Remote control arrangement for a medical appliance

• US 4,231,019 A
• Filed: 08/23/1978
• Issued: 10/28/1980
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/1977
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Stierlen-Maquet AG
• Original Assignee: Stierlen-Maquet AG
• Inventors: Kieferle, Hermann, Junginger, Klaus M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pitts, Harold I.
• Application Number:
  US05/936,065
• Time in Patent Office: 797 Days
• Field of Search: 340/171 R, 340/171 PF, 340/171 A, 358/194
• US Class Current: 340/9.11
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 13/02 Adjustable operating tables; Controls therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 19/14 using combination of fixed frequencies

Abstract

In a remote control arrangement for a medical appliance, a transmitter and a receiver are provided. The transmitter has a frequency generator controllable by means of code words which generate frequency signals and a group frequency signal alternately. In order to improve the freedom from interference and ease of changing the frequency of the group frequency signal, the frequency generator is constructed to generate a plurality of additional group frequency signals as a function of the feeding one at a time of a corresponding number of different group code words. An impulse generator of the transmitter has two complementary outputs, and the inputs of the frequency generator are connected each through a diode to an output of the impulse generator so that in a prescribed switching state of the impulse generator the potentials corresponding to the binary values appearing at its outputs are connectable to the inputs of the frequency generator through all the diodes poled in the passage direction with reference to the respective potential corresponding to the respective bits of a prescribed group code word.

Claims

1. A remote control arrangement for a medical appliance comprising a transmitter and a receiver associated with at least one appliance, said transmitter having a number of feed-in keys corresponding to the number of the functions of the appliance to be controlled, said feed-in keys combined physically to form a feed-in keyboard for feeding-in binary command signals in the 1-of-n code associated with the functions, a frequency generator having a plurality of inputs controllable as to its frequency by the feeding-in of a code word corresponding to the relevant command signal, and switchable on as a function of the presence of a command signal, and a transmission converter fed by the frequency generator and transmitting frequency signals corresponding to the command signals, and an amplifier having a reception converter and means for selective amplification of the frequency signal received and of their reconversion into the command signals, and said frequency generator being constructed to generate a group frequency signal in addition to the frequency signals corresponding to the command signals as a function of the feeding-in of an additional group code word, said transmitter having an impulse generator which can be set in action as a function of the appearance of a command signal, said impulse generator generating output impulses whereby the group code word can be fed into the frequency generator instead of the code word corresponding to the relevant command signal, and said receiver having a circuit which controls the emission of the command signals as a function of the alternate reception of a frequency signal corresponding to a command signal and of the group frequency signal, said frequency generator being constructed to generate a plurality of additional group frequency signals as a function of the feeding-in of one at a time of a corresponding number of different group code words, said impulse generator having two complementary outputs, and the inputs of said frequency generator being connected each through a diode to an output of the impulse generator so that in a prescribed switching state of the impulse generator the potentials corresponding to the binary values appearing at its outputs are connectable through all the diodes poled in the passage direction with reference to the respective potential in accordance with the respective bits of a prescribed group code word to the inputs of said frequency generator.

2. A remote control arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the diodes are connected to the outputs of the impulse generator and to the inputs of the frequency generator.

3. A remote control arrangement according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the diodes generate a group code word in the signal states appearing at the outputs of the impulse transmitter.

4. A remote control arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the impulse generator comprises a multivibrator, the output of which constitutes the first output of the impulse generator, and an invertor stage following the multivibrator, the output of said invention stage being the second output of the impulse generator complementary to the first output.

5. A remote control arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the number of the inputs of the frequency generator is smaller than the number of the feed-in keys and a code translator connected between said feed-in keys and said frequency generator.

6. A remote control arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the potential signals representing the values of the bits of the code word corresponding to the respective command signal are feedable to the inputs of said frequency generator through resistors.

7. A remote control arrangement according to claim 6, wherein, said inputs of said frequency generator are connected to a wire matrix, to the nodes of said matrix are connected to resistors.

8. A remote control arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the code which embraces said code words corresponding to the command signals feedable to the inputs of the frequency generator and the group code words corresponding to the additional frequencies which can be generated contain at least one unallocated pseudo code word, a blocking circuit, associated with said frequency generator, for blocking the generation of frequency signals as a function of the feeding-in of a pseudo code word, the inputs of said frequency generator being fed with a pseudo code word when no command signals and no group code words are present.

9. A remote control arrangement according to claim 8, wherein said pseudo code word which feeds the inputs of the frequency generator in the absence of command signals and of group code words consists of bits of equal values among themselves.

10. A remote control arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the potential representing the values of the bits of said pseudo code word constituted by bits of equal value among themselves is feedable to the inputs of said frequency generator in each case through a resistor, the resistance value of each of said resistors being high compared to the resistor through which the potential is feedable which represents the value of a bit of the code word corresponding to a command signal.

11. A remote control arrangement according to claim 1, for a plurality of medical appliances each with an associated transmitter and with a common receiver, wherein the prescribed group code words of the transmitters differ among themselves, said receiver feeding the command signal obtained from a received frequency signal as a function of the frequency of the group frequency signal received exclusively to the appliance associated therewith and said receiver having a circuit which prevents the output of command signals in the case of simultaneous reception of at least two group frequency signals.