Person support apparatus with activity and mobility sensing
OwnerTimothy J. Receveurinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A person support apparatus may, among other things, support a person in a laying-down or a seated position. One or more sensors, which may be operably coupled to the person support apparatus, monitor changes in the position of a person situated on the person support apparatus. A control system receives output from the sensor or sensors over a period of time, while the person is positioned on the person support apparatus. The control system makes a determination relating to the activity and/or mobility of the person positioned on the person support apparatus. The control system may use the activity and/or mobility determination to control a feature of the person support apparatus, or for other purposes.
Claims24
A person support system, comprising:
- a person support apparatus configured to support a person in one or more positions,
- at least one sensor coupled to the person support apparatus, the at least one sensor being responsive to changes in the position of a person relative to the person support apparatus while the person is supported by the person support apparatus, and
- a control system operably coupled to the sensor and the person support apparatus, the control system being configured to:
- receive a plurality of outputs from the at least one sensor over a period of time,
- make an assessment relating to the person's activity and/or mobility, based on the outputs, where the assessment relating to the person's activity and/or mobility is indicated by changes in position of the person's body or an extremity thereof, relative to the person support apparatus, which are greater in degree than movement that indicates physiological activity of the person and less than or equal in degree to changes in position that indicate a major change in the person's position,
- determine a person type of the person being supported by the person support apparatus based on the activity and/or mobility assessment, and
- enable, disable, or configure an electronically-controllable feature of the person support apparatus based on the person type.
A control system for a person support apparatus, the control system comprising
- at least one sensor coupled to the person support apparatus, the sensor being responsive to changes in the position of a person while the person is supported by the person support apparatus, and
- a processor operably coupled to the at least one sensor and the person support apparatus, the processor being configured to:
- receive a plurality of first outputs from the at least one sensor, the plurality of first outputs being indicative of the person's position relative to the person support apparatus while the person is supported by the person support apparatus,
- make an assessment relating to the person's mobility, based on the first outputs, where the assessment of the person's mobility is based on changes in position of the person's body or an extremity thereof, which are greater in degree than movement that indicates physiological activity of the person and less in degree than changes in position that indicate a major change in the person's position,
- determine a person type of the person being supported by the person support apparatus based on the mobility assessment, and
- enable, disable, or configure an electronically-controllable feature of the person support apparatus based on the person type.
A method of determining a person's mobility while the person is situated on a person support apparatus, the method comprising
- sensing changes in the position of a person relative to the person support apparatus while the person is supported by the person support apparatus for a period of time,
- identifying changes in position of the person's body or an extremity thereof, during the period of time, which are greater in degree than movement that indicates physiological activity of the person and less in degree than changes in position that indicate a major change in the person's position,
- making an assessment of the person's mobility based on the identified changes, and
- outputting an indication of the person's mobility based on the mobility assessment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.