DE29700274U1 - Device for radio-controlled bed emergency calls - Google Patents

Description

Description: Facility for radio-mediated bedside emergency calls

The present invention relates to a device for radio-based bedside emergency calls. Such a device has not been known to date.

Emergency call systems for hospital beds are known from practical use, particularly in hospitals, where a cord button on the bed is operated by the sick person, whereby a wired signal is sent to a display panel that is installed outside the hospital room and usually leads to a light signal.

The disadvantage of the known emergency call system is that the sick person has to press a button to summon a nurse or doctor, which seriously ill or confused people are often unable to do, meaning that a call for help is not made.

It is the object of the present invention to create a device for radio-mediated bedside emergency calls, which wirelessly emits a visually and/or acoustically perceptible emergency call signal when the person in bed sits up, stands up or tries to leave the bed.

The problem is solved with a device for radio-mediated bedside emergency calls with the features of the protection claim 1.

The device according to the invention for a bed, in particular a hospital bed, has at least one light barrier device arranged in a plane above the bed, consisting of an infrared transmitter, from which a signal is emitted when the light barrier is interrupted, which transposes an acoustically and/or optically perceptible signal via a radio signal receiver positioned away from the bed.

The radio bridge is used to selectively detect the emergency calling beds in multi-channel systems (for monitoring a larger number of beds) through selectable coding and decoding.

This ensures that when the light barrier is interrupted by the person in bed, a signal is received by the radio signal receiver that can be perceived by a caregiver who can then rush to help.

The device according to the invention for radio-mediated bedside emergency calls can of course also be triggered intentionally by the sick person raising his arm and moving it through the light beam.

Preferably, an infrared (IR) light barrier, consisting of an infrared emitter, focusing device, reflector and IR sensor, monitors the bed.

The sharply focused IR light beam is not visible to the human eye.

- 3

The photocurrent pulse generated when the light beam is interrupted is amplified electronically. This signal controls the modulation of the radio wave transmitter, with an adjustable delay time between the interruption of the light beam and the activation of the transmitter.

In order to exclude the influence of external light (sunlight, electrical light sources), the emitted IR light beam is pulsed at approx. 20 kHz, the IR light beam only works selectively at this pulse frequency. This ensures a high level of switching reliability with high-intensity direct light sources and also incandescent lamps or fluorescent tube lights with mains frequency control (50 Hz).

The infrared light source, the photo sensor, amplifier, radio wave transmitter, modulator and the necessary operating power supply are housed together in a compact housing (e.g. 7 x 7 x 5 cm).

The complete unit is conveniently mounted at the side of the head or foot end of the bed to be monitored in a height-adjustable manner. The passive reflector required to deflect the bundled IR light beam should be conveniently mounted diametrically opposite the counterpart of the head or foot end in a height-adjustable manner.

This ensures that it is impossible for someone to crawl under the light beam to get out of bed.

In addition, this arrangement of the light guide allows for great freedom of movement in the upper body area.

The modulated and coded radio wave signal is inductively fed to the receiving coil (dipole) of a radio wave receiver over a distance of up to approx. 25 m, amplified, selected and decoded and optically or acoustically displayed.

·* ·· ·« 4
4 • · ·*« · · 4 I · ♦·· · t · ·· ·

shows. Reaction is only possible if there is a coincidence between coding in the transmitter and decoding in the receiver. Both factors can easily be adapted to requirements on site using solder bridges (selective call).

The compact light barrier and transmitter device on the nursing bed is activated by simply connecting the power cable into any socket.

The receiver with signaling device is usually intended for mains operation. In a plug housing, it can be connected directly to a Schuko socket without a connecting cable within a radius of approx. 25 m.

Alternatively, a small battery-operated signal receiver with an integrated vibration detector can be carried by the caregiver independently of the power grid.

In order to avoid a caregiver being called unnecessarily if the person being cared for, for example, accidentally raises his or her arm, it is advisable to activate the transmitter with an adjustable delay time (between 0 and 30 seconds).

The light barrier device is conveniently arranged in a gimbal-adjustable manner in order to adapt it to the different local conditions.

For nursing stations with several beds and one carer, it is advantageous that differently coded radio signals can be emitted from the individual beds using a light barrier device and a transmitter, which are received by a radio signal receiver, selected, evaluated and permanently displayed optically.

The evaluation and allocation of the incoming radio signals from the emergency call beds (also at the same time) takes place in the control center and is visually displayed for each bed.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described in more detail with reference to a drawing. It shows schematically the arrangement of the device for radio-switched bed emergency calls in a perspective view.

A bed 1 is shown with four feet and head and foot sections 11, 12, whereby the foldable side sections of the bed 1, which are usually present, are not shown for a better overview.

A light barrier device 2 is attached to the head part 11 in a housing 5 that is height-adjustable and radially alignable, which accommodates the components of the light barrier device 2 with the power supply electronics and an infrared transmitter 21.

The compact housing 5 contains the infrared transmitter 21 at the front, which emits a sharply focused infrared light beam 3 onto a reflector 4 attached to the foot part 12 of the bed 1, but which is not visible to the human eye.

Due to the total reflection in the prisms of the reflector 4, this light beam is redirected back in the direction of the light source and hits an infrared sensor 22, which is housed directly below the infrared transmitter 21 in the housing 5.

Since these components are known to the expert, a more detailed explanation is unnecessary at this point.

Not shown is the receiving station with integrated optical or acoustic alarm signal. It can

be designed for stationary operation or as a mobile radio signal receiver.

Claims (6)

Protection claims: 1. Device for radio-mediated bed emergency calls, in particular for nursing beds, with at least one light barrier device (2) arranged above a bed (l) consisting of an infrared transmitter (21), a deflection reflector (4) and an infrared sensor (22) with a signal amplifier, whereby a signal generated when an infrared light beam (3) is interrupted activates a radio signal transmitter with a downstream encoder with an adjustable time delay for selective wireless signal transmission to a remotely arranged radio signal receiver with decoding and conversion into an optically and/or acoustically perceptible signal. 2. Device for radio-switched bed emergency calls according to claim 1, characterized in that the light barrier device (2) including infrared transmitter (21) and a power supply is arranged compactly in a housing (5) on the side of a headboard (11) of the bed (1) so that it can be adjusted in height and pivoted horizontally, that the emitted infrared light beam (3) is sharply focused and can be directed onto the deflection reflector (4) arranged on a footboard (12) of the bed (1) and can be deflected back from this in an anti-parallel manner onto the infrared sensor (22) housed in the light barrier device (2). 3. Device for radio-switched bedside emergency call according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the radio signal receiver receives the coded signal of the radio signal nal transmitter, whereby the radio signal receiver is either stationary and connected to the power grid or can be carried by a caregiver and is battery-operated. 4. Device for radio-switched bedside emergency calls according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the radio signal transmitter can be activated with an adjustable delay time. 5. Device for radio-switched bed emergency calls according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the light barrier device (2) and the deflection reflector (4) are height-adjustable and vertically alignable and can be attached to different types of beds with an adapter. 6. Device for radio-switched bed emergency calls according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that signals emitted by different beds (1) are coded differently, are selected and decoded in a central monitoring station and can be fed to an associated optical signaling device as stagnant signals, the emergency call displays being individually manually erasable, and an acoustic signal being able to be generated in the monitoring station from each signal independently of the selected optical signaling device.