Patent · US Expired

Patient exit detection mechanism for hospital bed

US5276432A · kind A · utility

297Cited by
26References
18Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJan 15, 1992
Grant dateJan 4, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 15, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B2562/046
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A hospital bed includes a support frame which is supported on the bed by four load cells and which in turn supports a mattress having a patient thereon. A method and apparatus of detecting patient exit from the bed involve extraction from the weight measured by each load cell of the portion of the measured weight corresponding to the weight of the patient, use of this extracted weight information to calculate a center of gravity of the patient with respect to the frame, a determination of whether the calculated center of gravity is within a predetermined region, and generation of an alarm if the center of gravity is outside the region.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.