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US 7,330,127 B2Granted
Force optimization surface apparatus and method
AssigneeHill-Rom Services, Inc.
InventorsJames H. Price, Geoffrey Locke Taylor, James Milton Cherry Thomas, James R. Stolpmann, Karl Caldwell, Marla Repik, Nick Bries, Kerry J. Mensching
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A support surface includes a cover defining an interior region, a mattress core located in the interior region, and a force sensor located in the interior region.
Claims20
A patient support apparatus comprising:
- a cover defining an interior region,
- a support layer configured to support a patient in at least a horizontal position, the support layer being located in the interior region and including at least a first support section and a second support section spaced from the first support section, the first support section being articulatable to assume a non-flat orientation independently of the second support section while a patient is supported thereby,
- a sensing layer spaced from the support layer and including at least a first sensing zone associated with the first support section, the sensing zone including at least one force sensor, and
- a recordable medium including instructions executable to determine a patient weight derived from the at least one force sensor in consideration of the orientation of the first support section.
1 more element
A patient support comprising:
- a cover defining an interior region,
- a support layer located in the interior region, the support layer having a head end, a foot end, and a plurality of support sections aligned longitudinally from the head end to the foot end to support a patient in at least a horizontal position, each support section including at least one independently controllable air zone,
- a sensing layer spaced from the support layer and including an independently controllable sensing zone corresponding to each independently controllable air zone of the support layer, each sensing zone including at least one force sensor, and
- a memory including sensor values derived from the force sensor and instructions executable to process sensor values stored in the memory over time to determine whether an alert condition is present and to automatically generate a caregiver alert if an alert condition is present.
1 more element
A patient support apparatus comprising:
- a cover defining an interior region,
- a support layer located in the interior region, the support layer including at least one independently controllable pressure section configured to support a patient,
- a sensing layer spaced from the support layer and including at least one independently controllable sensing zone, the sensing zone including at least one force sensor associated with a pressure section of the support layer, and
- a recordable medium including instructions executable to adjust pressure in an independently controllable pressure section of the support layer in response to a force sensed by a force sensor of an independently controllable sensing zone of the sensing layer.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.