EP3610840A1 - Treatment couch with safety improvement - Google Patents
Treatment couch with safety improvement Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP3610840A1 EP3610840A1 EP18189007.0A EP18189007A EP3610840A1 EP 3610840 A1 EP3610840 A1 EP 3610840A1 EP 18189007 A EP18189007 A EP 18189007A EP 3610840 A1 EP3610840 A1 EP 3610840A1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- support base
- treatment
- lifting arm
- treatment platform
- platform
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
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- 230000008859 change Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 19
- 239000003990 capacitor Substances 0.000 claims description 36
- 238000001514 detection method Methods 0.000 claims description 25
- 239000012777 electrically insulating material Substances 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000001914 filtration Methods 0.000 claims description 4
- 230000003213 activating effect Effects 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 230000008901 benefit Effects 0.000 description 6
- 238000012544 monitoring process Methods 0.000 description 5
- 238000005265 energy consumption Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000006378 damage Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000009286 beneficial effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000009467 reduction Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
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
- A61G13/00—Operating tables; Auxiliary appliances therefor
- A61G13/10—Parts, details or accessories
-
- 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
- A61G13/00—Operating tables; Auxiliary appliances therefor
- A61G13/009—Physiotherapeutic tables, beds or platforms; Chiropractic or osteopathic tables
-
- 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
- A61G13/00—Operating tables; Auxiliary appliances therefor
- A61G13/02—Adjustable operating tables; Controls therefor
- A61G13/06—Adjustable operating tables; Controls therefor raising or lowering of the whole table surface
-
- 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
- A61G2203/70—General characteristics of devices with special adaptations, e.g. for safety or comfort
- A61G2203/72—General characteristics of devices with special adaptations, e.g. for safety or comfort for collision prevention
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a treatment couch comprising a safety system for preventing clamping of body parts or other objects between the support base, the treatment platform and the one or more lifting arms of the treatment couch while treatment platform is being moved with respect to the support base of the treatment couch.
- a treatment couch having a safety system for preventing clamping of body parts or other objects between the support base, the treatment platform and the lifting arms of the treatment couch is for example known from WO 03/088885 A1 .
- the safety system of this treatment couch comprises a plurality of infrared emitters and detectors. If a body part or another object passes through an infrared beam going from one of the emitters to one of the detectors, the body part or the object is detected and the movement of the treatment platform with respect to the support base is stopped.
- a treatment couch having such a safety system has however several disadvantages.
- One disadvantage is that body parts or other objects, may still pass between the infrared beams and as such go undetected. For example if the body part or object is small enough to pass between the infrared beams. This may be improved by increasing the amount of emitters and detectors, but this has the disadvantage that the safety system becomes more complex and consumes more energy.
- Another disadvantage is that body parts or other objects may be detected along the entire length of the infrared beams, even if there is not necessarily a direct danger for clamping of the body part or object. In such case the movement of the treatment platform with respect to the support base is stopped without it being really necessary.
- the present invention provides a treatment couch for use in physiotherapeutic treatment of a patient.
- the treatment couch comprises a support base for supporting the treatment couch on the ground.
- the treatment couch comprises a treatment platform for supporting the patient.
- the treatment couch comprises a lifting system for moving the treatment platform with respect to the support base in a height direction.
- the lifting system comprises at least one lifting arm.
- the at least one lifting arm is tiltably connected to the support base and to the treatment platform in such a way that tilting of the at least one lifting arm moves the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction.
- the treatment couch comprises a safety system for preventing clamping of body parts or other objects between the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm.
- the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm are electrically isolated from each other.
- the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- the safety system is configured for generating a safety alert signal when at least one electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm changes.
- the treatment couch according to the present invention offers the advantage that the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm are monitored in their entirety for contact with a body part or another object, such that no such contact goes undetected. This improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention.
- the treatment couch according to the present invention also requires the monitoring of only a limited number of components of the treatment couch for contact with a body part or another object, which reduces the complexity and energy consumption of the treatment couch.
- the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- the safety system is configured for generating a safety alert signal when at least one electrical capacitance associated with the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm changes.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the safety system is monitoring the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm, and that contact of a body part or another object with any of these components can be detected by the safety system. This improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention without improving the complexity too much since it only requires the monitoring of a limited number of components.
- the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm during movement of the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction.
- the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm during movement of the treatment platform towards the support base in the height direction.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the safety system is only actively monitoring the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm for contact with a body part or another object when the lifting system is moving the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction. This reduces energy consumption of the treatment couch according to the present invention. This also prevents safety alert signals being generated under circumstances where there is no risk of clamping of a body part or another object between the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm when the treatment platform is below a predetermined distance above the support base in the height direction.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the safety system is only actively monitoring the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm for contact with a body part or another object when the treatment platform is sufficiently close to the support base that there is a risk of clamping of the body part or object between the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm. This reduces energy consumption of the treatment couch according to the present invention. This also prevents safety alert signals being generated under circumstances where there is no risk of clamping of body parts between the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- the lifting system comprises at least one actuator for driving the tilting of the at least one lifting arm, wherein the safety system is operably connected to the at least one actuator, and wherein the safety system is configured for stopping the at least one actuator when the safety alert signal is generated.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the movement of the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction is stopped when a safety alert signal is generated after contact of a body part or another object with the support base, the treatment platform or the at least one lifting arm. This further improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention, since injuries or damage caused by the further movement of the treatment platform may be avoided in this way.
- the safety system is configured for activating the at least one actuator for a predetermined time period for moving the treatment platform upwards with respect to the support base in the height direction after the at least one actuator has been stopped by the safety system when the safety alert signal is generated.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that a body part or other object which has possibly been clamped between the treatment platform, the support base and the at least one lifting arm is released by the upward movement of the treatment platform with respect the support base in the height direction after contact of the body part or object with the support base, the treatment platform or the at least one lifting arm has been detected. This further improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention.
- the at least one lifting arm is connected to the support base and to the treatment platform by means of a hinges in an electrically insulating material for electrically isolating the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm from each other.
- the electrically insulating material is a plastic.
- the safety system comprises a voltage application circuit comprising an AC power supply and a fixed capacitor having a predetermined electrical capacitance.
- a first pole of the power supply is electrically connected to a first terminal of the fixed capacitor.
- a second terminal of the fixed capacitor is electrically connected to at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- a second pole of the power supply is electrically connected to a component of the treatment couch which is electrically connected to a ground potential.
- the safety system further comprises a voltage detection circuit and a control unit.
- the voltage detection circuit is configured for detecting a change in a voltage signal over the fixed capacitor.
- An input of the voltage detection circuit is electrically connected to the second terminal of the fixed capacitor.
- An output of the voltage detection circuit is electrically connected to the control unit.
- the control unit is configured for generating the safety alert signal when the change in the voltage signal detected by the voltage detection circuit is outside of a predetermined range.
- the second terminal of the fixed capacitor is electrically connected to the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm is the component of the treatment couch which is electrically connected to the ground potential and to the second pole of the power supply.
- the second terminal of the fixed capacitor is electrically connected to at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm which is not connected to the ground potential.
- the support base is the component of the treatment couch which is electrically connected to the ground potential.
- the voltage detection circuit is configured for full-wave rectification and RMS peak detection of the voltage signal at the input of the voltage detection circuit.
- the voltage detection circuit is further configured for filtering low frequency noise and high frequency noise from the voltage signal at the input of the voltage detection circuit.
- top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention described herein can operate in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.
- Figure 1 shows a side view of a treatment couch 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- the treatment couch 1 comprises a support base 2 by means of which the treatment couch 1 supports on the ground.
- the treatment couch 1 comprises a treatment platform 3 for supporting a patient on the treatment couch 1.
- the treatment platform 3 is provided with pillows 32 for the comfort of the patient.
- the treatment couch 1 comprises a lifting system 4 with a first lifting arm 5 and a second lifting arm 8 for moving the treatment platform 3 with respect to the support base 2 in the height direction H.
- the lifting arms 5, 8 are tiltably connected to the support base 2 at their lower end and to the treatment platform 3 at their upper end by means of hinges 11. In this way, the tilting of the lifting arms 5, 8 with respect to the support base 2 moves the treatment platform 3 with respect to the support base 2 in the height direction H. Thereby, the treatment platform 3 remains horizontal since the treatment platform 3 is tiltably connected to the lifting arms 5, 8.
- two lifting arms 5, 8 are used which are arranged parallel to each other, and form as such a parallelogram.
- the lifting system 4 may also be implemented with more or less lifting arms 5, 8 and/or by using a different arrangement of the lifting arms 5, 8, such as for example a trapezoid arrangement or a scissor arrangement.
- the lifting system 4 further comprises an actuator 12 for driving the tilting of the lifting arms 5, 8.
- the actuator 12 is connected to the lifting arms 5, 8 via actuator connector 13 which connects to flanges 6, 9 on the lifting arms 5, 8.
- This configuration allows a single actuator 12 to drive the tilting of both lifting arms 5, 8 simultaneously. It is however also possible to use one or more actuators for driving a single lifting arm 5, 8.
- the treatment couch 1 also comprises a safety system 14 for preventing body parts or other objects from getting clamped between the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and/or the lifting arms 5,8 during the movement of the treatment platform 3 with respect to the support base 2 in the height direction H.
- a safety system 14 for preventing body parts or other objects from getting clamped between the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and/or the lifting arms 5,8 during the movement of the treatment platform 3 with respect to the support base 2 in the height direction H.
- a safety system 14 for preventing body parts or other objects from getting clamped between the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and/or the lifting arms 5,8 during the movement of the treatment platform 3 with respect to the support base 2 in the height direction H.
- the safety system 14 monitors the electrical capacitance C co associated with the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and the lifting arms 5, 8 for changes which are caused by said contact. If such a change is detected the safety system 14 generates a safety alert signal. In response to the safety alert signal, the safety system 14 instructs the actuator 12 of the lifting system 4, to which it is operably connected, to stop the movement of the treatment platform 3 with respect to the support base 2 in the height direction H, in order to prevent clamping of the body part or the object which is contacting the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 or one of the lifting arms 5, 8.
- the safety system 14 may instruct the actuator 12 of the lifting system 4 to move the treatment platform 3 for a predetermined period of time in the direction opposite of the direction in which it was moving before the contact with the body part or the object, in order to unclamp the body part or the object which was clamped when contacting the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and/or one of the lifting arms 5, 8.
- the safety system 14 may also take other actions in response to the safety alert signal, such as for example sounding an alarm signal.
- the risk of clamping a body part or another object between the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and/or the lifting arms 5,8 when moving the treatment platform 3 with respect to the support base 2 in the height direction H mainly occurs when the treatment platform 3 is moving towards the support base 2 and increases when the treatment platform 3 moves closer to the support base 2. Therefore, it is beneficial to only activate the safety system 14 when the treatment platform 3 is moving towards the support base 2 in the height direction H and/or when the treatment platform 3 is below a predetermined distance above the support base 2 in the height direction H.
- the safety system 14 comprises a voltage application circuit 15, of which the working principle will be explained by means of the simplified presentation of Figure 3 .
- the voltage application circuit 15 comprises an AC power supply 16 and a fixed capacitor C fix having a predetermined electrical capacitance C fix .
- the fixed capacitor C fix is connected in series with a "couch" capacitor C co formed by the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and the lifting arms 5, 8.
- a change in the voltage signal over the fixed capacitor C fix indicates a change in the electrical capacitor C co caused by the contact of a body part or another object with the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and/or the lifting arms 5, 8, since the fixed capacitor C fix has a fixed predetermined electrical capacitance C fix .
- the voltage application circuit 15, as can be seen in Figures 1 and 4 is formed by electrically connecting a first pole 17 of the power supply 16 to a first terminal 19 of the fixed capacitor C fix .
- a second terminal 20 of the fixed capacitor C fix is electrically connected to the treatment platform 3 by means of electrical wire 33, to the first lifting arm 5 by means of electrical wire 7, and to the second lifting arm 8 by means of electrical wire 10, which electrical wires 7, 10, 33 can be seen in Figure 1 .
- a second pole 18 of the power supply 16 is electrically connected to the support base 2.
- the support base 2 is electrically connected to a ground potential G, as can be seen in Figure 4 .
- the support base 2, the treatment platform 3 and the lifting arms 5, 8 are also electrically isolated from each other.
- the hinges 11 connecting the lifting arms 5, 8 to the support base 2 and to the treatment platform 3 are made of an electrically insulating material, for example in a plastic material.
- the couch capacitor C co is made up of the electrical capacitor formed between the treatment platform 3 and the support base 2, the electrical capacitor formed between the first lifting arm 5 and the support base 2, and the electrical capacitor formed between the second lifting arm 8 and the support base 2, all arranged in parallel.
- the support base 2 is thus used as a reference and not itself monitored by the safety system 14 for contact with a body part or another object. It should however be clear to the skilled person that other components of the treatment couch 1 may be used as the reference at ground potential G, such that the support base 2 may also be monitored by the safety system 14 for contact with a body part or another object.
- a further branch is formed in the voltage application circuit 15 parallel to the couch capacitor C co , as illustrated in Figure 4 .
- This branch comprises an electrical capacitance C h associated with the hand 31 contacting the treatment platform 3.
- This further branch changes the electrical capacitance in series with the fixed capacitor C fix , such that the voltage signal over the fixed capacitor C fix changes and the contact of the hand 31 with the treatment platform 3 is detected.
- the change in the voltage signal over the fixed capacitor C fix is measured by means of a voltage detection circuit 21 of which the input 22 is connected to the second terminal 20 of the fixed capacitor C fix , as can be seen in Figure 4 .
- the voltage detection circuit 21 is configured for converting the AC voltage signal over the fixed capacitor C fix to a DC voltage signal quantifying the change in the AC voltage signal over the fixed capacitor C fix .
- the voltage detection circuit 21, as schematically represented in Figure 5 comprises a passive low pass filter 24 for filtering out the 50/60Hz line frequency which will not affect the high frequency.
- the passive low pass filter 24 is followed by an active high pass filter 25 to eliminate all noise coming from the AC power supply 16 .
- the active high pass filter 25 is followed by an active low pas filter 26 to further reduce the low frequency noise.
- the active low pass filter 26 is followed by a full bridge rectifier 27 to convert the AC voltage signal to a pulsating DC voltage signal.
- the full bridge rectifier 27 is followed by an RMS peak detector 28 to get an averaged DC signal.
- the RMS peak detector 28 is followed by an integrator 29 for filtering out the remaining small AC ripple.
- References 1 treatment couch 20 second terminal 2 support base 21 voltage detection circuit 3 treatment platform 22 input 4 lifting system 23 output 5 first lifting arm 24 passive low pass filter 6 flange 25 active high pass filter 7 electrical wire 26 active low pass filter 8 second lifting arm 27 full bridge rectifier 9 flange 28 RMS peak detector 10 electrical wire 29 integrator 11 hinge 30 control unit 12 actuator 31 hand 13 actuator connector 32 pillow 14 safety system 33 electrical wire 15 voltage application circuit C fix fixed capacitor 16 AC power supply C co electrical capacitance couch 17 first pole C h electrical capacitance hand 18 second pole G ground potential 19 first terminal H height direction
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Abstract
The invention provides a treatment couch (1) comprising a support base (2) for supporting on the ground, a treatment platform (3) for the patient, a lifting system (4) with at least one lifting arm (5, 8) for moving the treatment platform (3), and a safety system (14) for preventing clamping of body parts. The support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) are electrically isolated from each other. The safety system (14) is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance (C<sub>co</sub>) associated with at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8), and for generating a safety alert signal when at least one electrical capacitance (C<sub>co</sub>) associated with at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) changes.
Description
- The present invention relates to a treatment couch comprising a safety system for preventing clamping of body parts or other objects between the support base, the treatment platform and the one or more lifting arms of the treatment couch while treatment platform is being moved with respect to the support base of the treatment couch.
- A treatment couch having a safety system for preventing clamping of body parts or other objects between the support base, the treatment platform and the lifting arms of the treatment couch is for example known from
WO 03/088885 A1 - A treatment couch having such a safety system has however several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that body parts or other objects, may still pass between the infrared beams and as such go undetected. For example if the body part or object is small enough to pass between the infrared beams. This may be improved by increasing the amount of emitters and detectors, but this has the disadvantage that the safety system becomes more complex and consumes more energy. Another disadvantage is that body parts or other objects may be detected along the entire length of the infrared beams, even if there is not necessarily a direct danger for clamping of the body part or object. In such case the movement of the treatment platform with respect to the support base is stopped without it being really necessary.
- It is an aim of the present invention to provide a treatment couch with a safety system which is safer to operate.
- This aim is achieved according to the invention with a treatment couch showing the technical characteristics of the first independent claim.
- Therefore, the present invention provides a treatment couch for use in physiotherapeutic treatment of a patient. The treatment couch comprises a support base for supporting the treatment couch on the ground. The treatment couch comprises a treatment platform for supporting the patient. The treatment couch comprises a lifting system for moving the treatment platform with respect to the support base in a height direction. The lifting system comprises at least one lifting arm. The at least one lifting arm is tiltably connected to the support base and to the treatment platform in such a way that tilting of the at least one lifting arm moves the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction. The treatment couch comprises a safety system for preventing clamping of body parts or other objects between the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm. The support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm are electrically isolated from each other. The safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm. The safety system is configured for generating a safety alert signal when at least one electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm changes.
- The treatment couch according to the present invention offers the advantage that the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm are monitored in their entirety for contact with a body part or another object, such that no such contact goes undetected. This improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention. The treatment couch according to the present invention also requires the monitoring of only a limited number of components of the treatment couch for contact with a body part or another object, which reduces the complexity and energy consumption of the treatment couch.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm. The safety system is configured for generating a safety alert signal when at least one electrical capacitance associated with the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm changes.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the safety system is monitoring the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm, and that contact of a body part or another object with any of these components can be detected by the safety system. This improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention without improving the complexity too much since it only requires the monitoring of a limited number of components.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm during movement of the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction. Preferably, the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm during movement of the treatment platform towards the support base in the height direction.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the safety system is only actively monitoring the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm for contact with a body part or another object when the lifting system is moving the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction. This reduces energy consumption of the treatment couch according to the present invention. This also prevents safety alert signals being generated under circumstances where there is no risk of clamping of a body part or another object between the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the safety system is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance associated with at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm when the treatment platform is below a predetermined distance above the support base in the height direction.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the safety system is only actively monitoring the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm for contact with a body part or another object when the treatment platform is sufficiently close to the support base that there is a risk of clamping of the body part or object between the support base, the treatment platform and/or the at least one lifting arm. This reduces energy consumption of the treatment couch according to the present invention. This also prevents safety alert signals being generated under circumstances where there is no risk of clamping of body parts between the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the lifting system comprises at least one actuator for driving the tilting of the at least one lifting arm, wherein the safety system is operably connected to the at least one actuator, and wherein the safety system is configured for stopping the at least one actuator when the safety alert signal is generated.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that the movement of the treatment platform with respect to the support base in the height direction is stopped when a safety alert signal is generated after contact of a body part or another object with the support base, the treatment platform or the at least one lifting arm. This further improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention, since injuries or damage caused by the further movement of the treatment platform may be avoided in this way.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the safety system is configured for activating the at least one actuator for a predetermined time period for moving the treatment platform upwards with respect to the support base in the height direction after the at least one actuator has been stopped by the safety system when the safety alert signal is generated.
- This embodiment offers the advantage that a body part or other object which has possibly been clamped between the treatment platform, the support base and the at least one lifting arm is released by the upward movement of the treatment platform with respect the support base in the height direction after contact of the body part or object with the support base, the treatment platform or the at least one lifting arm has been detected. This further improves the safety of the treatment couch according to the present invention.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the at least one lifting arm is connected to the support base and to the treatment platform by means of a hinges in an electrically insulating material for electrically isolating the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm from each other. Preferably, the electrically insulating material is a plastic.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the safety system comprises a voltage application circuit comprising an AC power supply and a fixed capacitor having a predetermined electrical capacitance. A first pole of the power supply is electrically connected to a first terminal of the fixed capacitor. A second terminal of the fixed capacitor is electrically connected to at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm. A second pole of the power supply is electrically connected to a component of the treatment couch which is electrically connected to a ground potential. The safety system further comprises a voltage detection circuit and a control unit. The voltage detection circuit is configured for detecting a change in a voltage signal over the fixed capacitor. An input of the voltage detection circuit is electrically connected to the second terminal of the fixed capacitor. An output of the voltage detection circuit is electrically connected to the control unit. The control unit is configured for generating the safety alert signal when the change in the voltage signal detected by the voltage detection circuit is outside of a predetermined range.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the second terminal of the fixed capacitor is electrically connected to the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm is the component of the treatment couch which is electrically connected to the ground potential and to the second pole of the power supply. The second terminal of the fixed capacitor is electrically connected to at least one of the support base, the treatment platform and the at least one lifting arm which is not connected to the ground potential.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the support base is the component of the treatment couch which is electrically connected to the ground potential.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the voltage detection circuit is configured for full-wave rectification and RMS peak detection of the voltage signal at the input of the voltage detection circuit.
- In an embodiment of the treatment couch according to the present invention the voltage detection circuit is further configured for filtering low frequency noise and high frequency noise from the voltage signal at the input of the voltage detection circuit.
- The invention will be further elucidated by means of the following description and the appended figures.
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Figure 1 shows a treatment couch according to an embodiment of the present invention. -
Figure 2 shows the treatment couch according toFigure 1 with a hand contacting the treatment platform. -
Figure 3 shows a schematic representation of the voltage application circuit of the safety system of a treatment couch according to an embodiment of the present invention. -
Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of the voltage application circuit of the safety system of a treatment couch according to an embodiment of the present invention. -
Figure 5 shows a schematic representation of the voltage detection circuit of the safety system of a treatment couch according to an embodiment of the present invention. - The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings but the invention is not limited thereto but only by the claims. The drawings described are only schematic and are non-limiting. In the drawings, the size of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn on scale for illustrative purposes. The dimensions and the relative dimensions do not necessarily correspond to actual reductions to practice of the invention.
- Furthermore, the terms first, second, third and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. The terms are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention can operate in other sequences than described or illustrated herein.
- Moreover, the terms top, bottom, over, under and the like in the description and the claims are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing relative positions. The terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and the embodiments of the invention described herein can operate in other orientations than described or illustrated herein.
- The term "comprising", used in the claims, should not be interpreted as being restricted to the means listed thereafter; it does not exclude other elements or steps. It needs to be interpreted as specifying the presence of the stated features, integers, steps or components as referred to, but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps or components, or groups thereof. Thus, the scope of the expression "a device comprising means A and B" should not be limited to devices consisting only of components A and B. It means that with respect to the present invention, the only relevant components of the device are A and B.
-
Figure 1 shows a side view of atreatment couch 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. At the bottom, thetreatment couch 1 comprises asupport base 2 by means of which thetreatment couch 1 supports on the ground. At the top, thetreatment couch 1 comprises atreatment platform 3 for supporting a patient on thetreatment couch 1. Thetreatment platform 3 is provided withpillows 32 for the comfort of the patient. - Between the
treatment platform 3 and thesupport base 2 thetreatment couch 1 comprises alifting system 4 with afirst lifting arm 5 and asecond lifting arm 8 for moving thetreatment platform 3 with respect to thesupport base 2 in the height direction H. The liftingarms support base 2 at their lower end and to thetreatment platform 3 at their upper end by means of hinges 11. In this way, the tilting of the liftingarms support base 2 moves thetreatment platform 3 with respect to thesupport base 2 in the height direction H. Thereby, thetreatment platform 3 remains horizontal since thetreatment platform 3 is tiltably connected to the liftingarms treatment couch 1 shown inFigure 1 , two liftingarms lifting system 4 may also be implemented with more or less liftingarms arms - The
lifting system 4 further comprises anactuator 12 for driving the tilting of the liftingarms actuator 12 is connected to the liftingarms actuator connector 13 which connects toflanges arms single actuator 12 to drive the tilting of both liftingarms single lifting arm - The
treatment couch 1 also comprises asafety system 14 for preventing body parts or other objects from getting clamped between thesupport base 2, thetreatment platform 3 and/or the liftingarms treatment platform 3 with respect to thesupport base 2 in the height direction H. Such a situation is for example shown inFigure 2 , where ahand 31 is contacting thetreatment platform 3 and at risk of being clamped between thetreatment platform 3 and thefirst lifting arm 5. - To be able to detect a body part or another object contacting the
support base 2, thetreatment platform 3 or the liftingarms safety system 14 monitors the electrical capacitance Cco associated with thesupport base 2, thetreatment platform 3 and the liftingarms safety system 14 generates a safety alert signal. In response to the safety alert signal, thesafety system 14 instructs theactuator 12 of thelifting system 4, to which it is operably connected, to stop the movement of thetreatment platform 3 with respect to thesupport base 2 in the height direction H, in order to prevent clamping of the body part or the object which is contacting thesupport base 2, thetreatment platform 3 or one of the liftingarms treatment platform 3 has been stopped, thesafety system 14 may instruct theactuator 12 of thelifting system 4 to move thetreatment platform 3 for a predetermined period of time in the direction opposite of the direction in which it was moving before the contact with the body part or the object, in order to unclamp the body part or the object which was clamped when contacting thesupport base 2, thetreatment platform 3 and/or one of the liftingarms safety system 14 may also take other actions in response to the safety alert signal, such as for example sounding an alarm signal. - For
treatment couches 1 having asingle lifting arm arms treatment couch 1 ofFigure 1 , the risk of clamping a body part or another object between thesupport base 2, thetreatment platform 3 and/or the liftingarms treatment platform 3 with respect to thesupport base 2 in the height direction H mainly occurs when thetreatment platform 3 is moving towards thesupport base 2 and increases when thetreatment platform 3 moves closer to thesupport base 2. Therefore, it is beneficial to only activate thesafety system 14 when thetreatment platform 3 is moving towards thesupport base 2 in the height direction H and/or when thetreatment platform 3 is below a predetermined distance above thesupport base 2 in the height direction H. - The
safety system 14 comprises avoltage application circuit 15, of which the working principle will be explained by means of the simplified presentation ofFigure 3 . Thevoltage application circuit 15 comprises anAC power supply 16 and a fixed capacitor Cfix having a predetermined electrical capacitance Cfix. The fixed capacitor Cfix is connected in series with a "couch" capacitor Cco formed by thesupport base 2, thetreatment platform 3 and the liftingarms support base 2, thetreatment platform 3 and/or the liftingarms - In the embodiment of the
treatment couch 1 ofFigure 1 , thevoltage application circuit 15, as can be seen inFigures 1 and4 , is formed by electrically connecting afirst pole 17 of thepower supply 16 to afirst terminal 19 of the fixed capacitor Cfix. Asecond terminal 20 of the fixed capacitor Cfix is electrically connected to thetreatment platform 3 by means of electrical wire 33, to thefirst lifting arm 5 by means ofelectrical wire 7, and to thesecond lifting arm 8 by means ofelectrical wire 10, whichelectrical wires Figure 1 . Asecond pole 18 of thepower supply 16 is electrically connected to thesupport base 2. Thesupport base 2 is electrically connected to a ground potential G, as can be seen inFigure 4 . Thesupport base 2, thetreatment platform 3 and the liftingarms hinges 11 connecting the liftingarms support base 2 and to thetreatment platform 3 are made of an electrically insulating material, for example in a plastic material. In this configuration, the couch capacitor Cco is made up of the electrical capacitor formed between thetreatment platform 3 and thesupport base 2, the electrical capacitor formed between thefirst lifting arm 5 and thesupport base 2, and the electrical capacitor formed between thesecond lifting arm 8 and thesupport base 2, all arranged in parallel. In this configuration thesupport base 2 is thus used as a reference and not itself monitored by thesafety system 14 for contact with a body part or another object. It should however be clear to the skilled person that other components of thetreatment couch 1 may be used as the reference at ground potential G, such that thesupport base 2 may also be monitored by thesafety system 14 for contact with a body part or another object. - If a
hand 31 is then for example contacting thetreatment platform 3 and at risk of being clamped between thetreatment platform 3 and thefirst lifting arm 5, such as shown inFigure 2 , a further branch is formed in thevoltage application circuit 15 parallel to the couch capacitor Cco, as illustrated inFigure 4 . This branch comprises an electrical capacitance Ch associated with thehand 31 contacting thetreatment platform 3. This further branch changes the electrical capacitance in series with the fixed capacitor Cfix, such that the voltage signal over the fixed capacitor Cfix changes and the contact of thehand 31 with thetreatment platform 3 is detected. - The change in the voltage signal over the fixed capacitor Cfix is measured by means of a
voltage detection circuit 21 of which theinput 22 is connected to thesecond terminal 20 of the fixed capacitor Cfix, as can be seen inFigure 4 . Thevoltage detection circuit 21 is configured for converting the AC voltage signal over the fixed capacitor Cfix to a DC voltage signal quantifying the change in the AC voltage signal over the fixed capacitor Cfix. - Therefore, the
voltage detection circuit 21, as schematically represented inFigure 5 , comprises a passivelow pass filter 24 for filtering out the 50/60Hz line frequency which will not affect the high frequency. The passivelow pass filter 24 is followed by an activehigh pass filter 25 to eliminate all noise coming from theAC power supply 16 .The activehigh pass filter 25 is followed by an activelow pas filter 26 to further reduce the low frequency noise. The activelow pass filter 26 is followed by afull bridge rectifier 27 to convert the AC voltage signal to a pulsating DC voltage signal. Thefull bridge rectifier 27 is followed by anRMS peak detector 28 to get an averaged DC signal. TheRMS peak detector 28 is followed by anintegrator 29 for filtering out the remaining small AC ripple.References 1 treatment couch 20 second terminal 2 support base 21 voltage detection circuit 3 treatment platform 22 input 4 lifting system 23 output 5 first lifting arm 24 passive low pass filter 6 flange 25 active high pass filter 7 electrical wire 26 active low pass filter 8 second lifting arm 27 full bridge rectifier 9 flange 28 RMS peak detector 10 electrical wire 29 integrator 11 hinge 30 control unit 12 actuator 31 hand 13 actuator connector 32 pillow 14 safety system 33 electrical wire 15 voltage application circuit Cfix fixed capacitor 16 AC power supply Cco electrical capacitance couch 17 first pole Ch electrical capacitance hand 18 second pole G ground potential 19 first terminal H height direction
Claims (13)
- A treatment couch (1) for use in physiotherapeutic treatment of a patient, wherein the treatment couch (1) comprises:a support base (2) for supporting the treatment couch (1) on the ground;a treatment platform (3) for supporting the patient; anda lifting system (4) for moving the treatment platform (3) with respect to the support base (2) in a height direction (H), wherein the lifting system (4) comprises at least one lifting arm (5, 8) which is tiltably connected to the support base (2) and to the treatment platform (3) in such a way that tilting of the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) moves the treatment platform (3) with respect to the support base (2) in the height direction (H);a safety system (14) for preventing clamping of body parts or other objects between the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and/or the at least one lifting arm (5, 8),characterised in that the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) are electrically isolated from each other, andin that the safety system (14) is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance (Cco) associated with at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8), and for generating a safety alert signal when at least one electrical capacitance (Cco) associated with at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) changes.
- The treatment couch (1) according to claim 1, wherein the safety system (14) is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance (Cco) associated with the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8), and for generating a safety alert signal when at least one electrical capacitance (Cco) associated with the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) changes.
- The treatment couch (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the safety system (14) is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance (Cco) associated with at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) during movement of the treatment platform (3) with respect to the support base (2) in the height direction (H).
- The treatment couch (1) according to any one of the claims 1-3, wherein the safety system (14) is configured for detecting a change in an electrical capacitance (Cco) associated with at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) when the treatment platform (3) is below a predetermined distance above the support base (2) in the height direction (H).
- The treatment couch (1) according to any one of the claims 1-4, wherein the lifting system (4) comprises at least one actuator (12) for driving the tilting of the at least one lifting arm (5, 8), wherein the safety system (14) is operably connected to the at least one actuator (12), and wherein the safety system (14) is configured for stopping the at least one actuator (12) when the safety alert signal is generated.
- The treatment couch (1) according to claim 5, wherein the safety system (14) is configured for activating the at least one actuator (12) for a predetermined time period for moving the treatment platform (3) upwards with respect to the support base (2) in the height direction (H) after the at least one actuator (12) has been stopped by the safety system (14) when the safety alert signal is generated.
- The treatment couch (1) according to any one of the claims 1-6, wherein the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) is connected to the support base (2) and to the treatment platform (3) by means of a hinges (11) in an electrically insulating material, preferably a plastic material, for electrically isolating the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) from each other.
- The treatment couch (1) according to any one of the claims 1-7, wherein the safety system (14) comprises a voltage application circuit (15) comprising an AC power supply (16) and a fixed capacitor (Cfix) having a predetermined electrical capacitance, wherein a first pole (17) of the power supply (16) is electrically connected to a first terminal (19) of the fixed capacitor (Cfix), wherein a second terminal (20) of the fixed capacitor (Cfix) is electrically connected to at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8), wherein a second pole (18) of the power supply (16) is electrically connected to a component of the treatment couch (1) which is electrically connected to a ground potential (G), wherein the safety system (14) further comprises a voltage detection circuit (21) and a control unit (30), wherein the voltage detection circuit (21) is configured for detecting a change in a voltage signal over the fixed capacitor (Cfix), wherein an input (22) of the voltage detection circuit (21) is electrically connected to the second terminal (20) of the fixed capacitor (Cfix), wherein an output (23) of the voltage detection circuit (21) is electrically connected to the control unit (30), wherein the control unit (30) is configured for generating the safety alert signal when the change in the voltage signal detected by the voltage detection circuit (21) is outside of a predetermined range.
- The treatment couch (1) according to claim 8, wherein the second terminal (20) of the fixed capacitor (Cfix) is electrically connected to the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8).
- The treatment couch (1) according to claim 8, wherein one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) is the component of the treatment couch (1) which is electrically connected to the ground potential (G) and to the second pole (18) of the power supply (16), and wherein the second terminal (20) of the fixed capacitor (Cfix) is electrically connected to at least one of the support base (2), the treatment platform (3) and the at least one lifting arm (5, 8) which is not connected to the ground potential (G).
- The treatment couch (1) according to claim 10, wherein the support base (2) is the component of the treatment couch (1) which is electrically connected to the ground potential (G).
- The treatment couch (1) according to any one of the claims 8-11, wherein the voltage detection circuit (21) is configured for full-wave rectification and RMS peak detection of the voltage signal at the input (22) of the voltage detection circuit (21).
- The treatment couch (1) according to any one of the claims 8-12, wherein the voltage detection circuit (21) is further configured for filtering low frequency noise and high frequency noise from the voltage signal at the input (22) of the voltage detection circuit (21).
Priority Applications (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP18189007.0A EP3610840A1 (en) | 2018-08-14 | 2018-08-14 | Treatment couch with safety improvement |
BE20195484A BE1026502B1 (en) | 2018-08-14 | 2019-07-24 | TREATMENT TABLE WITH IMPROVEMENT IN SAFETY |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP18189007.0A EP3610840A1 (en) | 2018-08-14 | 2018-08-14 | Treatment couch with safety improvement |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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EP3610840A1 true EP3610840A1 (en) | 2020-02-19 |
Family
ID=63254624
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP18189007.0A Withdrawn EP3610840A1 (en) | 2018-08-14 | 2018-08-14 | Treatment couch with safety improvement |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
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EP (1) | EP3610840A1 (en) |
BE (1) | BE1026502B1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN111407570A (en) * | 2020-04-01 | 2020-07-14 | 庞晖 | Rehabilitation device for orthopedic treatment |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5774915A (en) * | 1995-09-13 | 1998-07-07 | Standex International | Patient treatment apparatus |
SE519289C2 (en) * | 2002-01-29 | 2003-02-11 | Artektron Ab | Safety device for preventing fingers being trapped in furniture with motor driven components, comprises twin conductor generating capacitive electric field |
WO2003088885A1 (en) | 2002-04-19 | 2003-10-30 | Hill-Rom Services, Inc. | Hospital bed obstacle detection device and method |
-
2018
- 2018-08-14 EP EP18189007.0A patent/EP3610840A1/en not_active Withdrawn
-
2019
- 2019-07-24 BE BE20195484A patent/BE1026502B1/en active IP Right Grant
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5774915A (en) * | 1995-09-13 | 1998-07-07 | Standex International | Patient treatment apparatus |
SE519289C2 (en) * | 2002-01-29 | 2003-02-11 | Artektron Ab | Safety device for preventing fingers being trapped in furniture with motor driven components, comprises twin conductor generating capacitive electric field |
WO2003088885A1 (en) | 2002-04-19 | 2003-10-30 | Hill-Rom Services, Inc. | Hospital bed obstacle detection device and method |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN111407570A (en) * | 2020-04-01 | 2020-07-14 | 庞晖 | Rehabilitation device for orthopedic treatment |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
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BE1026502B1 (en) | 2020-09-10 |
BE1026502A1 (en) | 2020-02-26 |
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