Portable ultrasound system with battery backup for efficient shutdown and restart
First Claim
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1. A cart-borne ultrasound imaging system which is normally a.c. powered by means of an a.c. power cord comprising:
- an ultrasound system cart including;
an ultrasound signal path and controller;
an a.c. power supply coupled to provide an energizing potential for the ultrasound signal path and controller; and
a battery coupled to at least one of the ultrasound signal path and controller which provides an energizing potential when the a.c. power supply is inoperable.
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Abstract
An ultrasound system is described which can be turned off quickly by an operator command or in response to an interruption of a.c. power to the system. When a.c. power is cut off, the system switches to battery backup while a processor executes an orderly shutdown sequence. The system can completely shut down, or the state of the system can be minimally preserved by battery backup in either volatile or nonvolatile memory so that the system can restart without having to sequence through an entire bootup procedure. This enables the system to remain active even when the ultrasound system is unplugged and being moved.
75 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A cart-borne ultrasound imaging system which is normally a.c. powered by means of an a.c. power cord comprising:
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an ultrasound system cart including;
an ultrasound signal path and controller;
an a.c. power supply coupled to provide an energizing potential for the ultrasound signal path and controller; and
a battery coupled to at least one of the ultrasound signal path and controller which provides an energizing potential when the a.c. power supply is inoperable.
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2. An ultrasound imaging system which is normally a.c. powered and which can be rapidly relocated comprising:
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an ultrasound system cart including;
an ultrasound signal path;
an a.c. power supply coupled to provide an energizing potential for the ultrasound signal path;
a processor which controls a shutdown sequence to power down the ultrasound signal path in response to an OFF command; and
a battery coupled to the processor, wherein the battery provides power to the processor during the shutdown sequence when the a.c. power supply is inoperative. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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5. A method for powering down a cart-borne ultrasound imaging system which is normally a.c. powered comprising:
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turning off at least a portion of an ultrasound signal path;
disabling a source of a.c. power to the cart; and
maintaining battery backup power from a battery on the cart to a processor which is responsive to a command to restore the ultrasound signal path to an operational state. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for powering down a cart-borne ultrasound imaging system which is normally a.c. powered comprising:
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turning off at least a portion of an ultrasound signal path;
disabling a source of a.c. power to the cart;
reducing the clock speed of a processor; and
maintaining battery backup power from a battery on the cart to the processor and to a volatile memory coupled to the processor. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A cart-borne ultrasound imaging system which is normally a.c. powered and can be rapidly shut down in the absence of a.c. power comprising:
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an ultrasound system cart including;
an ultrasound signal path;
an a.c. power supply coupled to provide an energizing potential for the ultrasound signal path;
a processor which controls a shutdown sequence to power down the ultrasound signal path in response to an OFF command; and
an energy storage device coupled to the processor, wherein the energy storage device provides power to the processor during the shutdown sequence when the a.c. power supply is inoperative. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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Specification