Battery management for patient support apparatuses

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11801178-B2
Application number	US-202217854043-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2022
Priority date	May 12, 2015
Publication date	Oct 31, 2023
Grant date	Oct 31, 2023

Abstract

A patient support apparatus, such as a bed, recliner, cot, stretcher, operating table, or the like, includes battery-powered circuitry whose functions are reduced, but not eliminated, as the battery charge level falls below a threshold. Electrical power may be cut off to one or more components of the battery-powered circuitry while still providing battery-supplied electrical power to the other components of the circuitry. A user interface provides battery status data, including a replacement status of a rechargeable battery, and allows a user to select different formats for displaying battery status data. Such formats include displays of battery charge level information not only in manners specific to the battery, but also in manners relative to the patient support apparatus, such as displays of how many, or how much of, one or more functions the patient support apparatus is able to perform based on the battery's current charge level.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A patient support apparatus comprising:
a frame;
a plurality of wheels;
a support surface supported by the frame and adapted to support a patient thereon;
a battery for powering a component of the patient support apparatus, the battery being a rechargeable battery; and
a control system adapted to monitor a replacement status of the battery, to compare the replacement status of the battery to a first threshold and to a second threshold, to provide a first indication to a user that the battery should be replaced when the replacement status is between the first and second thresholds, to provide a second indication to the user of a charge status of the battery, and to stop supplying power to the component when the replacement status is smaller than the first threshold.

2. The patient support apparatus of claim 1 wherein the control system is adapted to stop supplying power to the component when the replacement status is smaller than the first threshold even if the battery still includes sufficient charge to power an actuator.

3. The patient support apparatus of claim 2 wherein the control system is adapted to take into account an age of the battery since installation in the patient support apparatus when monitoring the replacement status of the battery.

4. The patient support apparatus of claim 3 wherein the control system is also adapted to take into account a cumulative number of times the battery has been re-charged when monitoring the replacement status of the battery.

5. The patient support apparatus of claim 3 wherein the control system is also adapted to take into account a ratio of a current charge capacity of the battery compared to a previous charge capacity of the battery when monitoring the replacement status of the battery.

6. The patient support apparatus of claim 5 wherein the previous charge capacity of the battery is determined substantially at the time the battery is initially installed on the patient support apparatus.

7. The patient support apparatus of claim 1 wherein the component is an actuator adapted to move at least a portion of the support surface.

8. The patient support apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a second component, wherein the control system is further adapted to stop supplying power to the second component when the replacement status is smaller than the first threshold and the second component is activated in a particular manner.

9. The patient support apparatus of claim 8 wherein the second component is an actuator for moving at least a portion of the support surface and the particular manner refers to moving the actuator in a first direction, but not a second direction opposite to the first direction.

10. A patient support apparatus comprising:
a frame;
a plurality of wheels;
a support surface supported by the frame and adapted to support a patient thereon;
an actuator for moving at least a portion of the support surface;
a battery for powering the actuator; and
a control system including a microcontroller for controlling the actuator and a voltage monitor for monitoring a voltage level of the battery, the control system adapted to terminate power to the microcontroller if the voltage level of the battery drops below a threshold and to allow power to flow to the microcontroller if the voltage level of the battery is above the threshold.

11. The patient support apparatus of claim 10 further including a user interface, and wherein the control system is further adapted to terminate power to the user interface if the voltage level of the battery drops below the threshold.

12. The patient support apparatus of claim 11 wherein the control system further includes a sleep circuit adapted to change the patient support apparatus from an awake state to a sleep state if the control system detects inactivity for more than a threshold amount of time, the sleep state consuming less power than the awake state.

13. The patient support apparatus of claim 12 wherein the control system is adapted to terminate power to the microcontroller while the patient support apparatus is in the sleep state, and supply power to the microcontroller while the patient support apparatus is in the awake state provided the voltage level of the battery exceeds the threshold.

14. The patient support apparatus of claim 12 further including circuitry adapted to awaken the patient support apparatus from the sleep state to the awake state, the circuitry being implemented completely in hardware and utilizing no software.

15. The patient support apparatus of claim 12 wherein the control system is adapted to continue to provide power to the voltage monitor while in the sleep state.

16. The patient support apparatus of claim 15 wherein the control system is adapted to terminate power to the microcontroller using only hardware and not software.

17. The patient support apparatus of claim 10 wherein the control system is adapted to shut off power to all electrical components of the patient support apparatus when the voltage monitor detects that the voltage level of the battery has fallen below a second threshold lower than the threshold and the patient support apparatus is not plugged into an electrical power outlet.

18. The patient support apparatus of claim 17 wherein the control system is adapted to turn on power to at least some of the electrical components of the patient support apparatus only when the patient support apparatus receives electrical power having a voltage greater than the threshold.

19. The patient support apparatus of claim 10 wherein the control system is adapted to continue to supply power to a wake circuit while the battery is below the threshold but above a second threshold, the wake circuit is adapted to resupply power to the microcontroller when the wake circuit is activated, the wake circuit is coupled to a user interface, and the wake circuit is adapted to be activated when a user touches the user interface.

Assignees

• Stryker Corp

Inventors

• Furman Aaron Douglas
• Brosnan Daniel Vincent
• Vytla Lavanya

Classifications

• A61G7/018 Primary

  Control or drive mechanisms · CPC title

• A61G7/005

  tiltable around transverse horizontal axis, e.g. for Trendelenburg position {(rocking beds for physical therapy A61H1/003; hanging patient inclined downwardly for drawing him out A61H2203/0493)} · CPC title

• A61G7/015

  divided into different adjustable sections, e.g. for Gatch position · CPC title

• A61G7/0506

  Head or foot boards (head or foot boards for comfort or ergonomics A47C19/022) · CPC title

• A61G7/0514

  mounted to individual mattress supporting frame sections · CPC title