Transmitting Instructions in a Medical Supply Unit

• US 20110118879A1
• Filed: 11/16/2010
• Published: 05/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trumpf Medizin Systeme GmbH & Co. KG (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trumpf Medizin Systeme GmbH & Co. KG (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Bauer, Georg, Frenzel, Mathias, Marka, Rudolf, Rosenheimer, Rouven
• Granted Patent: US 8,810,357 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/275
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/002 Supply appliances, e.g. columns for gas, fluid, electricity supply vertical ducts or channels for receiving utility lines E04F17/08; installations of electric cables or lines, wall trunking H02G3/0431; structural combinations of lighting devices with other articles F21V33/0068; stands or trestles as supports for apparatus or articles F16M11/00; buildings for public purposes E04H3/08
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 12/004 mounted on the ceiling
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 13/107 Supply appliances supply appliances for dental machines A61C1/0007
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/80 for connecting a trolley to a device, e.g. bed or column table
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/0493 Service poles

Abstract

A medical supply unit includes a bus system for transmitting instructions of control elements to actuators. The bus system is provided with transmitters and receivers being connected to each other by a transmission system. Via the transmission system, commands of the transmitters are transmitted, which are controlled by the control elements, and the responsive receiver transfers the command to a switching instruction at an output of the responsive receiver so as to control an actuator.

Claims

1. A medical supply unit comprising:

a housing with connectors for connecting medical devices, the housing coupled to an actuator for positioning the housing responsive to instructions from a control element; and

a bus system coupled between the actuator and the control element, the bus system configured to transmit the instruction of the control element to the actuator, the bus system comprising;

a transmission system configured to transmit signals as commands;

a transmitter comprising a transmitter address and configured to emit at least one command via the transmission system; and

a receiver comprising an output and a receiver address, the receiver configured to receive commands of the transmitter and to transfer commands associated with the receiver to switching commands at the output of the receiver.

2. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the transmission system is a wireless transmission system.

3. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the transmission system is a line system, and wherein the transmitter comprises a connection device configured to connect the transmitter to the line system, and the receiver comprises a connection device configured to connect the receiver to the line system.

4. The medical supply unit of claim 3, wherein the line system comprises current bars, and the transmitter comprises a fastener for flexibly mounting the transmitter to different positions along the current bar.

5. The medical supply unit of claim 3, wherein, during operation of the bus system, the transmitter is configured to automatically be ready to transmit after contacting the line system.

6. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the bus system is configured, by configuration software, to allocate one address to the transmitter and one address to the receiver.

7. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the transmitter comprises an input keyboard.

8. The medical supply unit of claim 7, wherein the output of the receiver is a first output and the receiver comprises a second output, and wherein the bus system is configured, by configuration software, to associate the first and second outputs with different keys of the input keyboard.

9. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is a first transmitter, the bus system comprising a second transmitter, and wherein the receiver is configured to receive commands from the first and second transmitters.

10. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the receiver is a first receiver, and the bus system comprises a second receiver, and wherein the second receiver is configured to receive commands from the transmitter and to transfer commands associated with the second receiver to switching commands at the output of the second receiver.

11. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the transmitter comprises an analog switch configured to connect the transmitter to the transmission system, and wherein the at least one command is emitted to the transmission system only when the analog switch is closed.

12. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the transmitter is configured to periodically emit the at least one command, and wherein the receiver is configured to deactivate the output after lapse of a predetermined time, when a command associated with the receiver is not received.

13. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the receiver comprises a first receiving unit having an output and a second receiving unit having an output, and wherein the outputs of the first and second receiving units are coupled to each other in series.

14. The medical supply unit of claim 13, wherein the first and second receiving units comprise matching hardware and differing software.

15. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the output is coupled to an operating element of a brake or of a lifting motor.

16. The medical supply unit of claim 1, wherein the bus system is a first bus system, the medical supply unit further comprising:

a second bus system, the first and second bus systems each having a local and a global address area; and

a router configured to make a data connection between the global address areas of the first and second bus systems.

17. A medical supply unit comprising:

control elements;

actuators; and

a bus system coupled to the control elements and the actuators, the bus system configured to transmit instructions of the control elements to the actuators, the bus system comprising;

a transmission system for transmitting signals as commands;

a transmitter comprising an address and configured to emit a command via the transmission system; and

a receiver comprising an address and at least one output;

wherein the receiver is configured to receive commands of the transmitter, and, based on an association between the address of the transmitter and the address of the receiver, is configured to produce a switching instruction at the at least one output of the receiver.

18. The medical supply unit of claim 17, wherein the at least one output comprises multiple outputs arranged in series, and wherein the receiver further comprises:

multiple receiving units, each coupled to a corresponding one of the multiple outputs;

wherein the switching instruction is executed only if each of the multiple receiving units outputs a switching signal to the corresponding one of the multiple outputs.

19. The medical supply unit of claim 17, wherein the transmitter is one of multiple transmitters and the receiver is one of multiple receivers, and wherein one or more of the multiple transmitters has an address associated with an address of one or more of the multiple receivers.

20. A bus system configured to transmit instructions of control elements of a medical supply unit to actuators of the medical supply unit, the bus system comprising:

a transmission system for transmitting signals as commands;

at least one transmitter comprising an address and configured to emit at least one command via the transmission system; and

at least one receiver comprising an address and at least one output, the at least one receiver configured to receive commands of the at least one transmitter and to transfer commands responsive to the at least one receiver to switching commands at the at least one output.