Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11737727-B2
Application number	US-202017063835-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 6, 2020
Priority date	Oct 7, 2019
Publication date	Aug 29, 2023
Grant date	Aug 29, 2023

Abstract

An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to an embodiment includes a body, a plurality of wheels, and control circuitry. The body sends and receives ultrasonic waves to generate an ultrasonic image. The plurality of wheels supports and moves the body. The assist wheel is electrically driven, and assists movement of the body. The control circuitry is configured to control switching between grounded and ungrounded of the assist wheel to a floor.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, comprising:
a body configured to send and receive ultrasonic waves to generate an ultrasonic image;
a plurality of wheels configured to support and move the body;
an assist wheel electrically driven and configured to assist movement of the body;
a wheel elevating switch;
a handlebar configured to move the body, wherein the wheel elevating switch is provided on the handlebar and is configured to detect whether the handlebar is gripped by a user; and
control circuitry configured to
control switching between grounded and ungrounded states of the assist wheel to a floor by raising and lowering the assist wheel in response to a signal from the wheel elevating switch provided on the handlebar, and
ground the assist wheel when the handlebar is gripped and unground the assist wheel when the handlebar is not gripped.

2. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the assist wheel is configured to be raised and lowered by rotating around a support shaft of the assist wheel provided outside the assist wheel.

3. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the assist wheel is configured to be raised and lowered in a direction perpendicular to the floor.

4. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a holding member holding the assist wheel and the control circuitry,
wherein the holding member is detachably attached to the body.

5. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a detector configured to detect a load in a front-rear direction on the handlebar,
wherein the control circuitry is further configured to rotate the assist wheel according to the load in the front-rear direction on the handlebar.

6. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the control circuitry is further configured to rotate the assist wheel for a predetermined period after the load on the handlebar is detected.

7. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a battery configured to supply power to both the body and an assist motor that drives the assist wheel.

8. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 7 , further comprising a power circuit configured to control power supply from the battery to the assist motor.

9. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein, when the assist wheel rotates while the assist motor does not rotate, the power circuit is further configured to charge the battery with a regenerative power of the assist motor.

10. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the power circuit is further configured to stop supplying power to the assist motor when receiving an emergency stop signal.

11. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the power circuit is further configured to stop supplying power to the assist motor when an amount of electricity stored in the battery falls below a threshold value.

12. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the plurality of wheels includes two front wheels and two rear wheels; and
the assist wheel is provided between the two rear wheels.

13. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a speed sensor configured to detect a speed of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus,
wherein, when the detected speed of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is equal to or less than a predetermined speed, the control circuitry is further configured to control the assist wheel such that the assist wheel rotates until the speed of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined speed.

Assignees

• Canon Medical Systems Corp

Inventors

• Onodera Hideo
• Toyoda Shingo
• Kikuchi Shinichiro
• Fujiwara Shuta
• Kuwana Yuji

Classifications

• A61B8/4405 Primary

  Device being mounted on a trolley · CPC title

• A61B8/4209

  by using holders, e.g. positioning frames · CPC title

• A61B8/4427

  Device being portable or laptop-like · CPC title

• A61B8/5207

  involving processing of raw data to produce diagnostic data, e.g. for generating an image · CPC title

• A61B8/56

  Details of data transmission or power supply · CPC title