the bed's functions. The console has back lit zone indicators 210 which can indicate a set zone mode of the bed for indicating a preset restriction level for movement of a bedded person.
Indicators 210 can also be mufti-color back lit to indicate an armed or disarmed state. Button 220 can be used to set and switch between the zone alarm as indicated by the zone alarm indicators 210.
Button 230 can arm or disarm the zone alarm functionality in a toggling fashion. Button 230 can be sectional or full color or mufti-color back lit to indicate an armed or disarmed state of the zone alarm system. Interface elements 240 can be used to raise or lower the bed support surface. While pushing the arrow-up button the bed raises and while pushing the arrow-down button the bed lowers. Pushing and holding both buttons may cause the movement to stop or continue the movement according to the button which was pressed first. Button 250 can lock out some or all functionality accessible through this or other consoles until the button 250 is pressed again. Buttons 260 and 270 can be used to lock-out access to reorient the respective head and knee sections of the bed. Button 280 when pressed causes the bed to assume a cardiac position or other predetermined shape of the bed support surface. Each of buttons 290 and 291 when pressed individually inclines or reclines the overall bed support surface without affecting the shape of the bed support surface.
Interface elements 265 and 275 provide button groups which when pressed can reorient the head or the knee sections of the bed and can be used in order to achieve respective desired MBM File No. 1364a-!08 angles between the upper body and the upper leg, as well as the upper leg and the lower leg of a bedded person. Display 205 can be used to display information about certain functions or the state of certain parts of the bed and its system components. Button group 215 can be used to scroll through information which is available in form of a menu for display but exceeds the amount of information which can be displayed simultaneously on display 205.
Buttons 217 and 219 can be used to select or enter information and to interact with the menu following a command and control concept.
Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of the window content of a step in a series of user-bed interaction processes that can be displayed on a detached device such as a general purpose computer. This is part of an interface which for example can provide remote access to control, diagnose, or monitor functions of the bed system. The interface can provide functions to select certain components from a list of components or subsystems 310 of the bed system for detailed investigation. The user interface may change its look and feel by changing some or all of its user interface components when selecting to investigate a specific component of the bed system. The user interface can provide and display information in a categorized graphical fashion and can utilize a button status field 320, a motor status field 330, fields for monitoring vital information about a bedded person etc.
The user interface can also provide a menu system 340 to select from and to provide access to different aspects of interaction of the bed system such as for example, a monitoring interface, a maintenance interface, an operator interface etc. Switching between these modes may require authorization and may be password or security code protected.
Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a part of the user interface intended for use by the bedded person. As illustrated, the user interface for the bedded person can provide access to reclining functions 410, emergency call functions 420 or control of entertainment equipment 430.
Figure 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of the system architecture 500 of a bed control and diagnostic system. The architecture can be divided into a number of user interface and control subsystem components. The system architecture comprises a power or AC
control system 510 for supplying electrical power, an actuator subsystem 515 providing ability for positioning and orienting parts of the bed, a number of sensor and detector subsystems for MBM File No. 1364a-108 sensing and detecting the state of parts of the bed, and a diagnostic subsystem as indicated.
The diagnostic subsystem can interact with the sensor and detector subsystem or it can have its own redundant sensor and detector system. The user interface subsystem can comprise a number of control consoles 520, 525, 530, and 535 comprising indication or display systems. The display systems can have a touch screen 531 or a regular display with separate buttons. The sensor system can comprise a scale subsystem 540 including a load cell system. The system architecture can further comprise a room or other interface 550 for communicating information to and from the bed and a remote user interface system.
In one embodiment the bed system architecture further comprises a model subsystem or virtual state machine for representation of the state of the bed components for interaction with the controller and the user interface under operating conditions. Each control subsystem can comprise its own model and independent processor or the model of the subsystem can be integrated in a central program controlled by a central processing unit controlling the bed system.
In one embodiment the architecture may include a diagnostic subsystem for monitoring or querying the functionality or status of the bed components. The diagnostic subsystem can be separate from or simply an additional component of the one or more control subsystems.
The diagnostic subsystem can monitor some or all of the bed actuators and can utilize an operatively required and already present sensor system or the diagnostic subsystem can have its own redundant sensor system for improved reliability of the bed control system. The diagnostic system may monitor the bed components on an ongoing basis during the bed's intended operation or it may be activated only when required to perform certain maintenance procedures. None, some or all of the functions intended for use during normal operation of the bed may be available during some or all of the diagnostic maintenance procedures. In addition, it may be safe for a person to remain in the bed during none, some or all of the diagnostic maintenance procedures.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can comprise sensors for the purpose of self diagnosis of the bed control system sensing the status of actuating components for example.
Such sensors may not be required to sense the status of the bed per se but rather provide MBM File No. 1364a-108 access to important status information of the control system. Examples can include the temperature of actuator components or controller hardware.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can passively alert users through messaging systems, for example error messages displayed on the display system. The diagnostic subsystem may also provide procedures to actively query internal status information of the bed system not intended for use during normal operation. Examples of internal status information can include any kind of readings from sensors or results from self diagnostic modes of employed digital devices. This information can be important, for example, when calibrating actuators and their respective motion sensor system to accurately scale sensor readings to provide positioning information which corresponds with the true physical position of the respective bed component. Other examples for internal status information include power supply voltages or current readings.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can also include a debug mode permitting the step-by-step execution of commands or procedures of the microcontroller or processing unit. For extensive debugging accessing the diagnostic subsystem through a general purpose computer constitutes a preferred embodiment.
Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a load cell system 600 which is used for monitoring movement of a bedded person. The system can be integrated into the bed or can be part of a person support element such as a mattress. In addition, the load cell system can comprise a number of load cells or load sensors for example a load cell which can be embedded in the bed proximally positioned at each of a bedded person's limbs and optionally at the center of the bed. The load cell system also can be comprised of a mesh of Load cells for example.
The signals from the load cells can be monitored and processed by a processing unit in the load cell system or a central processing unit capable of monitoring, processing, and controlling signals from the bed's subsystems. Instead of forming part of a support element such as a mattress the load cell system can also integrated into the surface of the bed for supporting the support element. The load cell system can provide a measure for the pressure, weight, or mass load of a certain load cell, for example foot left 620 or right b40 load cell values and head left 650 or right 630 load cell values and additional information about the location of the center of gravity.
MBMFiIe No. 1364a-!~8 In one embodiment the diagnostic and control system can comprise an additional scale subsystem providing a calibration process for calibrating the scale subsystem to provide accurate reading of a bedded person's weight and subsequently to calibrate a motion detection system for monitoring movement of a bedded person. It may be necessary to calibrate the load cell electronics in order to provide match the sensor signals with the scale subsystem electronics.
Figures 7A schematically illustrates an embodiment of the motor control subsystem with a number of attached actuators and limit switches. It is understood that, depending on the functionality of the bed, there can be different numbers of actuators or limit switches than illustrated. In this embodiment the surface of the bed can be shaped by orienting a head, thigh, and a foot section where the support surface for a bedded person is intended to fold and provide an adjustable angle between the upper body and the thigh as well as under the knee between the thigh and the lower leg. The head actuator 7010 can position the end of the head section, and the thigh actuator 7020 can position the knee section of the of the bed I S support surface relative to an even support structure. The HI-LO head actuator 7030 can position the head end of the even support structure relative to the frame of the bed which is in contact with the floor. The HI-LO foot actuator 7040 can position the foot end of the even support structure relative to the frame of the bed, for example. The two HI-LO
actuators can pivot the support surface horizontally whereas the head and the thigh actuator can shape the support surface by pivotally adjusting sections of the bed support surface.
In one embodiment, the motor control subsystem is connected to a number of limit switch or angle sensor systems 7050 which ensures that the actuators do not move or position parts beyond predetermined limit angles or distances. When a part or section of the bed reaches a predetermined limit position while moving, the motor control subsystem can receive a status change signal via one or more limit sensor signals and can interrupt the respective movement. The motor control subsystem can have a safety control feature that does not allow any further continued movement in that same direction or orientation unless the limit condition indicated by the limit sensor system is resolved. Provided that no movement of other degrees of freedom of the bed takes place the limit condition typically can be resolved by reversing the original movement.
MBMFiIe No. 1364a-108 As discussed previously, each component of the motor control system including the actuators and the limit switch sensor system can provide diagnostic features or a diagnostic mode. The diagnostic features also can include a separate redundant diagnosis sensor subsystem for monitoring the state of the respective device or component for example a temperature sensor or a redundant parallel or serial sensor limit switch system to enhance the reliability of the positioning system. An important aspect of the diagnostic subsystem that is relevant to the motor control system can regard the accurate calibration of sensors providing actuator position information. The motor control system interprets actuator position sensor signals to be accurate representations, encoded in form of a suitable signal, of the real position of a respective part or section of the bed. The motor control system may fail to execute a given command when the real position deviates from the motor control system's perceived position as provided by or derived from an actuator signal.
In such a case the diagnostic system can provide functionality to help avoid or diagnose a malfunction which can reach from functionalities such as automatic recalibration to alerting or messaging.
Figure 7B schematically illustrates an embodiment of the user interface controller 7100 with a number of attached user interface consoles. The bed can have a number of user-interface consoles each providing access to a certain set of bed system functions. For example the bed can have user interface consoles integrated into one or both of the side rails of the bed providing easy access to certain bed system functions to a bedded person or a person at the side of the bed. The bed can also have a user interface console located at the foot or the head section of the bed. Each such interface console may be integrated into a respective foot or head board of the bed for example. A foot 7130 or a head interface console may provide access to a set of bed system functions different from each other as well as different from the side rail consoles. There can be inner 7110 or outer 7120 side rail consoles intended for access from within or from outside of the bed. An embodiment of a side rail console is illustrated in Figure 4 and an embodiment of a foot board interface console is illustrated in Figure 2. The foot board console can have a display system 7150 included. The display system can be a touch screen display or a simple passive display system with a separate input system as illustrated in Figure 2. In addition the interface controller can have a remote control interface 7160 to which a remote console can be connected. The remote control MBM File No. I364a-I Uti interface can provide wired or wireless connection of a special purpose or a general purpose computing device 7170 for example. A number of different bus systems and control protocols are available to communicate through the remote control interface as known to a person skilled in the art. The interface controller may also provide a number of additional S control or remote control interfaces 7180.
In one embodiment the interface controller as well as the attached user interface consoles can have self diagnosis features or provide an interface for access to diagnostic procedures.
The interface controller may be able to provide a debugging mode for step-by-step execution of control commands or to query status information of the components or devices of the bed system.
Figure 7C illustrates a part of a scale subsystem 7200 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The scale subsystem can connect to a number of load sensors. The number of load sensors can be different from the ones ~ illustrated. In this embodiment four load sensors 7210, 7220, 7230, 7240 which are capable of sensing pressure and can be calibrated to provide a measure of force or mass applied to each sensor are attached to the scale subsystem control interface 7250. The scale subsystem controller can process signals incoming from the load cells and can be used to detect the status of a bedded person. The scale control subsystem can be configured to provide a messaging signal or to alert monitoring personnel through an external alarm system interface 7260 for example. If each load cell is properly calibrated, the scale control subsystem can also provide a measure of the weight of a bedded person. The information can be utilized to determine a person's mass or weight or the respective mass or weight and can also be used to record this information in another subsystem of the bed which may be desired for patient monitoring for example.
In one embodiment, the scale subsystem may require occasional calibration depending on the nature of the chosen sensor technology. Access to the scale subsystem for calibration, monitoring or diagnostic purposes may be possible through the user interface as described in Figure 7B.
MBM File No. I364a-J08 It is understood that any kind of diagnostic procedure also includes inspection of the corresponding component and that each component may provide a hardware interface for connection to a special purpose diagnostic device for diagnosing the component.
It is obvious that the foregoing embodiments of the invention are exemplary and can be varied in many ways. Such present or future variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications, as would be obvious in the art, are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Figure 7A illustrates an embodiment of a motor control, and motor and actuator system.
Figure 7B illustrates an embodiment of an interface controller.
Figure 7C illustrates an embodiment of a scale or weigh subsystem.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a diagnostic and control system for a bed, wherein the bed comprises one or more of a plurality of electronic elements including for example, load sensors, tilt sensors, linear sensors, temperature sensors, electronic controls and keyboards, wiring actuators for adjusting bed angles and the like, in addition to other electronic elements for example. The diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can enable the specific control of each of these electronic elements for desired operation thereof and further can enable the monitoring of the operating conditions of these electronic elements and additional bed conditions. The diagnostic and control system further enables the evaluation and determination of the existence of one or more faults relating to the operation of the bed, for example the existence of a fault can be conveyed to an operator in a form of an error message. The diagnostic and control system can subsequently evaluate the detected fault and can determine for example a cause thereof and a potential remedy. In this manner the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can provide the evaluation of the detected fault and subsequently provide the operator or technician with a remedy for the detected fault, thereby reducing the downtime of a bed that comprises the diagnostic and control system according to the present.
For example, multifunctional beds can have two or more different kinds of users. Persons who rest on the bed namely bedded persons who may have access to certain functionalities provided by the bed and operators or personnel who can operate the same, more or other functionalities of the bed either on-site or remotely. Operators may ensure that the bed is adjusted to meet the requirements of a bedded person who, for example, would otherwise not be able to adjust such functionality. For improved ergonomics, a bed can have a Mt3M t' Jl2 No. l.f64C1-lUcY
multitude of adjustable characteristics such as providing individually reclinable sections or other functions to control or set the ambient conditions that a bedded person may require for treatment. For example, the bed may include an articulated surface to provide a supine position, as well as cardiac chair positions required for the treatment of cardiac patients.
An example of a hospital bed into which can be integrated the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention, is illustrated in Figure I. The bed 10 has an articulated bed surface including a foot section 11, a seat section 9 and a head section 15 that are supported by a frame 22 and can also comprise a headboard 12 and a footboard 13. The frame 2Z is supported on a base unit 14 by generally upright pivot plates 18, 19, 20 and 21 extending upwardly from the base unit 14. As illustrated, two pivot plates 18 and 21 are pivotally attached to the head portion 27 of the frame 22, and two pivot plates 19 and 20 are pivotally attached to the foot portion 28 of frame 22. Thus, the bed can be raised or lowered when the pivot plates 18, 21, and 19, 20 rotate in order to provide vertical adjustment of the bed 10 with respect to a horizontal plane. Preferably, the vertical adjustment of the bed 10 can be further facilitated by a motor or a hydraulic lift (not shown).
If it is desired to render the bed 10 easily movable, a plurality of wheels 16 can be provided on the base unit 14, typically at the four corners thereof. A brake/steer pedal 17 extends from the base unit 14 to facilitate locking and unlocking of the wheels 16.
A lift arm 24 is pivotally attached to frame 22 at a pivot point 24a at one end and to the head section 15 at pivot point 24b (not shown) at another end. Similarly, a lift arm 25 is also attached to the other side of the frame 22 at pivot point 25a (not shown) at one end and to the head section 15 at pivot point 25b at the other end. The lift arms 24, 25 can be attached to the frame 22 and the head section 15 by a bolt or other fastening means that secures the lift arms 24, 25 to the frame 22 and the head section 15, while still allowing the lift arms 24, 25 to pivot at the pivot points 24a and ZSa, and 24b and 25b.
Accordingly, transverse movement of the head section 15 toward and away from the foot section 11 will cause the respective lift arms 24, 25 to rotate together about the associated pivot points 24a, 25a, and 24b, 25b. In a similar manner, the foot section can be articulated with lift arms 34 and 35 which are pivotally attached at one end to frame 22 and at a distal end thereof to foot S
MBMFileNo, 1364a-108 section 11, respectively, to provide for elevation of the foot section 11 with respect to the horizontal plane of the frame 22. As a result, the foot section I1 and the head section 15 can be configured and positioned at various degrees of inclination with respect to the seat section 9, which is fixed in the horizontal plane.
It would be readily understood that a variety of other bed configuration can have the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention integrated therein and the specific example as described above is not to be considered limiting.
Bed System Components A multifunctional bed can be equipped with one or more of a plurality of electronic devices that can provide a means for controlling the functionality of the bed. For example, electronically controlled drivers or actuators can be provided to help automatically adjust any part or section of a bed, wherein these actuators can be electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic in nature and may require a suitable electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic drive or power supply system for operation thereof. A bed system can additionally include one or more sensors and detectors for sensing and detecting the status of structural or functional components of the bed as well as certain vital signs of a bedded person. For example, sensors or detectors can be appropriately designed load sensors, angular movement sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors or any other type of sensor or detector that would be appropriate for integration into a bed as would be readily understood by a worker skilled in the art. Each of these sensors or detectors can be configured to evaluate a desired piece of informatioxi relating to the bedded person or the bed itself, for example the information can relate to the mass of the patient, the orientation of the bed in terms of position of the bedded person or other characteristics.
In addition, the bed system comprises a form of human machine interface system that can assist in accessing the functionalities that are associated with the bed, for example to enable movement of portions of the bed or to evaluate the condition of desired aspects of the bed's functionality, for example monitoring or fault detection. The interface system can be realised with one or more specific interfaces for enabling access, wherein an interface can be provided on a footboard, side rails or other location on the bed for example. The position MBM File No. 1364a-I08 and number of interfaces can be determined based on the number of desired access points to the functionality of the components of bed.
In one embodiment, the bed system components further comprises a sensor for detecting if a patient is inadvertently obstructing the selected movement of the bed. For example, if a patients arm is below a side rail, a sensor can detect the presence of the arm and not proceed with the lowering of the side rail if this request has been made. In this manner, the diagnostic and control system can monitor and evaluate if a selected movement of bed component would be inhibited by a patient's orientation.
Control, Monitoring and Calibration Subsystem The diagnostic and control system can comprise a single monolithic subsystem or one or more modular subsystems enabling the control, monitoring, and, if required, calibration of the electronic elements of the bed system. In this manner the functionality of each of the electronic elements, for example load sensors, temperature sensors, tilt sensors, actuator position sensors, actuators and the like can be evaluated and assessed for functionality within a desired set of parameters.
The diagnostic and control system can further monitor or query the functionality or status of the electronic elements, including for example, actuators, load sensors and the like. The system can monitor the current status of the operational parameters of these electronic elements and cross-reference the collected data with a set of standard operational characteristics. In this manner the system can be provided with a means for detection of a potential error when a specific electronic element is not operating within a desired range.
For example, if a load sensor is being monitored and an extraneous load reading is detected, the system can re-query the load sensor to evaluate if it was merely an inaccurate reading or if a potential problem exists. This extraneous reading may be for example a reading that may be outside of normal operating conditions of the load sensor or may be evaluated as extraneous upon comparison with other load sensors in the vicinity, for example. Each of the electronic elements associated with the bed system can be monitored in this manner as would be readily understood by a worker skilled in the art.
MBM File No. 1364a-! 08 The diagnostic and control system can perform the monitoring of the bed system components in a continuous manner, periodic manner or on-demand manner. The frequency of the monitoring of these components can be dependent on the electronic element being monitored. For example, the format of the monitoring can be dependent on the level of computation that is required to determine if a component is operating within desired parameters. Constant monitoring may include querying the sensors for current readings for comparison with operational parameters. Periodic monitoring may be performed when evaluation of the orientation and angular position of the bed frame is desired and on-demand monitoring may be performed on the diagnostic and control system itself wherein monitoring thereof would typically comprise a more extensive computation of current status.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system initialises or calibrates the operation of each of the electronic elements, for example actuators, load sensors and tile sensors, in order that these electronic elements can provide the desired level of accuracy and desired functionality to the bed. For example, calibration of a load sensor may be performed when a mattress is positioned on the bed and the load sensor can be zeroed under this condition. Furthermore, one or more of the actuators and tilt sensors can be calibrated or zeroed when a bed is in a known orientation, for example linearly flat.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system, while providing control of the functionality of the bed system, can additionally ensure that a procedure requested by a user is both possible and safe to be performed. In this scenario the diagnostic and control system can evaluate the current status of the bed systems, and subsequently determine if the selected function is possible. For example if an operator requests the elevation of the head portion of the bed, the system can determine if the head portion can be elevated, and if this procedure is possible subsequently perform the desired function. If for example, the head portion was fully raised, and the function was performed regardless, the actuator performing the requested function may be unnecessarily damaged due to overloading, for example. This evaluation of the requested function can additionally be determined based on a current treatment being performed on a patient. For example, if a patient is to be oriented in a particular position, the diagnostic and control system can be MBM File No. 1364a-I08 configured to not allow any adjustment of the bed system until this particular position can be changed according to treatment procedures.
In one embodiment the diagnostic and control system can be designed using an interface-controller-model architecture. The interface can provide user access to functions of the bed, as well as a query or notification system that can provide access to bed functionality, or notify monitoring personnel of important status information about parameters of bed functionality in addition to certain vital information about the bedded person. The model can provide an abstract description of the bed's operational parameters, for example desired operating conditions in the form of a virtual machine, data set or database.
The interface and controller can also read information from the model and based on current detected status of the electronic elements associated with the bed, can determine if the bed is performing within desired parameters. For example, a representational model for a collection of loads sensors can be provided which can provide operational parameters for the load sensors that can additionally be representative of the configuration of a load sensor web, thereby providing a means for evaluating the operational characteristics of the loads sensors during operation.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system can include one or more monitoring sensors that can provide a means for independently monitoring the functionality of one or more of the functions of the bed. For example, a monitoring sensor can be associated with an actuator, wherein this monitoring sensor can be a temperature sensor that may enable the detection of overloading or overuse of an actuator due to an excessive temperature reading. The diagnostic and control system may optionally comprise redundant sensors for example, which may be activated upon detection of extraneous readings for a typically used sensor. This form of redundancy can additionally provide a means for evaluating the operational characteristics of the electronic elements associated with the bed.
In one embodiment, the interface with the diagnostic and control system can provide one or more different classes of functionalities to one or more different categories of users. For example functionalities can be categorized into functions accessible to a bedded person, functions accessible to a monitoring person, and functions accessible to maintenance MBM File No. 1364a-108 personnel for accessing diagnostic functionality. Consequently, there can be user interface subsystems that are available and intended for use by a specific user group.
Functions of the bed can also be grouped according to a person's physical accessibility to the bed and can be accessible on-site or remotely or both. As a result, the bed control system can interact with two or more physical tangible human machine interface subsystems such as for example a console embedded in the bed. Another important aspect of the present invention is the ability to connect to the bed's controller and transfer information from it or instructions to it via a suitable number of user interface subsystems, for example wired or wireless communication systems.
Upon the detection of a fault or error, the diagnostic and control system can activate an alarm setting that can be a visual, audible or other form of fault indication.
For example, the interface associated with the bed can have an error message displayed thereon.
In one embodiment, this error message can provide a means for a technician to evaluate and correct the identified fault.
In one embodiment of the present invention, upon detection of a system fault during the monitoring of the functionality of the bed system, the diagnostic and control system can initiate a full diagnostic subsystem which can perform a more complete system diagnostic evaluation and evaluate and identify one or more sources of the detected system fault. In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system can collect specific information relating to the current status of particular components of the bed system that are directly related to the detected fault, for example one or more sensor readings or the like, for subsequent use by the diagnostic subsystem for analysis of this fault.
Diagnostic Subsystem The diagnostic subsystem can collect and evaluate the collected information relating to the identified fault and perform an analysis thereof in order to determine a source of this fault and a potential remedy to the detected fault. The diagnostic subsystem can indicate malfunctions of the bed control system which can be due to a number of reasons such as for example an actuator break-down, an unacceptable deviation between a parameter of the bed MtlM H lle No. I ~64a-I UcY
and the bed control system's parameter's desired value as, for example, caused by overload or lack of calibration of an actuator, or any other condition of the bed control system. A
diagnostic program may be available in order to diagnose any critical or non-critical function of the bed control system for diagnosing a malfunction.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can also record a number of events including system messages and user commands into one or more log records, for example one or more files in an embedded or a remote controller or computer system. The log records can also contain information from other subsystems of the bed. Information in the log records can be categorized; time stamped, and can contain human or machine readable messages describing the event. The messages can be encoded, encrypted or clear text messages. Each subsystem can have its own logging mechanism for logging events specific to that subsystem, accessible only through an interface of the subsystem or accessible through interaction with a central controller. Events can be categorized into groups according to a severity or other schemes and, depending on the categorization, include varying degrees of detailed information.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can analyse the detected information relating to the functionality of the bed associated with the detected fault, and subsequently evaluate one or more indicators that can be compared with known indicators of know problems relating to bed functionality. In this manner, based on a comparison with the indicators of known problems, the diagnostic subsystem can determine the specific problem.
Once a specific problem has been identified, a respective remedy for this problem can be identified, thereby providing a means for the remediation of the identified problem. The correlation between a calculated indicator defined by information relating to the present status of the bed system, may not precisely match an indicator of a known problem. In this instance a probability of correlation between the evaluated indicator and the known indicator can be determined thereby providing a means for assigning a confidence factor with the identified problem.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic subsystem can evaluate the identified fault through the analysis of previously detected readings, thereby providing for a correlation between the current readings at fault detection and previous readings. This MBMFiIe No. 7364a-108 manner of analysis may provide a means for identifying a malfunctioning component, for example a sensor through the correlation with previously detected values.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic subsystem can be directly integrated into the bed. Optionally, the diagnostic subsystem can be electronically coupled to the bed upon the issuance of a error notification. Moreover, the bed system architecture can comprise a diagnostic interface providing access to the bed system such that a diagnostic subsystem can be separated or detached from the physical bed and provide the same set, a subset or superset of diagnostic tools than an integrated diagnostic subsystem.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic and control system comprises a communication system that can provide a means for transmitting information relating to the evaluated functionality of the bed to another location. In this embodiment, the communication system can enable wired or wireless communication. For example, this form of connectivity of the bed may enable the remote monitoring of bed functionality at a location removed from the location of the bed. For example, in a hospital setting, this remote monitoring can be performed at a nursing station or optionally can be provided at a remote location removed from the hospital. The communication system can enable the transmission of monitoring and diagnostic results to a technician for analysis, for example if a more detailed diagnostic analysis of the bed is required in order to determine the source of the indicated error. This can provide a means for a detailed diagnostic to be performed and an appropriate remedy identified prior to the dispatching of a technician to the bed site. In this manner, time may be conserved as the technician may be dispatched with appropriate replacement parts, which may result in time savings thereby reducing the downtime of the bed.
The functionality of the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can be provided by any number of computing devices, for example one or more microprocessors, one or more controllers or one or more computer systems that can be integrated into the bed itself in order to provide the desired computational functionality. In one embodiment of the present invention, the diagnostic subsystem can be configured for coupling to the bed to subsequently provide the diagnostic capabilities. It would be readily understood how to couple the diagnostic and control system to the one or more electronic MBM File No. 1364a-108 elements in order to data transfer therebetween, for example this connection can be a wired or wireless connection.
Figure l illustrates an example hospital bed having bed components that can be controlled, monitored and diagnosed by one embodiment of the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention. The bed is shown with some of its sections placed in one possible configuration. This example of a bed is not to be considered limiting as the diagnostic and control system according to the present invention can be integrated into any number of bed configurations.
Figure 2 illustrates a schematic view of one embodiment of a console or interface that can provide access to some or all functionality of the diagnostic and control system, wherein this user interface may be embedded into a bed. The console can be integrated into the foot board of the bed illustrated in Figure 1 and can provide access to the bed's functions. The console has back lit zone indicators 210 which can indicate a set zone mode of the bed for indicating a preset restriction level for movement of a bedded person.
Indicators 210 can also be mufti-color back lit to indicate an armed or disarmed state. Button 220 can be used to set and switch between the zone alarm as indicated by the zone alarm indicators 210.
Button 230 can arm or disarm the zone alarm functionality in a toggling fashion. Button 230 can be sectional or full color or mufti-color back lit to indicate an armed or disarmed state of the zone alarm system. Interface elements 240 can be used to raise or lower the bed support surface. While pushing the arrow-up button the bed raises and while pushing the arrow-down button the bed lowers. Pushing and holding both buttons may cause the movement to stop or continue the movement according to the button which was pressed first. Button 250 can lock out some or all functionality accessible through this or other consoles until the button 250 is pressed again. Buttons 260 and 270 can be used to lock-out access to reorient the respective head and knee sections of the bed. Button 280 when pressed causes the bed to assume a cardiac position or other predetermined shape of the bed support surface. Each of buttons 290 and 291 when pressed individually inclines or reclines the overall bed support surface without affecting the shape of the bed support surface.
Interface elements 265 and 275 provide button groups which when pressed can reorient the head or the knee sections of the bed and can be used in order to achieve respective desired MBM File No. 1364a-!08 angles between the upper body and the upper leg, as well as the upper leg and the lower leg of a bedded person. Display 205 can be used to display information about certain functions or the state of certain parts of the bed and its system components. Button group 215 can be used to scroll through information which is available in form of a menu for display but exceeds the amount of information which can be displayed simultaneously on display 205.
Buttons 217 and 219 can be used to select or enter information and to interact with the menu following a command and control concept.
Figure 3 illustrates an embodiment of the window content of a step in a series of user-bed interaction processes that can be displayed on a detached device such as a general purpose computer. This is part of an interface which for example can provide remote access to control, diagnose, or monitor functions of the bed system. The interface can provide functions to select certain components from a list of components or subsystems 310 of the bed system for detailed investigation. The user interface may change its look and feel by changing some or all of its user interface components when selecting to investigate a specific component of the bed system. The user interface can provide and display information in a categorized graphical fashion and can utilize a button status field 320, a motor status field 330, fields for monitoring vital information about a bedded person etc.
The user interface can also provide a menu system 340 to select from and to provide access to different aspects of interaction of the bed system such as for example, a monitoring interface, a maintenance interface, an operator interface etc. Switching between these modes may require authorization and may be password or security code protected.
Figure 4 illustrates an embodiment of a part of the user interface intended for use by the bedded person. As illustrated, the user interface for the bedded person can provide access to reclining functions 410, emergency call functions 420 or control of entertainment equipment 430.
Figure 5 illustrates a schematic diagram of the system architecture 500 of a bed control and diagnostic system. The architecture can be divided into a number of user interface and control subsystem components. The system architecture comprises a power or AC
control system 510 for supplying electrical power, an actuator subsystem 515 providing ability for positioning and orienting parts of the bed, a number of sensor and detector subsystems for MBM File No. 1364a-108 sensing and detecting the state of parts of the bed, and a diagnostic subsystem as indicated.
The diagnostic subsystem can interact with the sensor and detector subsystem or it can have its own redundant sensor and detector system. The user interface subsystem can comprise a number of control consoles 520, 525, 530, and 535 comprising indication or display systems. The display systems can have a touch screen 531 or a regular display with separate buttons. The sensor system can comprise a scale subsystem 540 including a load cell system. The system architecture can further comprise a room or other interface 550 for communicating information to and from the bed and a remote user interface system.
In one embodiment the bed system architecture further comprises a model subsystem or virtual state machine for representation of the state of the bed components for interaction with the controller and the user interface under operating conditions. Each control subsystem can comprise its own model and independent processor or the model of the subsystem can be integrated in a central program controlled by a central processing unit controlling the bed system.
In one embodiment the architecture may include a diagnostic subsystem for monitoring or querying the functionality or status of the bed components. The diagnostic subsystem can be separate from or simply an additional component of the one or more control subsystems.
The diagnostic subsystem can monitor some or all of the bed actuators and can utilize an operatively required and already present sensor system or the diagnostic subsystem can have its own redundant sensor system for improved reliability of the bed control system. The diagnostic system may monitor the bed components on an ongoing basis during the bed's intended operation or it may be activated only when required to perform certain maintenance procedures. None, some or all of the functions intended for use during normal operation of the bed may be available during some or all of the diagnostic maintenance procedures. In addition, it may be safe for a person to remain in the bed during none, some or all of the diagnostic maintenance procedures.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can comprise sensors for the purpose of self diagnosis of the bed control system sensing the status of actuating components for example.
Such sensors may not be required to sense the status of the bed per se but rather provide MBM File No. 1364a-108 access to important status information of the control system. Examples can include the temperature of actuator components or controller hardware.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can passively alert users through messaging systems, for example error messages displayed on the display system. The diagnostic subsystem may also provide procedures to actively query internal status information of the bed system not intended for use during normal operation. Examples of internal status information can include any kind of readings from sensors or results from self diagnostic modes of employed digital devices. This information can be important, for example, when calibrating actuators and their respective motion sensor system to accurately scale sensor readings to provide positioning information which corresponds with the true physical position of the respective bed component. Other examples for internal status information include power supply voltages or current readings.
In one embodiment the diagnostic subsystem can also include a debug mode permitting the step-by-step execution of commands or procedures of the microcontroller or processing unit. For extensive debugging accessing the diagnostic subsystem through a general purpose computer constitutes a preferred embodiment.
Figure 6 illustrates an embodiment of a load cell system 600 which is used for monitoring movement of a bedded person. The system can be integrated into the bed or can be part of a person support element such as a mattress. In addition, the load cell system can comprise a number of load cells or load sensors for example a load cell which can be embedded in the bed proximally positioned at each of a bedded person's limbs and optionally at the center of the bed. The load cell system also can be comprised of a mesh of Load cells for example.
The signals from the load cells can be monitored and processed by a processing unit in the load cell system or a central processing unit capable of monitoring, processing, and controlling signals from the bed's subsystems. Instead of forming part of a support element such as a mattress the load cell system can also integrated into the surface of the bed for supporting the support element. The load cell system can provide a measure for the pressure, weight, or mass load of a certain load cell, for example foot left 620 or right b40 load cell values and head left 650 or right 630 load cell values and additional information about the location of the center of gravity.
MBMFiIe No. 1364a-!~8 In one embodiment the diagnostic and control system can comprise an additional scale subsystem providing a calibration process for calibrating the scale subsystem to provide accurate reading of a bedded person's weight and subsequently to calibrate a motion detection system for monitoring movement of a bedded person. It may be necessary to calibrate the load cell electronics in order to provide match the sensor signals with the scale subsystem electronics.
Figures 7A schematically illustrates an embodiment of the motor control subsystem with a number of attached actuators and limit switches. It is understood that, depending on the functionality of the bed, there can be different numbers of actuators or limit switches than illustrated. In this embodiment the surface of the bed can be shaped by orienting a head, thigh, and a foot section where the support surface for a bedded person is intended to fold and provide an adjustable angle between the upper body and the thigh as well as under the knee between the thigh and the lower leg. The head actuator 7010 can position the end of the head section, and the thigh actuator 7020 can position the knee section of the of the bed I S support surface relative to an even support structure. The HI-LO head actuator 7030 can position the head end of the even support structure relative to the frame of the bed which is in contact with the floor. The HI-LO foot actuator 7040 can position the foot end of the even support structure relative to the frame of the bed, for example. The two HI-LO
actuators can pivot the support surface horizontally whereas the head and the thigh actuator can shape the support surface by pivotally adjusting sections of the bed support surface.
In one embodiment, the motor control subsystem is connected to a number of limit switch or angle sensor systems 7050 which ensures that the actuators do not move or position parts beyond predetermined limit angles or distances. When a part or section of the bed reaches a predetermined limit position while moving, the motor control subsystem can receive a status change signal via one or more limit sensor signals and can interrupt the respective movement. The motor control subsystem can have a safety control feature that does not allow any further continued movement in that same direction or orientation unless the limit condition indicated by the limit sensor system is resolved. Provided that no movement of other degrees of freedom of the bed takes place the limit condition typically can be resolved by reversing the original movement.
MBMFiIe No. 1364a-108 As discussed previously, each component of the motor control system including the actuators and the limit switch sensor system can provide diagnostic features or a diagnostic mode. The diagnostic features also can include a separate redundant diagnosis sensor subsystem for monitoring the state of the respective device or component for example a temperature sensor or a redundant parallel or serial sensor limit switch system to enhance the reliability of the positioning system. An important aspect of the diagnostic subsystem that is relevant to the motor control system can regard the accurate calibration of sensors providing actuator position information. The motor control system interprets actuator position sensor signals to be accurate representations, encoded in form of a suitable signal, of the real position of a respective part or section of the bed. The motor control system may fail to execute a given command when the real position deviates from the motor control system's perceived position as provided by or derived from an actuator signal.
In such a case the diagnostic system can provide functionality to help avoid or diagnose a malfunction which can reach from functionalities such as automatic recalibration to alerting or messaging.
Figure 7B schematically illustrates an embodiment of the user interface controller 7100 with a number of attached user interface consoles. The bed can have a number of user-interface consoles each providing access to a certain set of bed system functions. For example the bed can have user interface consoles integrated into one or both of the side rails of the bed providing easy access to certain bed system functions to a bedded person or a person at the side of the bed. The bed can also have a user interface console located at the foot or the head section of the bed. Each such interface console may be integrated into a respective foot or head board of the bed for example. A foot 7130 or a head interface console may provide access to a set of bed system functions different from each other as well as different from the side rail consoles. There can be inner 7110 or outer 7120 side rail consoles intended for access from within or from outside of the bed. An embodiment of a side rail console is illustrated in Figure 4 and an embodiment of a foot board interface console is illustrated in Figure 2. The foot board console can have a display system 7150 included. The display system can be a touch screen display or a simple passive display system with a separate input system as illustrated in Figure 2. In addition the interface controller can have a remote control interface 7160 to which a remote console can be connected. The remote control MBM File No. I364a-I Uti interface can provide wired or wireless connection of a special purpose or a general purpose computing device 7170 for example. A number of different bus systems and control protocols are available to communicate through the remote control interface as known to a person skilled in the art. The interface controller may also provide a number of additional S control or remote control interfaces 7180.
In one embodiment the interface controller as well as the attached user interface consoles can have self diagnosis features or provide an interface for access to diagnostic procedures.
The interface controller may be able to provide a debugging mode for step-by-step execution of control commands or to query status information of the components or devices of the bed system.
Figure 7C illustrates a part of a scale subsystem 7200 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The scale subsystem can connect to a number of load sensors. The number of load sensors can be different from the ones ~ illustrated. In this embodiment four load sensors 7210, 7220, 7230, 7240 which are capable of sensing pressure and can be calibrated to provide a measure of force or mass applied to each sensor are attached to the scale subsystem control interface 7250. The scale subsystem controller can process signals incoming from the load cells and can be used to detect the status of a bedded person. The scale control subsystem can be configured to provide a messaging signal or to alert monitoring personnel through an external alarm system interface 7260 for example. If each load cell is properly calibrated, the scale control subsystem can also provide a measure of the weight of a bedded person. The information can be utilized to determine a person's mass or weight or the respective mass or weight and can also be used to record this information in another subsystem of the bed which may be desired for patient monitoring for example.
In one embodiment, the scale subsystem may require occasional calibration depending on the nature of the chosen sensor technology. Access to the scale subsystem for calibration, monitoring or diagnostic purposes may be possible through the user interface as described in Figure 7B.
MBM File No. I364a-J08 It is understood that any kind of diagnostic procedure also includes inspection of the corresponding component and that each component may provide a hardware interface for connection to a special purpose diagnostic device for diagnosing the component.
It is obvious that the foregoing embodiments of the invention are exemplary and can be varied in many ways. Such present or future variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications, as would be obvious in the art, are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Claims
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A diagnostic and control system for a bed, said bed having integrated therein one or more electronically controlled devices for providing one or more functions to the bed, said system comprising:
a) a control subsystem electronically coupled to one or more electronically controlled devices for transmission of data therebetween, said control system for initiating the functionality of the one or more electronically controlled devices, said control system collecting information relating to operational conditions representative of said one or more electronically controlled devices; and b) a diagnostic subsystem electronically coupled to the control subsystem for transmission of data therebetween, said control subsystem activating said diagnostic subsystem upon detection of an operational fault relating to the one or more electronically controlled devices, said diagnostic subsystem for receiving information from the control subsystem and analysing said information using one or more evaluation routines for the determination of a potential source of the operational fault.
a) a control subsystem electronically coupled to one or more electronically controlled devices for transmission of data therebetween, said control system for initiating the functionality of the one or more electronically controlled devices, said control system collecting information relating to operational conditions representative of said one or more electronically controlled devices; and b) a diagnostic subsystem electronically coupled to the control subsystem for transmission of data therebetween, said control subsystem activating said diagnostic subsystem upon detection of an operational fault relating to the one or more electronically controlled devices, said diagnostic subsystem for receiving information from the control subsystem and analysing said information using one or more evaluation routines for the determination of a potential source of the operational fault.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002497995A CA2497995A1 (en) | 2005-02-23 | 2005-02-23 | Diagnostic and control system for a bed |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002497995A CA2497995A1 (en) | 2005-02-23 | 2005-02-23 | Diagnostic and control system for a bed |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2497995A1 true CA2497995A1 (en) | 2006-08-23 |
Family
ID=36930045
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002497995A Abandoned CA2497995A1 (en) | 2005-02-23 | 2005-02-23 | Diagnostic and control system for a bed |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2497995A1 (en) |
-
2005
- 2005-02-23 CA CA002497995A patent/CA2497995A1/en not_active Abandoned
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