JP2005318072A - Wireless adaptor system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless adaptor system by which not only calling operation can be unwired without performing the modification of existing components but also calling equipment can be replaced with a more easy-to-use kind of calling equipment corresponding to a state of a patient, and changes of a nursing state or a plurality of the calling equipment can be simultaneously connected if required. <P>SOLUTION: The wireless adaptor system is composed of a wireless adaptor 2 which can be connected by being interposed between an existing nurse call slave unit body 1 and wired slave units 3, 3a, and one or more wireless calling equipment 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e. The wired slave units 3, 3a can be used as a wired slave unit as they are in the same way as before the connection of the wireless adaptor 2. The wired slave units 3, 3a can successively transmit calling signals to the nurse call slave unit body 1 via the wireless adaptor 2 by the calling operation of a plurality of the wireless calling equipment 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a wireless adapter capable of wirelessly only a calling function portion of a nurse call slave set installed on a hospital room side.

A nurse call cordless handset installed in a hospital room usually has a calling function and a calling function. Among them, the calling function is important, and various functions and forms are considered so that the calling operation can be easily performed according to all patients, that is, the condition of the patient and the nursing situation. For example, pushbuttons for people with disabilities that can be pressed with elbows, legs, and heads, touch calls that can be called by touching a part of the body, and breath calls that can be called with a faint breath or a soft voice are available.

However, usually, a fixed system is configured on the assumption that a nurse is called using a direct call button that can be pressed by a patient or a grip button with a cord. These call buttons and grip buttons When it becomes unusable, the person in charge of usage in the facility section responds each time by modifying the operation part or routing the wiring cord according to the condition and condition of the patient.

Again, the wall-mounted nurse call cordless handset usually does not have an outlet corresponding to the special calling device as described above. In other words, in general, since only an outlet for a grip button or a handset is attached, some remodeling work is often required.

Further, if the grip button is simply changed to another special calling device, the modification work is relatively easy, but at the same time, it may be necessary to connect a plurality of special calling devices. If multiple special calling devices are used in this way, significant on-site processing such as drilling is required, and noise and vibration associated with moving beds and drilling operations are generated in hospital rooms with serious patients. End up.

Conventionally, many calling devices use a long cord as a communication line or a signal line, and there are many accidents in which the cord is disconnected repeatedly because the cord is repeatedly pulled or bent. As a countermeasure against such disconnection accidents, it has been considered that a special structure has been adopted so that when the cord is pulled with a certain force or more, the outlet automatically disconnects, or the disconnection is unavoidable to some extent. In order to prevent the occurrence of patient troubles by notifying nurses etc. of the disconnection state and replacing the product without delay.
JP 2002-191648 A JP 2003-259016 A

 The present invention is not only capable of wirelessly calling the existing product without any modification, but can be replaced with a more convenient type of calling device according to changes in the patient's condition and nursing situation, Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wireless adapter for a nurse call handset that can simultaneously connect a plurality of calling devices as necessary.

The present invention relates to a wireless adapter serving as a master station that is inserted and connected between an outlet of a nurse call slave unit main body and a wired slave unit connected thereto, and a plurality of wireless calling devices serving as slave stations of the wireless adapter The wireless adapter includes a nurse call line that directly connects the slave unit body and the wired slave unit in terms of circuit functions, and a plurality of wireless calling devices based on the slave IDs unique to the wireless calling device. A wireless unit that sequentially transmits a transmission command to the device and converts call data individually returned to output data, and the wireless unit receives power from a nurse call line and transmits a call signal to the nurse. Enabled output to the call line.

 The present invention is not only capable of wirelessly calling the existing product without any modification, but can be replaced with a more convenient type of calling device according to changes in the patient's condition and nursing situation, Alternatively, it is possible to provide a wireless adapter for a nurse call handset that can simultaneously connect a plurality of calling devices as required.

Wireless installation of the entire nurse call system increases installation costs, but the present invention may be implemented at a specific bedside depending on the patient's condition and the need for nursing care, and radio waves are limited to that limited bed. Since it is possible to cope with weak radio waves that can cover only the area, it is unlikely to cause radio interference to medical devices, and can be implemented at a minimum cost increase.

For existing products, the purpose of making the call operation wireless could be implemented at a minimum cost without any modification.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an existing nurse call slave unit embedded in a wall of a hospital room, and a hand-shaped wired slave unit 3 with a suitably long cord attached thereto via a wireless adapter 2. Is connected. The wireless adapter 2 is a wireless paging device, that is, a wireless grip button 4a that fits in the hand, a large wireless button 4b on a stabilizer, a wireless foot button 4c that can be pushed by a foot, an infusion adapter 4d that is linked to an infusion device, A call signal can be exchanged by wireless communication with a wireless breath call 4e that can be operated by breathing.

That is, the wireless adapter 2 is a master, and forms a piconet having the wireless calling devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e as slaves, and can be used simultaneously in a time division manner. The radio paging devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e can be used alone.

FIG. 2 shows a wireless adapter 2 for a hand-type wired cordless handset 3, in which an inlet plug 6 of the wireless adapter 2 is connected to an outlet 5 of the nurse call cord main unit 1 and an outlet outlet on the outlet side. 7 is connected to the plug 8 of the hand-type wired slave unit 3.

The hand-type wired cordless handset 3 has a general configuration including a call button 9, a call confirmation lamp 10, a call microphone 11, and a speaker 12. The wireless adapter 2 has a registration button 13 and a plurality of channel indicator lamps 14. Reference numeral 4 a denotes a wireless grip button that can communicate with the wireless adapter 2 wirelessly, and includes a call button 16, a registration switch 17, a call / registration indicator lamp 18, and a portable strap 19.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the grip button type wired slave unit 3a is connected to the nurse call slave unit body 1a via the wireless adapter 2a. The wireless adapter 2a is connected to the outlet 5a on the nurse call slave unit body 1a side. And a plug 8a of a grip button type cordless handset 3a is connected to an outlet 7a on the outlet side. Reference numeral 9a denotes a call button. The wireless adapter 2a for the grip button type cordless handset 3a has a registration button 13a and a plurality of channel indicator lamps 14a, like the wireless adapter 2 for the hand type wired cordless handset.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the wireless adapter 2, which has a wireless unit 20 therein, and its input unit 21 is connected to nurse call lines L 3 and L 4 and receives power supply from both lines. The output unit 22 of the wireless unit 20 is connected to the nurse call lines L3 and L4, and outputs a call signal for later use.

Out of the four nurse call lines, L1 is a transmission line, L2 is a reception line, L3 is a call line, and L4 is a common line. 5 and the signal line of the plug 8 of the existing hand-type wired cordless handset are directly connected via the nurse call lines L1, L2, L3, and L4 in the wireless adapter 2.

In addition, a wraparound prevention circuit 15 and the like can be appropriately inserted in the nurse call lines L1, L2, L3, and L4 in the wireless adapter 20, but at this time, the operating conditions of the existing hand-shaped wired slave unit 3 are limited. The substantial direct connection condition of the direct current and the alternating current signal is maintained without giving as much influence as possible.

The input unit 21 of the wireless unit 20 may be a nurse call line that can distribute a direct current, and the circuit configuration may be simplified if it is connected to the nurse call lines L2 and L4.

FIG. 5A is a block configuration diagram of the wireless unit 20 in the wireless adapter 2. In the figure, reference numeral 23 denotes a communication control unit, which includes an RF communication unit 25 that transmits and receives radio waves via an antenna 24, a storage unit 26, a display unit 27, an operation unit 28 including the registration button 13 described above, and a power supply unit 29. An input unit 21 connected through the output unit 22 and an output unit 22 that outputs an on / off analog signal are connected.

The communication control unit 23 includes a CPU and the like, and controls the overall operation based on a predetermined protocol stored in the storage unit 26. The storage unit 26 includes a ROM and a RAM. In the ROM, in addition to operation programs such as wireless connection control and data transmission / reception, a master ID of the adapter that operates as a master is recorded. On the other hand, the RAM includes a work area for storing various data primarily used in the control operation of the communication control unit 23, a handset ID area of a newly registered wireless calling device, and the like.

FIG. 5B is a block configuration diagram of the wireless grip call button 4a, which is substantially the same configuration as FIG. 5A, and includes a communication control unit 30, an RF communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, and the call / registration display. The display unit 33 includes a lamp 18 and the operation unit 34 includes the registration switch 17. In addition, the input part 22 and the output part 21 as an analog interface which the wireless adapter 2 has are not provided. The power supply unit 35 is composed of a dry battery or a rechargeable battery, and the power supply unit 29 of the wireless adapter 2 is supplied with power from the external nurse call lines L3 and L4 via the input unit 22. Different. Note that the power supply unit 29 of the wireless adapter 2 is usually configured by a voltage stabilization circuit that raises and lowers the power supplied from the input unit 21 to an appropriate voltage, a charging circuit for a rechargeable battery, and the like.

The wireless adapter 2 installed on the head side of the patient's bedside is occupied by the bed or the patient, and the wireless grip button 4a used by the patient is limited to the wireless adapter 2 and 1 It must be able to communicate one-on-one. When the patient operates the wireless grip button 4a, if communication is established with the wireless adapter 2 on the adjacent bedside, the patient is mistaken. Therefore, when a new use of the wireless grip button 4a is started, it is necessary to register the identification IDs of the wireless adapter 2 and the wireless grip button 4a so as to communicate with the target wireless adapter 2 on a one-to-one basis.

Therefore, the registration work will be described with reference to FIG. First, in the block configuration diagram of the wireless grip button 2 in FIG. 5B, when the registration switch 17 of the operation unit 34 is pressed, the power is turned on, and the communication control unit 30 reads the control program for registration from the storage unit 32. Then, the RF communication unit 31 is controlled to the reception state, and the transmission radio wave from the wireless adapter 2 can be received.

On the other hand, as soon as the wireless adapter 2 in FIG. 5 (a) is connected to the nurse call slave main body 1, power is supplied and transmission is possible. When the registration button 13 constituting the operation unit 28 is pressed, the communication control unit 23 including the CPU receives a registration input, reads the registration control program from the storage unit 26, and starts execution. In addition to the control program, the storage unit 26 stores the master ID of the wireless adapter. The communication control unit 23 creates a data frame of a registration start request signal including the master ID, and the RF communication unit 25. The frequency-modulated signal is transmitted from the antenna 24.

This transmission radio wave is received by the antenna 36 of the wireless grip button 4 a, demodulated by the RF communication unit 31, and passed to the communication control unit 30. When the communication control unit 30 reads from the received signal that it is a registration start signal, the communication control unit 30 adds its own ID as a slave ID to the reply data frame and adds the master ID to the reply data frame, and transmits it as a reply radio wave.

Upon receiving this reply signal, the wireless unit 20 of the wireless adapter 2 confirms the match of the master ID and registers the returned slave ID of the wireless grip button 4a as the transmission destination. When registration is completed, a data frame of a registration completion signal is created, and a signal obtained by adding the registered slave ID to its own master ID is transmitted as a registration completion signal.

The wireless grip button 4a receives the registration completion signal, records the transmitted master ID as a transmission destination, and transmits a registration completion reply signal. When the transmission is completed, the communication control unit 30 controls to shift to the low power consumption mode, stop both transmission and reception, and set to a semi-pause state.

When the wireless unit 20 of the wireless adapter 2 receives the registration completion reply signal from the wireless grip button 4a, the predetermined indicator lamp 14 is turned on in the display unit 27, and the registration process of the identification ID is completed. In addition, the some indicator light 14 can be made to respond | correspond to the slave ID and classification of a calling machine.

In addition, when registering the wireless grip button 4a and the other wireless calling devices 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e, the registration operation may be repeated by the method described above. In the wireless adapter 2, slave IDs of all registered calling devices are registered as transmission destinations.

Next, the call monitoring operation after registration of the identification ID is completed will be described.
The wireless adapter 2 sequentially transmits a data transmission request command for call search based on the slave IDs of the registered wireless paging devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e, and the wireless paging devices 4a and 4b. Wait for a reply from 4c, 4d, 4e. The data transmission request command includes a master ID and a slave ID.

However, as described above, each wireless paging device is normally suspended in the low current consumption mode as described above. Therefore, the wireless adapter 2 does not receive a return signal from any paging device.
If there is no reply, the wireless adapter 2 processes that there is no call, and continuously repeats transmission and reception of a call transmission data transmission request command. When one round is completed, a so-called scanning operation is repeated at a predetermined interval.

In such a call search mode, if a call input is input to the operation unit 34 of any of the calling devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e, the communication control unit 30 controls to switch from the low current consumption mode to the reception mode. Transition to receive a data transmission request command. The calling devices 4 a, 4 b, 4 c, 4 d, and 4 e that have been received collate the slave ID included in the data transmission request command with its own stored in the storage unit 32.
If they match, call data indicating whether the call button has been pressed is returned with the master ID and slave ID added.

The wireless adapter 2 receives the slave ID and the call data after confirming the match of the master ID with the reply data from the callers 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e. When the call data is called, the analog data And output to the output unit 22. At the same time, a signal corresponding to the slave ID is sent to the display unit, and an appropriate one of the plurality of indicator lamps 14 is blinked to indicate that a call is being made.

The nurse call line L3 is held in the calling state by the output of the output unit 22, and the existing nurse call can recognize the call from the patient and notify the nurse or the like of the call from the patient. In this embodiment, the output unit 22 outputs a call signal and monitors the output current that changes in the standby state, the call state, and the answering call state of the call line L3. Continue until talking. When the answering call state is detected, the call state is recovered and the call search mode operation is continued.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, when registration of the identification ID is completed, the radio paging devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e shift to a low current consumption mode in which neither transmission nor reception is performed, and the call button is pressed to call Until it shifts to the mode, it is a configuration that maintains the low power consumption mode, and the current consumption increases because it takes a short time to press the call button and detect this with the wireless adapter, so the power consumption is extremely Less battery life can be expected.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the method of acquiring the call data of the wireless paging device by sequentially scanning the wireless paging devices as slaves and inquiring the wireless adapter 2 as a master has been described. As a system, a wireless communication system of the Bluetooth “Bluetooth” standard, which is becoming popular for mobile devices such as notebook computers and wireless mice, can be used.

Bluetooth radio uses 2.45GHz band (industrial science medical band) that can be used freely without a license, so there is no worry of malfunctioning medical equipment, and the propagation distance is 10m, small size, low power consumption, Is short-range wireless communication.
With this Bluetooth, a piconet wireless network with the wireless adapter 2 and a plurality of wireless calling devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, and 4e can be easily configured, and a voice communication function is added if necessary. can do.

Applicable to call devices in addition to wired nurse call systems

It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of this invention (Example 1). (Example 2) which is explanatory drawing which applied this invention to the hand type subunit | mobile_unit. It is explanatory drawing which applied this invention to the grip button (Example 3). Circuit block diagram of wireless adapter of the present invention (Example 4) (Example 5) which is a block block diagram of the radio | wireless unit and radio | wireless call button of the radio | wireless adapter of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Nurse call handset 2 Wireless adapter 3 Wired handset 4a Wireless grip button

Claims (1)

It consists of a wireless adapter that is inserted and connected between the outlet of the nurse call slave unit main body and the wired slave unit connected thereto, and a plurality of wireless calling devices that are slave stations of this wireless adapter, The wireless adapter is configured for a plurality of wireless calling devices based on a nurse call line that directly connects the slave main body and the wired slave device in terms of circuit functions and a slave ID that is unique to the wireless calling device. A wireless unit that sequentially transmits transmission commands and converts individually returned call data into output data, and the wireless unit receives power from the nurse call line and outputs a call signal to the nurse call line. Wireless adapter system characterized by being able to