Smart mobile unit location detection and delivery system for patient environments

Abstract

A smart mobile unit location detection and delivery system (1) for a hospital environment comprising a smart mobile unit (1) housing container trays (1a), characterized in that the container trays (1a) and the destination location (3) have passive RFID tags (2) attached.

Description

Smart mobile unit location detection and delivery system for patient environments Field of invention This invention relates to a system for detecting the location and delivering standard delivery items to hospitals, nursing homes, or other locations housing patients or living beings requiring third-party care. In these environments, it is common practice to deliver personalized meals to each patient or animal, based on their health status or specific needs, or to deliver prescribed medication tailored to each patient in a particular room or location, such as a kennel, a pet cage, or a zoo.This system, using a mobile unit, is able to detect the correct location of each place, for example, the room where the patient is staying, and distributes the contents included in each tray, associating each container tray with a specific location or destination and linked to the patient staying there; all this through the incorporation of RFID tags on the tray and the patient's location, and at least two sensors or antennas that read these RFID tags. Prior art Currently, and as a reference to the state of the art, traceability systems for incoming medications distributed in a pharmacy or hospital are well-known. However, these systems are designed to determine the necessary supply of certain medications based on patient needs or to identify whether the person collecting the medication has the authorization, but they do not include a system for validating delivery to a specific location or for non-delivery. On the other hand, there are well-known mobile delivery units that use an integrated GPS system to deliver all kinds of products according to customer orders. However, these systems must be built to operate autonomously, and without an internet connection, the GPS solution doesn't work. Furthermore, their complex operation significantly increases their design and manufacturing costs. Rail-based supply or distribution systems are also known, such as those used in warehouses, which, controlled by dedicated software, are capable of making stops at pre-programmed coordinates, but these systems require complex installations for their use. Thus, these solutions do not allow, through the attachment of RFID tags, the generation of a location detection and delivery system that is easy to implement in pre-existing carts or already built facilities through a simple and efficient assembly. Explanation of the invention and advantages In light of this situation, the present invention relates to a location detection and delivery system for an intelligent mobile unit in a hospital environment. This system comprises an intelligent mobile unit, based on a pre-existing mobile unit, such as a hospital delivery cart typically operated by a hospital worker. The mobile unit houses trays for delivery to their destination and is equipped with an attachable control box containing an external antenna and a battery. The contents of the trays can be any item, such as food, medication, personal hygiene products, etc., intended for delivery to a specific individual. Each tray contains the necessary dose for a single recipient.Both the container trays and the destination location have attached passive RFID tags that identify the contents of the container tray and the destination location of the container tray recipient. Thanks to this passive RFID tagging system, the information about the contents of a tray, intended for a single recipient, is linked to the tray itself. Each passive RFID tag on the tray can be linked to the destination location, which has an attached RFID tag, during tray preparation. This is done by linking the data from the tray's passive RFID tag to the data from the destination location's passive RFID tag using a simple destination table. In this way, the tray's contents are linked to a specific individual at the destination location, ensuring that the recipient is indeed the person for whom the tray's contents are being prepared. This system is easy to implement, customizable, and allows for simple and efficient changes to recipients and products. The smart mobile unit consists of at least one internal antenna for detecting container trays. This internal antenna is located in the area where the container trays are stored, which may be enclosed or refrigerated. It will preferably be an active RFID antenna that receives data from the passive RFID tag attached to the container tray. Because the internal antenna is active RFID, it transmits sufficient energy, supplied by the battery, to the passive RFID tag attached to the container tray so that the tag can transmit the container tray data back to the internal antenna. Thanks to this configuration, the smart mobile unit receives data from the container trays it contains via its internal antenna and can link each container tray to the destination location data it receives via its external antenna, using the destination table pre-loaded in the attachable control box. Furthermore, it can record removal events, indicating the exact time (date and time) when it stops detecting a specific container tray and its location (data from the passive RFID tag attached to the destination location). This last event can be interpreted as a delivery validation by the system. Alternatively, the smart mobile unit may include at least one delivery validation button. This button is accessible to the staff responsible for delivering the container tray, who activate it upon delivery. The delivery personnel will press the validation button at the time of delivery, and the smart mobile unit will record the delivery event, indicating the time (date and time) the validation button is pressed and the location (data from the passive RFID tag attached to the destination location). Alternatively, personnel identification methods can be incorporated, such as a passive RFID tag worn by the personnel (e.g., attached to an ID card) containing the personnel ID data, to record the identity of the person pressing the validation button. Subsequently, the validation data obtained by pressing the validation button can be compared with the tray removal data, thus obtaining traceability of the tray delivery. Alternatively, the smart mobile unit can have a delivery validation screen that, in addition to allowing the delivery to be validated (analogous to the delivery button), allows the destination table and other relevant information to be viewed. Drawings and references To better understand the nature of the invention, the accompanying drawings depict an industrial embodiment which is merely an illustrative example and not intended to be limiting. Figure 1 shows a representation of a smart mobile unit (1) containing several trays (1a), each with a passive RFID tag (2) attached. It has an attachable control box (1c) next to which are located a battery (1e), an external antenna (4), an internal antenna (1d), a validation button (5), and a validation screen (6) with embedded software (6a). The smart mobile unit (1) is located in a corridor with several doors corresponding to different destination locations (3), each with a passive RFID tag (2) attached. The following references are indicated in these figures: 1.- Intelligent mobile unit. 1a- Container tray 1b-Contents of the container tray 1c-Attached control box 1d- Internal antenna 1e- Battery 2.- Passive RFID tag 3. Destination Location 4.- Outdoor antenna 5. Validation button 6. Validation Screen 6a- Embedded Software Exhibition of a preferred achievement With regard to the drawings and references listed above, the attached drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, relating to a location detection and delivery system for an intelligent mobile unit (1) for a hospital environment. This system comprises an intelligent mobile unit (1), based on a pre-existing mobile unit, such as a hospital delivery cart, which houses container trays (1a) to be delivered to a destination location (3). The contents of the container trays (1b) can be any item, such as food, medicine, etc., intended for delivery to a specific living being, and each container tray (1a) will contain the dose or quantity required for a single recipient. The container trays (1a) have attached passive RFID tags (2) that identify the container tray (1a).The destination locations (3) have attached passive RFID tags (2), such as attached to room doors, or cages or a living being installation, a post or a bracelet, which identify the destination location (3) of the container tray recipient (1a). The marking system using passive RFID tags (2) identifies the information of the contents of the container tray (1b), intended for a single recipient, and links it to the container tray (1a) that holds it. Each passive RFID tag (2) on the container tray (1a) can be linked to the destination location (3), which has a passive RFID tag (2) attached. At the time of the introduction of the contents of the container tray (1b) into the container tray (1a), the data of the passive RFID tag (2) of the container tray (1a) is linked to the data of the passive RFID tag (2) of the destination location (3) by means of a simple destination table, thereby linking the contents of the container tray (1b) to a specific living being located at the destination location (3) and ensuring that the recipient is the subject for whom the contents of the container tray (1b) are prepared. The intelligent mobile unit (1) comprises an attachable control box (1c) with USB, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth connectivity, consisting of a microprocessor and memory. This control box links the data from the passive RFID tag (2) on the container tray (1a) with the data from the passive RFID tag (2) at the destination location (3) according to the pre-loaded destination table. A battery (1e) powers the location detection and delivery system, and at least one active external antenna (4) is located on the intelligent mobile unit (1). Since the external antenna (4) is an active RFID transceiver, it transmits sufficient energy to the passive RFID tag (2) attached to the destination location (3) so that the tag can transmit the destination location (3) data to the external antenna (4), which then forwards it to the attachable control box (1c) for processing. The intelligent mobile unit (1) comprises at least one internal antenna (1d) for detecting container trays (1a). The internal antenna (1d) is located in the area where the container trays (1a) are stored, which may be enclosed or refrigerated, and is preferably an active RFID antenna. The passive RFID tags (2) remain inactive until they receive power from an active antenna and, with the received power, transmit the previously recorded data. Since the internal antenna (1d) is an active RFID transceiver, it transmits sufficient power, supplied by the battery (1e), to the passive RFID tag (2), attached to the container tray (1a), so that the passive tag can transmit the container tray (1a) data to the internal antenna (1d). Thus, the data from the passive RFID tag (2) attached to the container tray (1a) is received and retransmitted to the attachable control box (1c) for processing. Thanks to this arrangement, the intelligent mobile unit (1) receives, via the internal antenna (1d), the data from the container trays (1a) it contains and can relate each container tray (1a) to the destination location data (3) it receives, via the external antenna (4), using the preloaded destination table or destination database in the attachable control box (1c) (via USB, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth depending on the connectivity of the attachable control box (1c)). In addition, it is able to record removal events, indicating the moment (date and time) when it stops detecting a specific container tray (1a) and the destination location (3) (data from the passive RFID tag (2) attached to the destination location (3)) detected at the time of removal.With the absence of one of the initially installed container trays (1a), the intelligent mobile unit's location detection and delivery system (1) is understood to validate the delivery of that specific container tray (1a). Alternatively, when the record of the removal event does not match the destination table, it can trigger an alarm in the form of a light signal, an audible signal, or both. Alternatively, the smart mobile unit (1) may have at least one delivery validation button (5). This validation button (5) is accessible by the personnel responsible for delivering the container tray (1a). The delivery personnel will press the validation button (5) at the time of delivery, and the smart mobile unit (1) will record the delivery event, indicating the time (date and time) the validation button (5) is pressed and the destination location (3) (data from the passive RFID tag (2) attached to the destination location (3)). Alternatively, personnel identification methods such as a passive RFID tag (2) worn by the personnel (e.g., attached to an ID card) containing the personnel ID data can be incorporated, and the identification of the person pressing the validation button (5) can be recorded via the external antenna. Subsequently, the validation data obtained by pressing the validation button (5) can be compared with the data for the removal of the container trays (1a), thus obtaining the traceability of the delivery of the container tray (1a). Alternatively, the smart mobile unit (1) may have a delivery validation screen (6) which, in addition to allowing the delivery to be validated (operating analogously to the delivery button (5)), allows the display of the destination table and other relevant information contained in embedded software (6a). Example of execution 1. Preparation In a kitchen, various foods are cooked and distributed in portions, assigning different foods and portions to different recipients according to their dietary needs. For a specific recipient, the preparation of the container tray (1a) would follow the following process: • The contents of the container tray (1b) are prepared according to the characteristics of a specific recipient (low salt and gluten-free diet) and are placed in the container tray (1a) with a passive RFID tag (2) attached. • The data from the passive RFID tag (2) attached to the container tray (1a) is read • On an external device, such as a PC or Tablet, assign the container tray (1a) to the destination location (3) of the specific person (room 303) to whom the corresponding destination location (3) is assigned with the specific recipient of the contents of the container tray (1b) in a line of the destinations table. • When all the container trays (1a) of the intelligent mobile unit (1) have been prepared, the complete destination table is transferred to the attachable control box (1c) • The container trays (1a) are physically placed in the area where the container trays (1a) are stored, of the intelligent mobile unit (1) 2. Delivery: In a hospital setting with multiple single rooms, passive RFID tags (2) are attached to each room door and contain data on the room number to which they are attached. The attachable control box (1c) of the intelligent mobile unit (1) has a preloaded simple destination table that relates the container trays (1a) to their destination location (3): "Tray 003 Room 303", "Tray 004 Room 304", When the smart mobile unit (1) approaches room 303, normally driven by a hospital orderly: • The external antenna (4) receives the data from the passive RFID tag (2) attached to the door of room 303 and transmits it to the attachable control box (1c): "room 303" • The attachable control box (1c) detects which container trays (1a) are located in the area where the container trays (1a) are stored, of the intelligent mobile unit (1) thanks to the internal antenna (1d) • When the container tray (1a) "tray 003" is removed, the attachable control box (1c) stops detecting the container tray (1a) by means of the internal antenna (1d) and records the removal by indicating the date and time, the data of the container tray (1a) and the destination location (3) and validating its delivery. "23 / 05 / 2025; 11:23:56; "tray 003"; "room 303" • The attachable control box (1c) checks that the data on the container tray (1a) matches its designated destination location (3) in the destination table. • The person responsible for the delivery can additionally press the delivery validation button (5) and the attachable control box (1c) records the delivery, indicating the date and time, the container tray data (1a) and the destination location (3): "23 / 05 / 2025; 11:24:32; "tray 003"; "room 303" 3. Withdrawal and return: • The external antenna (4) receives the data from the passive RFID tag (2) attached to the door of room 303 and transmits it to the attachable control box (1c): "room 303" • The container tray (1a) "tray 003", is inserted into the area where the container trays (1a) are stored, of the intelligent mobile unit (1) • The attachable control box (1c) detects which container trays (1a) are located in the area where the container trays (1a) are stored, of the intelligent mobile unit (1) thanks to the internal antenna (1d) • When the collection point for the container trays (1a) is reached, such as the cleaning and storage area, the events recorded by the attachable control box (1c) are downloaded to an external device • The recorded events provide information on: or Traceability: What has been delivered, when and where. o Delivery tracking: Which container trays (1a) remain to be delivered. o Collection tracking: whether or not the container trays (1a) have been recovered after use. Variations in materials, shape, size and arrangement of the component elements, described in a non-limiting manner, do not alter the essential nature of this invention, and this is sufficient to proceed with its reproduction by an expert.

Claims

1. A smart mobile unit location detection and delivery system (1) for a hospital environment comprising a smart mobile unit (1) housing container trays (1a), characterized in that the container trays (1a) and the destination location (3) have passive RFID tags (2) attached to them.

2. A smart mobile unit location detection and delivery system (1) for a hospital environment comprising a smart mobile unit (1) housing container trays (1a) according to claim 1, characterized in that the smart mobile unit (1) comprises at least one internal antenna (1d) for detecting container trays (1a) and at least one external antenna (4) for detecting the destination location (3). 3.A smart mobile unit location detection and delivery system (1) for a hospital environment, comprising a smart mobile unit (1) housing container trays (1a) according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the smart mobile unit (1) has at least one delivery validation button (5).

4. A smart mobile unit location detection and delivery system (1) for a hospital environment, comprising a smart mobile unit (1) housing container trays (1a) according to the preceding claims, characterized in that the smart mobile unit (1) has a delivery validation screen (6).