HOSPITAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 3,767,859 A
• Filed: 12/30/1971
• Issued: 10/23/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Allied Healthcare Products Incorporated
• Original Assignee: William E. Doering, Willis J. Jensen
• Inventors: Doering, William E., Jensen, Willis J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brown, Thomas W.
• Application Number:
  US05/214,052
• Time in Patent Office: 663 Days
• Field of Search: 179/1H,2A,1B,1MN,15AL,15BA,15BL,15BM,37 178/5.6
• US Class Current: 379/106.02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0002 Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network A61B5/07 takes precedence; transmission systems for measured values G08C; transmission H04B; transmission of digital information H04L; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/027 Annunciator systems for hospitals

Abstract

A hospital communication system uses a single coaxial cable to transmit audio and physiological data between patient rooms and a control area, such as a nursing station. The nurse-call facilities use a dual frequency channel over the cable to transmit room selection addresses between the rooms and the station to control audio transmission and enabling room call displays. Data monitored in the rooms is transmitted in digital form to displays at the station using the common cable and a distinct frequency for each room. Each monitored item in a room is individually addressed to control display selection. Selection, address, and physiological data is transmitted using pulse code modulation techniques.

Claims

1. A hospital communication system for use with a central area and spaced patient rooms each having an individual designation comprising a common communication link, nurse-call communication units in the central area and the patient rooms each coupled to the common link to provide selective audio communication between the central area and the patient rooms, the nurse-call unit in the central area including selector means for transmitting plural bit signals representing the different patient room designations, the nurse-call unit in the patient rooms each including a decoder for translating a received plural bit signal representing the designation of a given room into a control signal, the nursecall unit in each of the patient rooms also including an audio communication means supplied with and rendered effective by said control signal, physiological data monitoring means in at least one of the patient rooms and coupled to the common link, said monitoring means including a number of means each providing a message including data in digital form relating to a different physiological factor and accompanied by an individual plural bit identifying designation, and physiological data display means in the central area and coupled to the common link, said display means including a number of display units, a plural stage storage means coupled to the common link for storing successive single messages received from the monitoring means over the common link, each message including physiological data in digital form and a plural bit designation, and decoding means coupled between the stages of the storage means containing the plural bit designations and the number of display units for directing the physiological data from successive messages from the stages of the storage means containing physiological data to different ones of the display units in dependence on the successive stored designations.

2. A hospital communication system for use with a central area and remote patient rooms having individual designations comprising a single communication link extending between the central area and the patient rooms, a central nurse-call unit in the central area coupled to the link, said central unit including audio transmitting and receiving means, said central unit also including selector means for transmitting different plural bit room designation codes, and room nurse-call units in the patient rooms coupled to the link, each room unit including audio transmitting and receiving means, said room units each including a plural bit code storage means for storing received plural bit codes, a decoding means coupled to the storage means for decoding only the room designating code individual to a given room, and a storage element operated by the decoding means and coupled to the audio receiving means to render the audio receiving means effective only when the storage element is operated.

3. The system set forth in claim 2 in which the central nurse-call unit includes clear means operable to transmit a distinct plural bit clear code over the link for storing in the code storage means in all of the room nurse-call units, and the decoding means in each of the room nurse-call units decodes a clear code stored in the coupled storage means to clear the storage element and render the connected audio receiving means ineffective.

4. The system set forth in claim 2 in which the central nurse-call unit includes all-call means operable to transmit a distinct plural bit all-call code over the link for storage in the code storage means in all of the room nurse-call units, and the decoding means in all of the room nurse-call units decodes the all-call code to operate the storage element and render the audio receiving means effective.