TW202539600A - Bed fall monitoring system and bed device with bed fall monitoring function - Google Patents

Abstract

A bed-landing monitoring system and a bed device with bed-landing monitoring function are disclosed. The bed-landing monitoring system includes a pressure sensor for sensing the pressure borne by a specific area of the bed, multiple human body sensors installed on the bed, and a controller. Each human body sensor generates a human body signal when it detects a human body at a specific location on the side of the bed. The controller controls an alarm to issue an alarm message when it analyzes that the pressure value of the pressure signal is less than a predetermined pressure threshold and simultaneously receives human body signals from a predetermined number of the human body sensors. By designing the pressure sensor, human body sensors, and controller installed on the bed, it is possible to more accurately determine whether a patient has fallen out of bed, and to immediately issue an alarm message when a fall is detected.

Description

Bed-landing monitoring system and bed device with bed-landing monitoring function

This invention relates to a sleep device, and more particularly to a bed device for monitoring fall-out events.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2021, the second most common cause of hospital patient falls was "when getting in and out of bed," totaling 2,543 cases (20.9%). Most of these falls occurred between 00:01 and 08:00, indicating that patients are prone to falls when getting out of bed or using the toilet at night. Among hospitalized patients who fell, 44.9%-53.4% were accompanied by family members, showing that over 50% of patients may still fall even with companions.

Falls can cause serious harm to patients, including injuries, fractures, brain hemorrhage, disability, and even death. Patients may also reduce their activity levels due to the negative emotions associated with falling, indirectly leading to health deterioration or complications, thus prolonging hospital stays and increasing the workload of medical staff. Therefore, it is essential to take proactive preventative measures or to immediately report any falls to emergency personnel.

On the other hand, existing ward lighting systems often negatively impact patients' sleep quality. Bright lights at night not only make it difficult for patients to fall asleep but may also disrupt their sleep process, negatively affecting their recovery. However, reducing the lighting brightness risks obstructing patients' vision when getting out of bed, potentially leading to falls. Therefore, providing patients with the necessary lighting at appropriate times is also an issue that needs improvement.

Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to provide a bed-landing monitoring system that improves upon at least one of the shortcomings of prior art.

Therefore, the present invention provides a bed-landing monitoring system suitable for installation on a bed. The bed has a bed frame mechanism and a bed board mechanism. The bed-landing monitoring system includes: a pressure sensor for detecting pressure on a specific area of the bed board mechanism and generating a pressure signal accordingly; multiple human body sensors installed at intervals on the bed frame mechanism; an alarm that can be driven to emit an alarm message; and a controller that connects the pressure sensor, the human body sensors, and the alarm.

Each human body sensor can detect human presence at a specific location on the side of the bed frame mechanism and generate a human body signal when a human body is detected. The controller will control the alarm to issue the alarm message when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is less than a predetermined pressure threshold, and simultaneously receives human body signals from a predetermined number or more of the human body sensors.

Therefore, another objective of the present invention is to provide a bed device that improves upon at least one of the shortcomings of the prior art.

Therefore, the bed device with bed-landing monitoring function of the present invention includes a bed and a bed-landing monitoring system installed on the bed. The bed includes a bed frame mechanism and a bed board mechanism disposed on the bed frame mechanism.

The bed-setting monitoring system includes a pressure sensor that can sense the pressure on a specific area of the bed frame mechanism and generate a pressure signal accordingly, multiple human body sensors that are installed back-to-back on the bed frame mechanism, an alarm that can be driven to emit an alarm message, and a controller that connects the pressure sensor, the human body sensors and the alarm.

Each human body sensor can detect human presence at a specific location on the side of the bed frame mechanism and generate a human body signal when a human body is detected. The controller will control the alarm to issue the alarm message when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is less than a predetermined pressure threshold, and simultaneously receives human body signals from a predetermined number or more of the human body sensors.

The advantage of this invention is that, through the design of the pressure sensor, the human body sensors, the alarm and the controller installed on the bed, it can more accurately determine whether the patient has fallen out of bed, and can immediately issue an alarm message when it is determined that a fall has occurred.

Referring to Figures 1-4, one embodiment of the bed device 200 with landing monitoring function of the present invention includes a bed 3 and a landing monitoring system 4 installed on the bed 3. The landing monitoring system 4 can wirelessly communicate with a remote monitoring system 800. The remote monitoring system 800 is, for example, but not limited to, a monitoring host in a medical institution, a computer device on a medical cart, and a monitoring device at a nursing station.

The bed body 3 includes a bed frame mechanism 31 and a bed board mechanism 32 disposed on the bed frame mechanism 31 and used to support a mattress 700. The bed body 3 is, for example, but not limited to, a hospital bed.

The bed-getting monitoring system 4 includes a pressure sensor 41, multiple human body sensors 42 spaced apart on the sides of the bed frame mechanism 31, multiple lighting devices 44 installed on the bottom side of the bed board mechanism 32, a light sensor 43 installed on or around the bed body 3, a wireless communicator 45, an alarm 46, and a controller 47. In this embodiment, the light sensor 43, the wireless communicator 45, the alarm 46, and the controller 47 are integrated into a control box 50, which is installed on the bed frame mechanism 31, but the implementation is not limited to this.

In this embodiment, the pressure sensor 41 is disposed on the bed board mechanism 32, located in the area of the mattress 700 that will be pressed by a person lying down. It can be used to sense the pressure borne by a specific area of the mattress 700 and generate a pressure signal. However, in another embodiment of the invention, the pressure sensor 41 can also be disposed on the area of the mattress 700 that will be pressed by a person lying down, and can similarly be used to sense the pressure borne by that area of the mattress 700. In this embodiment, the pressure sensor 41 is, for example, but not limited to, a piezoelectric sensing element.

The human body sensors 42 are arranged at intervals along the length of the bed frame mechanism 31 on its sides, for example, on the left and right sides of the bed frame mechanism 31. Each human body sensor 42 can detect human bodies obliquely downwards at a specific direction on the side of the bed frame mechanism 31, and generate a human body signal when a human body is detected. In this embodiment, each human body sensor 42 is an infrared sensor, but in practice, the number and type of human body sensors 42 are not limited to the above-described manner.

The lighting devices 44 are installed on the bottom surface of the bed board mechanism 32 and can be controlled to be activated to emit light below the bed board mechanism 32, thereby indirectly illuminating the ground around the bed 3.

The photosensor 43 can be used to sense the brightness of the surrounding environment above the bed 3 and generate a brightness signal accordingly. In this embodiment, the photosensor 43 is, for example, but not limited to, a photoresistor.

The wireless communicator 45 can transmit data via wireless communication with the remote monitoring system 800 using currently known wireless communication technologies. The wireless communication technologies include, but are not limited to, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless network communication technologies or Internet of Things (IoT) communication technologies.

The alarm 46 can be controlled to emit an alarm message. The alarm message may be an audible warning, a flashing warning light, and/or a visual warning.

The controller 47 is connected to the pressure sensor 41, the human body sensors 42, the lighting devices 44, the light sensor 43, the wireless communicator 45, and the alarm 46. It can receive and analyze the pressure signal, the human body signals, and the brightness signal, and can control the alarm 46 to issue the alarm message, and send a notification signal to the remote monitoring system 800 via the wireless communicator 45.

The controller 47 can analyze the pressure value represented by the pressure signal and determine whether the mattress 700 is in a state where someone is lying down or not, based on whether the pressure value is greater than or equal to a predetermined pressure threshold. For example, when the pressure value is greater than or equal to the predetermined pressure threshold, it means that the mattress 700 is in a state where someone is lying down, and when the pressure value is less than the predetermined pressure threshold, it means that the mattress 700 is in a state where no one is lying down. The controller 47 analyzes the brightness signal to obtain the corresponding brightness value and determines whether the brightness value is less than a predetermined brightness threshold. The controller 47 counts the number of human sensors 42 that generate the human signal and times the duration of each human signal.

When the bed device 200 with bed-landing monitoring function of this invention is in use, the pressure sensor 41 will sense the load of the mattress 700 and generate the pressure signal, the light sensor 43 will sense the ambient brightness and generate the brightness signal, and each human body sensor 42 will sense whether a human body is present in the corresponding direction.

The controller 47 analyzes the pressure signal to determine that the mattress 700 has changed from a vacant to an unvacant state. It also determines that a predetermined number of human body sensors 42 have generated human body signals. If these signals persist for a predetermined time, such as, but not limited to, more than 20 or 30 seconds, it indicates that the patient 900 may have fallen off the bed and is lying on the side of the bed. The controller 47 then controls the alarm 46 to issue an alarm message and simultaneously transmits a notification signal via the wireless communicator 45. Therefore, in the event of a patient falling off the bed, it can immediately alert nearby personnel to assist in rescue efforts and notify medical personnel monitoring the remote monitoring system 800 to provide assistance. The predetermined quantity is, for example, but not limited to, three, four or more.

The controller 47 analyzes the pressure signal to determine that the mattress 700 has changed from a vacant to an unoccupied state, and analyzes the brightness signal to determine that the brightness value is lower than the preset brightness threshold. When this occurs, it is triggered by the human signal of any of the human body sensors 42, controlling the lighting devices 44 to emit light to illuminate the floor around the bed 3. This allows the patient 900, who is preparing to get out of bed, to clearly see obstacles on the floor around the bed 3, helping to reduce the risk of falls. Furthermore, because the lighting devices 44 are installed on the bottom surface of the bed frame mechanism 32 and illuminate the ground, they do not cause glare to the patient 900 due to sudden lighting, and also reduce the impact on other patients in the same ward.

Furthermore, when the controller 47 analyzes the pressure signal to determine that someone is lying on the mattress 700, and analyzes the brightness signal to determine that the brightness value is lower than the preset brightness threshold, it controls the lighting devices 44 to turn off, and will not be triggered by any human body detection signal to control the lighting devices 44 to emit light. The controller 47 also controls the lighting devices 44 to turn off when it analyzes the pressure signal to determine that someone is lying on the mattress 700, and analyzes the brightness signal to determine that the brightness value is higher than the preset brightness threshold, and will not be triggered by any human body detection signal to control the lighting devices 44 to emit light.

In other words, when someone is lying on the mattress 700, if the surrounding brightness is too low, it means the ward lights are off or it is nighttime and the light is dim, and the patient 900 should be resting. If the surrounding brightness is higher than the preset brightness threshold, it means the ward lights are on or it is daytime and the light is bright. In both of these states, the controller 47 will turn off the lighting function of the lighting devices 44 and will not be triggered by any human body signal from the human body sensor 42 to control the lighting devices 44 to turn on.

In summary, through the design of the pressure sensor 41, the human body sensors 42, the alarm 46, and the controller 47 installed on the bed 3 or the mattress 700, it is possible to more accurately determine whether the patient 900 has fallen out of bed, and to immediately issue an alarm message when a fall is detected, so that surrounding personnel can quickly provide first aid.

Furthermore, the lighting device 44 installed on the underside of the bed board mechanism 32, as well as the structural design of the light sensor 43 and the controller 47, can assist in illuminating the ground around the bed when the patient 900 gets out of bed at night. This not only makes it easier for the patient 900 to see the ground obstacles clearly, thus helping to reduce the risk of falling, but also greatly reduces the impact on other patients in the same ward.

Therefore, the bed-landing monitoring system 4 of this invention is indeed a very innovative and convenient creation, and it can indeed achieve the purpose of this invention.

However, the above description is merely an example of the present invention and should not be used to limit the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the scope of the patent application and the contents of the patent specification shall still fall within the scope of the present invention.

200: Bed Frame Assembly 3: Bed Frame 31: Bed Frame Mechanism 32: Bed Board Mechanism 4: Bed Placement Monitoring System 41: Pressure Sensor 42: Human Body Sensor 43: Light Sensor 44: Lighting Device 45: Wireless Communicator 46: Alarm 47: Controller 50: Control Box 700: Mattress 800: Remote Monitoring System 900: Patient

Other features and effects of this invention will be clearly shown in the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of an embodiment of the bed device with bed-landing monitoring function according to the invention; Figure 2 is a side view illustrating the structure of this embodiment; Figure 3 is a bottom view illustrating the structure of this embodiment; and Figure 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functional architecture of this embodiment.

200: Bed Frame Assembly

3: Bed Frame

31: Bed frame mechanism

32: Bed board mechanism

4: Bed-landing monitoring system

41: Pressure Sensor

42: Human Body Sensor

43: Light sensor

46: Alarm

50: Control Box

700: Mattress

800: Remote Monitoring System

Claims (10)

A bed-landing monitoring system is suitable for installation in a bed frame having a bed frame mechanism and a bed board mechanism. The bed-landing monitoring system includes: a pressure sensor for sensing pressure on a specific area of the bed board mechanism and generating a pressure signal accordingly; a plurality of human body sensors, spaced apart from each other on the bed frame mechanism, each human body sensor capable of detecting human presence at a specific location on the side of the bed frame mechanism and generating a human body signal upon detection; an alarm that can be driven to emit an alarm message; and A controller, signal-connected to the pressure sensor, the human body sensors, and the alarm, controls the alarm to issue an alarm message when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is less than a predetermined pressure threshold, and simultaneously receives human body signals from a predetermined number or more of the human body sensors. The bed-drop monitoring system as described in claim 1, wherein the controller controls the alarm to issue the alarm message when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is less than the predetermined pressure threshold, and determines that the predetermined number of human sensors have been continuously generating the pressure signal for a predetermined time. The bed-dropping monitoring system as described in claim 2 further includes a light sensor capable of sensing the brightness around the bed and generating a brightness signal accordingly, and a lighting device installed on the bed for illuminating the ground. The controller is also signal-connected to the light sensor and the lighting device. When the controller analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal changes from greater than or equal to the predetermined pressure threshold to less than the predetermined pressure threshold, and analyzes and determines that the brightness value represented by the brightness signal is lower than a predetermined brightness threshold, it will be triggered by the human signal of any of the human sensors and control the lighting device to emit light. The bed-drop monitoring system as described in claim 3, wherein the controller will not be triggered by any human sensor signal to control the lighting device to emit light when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is greater than or equal to the predetermined pressure threshold, and analyzes the brightness signal and determines that the brightness value is lower than the predetermined brightness threshold. The bed-landing monitoring system as described in claim 1 is also suitable for signal connection to a remote monitoring system, the bed-landing monitoring system further comprising a wireless communicator signalably connected to the controller and usable for wireless communication with the remote monitoring system, the controller wirelessly transmitting a notification signal to the remote monitoring system via the wireless communicator when controlling the alarm to issue an alarm message. A bed frame device with a bed-landing monitoring function includes: a bed frame, including a bed frame mechanism and a bed board mechanism disposed on the bed frame mechanism; and a bed-landing monitoring system disposed on the bed frame, and including: a pressure sensor, which can sense the pressure borne by a specific area of the bed board mechanism and generate a pressure signal accordingly; a plurality of human body sensors, which are installed at intervals from back to front on the bed frame mechanism, each of the human body sensors being capable of detecting human bodies in a specific direction on the side of the bed frame mechanism and generating a human body signal when a human body is detected; an alarm, which can be driven to emit an alarm message; and A controller, signal-connected to the pressure sensor, the human body sensors, and the alarm, controls the alarm to issue an alarm message when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is less than a predetermined pressure threshold, and simultaneously receives human body signals from a predetermined number or more of the human body sensors. As described in claim 6, in a bed device with a bed-landing monitoring function, the controller controls the alarm to issue the alarm message when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is less than the predetermined pressure threshold, and determines that the predetermined number of human body sensors have been continuously generating the pressure signal for a predetermined time. As described in claim 7, the bed device with a bed-landing monitoring function further includes a light sensor that can sense the brightness around the bed and generate a brightness signal accordingly, and a lighting device installed on the bed for illuminating the ground. The controller is also signal-connected to the light sensor and the lighting device. When the controller analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal changes from greater than or equal to the predetermined pressure threshold to less than the predetermined pressure threshold, and analyzes and determines that the brightness value represented by the brightness signal is lower than a predetermined brightness threshold, it will be triggered by the human signal of any of the human sensors and control the lighting device to emit light. As described in claim 8, in the bed device with bed-landing monitoring function, the controller will not be triggered by any human sensor signal to control the lighting device to emit light when it analyzes and determines that the pressure value represented by the pressure signal is greater than or equal to the predetermined pressure threshold, and analyzes the brightness signal and determines that the brightness value is lower than the predetermined brightness threshold. The bed device with landing monitoring function as described in claim 6 is also suitable for signal connection to a remote monitoring system. The landing monitoring system further includes a wireless communicator that is signal-connected to the controller and can be used to wirelessly communicate with the remote monitoring system. When the controller controls the alarm to issue an alarm message, it wirelessly sends a notification signal to the remote monitoring system via the wireless communicator.