Environment-response method for maintaining electronic device such as an external defibrillator

• US 5,868,792 A
• Filed: 08/15/1997
• Issued: 02/09/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Heartstream, Inc. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Powers, Daniel J., MacDuff, Ian G., Ochs, Dennis E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kamm, William E.
• Assistant Examiner(s): EVANISKO, GEORGE ROBERT
• Application Number:
  US08/912,034
• Time in Patent Office: 543 Days
• Field of Search: 607/1, 607/2, 607/4, 607/5, 607/6, 607/9, 607/10, 607/16, 607/27, 607/29, 607/62, 607/63, 607/21, 607/36
• US Class Current: 607/5
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3904 External heart defibrillators [EHD]
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/3925 Monitoring; Protecting

Abstract

A method of maintaining an electronic device, the method including the steps of monitoring ambient an environmental condition such as temperature or humidity; monitoring a self-test initialization criterion; performing an automatic device self-test if the self-test criterion is met and if the environmental condition is within a predetermined range; and not performing the automatic device self-test if the self-test criterion is met but the environmental condition is outside the predetermined range. In a preferred embodiment, the device is an external defibrillator.

Claims

1. A method of maintaining an external defibrillator, the method comprising the following steps:

monitoring an environmental condition;

monitoring a self-test initialization criterion;

performing an automatic external defibrillator self-test if the self-test initialization criterion is met and if the environmental condition is within a predetermined range of values;

not performing the automatic external defibrillator self-test if the self-test initialization criterion is met but the environmental condition is outside the predetermined range.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising, after the not performing step, performing the automatic device self-test if the environmental condition returns to the predetermined range after being outside the predetermined range.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising scheduling an additional automatic device self-test after the environmental condition returns to the predetermined range after being outside the predetermined range.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising, before the performing step, waking the device from a stand-by mode.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising changing an indication of device operating status if the scheduled automatic device self-test is not performed.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising changing an indication of device operating status if the environmental condition is outside of the predetermined range.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the environmental condition is temperature.