Communication network for a hospital bed
DC CAFCFirst Claim
Patent Images
1. A bed comprising:
- a base frame;
a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body;
a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points;
a plurality of modules, each module being electrically coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network, each module being configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, and each module being configured to communicate over the peer-to-peer communication network with selected other modules, and each module including a processor circuit configured to transmit information to any other module and to receive information from any other module over the peer-to-peer communication network.
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Abstract
A bed includes a base frame, a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body, a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points, and a plurality of modules. Each module is electrically coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network. Each module is configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, and each module is configured to communicate over the peer-to-peer communication network with selected other modules.
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points; a plurality of modules, each module being electrically coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network, each module being configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, and each module being configured to communicate over the peer-to-peer communication network with selected other modules, and each module including a processor circuit configured to transmit information to any other module and to receive information from any other module over the peer-to-peer communication network. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body, a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points; and a plurality of modules, each module being electrically coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network, each module being configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, and each module being configured to communicate over the peer-to-peer communication network with selected other modules, one of the plurality of modules being a diagnostic module coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network, the diagnostic module being configured to test operation of the other modules. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points; and a plurality of modules, each module being electrically coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network, each module being configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, and each module being configured to communicate over the peer-to-peer communication network with selected other modules, one of the plurality of modules including a processor configured to collect and store information related to operation of the modules.
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12. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points; and a plurality of modules, each module being electrically coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network, each module being configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, and each module being configured to communicate over the peer-to-peer communication network with selected other modules, the plurality of modules each including a controller and a memory configured to store code which is executed by the controller, and further comprising means coupled to the communication network for automatically changing the code stored in the memory of the plurality of modules to upgrade the plurality of modules.
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13. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points; and a plurality of modules, each module being electrically coupled to a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network, each module being configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, and each module being configured to communicate over the peer-to-peer communication network with selected other modules one of the modules including a memory for storing a control sequence to control another module coupled to the network, and an interface configured to be coupled to an input device, interface being configured to input a prescribed control sequence into the memory, the module being configured to transmit commands over the network based on the stored control sequence.
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14. The apparatus of claim wherein the input device is a bar code scanner.
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15. An apparatus for performing a function on a bed having a base frame, a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body, and a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of connection points, the apparatus comprising:
a module having a dedicated function, a connector electrically coupled to the module, the connector being configured to mate with a selected connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network to couple the module to the peer-to-peer communication network, the module also including a controller for transmitting and receiving electrical signals over the peer-to-peer communication network as the module performs its dedicated function. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; an articulating deck coupled to the base frame, the articulating deck including separate deck sections that are independently movable relative to the base frame and to each other; at least one actuator coupled to each deck section to move the deck section, the actuators including a fluid actuated cylinder, a fluid control unit, and an electrically controlled valve for controlling fluid flow to the cylinders; a mattress located on the articulating deck which supports a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of module connection points; a command module coupled to a first module connection point to provide a desired bed movement signal to the peer-to-peer communication network; and a bed articulation control module coupled to a second module connection point for peer-to-peer communication with the command module, the bed articulation control module being configured to receive the signals from the command module and control the actuators to move the deck in response to the signals, the bed articulation control module being configured to control the valve and the fluid control unit. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; an articulating deck coupled to the base frame, the articulating deck including separate deck sections that are independently movable relative to the base frame and to each other; at least one actuator coupled to each deck section to move the deck section; a mattress located on the articulating deck which supports a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of module connection points; a command module coupled to a first module connection point to provide a desired bed movement signal to the peer-to-peer communication network; a bed articulation control module coupled to a second module connection point for peer-to-peer communication with the command module, the bed articulation control module being configured to receive the signals from the command module and control the actuators to move the deck in response to the signals, and a diagnostic tool module coupled to a third connection point of the peer-to-peer communication network for peer-to-peer communication with the other modules, the diagnostic tool module being configured to test operation of at least one of the other modules. - View Dependent Claims (44)
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45. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; an articulating deck coupled to the base frame, the articulating deck including separate deck sections that are independently movable relative to the base frame and to each other; at least one actuator coupled to each deck section to move the deck section; a mattress located on the articulating deck which supports a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of module connection points; a command module coupled to a first module connection point to provide a desired bed movement signal to the peer-to-peer communication network; and a bed articulation control module coupled to a second module connection point for peer-to-peer communication with the command module, the bed articulation control module being configured to receive the signals from the command module and control the actuators to move the deck in response to the signals the command module including a lockout switch to provide a lockout indicator signal to the bed articulation control module and prevent movement of the articulating deck, and a separate lockout enabling switch spaced apart from the lockout switch, the command module being configured to require both the lockout enabling switch and the lockout switch to be activated in order to change a lockout status of the command module. - View Dependent Claims (46)
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47. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; an articulating deck coupled to the base frame, the articulating deck including separate deck sections that are independently movable relative to the base frame and to each other; a plurality of actuators coupled to the deck sections to move the deck sections; an electrically controlled solenoid coupled to each of the actuators; a mattress located on the articulating deck which supports a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of module connection points; a command module coupled to a first module connection point to provide a desired bed movement signal to the peer-to-peer communication network; and a bed articulation control module coupled to a second module connection point for peer-to-peer communication with the command module, the bed articulation control module being configured to receive the signals from the command module and control the actuators to move the deck in response to the signals, the bed articulation control module being configured to establish a plurality of different time periods in which to control the solenoids, the bed articulation control module being configured to control only one solenoid during each time period in order to reduce power consumption.
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48. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; an articulating deck coupled to the base frame, the articulating deck including separate deck sections that are independently movable relative to the base frame and to each other; at least one actuator coupled to each deck section for moving the deck section, the actuators including a fluid actuated cylinder, a fluid control unit and a valve configured to control fluid flow to the cylinders; a mattress located on the articulating deck for supporting a body; a peer-to-peer communication network having a plurality of module connection points; a graphic caregiver interface module coupled to a first module connection point of the network, the graphic caregiver interface module including an input device, a control circuit coupled to the network and to the input device, the control circuit including means for transmitting control signals over the network, a memory coupled to the control circuit for storing predetermined graphic format data, and a display coupled to the control circuit; and a bed articulation control module coupled to a second module connection point for peer-to-peer communication with the command module, the bed articulation control module receiving the control signals from the control circuit and controlling the actuators to move the deck in response to the control signals, the bed articulation control module being configured to control the valve and the fluid control unit. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50)
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51. An apparatus for controlling operation of a module coupled to a communication network of a bed to perform a dedicated function on a bed, the apparatus comprising:
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an input device; a control circuit coupled to the network in communication with the module, the control circuit also being coupled to the input device, the control circuit including means for detecting that the module is coupled to the network and for transmitting control signals to the module based on a signal input from the input device; a memory coupled to the control circuit for storing predetermined graphic format data; and a display coupled to the control circuit, the control circuit receiving commands from the module to retrieve stored graphic format data from the memory and to output the graphic format data on the display to provide a menu-driven control for the module using the input device. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
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55. A bed comprising:
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a base frame; a deck coupled to the base frame for supporting a body; a communication network; a plurality of modules coupled to the communication network, each module being configured to perform a dedicated function during operation of the bed, each module including a controller for communicating over the communication network, each controller having an assigned unique serial number indicative of a particular module type; and means coupled to the communication network for retrieving the unique serial numbers of the controllers of the plurality of modules to provide an indication of the types of modules coupled to the network. - View Dependent Claims (56, 57)
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Specification