Automated systems, devices, and methods for transporting and supporting patients

• US 9,220,651 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2012
• Issued: 12/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Hyde, Roderick A., Malaska, Stephen L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Collins, Timothy D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Davis, Richard G
• Application Number:
  US13/630,412
• Publication Number:
  US 20140094990A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,187 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 1/0275 having driven wheels, e.g. motorised
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 1/0281 having a steering device
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 1/0287 having brakes, e.g. slowing down and/or holding details of brake actuators on castors B60B33/0078; brakes on hand carts B62B5/04; brakes in general F16D49/00 - F16D65/853
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 5/04 motor-driven A61G5/06 takes precedence; motor-operated rests A61G5/12; for vehicles with handlebars, equipped with three or more wheels B62K5/003, B62K5/023
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/05 Parts, details or accessories of beds devices for prevention against falling out A47C21/08, A47D7/00 ; mattresses A47C27/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/0527 Weighing devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/0528 Steering or braking devices for castor wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/08 Apparatus for transporting beds
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0011 associated with a remote control arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0061 for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0217 in accordance with energy consumption, time reduction or distance reduction criteria
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0227 using mechanical sensing means, e.g. for sensing treated area
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0234 using optical markers or beacons optical beacons per se G01S1/70
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0238 using obstacle or wall sensors G05D1/0246 and G05D1/0289 take precedence; lidar systems designed for anti-collision purposes G01S17/93
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0246 using a video camera in combination with image processing means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/027 comprising intertial navigation means, e.g. azimuth detector inertial navigation G01C21/16; inertial navigation combined with non-inertial navigation instruments G01C21/165
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0274 using mapping information stored in a memory device navigation using map-matching G01C21/30
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods are described for moving a patient to and from various locations, care units, etc., within a care facility. For example a transport and support vehicle includes a body structure including a plurality of rotatable members operable to frictionally interface the vehicle to a travel path and to move the vehicle along the travel path, and a surface structured and dimensioned to support an individual subject. A transport and support vehicle can include, for example, an imager operably coupled to one or more of a power source, a steering assembly, one or more of the plurality of rotatable members, etc., and having one or more modules operable to control the power source, steering assembly, one or more of the plurality of rotatable members, etc., so as to maintain an authorized operator in the image zone.

Claims

1. A self-propelled operator-guided vehicle for transporting and supporting at least one individual subject, comprising:

an operator-authorization device including

one or more image sensors for acquiring image information of a human operator within an operator-guide zone, and

a verification module for determining whether the human operator is an authorized operator based on the image information;

a bedframe structure including a surface configured to support an individual subject and a transport assembly having a plurality of rotatable members operable to frictionally interface a self-propelled operator-guided vehicle to a travel path and to move the vehicle along the travel path, and a steering assembly operable to vary a steering angle of at least one of the plurality of rotatable members;

a powertrain for driving one or more of the plurality of rotatable members; and

an operator-guided vehicle navigation controller operably coupled to a virtual object generator configured to generate a virtual representation of at least one of a locality of the human operator within the operator-guide zone or a locality of the self-propelled operator-guided vehicle within a physical space on a virtual display;

the operator-guided vehicle navigation controller operably coupled to at least one or more of the operator-authorization device, the steering assembly, or the powertrain, the operator-guided vehicle navigation controller including a control command module operable to determine physical gesture movement information from the image information and to map one or more physical gesture movements of the authorized human operator within the operator-guide zone to at least one input correlated with one or more navigation control commands for controlling the self-propelled operator-guided vehicle based on the physical gesture movement information, the operator-guided vehicle navigation controller configured to acquire patient identification information associated with the individual subject, the operator-guided vehicle navigation controller having circuitry operable to generate route-to-destination information based on the acquired patient identification information associated with the individual subject.

2. The self-propelled operator-guided vehicle for transporting and supporting the at least one individual subject of claim 1, wherein the operator-guided vehicle navigation controller is operably coupled to at least one of the one or more image sensors and is configured to determine a travel route based on the one or more physical gesture movements of the human operator within the operator-guide zone.

3. The self-propelled operator-guided vehicle for transporting and supporting the at least one individual subject of claim 1, wherein the virtual object generator is further configured to generate a virtual representation of the one or more navigation control commands on the virtual display.

4. The self-propelled operator-guided vehicle for transporting and supporting the at least one individual subject of claim 1, further including:

one or more sensors that image and track a gesture movement of a least a portion of the human operator within the operator-guide zone.

5. An article of manufacture, comprising:

a bedframe configured to support an individual subject; and

a non-transitory signal-bearing medium bearing;

one or more instructions for acquiring patient identification information associated with the individual subject and generating route-to-destination information based on the acquired patient identification information associated with the individual subject;

one or more instructions for acquiring physical gesture movement image information or audio input of a human operator within an operator-guide zone;

one or more instructions for determining operator-guide verification information for the human operator within the operator-guide zone based on the physical gesture movement image information or audio input; and

one or more instructions for mapping one or more physical gesture movements or audio input of the human operator within the operator-guide zone to at least one input correlated with one or more navigation control commands for controlling a self-propelled operator-guided bed.

6. The article of manufacture of claim 5, further including:

a non-transitory signal-bearing medium bearing;

one or more instructions for generating a virtual representation of the one or more physical gesture movements on a virtual display.

7. The article of manufacture of claim 5, further including:

a non-transitory signal-bearing medium bearing;

one or more instructions for registering a physical location of the human operator within the operator-guide zone relative the self-propelled operator-guided bed, and generating registration information; and

one or more instructions for generating a virtual representation of at least one of a locality of the human operator within the operator-guide zone and a locality the self-propelled operator-guided bed within a physical space on a virtual display based on the registration information.

8. A self-propelled operator-guided vehicle control system, comprising:

a bedframe configured to support an individual subject;

an operator-authorization device including one or more sensors that detect one or more physical gesture movements or audio input of an human operator within the operator-guide zone, the operator-authorization device configured to acquire patient identification information associated with the individual subject, the operator-authorization device having circuitry operable to generate route-to-destination information based on the acquired patient identification information associated with the individual subject; and

a self-propelled operator-guided vehicle navigation controller having a computing device and memory to provide a control signal to

map the one or more physical gesture movements or audio input of the human operator within the operator-guide zone to at least one input correlated with one or more navigation control commands for controlling the self-propelled operator-guided vehicle, and

navigate a self-propelled operator-guided vehicle based on the one or more navigation control commands.

9. A self-propelled operator-guided vehicle for transporting and supporting at least one individual subject using real-time automatic image recognition, comprising:

a bedframe configured to support an individual subject;

a navigation control device configured to acquire patient identification information associated with the individual subject, the navigation control device having circuitry operable to generate route-to-destination information based on the acquired patient identification information associated with the individual subject; and

a real-time object recognition device configured to

identify groups of pixels indicative of one or more physical gesture movements associated with an human operator within an operator-guide zone imaged in the at least one digital image;

generate one or more connected components of a graph representative of groups of pixels indicative of the one or more physical gesture movements associated with the human operator imaged in the at least one digital image; and

correlate the one or more connected components of the graph to at least one input associated with one or more navigation control commands for controlling the self-propelled operator-guided vehicle.