ITEM HANGER ARRANGEMENT, SYSTEM, AND METHOD

• US 20150077249A1
• Filed: 09/16/2014
• Published: 03/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mobile Aspects
• Original Assignee: Mobile Aspects
• Inventors: Rahim, Muhammad R., Kardono, Pribadi, Le, Khang Nguyen, Sriharto, Timur P.
• Granted Patent: US 9,348,013 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00131 Accessories for endoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00147 Holding or positioning arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection

Abstract

A system for supporting and tracking at least one item includes a plurality of support structures adapted to support at least one item, at least one signal receiving arrangement associated with the plurality of support structures, at least one indicator arrangement associated with the plurality of support structures, and at least one controller in communication with the at least one signal receiving arrangement and the at least one indicator arrangement. The at least one signal receiving arrangement is configured to receive data from a transponder associated with the at least one item. The controller is programmed and/or configured to control the plurality of indicator arrangements based at least partially on at least a portion of the data received from the at least one signal receiving arrangement.

Claims

1. A system for supporting and tracking at least one item, comprising:

a plurality of support structures, each support structure adapted to support at least one item;

at least one signal receiving arrangement associated with the plurality of support structures, wherein the at least one signal receiving arrangement is configured to receive data from a transponder associated with the at least one item;

at least one indicator arrangement associated with the plurality of support structures; and

at least one controller in communication with the at least one signal receiving arrangement and the at least one indicator arrangement, the at least one controller programmed and/or configured to control the plurality of indicator arrangements based at least partially on at least a portion of the data received from the at least one signal receiving arrangement.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of transponders, wherein each transponder of the plurality of transponders is adapted to be fixed on or associated with an item.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein each transponder comprises at least a portion of the data received by the at least one signal receiving arrangement, and wherein the data comprises an identifier that uniquely identifies the at least one item in at least one data structure.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein each support structure comprises at least two upright members, and wherein at least a portion of at least one upright member of each support structure comprises at least a portion of the at least one signal receiving arrangement.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein at least a portion of the at least two upright members comprises at least a portion of the at least one signal receiving arrangement.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the at least one signal receiving arrangement comprises at least a first antenna and a second antenna, wherein a first upright member of the first antenna comprises a positive portion of the first antenna, wherein a second upright member of the first antenna comprises a negative portion of the first antenna, wherein a first upright member of the second antenna comprises a negative portion of the second antenna, wherein a second upright member of the second antenna comprises a positive portion of the second antenna, and wherein the first antenna and second antenna are arranged such that the first upright member of the first antenna and the first upright member of the second antenna are substantially adjacent.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one indicator arrangement comprises a plurality of indicator arrangements, wherein each indicator arrangement of the plurality of indicator arrangements corresponds to a support structure of the plurality of support structures, and wherein the at least one controller is further programmed and/or configured to cause each indicator arrangement to indicate at least one state of at least one item supported by the corresponding support structure.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the at least one state indicates at least one of the following:

an alarm, a condition, a location, or any combination thereof.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein each indicator arrangement is substantially adjacent its corresponding support structure.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one controller is further programmed and/or configured to cause the at least one indicator arrangement to indicate at least one state of at least one item supported by the corresponding support structure, wherein the at least one item is a medical device, and wherein the at least one state comprises at least one of the following:

an indication that the medical device is clean, an indication that the medical device requires cleaning, an indication that the medical device has been removed from the support structure, an indication that the medical device has been removed from a facility or location, an indication that the medical device needs requires repair, or any combination thereof.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of transponders, each transponder adapted to be placed substantially adjacent an end portion of an endoscope.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one locking device configured to releasably lock an item to at least one of the plurality of support structures, wherein the at least one controller is programmed and/or configured to operate the at least one locking device based at least partially on user authentication.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one indicator arrangement comprises at least one display device that displays a graphical user interface, the graphical user interface comprising at least one visual indication of at least one state of at least one item.

14. The system of claim 1, further comprising a container having an interior, the interior of the container comprising the plurality of support structures, wherein the container has at least one door, and wherein the controller is configured to read the data with the signal receiving arrangement for each support structure based on a state or movement of the at least one door.

15. A system for hanging a plurality of items, comprising:

a plurality of support structures adapted to hang a plurality of items, each support structure comprising an antenna at least partially integral with the support structure; and

at least one controller in communication with the antenna of each support structure, the at least one controller programmed and/or configured to receive data from the plurality of items on the plurality of support structures via the antenna.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising at least one indicator in communication with the at least one controller, wherein the controller is further programmed and/or configured to control the at least one indicator based at least partially on at least a portion of the data.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to activate and deactivate the at least one indicator based at least partially on at least one of the following:

a transponder in communication with the at least one controller, a downward force on each support structure, or any combination thereof.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein each support structure of the plurality of support structures comprise at least two upright members, wherein each antenna is at least partially integral to at least one of the at least two upright members of a support structure.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the plurality of support structures comprise at least a first support structure having a first antenna and a second support structure having a second antenna, wherein a first upright member of the first antenna comprises a positive pole of the first antenna, wherein a second upright member of the first antenna comprises a negative pole of the first antenna, wherein a first upright member of the second antenna comprises a negative pole of the second antenna, wherein a second upright member of the second antenna comprises a positive pole of the second antenna, and wherein the first upright member of the first antenna and the first upright member of the second antenna are substantially adjacent, such that fields of the first antenna and the second antenna oppose one another.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the antenna of each support structure of the plurality of support structures comprises a polarity, and wherein the plurality of support structures are arranged such that substantially adjacent antennae are opposing in polarity, thereby creating a null region between the substantially adjacent antennae in which fields of the substantially adjacent antennae oppose one another.

21. The system of claim 15, further comprising at least one indicator associated with at least one support structure, wherein the controller is further configured to determine when a predetermined period of time lapses subsequent to an item being placed on the at least one support structure, and indicate that the item needs to be cleaned after the predetermined period of time lapses.

22. A method for tracking items supported by a plurality of support structures, comprising:

separately interrogating each support structure of the plurality of support structures using at least one signal receiving device;

receiving identification data from at least one item supported by at least one support structure of the plurality of support structures;

determining, with at least one processor and based at least partially on the identification data, a status or condition of the at least one item; and

controlling at least one indication device associated with the at least one support structure based at least partially on the status or condition of the at least one item.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein determining the status or condition of the at least one item comprises:

searching at least one data structure for at least a portion of the identification data; and

identifying the status or condition associated with the at least a portion of the identification data in the at least one data structure.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein controlling the at least one indication device comprises:

identifying a predetermined state of with the status or condition; and

changing a current state of the at least one indication device to the predetermined state.