Common control of an adjustable bed and a second system using stored preferences

• US 8,046,115 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2007
• Issued: 10/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Martin B. Rawls-Meehan
• Original Assignee: Martin B. Rawls-Meehan
• Inventors: Rawls-Meehan, Martin B
• Primary Examiner(s): Decady; Albert
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, DOUGLAS S
• Application Number:
  US11/875,853
• Publication Number:
  US 20080120778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,466 Days
• Field of Search: 700/13, 700/64, 700/66, 700/302, 560/0, 561/3, 561/6, 318/16, 340/573
• US Class Current: 700/302
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 19/12 Folding bedsteads travelling or camp beds A47C17/64
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 20/041 by electric motors
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 20/08 with means for adjusting two or more rests simultaneously
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/003 Lighting, radio, telephone or the like connected to the bedstead
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/006 Oscillating, balancing or vibrating mechanisms connected to the bedstead for children's beds A47D9/02
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 21/04 Devices for ventilating, cooling or heating
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 27/081 of pneumatic type
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 27/082 with non-manual inflation, e.g. with electric pumps
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 31/008 Use of remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/12 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/34 for pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/015 divided into different adjustable sections, e.g. for Gatch position
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/018 Control or drive mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/05769 with inflatable chambers
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0138 incorporated in furniture
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0142 Beds
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/0149 Seat or chair
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/50 Control means thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2203/0443 substantially horizontal
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 23/0263 using rotating unbalanced masses
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 : electric
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

An adjustable bed is associated with a second system and both the bed and the second system are controlled by a common control system. In one embodiment the control system is integrated, in another it is distributed, in yet another it is a programmable logic controller. The common control system accesses preferences that are associated with the adjustable bed and the second system from a plurality of memory locations that are associated with the control system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

storing preferences associated with an adjustable bed facility and at least one second system, the preferences being stored in a plurality of associated memory locations of a common control system for the adjustable bed facility and the second system, wherein the second system is selected from a group consisting of an air purification system and an alarm clock, wherein some of the associated memory locations are in a remote storage location and some of the associated memory locations are in a removable, replaceable memory device directly coupled to the adjustable bed facility, and wherein storing includes storing some of the preferences to the remote storage locations via a router and storing some other of the preferences to the removable, replaceable memory device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferences are associated to support coordinated control of the adjustable bed facility and the second system.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the second system is the air purification system.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferences are stored remotely from the common control system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the common control system is Internet-connected.

6. A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising computer code that, when run on a computing system, performs the following steps:

storing preferences associated with an adjustable bed facility and at least one second system, the preferences being stored in a plurality of associated memory locations of a common control system for the adjustable bed facility and the second system, wherein the second system is selected from a group consisting of an air purification system and an alarm clock, wherein some of the associated memory locations are in a remote storage location and some of the associated memory locations are in a removable, replaceable memory device directly coupled to the adjustable bed facility, and wherein storing includes storing some of the preferences to the remote storage locations via a router and storing some other of the preferences to the removable, replaceable memory device.

7. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the preferences are associated to support coordinated control of the adjustable bed facility and the second system.

8. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the second system is the air purification system.

9. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the preferences are stored remotely from the common control system.

10. The computer program product of claim 6, wherein the common control system is Internet-connected.

11. A system, comprising:

a common control system for an adjustable bed facility and a second system, the common control system including a plurality of associated memory locations, wherein

the second system is selected from a group consisting of an air purification system and an alarm clock, wherein

some of the associated memory locations are in a remote storage location and some of the associated memory locations are in a removable, replaceable memory device directly coupled to the adjustable bed facility, and wherein

the common control system is adapted to store some of the preferences to the remote storage locations via a router and to store some other of the preferences to the removable, replaceable memory device.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the preferences are associated to support coordinated control of the adjustable bed facility and the second system.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the second system is the air purification system.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the preferences are stored remotely from the common control system.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the common control system is Internet-connected.