Patient Support Device Communication System

Abstract

The patient support apparatus includes a patient support surface, at least one UWB transceiver, a network transceiver, and a controller. The controller uses UWB communication between the UWB transceiver and the user device to determine whether the user device is positioned within a first distance from the patient support apparatus, and transfers data from the user device to a server if the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus, and does not transfer data if the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus. The user device may have a microphone, and the data may include an audio signal from the patient's voice. The UWB transceiver may be required to detect the presence of a locator unit before transferring data from the user device to the server.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to patient support apparatus, such as beds, cots, stretchers, recliners, etc. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to patient support apparatus that communicate with one or more user devices, such as phones, tablet computers, pendants, and / or other devices separate from the patient support apparatus itself. [Background technology]

[0002] In accordance with various aspects described herein, the present disclosure is directed to a patient support device system that monitors the location of a user device. In some cases, the user device is used by the patient, a caregiver, and / or both the patient and the caregiver. The user device may comprise a mobile phone, tablet computer, pendant, or other portable electronic device. The system allows data from the user device to be automatically routed to the correct recipient without requiring a manual step of matching a particular user device with one or more specific recipients. Instead, the system allows data transfer from the user device to one or more intended destinations automatically when the user device is first added to the system and / or even when the user device is used with different patients, different patient support devices, and / or different caregivers. In some aspects, the automatically routed data includes phone calls and / or texts, allowing a patient to, for example, call or text a nurse responsible for their care using their mobile phone without needing to know the nurse's phone number, name, or other identifying information. These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the following written description and accompanying drawings. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 9,468,307 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent No. 10,130,536 [Patent Document 3] U.S. Patent No. 7,690,059 [Patent Document 4] U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007 / 0163045 [Patent Document 5] U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 889,254 [Patent Document 6] U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 864,638 [Patent Document 7] U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 721,133 [Patent Document 8] U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 885,954 [Patent Document 9] U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 885,953 [Patent Document 10] U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 16 / 721,133 [Patent Document 11] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 306,279 [Patent Document 12] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 356,061 [Patent Document 13] U.S. Patent No. 10,500,401 [Patent Document 14] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,061 [Patent Document 15] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,065 [Patent Document 16] U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,238 [Patent Document 17] U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 14 / 819,844 [Patent Document 18] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 426,450 [Patent Document 19] U.S. Patent No. 9,999,375 [Patent Document 20] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 26,937 [Patent Document 21] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 245,245 [Patent Document 22] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 131,508 [Patent Document 23] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 193,778 [Patent Document 24] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 349,369 [Patent Document 25] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 352,061 [Patent Document 26] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 356,242 [Patent Document 27] U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 826,097 [Patent Document 28] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 193,777 [Patent Document 29] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 132,514 [Patent Document 30] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 154,677 [Patent Document 31] U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 154,677 [Non-patent literature]

[0004] [Non-Patent Document 1] Stryker Maintenance Manual for the MedSurg Bed, Model 3002 S3 [Non-patent document 2] Stryker Maintenance Manual for the 3009 Procuity MedSurg bed (publication 3009-009-002, Rev. A.0) Summary of the Invention

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a patient support apparatus having a support surface configured to support a patient, an ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a user device, a network transceiver configured to communicate with a computer network of a medical facility, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine whether the user device is positioned within a first distance from the patient support apparatus using UWB communication between the UWB transceiver and the user device. The controller is further configured to transfer data from the user device to a server on the medical facility network when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus, and not transfer data from the user device to the server when the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the controller is configured to determine whether the fixed locator unit is positioned within a second distance from the patient support apparatus using UWB communication between the UWB transceiver and the fixed locator unit.

[0007] In some aspects, the controller is further configured to transfer data from the user device to a server on the medical facility network only when the user device is positioned within a first distance from the patient support apparatus and the patient support apparatus is positioned within a second distance from the fixed locator unit, and not to transfer data from the user device to the server when the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus or when the patient support apparatus is positioned outside the second distance from the fixed locator unit.

[0008] The data, in some aspects, includes an audio signal generated from a microphone on the user device.

[0009] The user device, in some embodiments, is one of the patient's mobile phone, the patient's tablet computer, or the patient's wireless bed pendant.

[0010] In some aspects, the user device is a wireless bed pendant having a control unit for transmitting wireless operational commands to the patient support device, the control unit being configured to implement the wireless operational commands using at least two different wireless communication protocols only when the wireless bed pendant transmits the wireless operational commands to the patient support device.

[0011] In some aspects, the at least two different wireless communication protocols include Bluetooth® and UWB communication.

[0012] The controller, in some aspects, is further configured to receive a locator unit ID from the fixed locator unit when the fixed locator unit is positioned within a second distance from the patient support apparatus.

[0013] In some aspects, the controller is configured to transfer the data to the server by transferring the data to a fixed locator unit.

[0014] In another aspect, the controller is configured to transfer the data to the server by using a network transceiver to transfer the data to the server.

[0015] The controller, in some aspects, is further configured to forward the locator unit ID to a server.

[0016] In some aspects, the patient support apparatus further comprises a first Bluetooth® transceiver configured to communicate with a second Bluetooth® transceiver integrated into the user device, and the audio signal is transmitted to the patient support apparatus via the first Bluetooth® transceiver and the second Bluetooth® transceiver.

[0017] In some aspects, the controller is further configured to receive pairing data from the user device via the UWB transceiver when the user device is positioned within a first distance of the patient support apparatus, and to use the pairing data to automatically pair the first Bluetooth® transceiver and the second Bluetooth® transceiver together.

[0018] The network transceiver, in some aspects, is a Wi-Fi transceiver.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a patient support apparatus system including a patient support apparatus and a server. The patient support apparatus includes a support surface configured to support a patient, an ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a user device, a network transceiver configured to communicate with the server, and a controller. The controller is configured to use UWB communication between the UWB transceiver and the user device to determine whether the user device is positioned within a first distance from the patient support apparatus. The controller is further configured to transfer a location ID and data to the server when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus, and not transfer the location ID and data from the user device to the server when the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus. The server is configured to use the location ID to determine a destination to send data from the user device.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, the server is further configured to receive a caregiver ID of a caregiver associated with the patient and communicate with a second server to use the caregiver ID to determine a destination to send the data to.

[0021] In some aspects, the server is further configured to communicate with a third server to receive a badge ID of a badge associated with the caregiver and send that data to the badge.

[0022] In some aspects, the control unit is further configured to use UWB communications between the UWB transceiver and the fixed locator unit to determine whether the fixed locator unit is positioned within a second distance from the patient support apparatus.

[0023] In some aspects, the controller is further configured to transfer data from the user device to a server on the medical facility network only when the user device is positioned within a first distance from the patient support apparatus and the patient support apparatus is positioned within a second distance of the fixed locator unit, and not to transfer data from the user device to the server when the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus or when the patient support apparatus is positioned outside the second distance of the fixed locator unit.

[0024] In some aspects, the data includes an audio signal generated from a microphone of the user device.

[0025] In some embodiments, the user device is one of the patient's mobile phone, the patient's tablet computer, or the patient's wireless bed pendant.

[0026] In some embodiments, the user device is a wireless bed pendant having a control unit for transmitting wireless operational commands to the patient support device, the control unit being configured to implement the operational commands using at least two different wireless communication protocols only when the wireless bed pendant transmits the wireless operational commands to the patient support device.

[0027] The at least two different wireless communication protocols, in some aspects, include Bluetooth® and UWB communication.

[0028] The controller, in some aspects, is further configured to receive a location ID from the fixed locator unit when the fixed locator unit is positioned within a second distance from the patient support apparatus.

[0029] The controller is configured in some aspects to transfer the data to the server by transferring the data to a fixed locator unit.

[0030] The controller is configured in some aspects to transfer the data to the server by transferring the data to the server using a network transceiver.

[0031] In some aspects, the patient support device further includes a first Bluetooth® transceiver configured to communicate with a second Bluetooth® transceiver integrated into the user device, and the audio signal is transmitted to the patient support device via the first Bluetooth® transceiver and the second Bluetooth® transceiver.

[0032] In some aspects, the controller is further configured to receive pairing data from the user device via the UWB transceiver when the user device is positioned within a first distance of the patient support apparatus, and to use the pairing data to automatically pair the first Bluetooth® transceiver with the second Bluetooth® transceiver when the user device is positioned within a first distance of the patient support apparatus.

[0033] The network transceiver, in some aspects, is a Wi-Fi transceiver.

[0034] The server, in some aspects, is configured to use the location ID to determine multiple destinations for sending data from the user device.

[0035] In some aspects, a first destination of the plurality of destinations is a display device mounted in a fixed location within the medical facility.

[0036] In some aspects, a second destination of the plurality of destinations is a portable device configured to be carried by a caregiver assigned to the patient.

[0037] Before describing various aspects of the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Aspects described herein may be practiced or carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. It is also to be understood that the phrases and terminology used herein are for descriptive purposes and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of the words "including" and "comprising" and variations thereof is meant to encompass the subsequently listed items and their equivalents, as well as additional items and their equivalents. Furthermore, enumerations may be used in describing various embodiments. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the use of enumerations should not be construed as limiting the claims to a particular order or number of components. The use of enumerations should not be construed as exclusions from the scope of the claims. These are additional steps or components that are or can be combined with the recited steps or components. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0038] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient support apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of an exemplary caregiver control panel of the patient support apparatus of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a top view of an exemplary patient control panel of the patient support apparatus of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a patient support apparatus system of the present disclosure showing a patient support apparatus, a user device, a caregiver with a badge, and a linked locator unit used to automatically locate the patient support apparatus and / or other devices. [Figure 5]FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the patient support apparatus system of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a plan view of a first screen displayable on a portable user device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a plan view of a second screen that can be displayed on a portable user device. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view of a third screen that can be displayed on a portable user device. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a plan view of a fourth screen displayable on a portable user device. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a communication diagram of some components of the patient support apparatus system of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0039] An exemplary patient support apparatus 20 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure is shown in Figure 1. The particular form of patient support apparatus 20 shown in Figure 1 is a bed configured for use in a hospital or other medical environment, although it will be understood that in different embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 can be a cot, a stretcher, a recliner, a surgical table, or any other structure capable of supporting a patient in a medical environment.

[0040] Generally, the patient support apparatus 20 includes a base 22 having a plurality of wheels 24, a pair of lifts 26 supported on the base 22, a litter frame 28 supported on the lifts 26, and a support deck 30 supported on the litter frame 28. The patient support apparatus 20 also includes a headboard 32, a footboard 34, and a plurality of side rails 36. The side rails 36 are all shown in a raised position in FIG. 1, but are each independently movable to a lowered position in which the lowered side rails 36 do not obstruct entry and exit of the patient support apparatus 20.

[0041] The lifts 26 are configured to raise and lower the litter frame 28 relative to the base 22. The lifts 26 may be hydraulic actuators, electric actuators, or any other suitable device for raising and lowering the litter frame 28 relative to the base 22. In the illustrated embodiment, the lifts 26 are independently actuable, thereby adjusting the inclination of the litter frame 28 relative to the base 22 so that the litter frame 28 can be positioned in a flat or horizontal orientation, a Trendelenburg orientation, or a reverse Trendelenburg orientation. That is, the litter frame 28 has a head end 38 and a foot end 40, the heights of which can be independently adjusted by the nearest lift 26. The patient support apparatus 20 is designed so that, when a user sits on it, the user's head is positioned adjacent the head end 38 and the user's feet are positioned adjacent the foot end 40.

[0042] The litter frame 28 provides structure for supporting the support deck 30, headboard 32, footboard 34, and side rails 36. The support deck 30 provides a support surface for a mattress 42 or other soft cushion on which a person can lie and / or sit. In some embodiments, the mattress 42 has one or more inflatable bladders that are controllable via a blower or other pressurized air source. In at least one embodiment, inflation of the bladders in the mattress 42 is controllable via electronics integrated into the patient support apparatus 20. In such embodiments, the mattress 42 may have any of the features and / or structure of any of the mattresses disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 9,468,307, issued October 18, 2016 to inventor Patrick Lafleche et al., the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of mattresses may be used.

[0043] The support deck 30 is made up of multiple sections, some of which are rotatable about a generally horizontal pivot axis. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 , the support deck 30 includes at least a head section 44, a thigh section 46, and a foot section 48, all of which are positioned below the mattress 42 and collectively form a flat surface for supporting the mattress 42. The head section 44, sometimes referred to as the Fowler section, is rotatable about a generally horizontal pivot axis between a generally horizontal orientation (not shown in FIG. 1 ) and multiple elevated positions (one of which is shown in FIG. 1 ). The thigh section 46 and the foot section 48 may also be rotatable about a generally horizontal pivot axis.

[0044] In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 can be modified from that shown to have one or more components configured to allow a user to extend the width and / or length of the patient support deck 30, thereby enabling the patient support apparatus 20 to accommodate patients of various sizes. When so modified, the width of the deck 30 can be adjusted laterally and / or vertically, in increments or otherwise.

[0045] As used herein, the term "longitudinal" refers to a direction parallel to the axis between the head end 38 and the foot end 40. The terms "transverse" or "lateral" refer to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and parallel to the surface on which the patient support apparatus 20 rests.

[0046] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the patient support apparatus 20 can be designed with other types of mechanical structures different from that shown in the accompanying drawings, such as, but not limited to, the structure described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 10,130,536 to Roussy et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT USABLE WITH BARIATRIC PATIENTS," which is incorporated herein by reference. In another embodiment, the mechanical structure of the patient support apparatus 20 can have the same or substantially the same structure as the Model 3002 S3 bed manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This structure is described in detail in "Stryker Maintenance Manual for the MedSurg Bed, Model 3002 S3," published in 2010 by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In yet another embodiment, the mechanical structure of patient support apparatus 20 may have the same or substantially the same structure as the Model 3009 Procuity medical-surgical bed manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This structure is described in more detail in the non-patent document 2 (Stryker Maintenance Manual for the 3009 Procuity MedSurg bed (publication 3009-009-002, Rev. A.0)) published in 2020 by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan.

[0047] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the patient support apparatus 20 may be designed with other types of mechanical structures, such as, but not limited to, commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 7,690,059, issued April 6, 2010, to inventors Lemire et al., for an invention entitled "HOSPITAL BED," and / or commonly assigned U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007 / 0163045, to inventors Becker et al., for an invention entitled "PATIENT Handling Device Including Local Status Indication, ONE-Touch Fowler Agle Adjustment, AND Power-ON ALARM Configuration." The overall mechanical structure of the patient support apparatus 20 may also take other forms that are still different from those disclosed in the above references, provided that the patient support apparatus has one or more of the functions, features, and / or structures described in more detail below.

[0048] The patient support apparatus 20 further includes multiple control panels that allow a user of the patient support apparatus 20, such as a patient and / or associated caregiver, to control one or more aspects of the patient support apparatus 20. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the patient support apparatus 20 includes a footboard control panel 54a, a pair of outer siderail control panels 54b (only one of which is visible), and a pair of inner siderail control panels 54c (only one of which is visible). The footboard control panel 54a and the outer siderail control panels 54b are intended for use by a caregiver or other authorized personnel, while the inner siderail control panels 54c are intended for use by a patient associated with the patient support apparatus 20. Each control panel 54 includes multiple controls 50 (see, e.g., FIGS. 2-3), although each control panel 54 does not necessarily have the same controls and / or functionality.

[0049] Among other functions, the controls 50 of the control panel 54a allow a user to control one or more of: changing the height of the support deck 30, raising or lowering the head section 44, activating and deactivating the brakes for the wheels 24, enabling and disabling the detection system 136 and / or onboard monitoring system 138 (FIG. 5), changing various settings on the patient support apparatus 20, displaying the current location of the patient support apparatus 20 as determined by the position detection system discussed herein, displaying what devices the patient support apparatus 20 is associated with, such as medical devices, exercise devices, nurse call devices, caregiver badges, and other actions. One or both of the multiple inner siderail control panels 54c also have at least one control that allows a patient to call a remotely located nurse (or other caregiver). In addition to the nurse call control, one or both of the inner siderail control panels 54c also have one or more controls for controlling one or more features of one or more room devices positioned in the same room as the patient support apparatus 20. As described in more detail below, such room devices include, but are not limited to, televisions, reading lights, and room lights. With respect to televisions, features that may be controlled by one or more controls 50 on control panel 54c include, but are not limited to, volume, channel, subtitling, and / or the power state of the television. With respect to room lights and / or night lights, features that may be controlled by one or more controls 50 on control panel 54c include the on / off state and / or brightness level of these lights.

[0050] Control panel 54a includes display 52 (FIG. 2) configured to display a plurality of different screens thereon. Surrounding display 52 are a plurality of navigation controls 50a-50f that, when activated, cause display 52 to display different screens on display 52. ​​More specifically, when a user presses navigation control 50a, control panel 54a displays an exit detection control screen on display 52 that includes one or more icons that, when touched, control an on-board exit detection system 136 (FIG. 5). Exit detection system 136 is configured to issue an alert when a patient exits patient support apparatus 20. The exit detection system 136 may have any of the same features and functions as, and / or be configured in the same manner as, the exit detection system disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 889,254, filed on August 20, 2019, by inventors Sujay Sukumaran et al., entitled "PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ADJUSTABLE EDJUSTABLE EXIT DETECTION ZONES," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of exit detection systems may be included within the patient support apparatus 20.

[0051] When a user presses navigation control 50b (FIG. 2), control panel 54 displays a monitoring control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control an on-board monitoring system 138 (FIG. 5) integrated into patient support apparatus 20. On-board monitoring system 138 alerts the caregiver through a unified indicator, such as a light or a plurality of lights controlled in a unified manner, when any one or more of a plurality of settings on patient support apparatus 20 is in an undesired state, and uses that same unified indicator to indicate when all of the plurality of settings are in their respective desired states. In other words, when enabled, monitoring system 138 monitors a plurality of conditions of patient support apparatus 20 (such as, but not limited to, brake status, siderail position, litter frame height, exit detection system 136, A / C cord status, nurse call cable status, etc.) and issues an alert when any one of those conditions is in an undesired state. Further details of one type of monitoring system that may be incorporated into the patient support apparatus 20 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 864,638, filed June 21, 2019, to Kurosh Nahavandi et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH CAREGIVER REMINDERS," and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 721,133, filed December 19, 2019, to Kurosh Nahavandi et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH MOTION CUSTOMIZATION." Other types of monitoring systems may be included within the patient support apparatus 20.

[0052] When the user presses navigation control 50c, control panel 54a displays a scale control screen that includes a number of control icons that, when touched, control scale system 144 (FIG. 5) of patient support apparatus 20. Such a scale system 144 may have any of the same features and functions as, and / or be constructed in the same manner as, the scale systems disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 889,254, filed August 20, 2019, by inventors Sujay Sukumaran et al., entitled "PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ADJUSTABLE EXIT DETECTION ZONES," and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 885,954, filed August 13, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH EQUIPMENT WEIGHT LOG," the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. The scale system may utilize the same force sensors and / or other components utilized by exit detection system 136, or may utilize one or more different sensors and / or other components. Other scale systems than those described above in applications U.S. Patent No. 62 / 889,254 and U.S. Patent No. 62 / 885,954 may alternatively be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0053] When a user presses the navigation control 50d, the control panel 54 displays a motion control screen including a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control the movement of various components of the patient support apparatus 20, such as, but not limited to, the height of the litter frame 28 and the rotation of the head section 44. In some embodiments, the motion control screen displayed on the display 52 in response to the press control 50d can be the same as or similar to the position control screen 216 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 885,953, filed August 13, 2019, by inventor Kurosh Nahavandi et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH TOUCHSCREEN," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of motion control screens can be included on the patient support apparatus 20.

[0054] When the user presses the navigation control 50e, the control panel 54a displays a motion lock control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control one or more motion lockout functions of the patient support apparatus 20. Such motion lockout functions typically include the ability for a caregiver to use the control panel 54a to lock out one or more motion controls 50 of the patient control panel 54c such that the patient cannot use those controls 50 on the control panel 54c to control the movement of one or more components of the patient support apparatus 20. The motion lockout screen may have any of the same features and functionality as, and / or be similarly configured to, the motion lockout features and functionality disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 721,133, filed December 19, 2019, by inventor Kurosh Nahavandi et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH MOTION CUSTOMIZATION," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of motion lockouts may be included within the patient support apparatus 20.

[0055] When a user presses the navigation control 50f, the control panel 54a displays a menu screen including a plurality of menu icons that, when touched, result in one or more additional screens for controlling and / or viewing one or more other aspects of the patient support apparatus 20. Such other aspects may include, but are not limited to, displaying information about one or more devices currently associated with the patient support apparatus 20, diagnostic and / or service information for the patient support apparatus 20, mattress controls and / or status information, configuration settings, location information, and / or other settings and / or information. Examples of menu screens are shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, which also illustrate a menu screen 100 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 885,953, filed August 13, 2019, by inventor Kurosh Nahavandi et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH TOUCHSCREEN," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of menus and / or settings may be included within the patient support apparatus 20. In at least one embodiment, the navigation control 50f allows a user to navigate to a screen that allows the user to view which devices, if any, are currently associated with the patient support apparatus 20. As described in more detail below, the patient support apparatus 20 includes an on-board location system configured to automatically determine the relative positions of one or more devices with respect to the patient support apparatus 20, and in some cases, automatically associate and / or disassociate these devices with the patient support apparatus 20 (and / or a patient assigned to the patient support apparatus 20) depending on the proximity of these devices to the patient support apparatus 20. Further details of this location system are provided below.

[0056] Screens other than those specifically described above for all of the navigation controls 50a-50f (FIG. 2) can be displayed on the display 52 in other embodiments of the patient support apparatus 20 in response to a user pressing these controls. Accordingly, it will be understood that the specific screens described above are merely representative of the types of screens that can be displayed on the display 52 in response to a user pressing one or more of the navigation controls 50a-50f. While the navigation controls 50a-50f are all illustrated in the accompanying drawings as dedicated controls located adjacent to the display 52, it will be understood that any one or more of these controls 50a-50f can alternatively be touchscreen controls displayed in one or more locations on the display 52. ​​Furthermore, while the controls 50a-50f are shown here as buttons, it will be understood that any of the controls 50a-50f can be switches, dials, or other types of non-button controls. Additionally, patient support apparatus 20 can be modified to include additional, fewer, and / or different navigation controls from navigation controls 50a-50f shown in FIG.

[0057] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a patient control panel that may be integrated into the patient support apparatus 20 (e.g., control panel 54c) or into a stand-alone pendant that is communicatively coupled to the patient support apparatus 20 either wired or wirelessly. When the patient control panel of FIG. 3 is integrated into a wireless pendant, it can be considered a type of user device 100 that is configured to automatically pair with the patient support apparatus 20 when positioned within range, as discussed in more detail below. Whether part of the integrated control panel 54c or the user device 100, the patient control panel of FIG. 3 includes multiple controls 50g-50t intended to be operated by the patient. The nurse call control 50g, when pressed by the patient, sends a signal to a nurse call system requesting a remote nurse to speak to the patient. The fowler lift control 50h, when pressed by the patient, causes the fowler section 44 to lift upward via an electric actuator mounted on the patient support apparatus 20. When pressed by the patient, the Fowler lowering control 50i causes an electric actuator to lower the Fowler section 44. When pressed by the patient, the Gatch up control 50j causes another electric actuator to raise the knee section of the support deck 30, while when pressed, the Gatch down control 50k causes an electric actuator to lower the knee section of the support deck 30. The knee section may refer to the joint that connects the thigh section 46 to the foot section 48.

[0058] The volume up control 50l, when pressed by the patient, causes the patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the in-room television instructing the television to increase the volume, while the volume down control 50m, when pressed, causes the patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing the television to decrease the volume. The channel up control 50n, when pressed by the patient, causes the patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing the patient support apparatus 20 to increase the channel number, and the channel down control 50o, when pressed, causes the patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing the patient support apparatus 20 to decrease the channel number.

[0059] When pressed, mute control 50p causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to either mute or unmute itself, depending on whether the television is currently muted or unmuted. In other words, mute control 50p is a toggle control that, when pressed, alternately sends a mute or unmute command to the television.

[0060] Power control 50q is a toggle control that sends a signal to the television that, when pressed, turns either on or off, depending on the television's current power state. Subtitling control 50r is another toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to the television to either turn on the subtitling feature or turn off the subtitling feature, depending on whether the subtitling feature is currently on or off.

[0061] Control 50s is a toggle control that, when pressed, signals a first light to either turn on or off, depending on the current state of the first light. Control 50t is another toggle control that, when pressed, signals a second light to either turn on or off, depending on the current state of the second light. In some embodiments, the first light is a reading light and the second light is a room light, both of which are located outside of patient support apparatus 20. In other embodiments, rather than being pure toggle switches, controls 50s and / or 50t can gradually increase or decrease the brightness of the reading light or room light as long as they are depressed, and can subsequently be switched off and on again to reset the brightness level to the original low (or high) intensity level (which the user can adjust by holding down the corresponding control 50s or 50t).

[0062] It will be understood that the number of controls 50 on the control panel of FIG. 3, as well as the functions of these controls 50, the layout of these controls 50, and / or other aspects of these controls 50, may be modified from that shown in FIG. 3.

[0063] In those embodiments in which the control panel of FIG. 3 is integrated into the wireless pendant user device 100, the patient support apparatus 20 can be configured to respond to a motion command from the wireless pendant user device 100 only if the patient support apparatus 20 receives the motion command via two separate communication protocols. For example, in such embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 can be configured to respond to a motion command from the wireless pendant user device 100 if it receives the same motion command transmitted via both the Bluetooth® communication channel and another communication channel (e.g., ultra-wideband). If the patient support apparatus 20 receives the motion command via only a single communication channel, it is configured to ignore the motion command. This functionality is provided as a safety feature so that movement of components of the patient support apparatus 20 can be performed wirelessly only when the motion commands overlap across two different wireless communication protocols. In some embodiments, the motion command is a continuous signal sent via both communication channels, and the patient support apparatus 20 responds to these motion commands only while it receives both of these continuous signals. As used herein, the term "motion commands" refers to a control unit 50 that effects movement of one or more components of the patient support apparatus 20, such as, but not limited to, controls 50h, 50i, 50j, and 50k.

[0064] As explained in more detail below, in addition to requiring receipt of a duplicate motion command before performing a movement of one or more components of the patient support apparatus 20, the patient support apparatus 20 is also configured to only respond to a wireless pendant 100 if the wireless pendant user device 100 is paired or associated with that particular patient support apparatus 20. The terms "paired" or "associated," and / or their variations, are used interchangeably herein. The manner in which a patient support apparatus 20 associates or pairs with one or more user devices 100 is discussed in more detail below.

[0065] FIG. 4 illustrates a patient support apparatus 20 positioned within a room 58 of a healthcare facility. FIG. 4 also illustrates additional items that may be present within the healthcare facility, configuring the patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with, including, but not limited to, a locator unit 60, a conventional local area network 80 of the healthcare facility, a caregiver badge 142, and one or more user devices 100 used during patient care. The locator unit 60 is positioned at a known and fixed location within the healthcare facility where the patient support apparatus 20 is located. The locator unit 60 functions as a fixed locator; that is, the locator unit 60 communicates with the patient support apparatus 20 and shares information that allows the location of the patient support apparatus 20 to be determined, as well as the location of any user devices 100 associated with the patient support apparatus 20.

[0066] In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with at least two different types of locator units 60: linked locator units and unlinked locator units. An example of a linked locator unit 60 is shown in FIG. 4. An example of an unlinked locator unit 60 is shown in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 306,279, filed February 3, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al., entitled "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES" (also referred to as unlinked locator unit 60b), the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Another example of an unlinked locator unit 60 (and an unlinked locator unit 60a) is shown in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 356,061, filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with an unlinked locator unit described in either U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 306,279 or U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 356,061, and / or to perform any one or more of the functions described therein utilizing the unlinked locator unit and / or to execute information provided by the unlinked locator unit.Unless explicitly stated otherwise, any reference in this text to "locator units 60" in the absence of the words "linked" or "unlinked" refers to both linked and unlinked locator units 60.

[0067] Linked locator unit 60 is configured to be communicatively linked to a conventional communications outlet 64 and is configured to provide location information to patient support apparatus 20. Linked locator unit 60 is also configured to act as a communications conduit for transmitting wireless communications between patient support apparatus 20 and one or more devices and / or systems communicatively coupled to communications outlet 64 (e.g., room devices 72, 74, 76 and / or nurse call system 70 of FIG. 4 ). Generally, linked locator unit 60 is typically located in a patient room in a healthcare facility where one or more communications outlets 64 are typically present.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 4 , the linked locator unit 60 is configured to be mounted to a wall 62, such as the headwall of a patient room 58 within a healthcare facility. The headwall of a conventional healthcare facility room 58 typically has a conventional communications outlet 64 physically integrated therein. The communications outlet 64 is configured to receive a nurse call cable 66, the other end of which is physically connected to either the patient support apparatus 20 (not shown) or the linked locator unit 60 (shown in FIG. 4 ). In many healthcare facilities, the communications outlet 64 includes a 37-pin connector, although other types of connectors are often found in certain healthcare facilities. As described in more detail below, the linked locator unit 60 and nurse call cable 66 enable the patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with a nurse call system 70 and one or more room devices positioned within the room 58.

[0069] The communication outlet 64 is electrically coupled to one or more cables, wires, or other types of conductors 68 that electrically couple the communication outlet 64 to the nurse call system 70 and one or more conventional room devices, such as a television 72, a room light 74, and / or a reading light 76. The conductors 68 are typically located behind the wall 62 and are not visible. In some healthcare facilities, the conductors 68 may first be coupled to a room interface circuit board that includes one or more conductors 68 for electrically coupling the room interface circuit board to the room devices 72, 74, 76 and / or the nurse call system 70. Still other communication configurations for coupling the communication outlet 64 to the nurse call system 70 and / or one or more room devices 72, 74, 76 are possible.

[0070] A nurse call cable 66 (FIG. 4) enables the linked locator unit 60 to communicate with a nurse call system 70 and / or room devices 72, 74, 76. The patient support apparatus 20 can communicate wirelessly with the linked locator unit 60, thereby enabling the patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with the nurse call system 70 and room devices 72, 74, 76. A patient supported on the patient support apparatus 20 activating a nurse call control (e.g., 50g; see FIG. 3) on the patient support apparatus 20 wirelessly sends a signal from the patient support apparatus 20 to the linked locator unit 60, which then travels via the nurse call cable 66 to the nurse call system 70, which forwards the signal to one or more remotely located nurses (e.g., one or more nurses at a nurse's station 78). When the patient activates one or more room device controls (e.g., controls 50l-50t; see FIG. 3), one or more wireless signals are carried to the linked locator unit 60, which sends appropriate signals via the nurse call cable 66 to the communications outlet 64 and room devices 72, 74, 76 that change one or more characteristics of those devices (e.g., volume, channel, on / off state, etc.).

[0071] As also shown in Figure 4, the patient support apparatus 20 is further configured to communicate with a local area network 80 of the healthcare facility. In the embodiment shown in Figure 4, the patient support apparatus 20 includes a wireless network transceiver 96 (Figure 5) that communicates wirelessly with the local area network 80. The network transceiver 96, in at least some embodiments, is a WiFi transceiver (e.g., IEEE 802.11) that communicates wirelessly with one or more conventional wireless access points 82 of the local area network 80. In other embodiments, the network transceiver 96 may be a wireless transceiver that communicates with the network 80, one or more servers hosted thereon, and / or other devices using conventional 5G technology. In some embodiments, the network transceiver 96 may have a configuration and / or functionality similar to that of the communications module 56 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 10,500,401, entitled "NETWORK COMMUNICATION FOR PANT APPARATUSES," to Michael Hayes, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of wireless network transceivers may be utilized.

[0072] In some embodiments, the network transceiver 96 is a wired transceiver configured to enable the patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with the network 80 via a wired connection, such as an Ethernet cable that plugs into an Ethernet port (e.g., an RJ-45 style port, an 8P8C port, etc.) built into the patient support apparatus 20. In yet other embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 includes both a wired transceiver 96 for communicating with the network 80 via a wired connection and a wireless transceiver 96 for communicating with the network 80 wirelessly.

[0073] The patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with one or more servers on the healthcare facility's local area network 80. One such server is a patient support apparatus server 84. The patient support apparatus server 84, in at least one embodiment, is configured to receive data from patient support apparatuses 20 located within the healthcare facility and distribute this data to caregivers, other servers, and / or other software applications. As described in more detail below, the server 84 may also be configured to receive data from one or more user devices 100 and / or badges 142 located within one or more volumes defined around the patient support apparatus 20 and / or within the volume defined around the locator unit 60. Such data is then sent by the patient support apparatus server 84 to one or more desired destinations. In some embodiments, described in more detail below, the data received from one or more user devices 100 can include audio signals from a microphone within the user device, and the patient support device server 84 can forward those audio signals to an appropriate caregiver device (e.g., a smartphone, badge 142, or other device with audio playback capabilities).

[0074] In some embodiments, data from user device(s) 100 is transferred from device(s) 100 to patient support apparatus 20, and from patient support apparatus 20 to server 84 via network transceiver 96 and one or more access points 82. In other embodiments, such as when locator unit 60 has its own network transceiver, data from user device 100 can be transferred to locator unit 60, which can then transfer the data to server 84 via communication with one or more access points 82 of its network transceiver. In such embodiments, user device 100 can transfer its data directly to locator unit 60 without sending it to patient support apparatus 20, or the data can first be transmitted to patient support apparatus 20, which can then transfer the data to locator unit 60. Other methods of sending data from user device 100 to server 84 may be used, and in some embodiments, user device 100 may send one type of data to server 84 along a first path and another type of data to server 84 along a second, different path.

[0075] In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus server 84 is configured to communicate at least a portion of the patient support apparatus data and / or device data received from the patient support apparatus 20 to a remote server 86 located geographically remote from the medical facility. Such communication may occur via conventional network devices 88, such as, but not limited to, routers and / or gateways, coupled to the Internet 90. The remote server 86 is also coupled to the Internet 90, and the patient support apparatus server 84 is provided with a URL and / or other information necessary to communicate with the remote server 86 via the Internet connection between the network 80 and the server 86.

[0076] In some alternative embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to communicate directly with one or more cloud-based servers, such as the remote server 86, without utilizing the patient support apparatus server 84. That is, in some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to communicate directly with the remote server without relying on any locally hosted server (e.g., a server hosted on the network 80). The patient support apparatus 20 is provided with a URL and / or other information necessary to communicate with the remote server 86 via an internet connection between the network 80 and the remote server 86. In some embodiments, the network device 88 is a router configured to facilitate such a direct connection. Still other types of direct-to-cloud connections may be utilized with the patient support apparatus 20. When the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate directly with the remote server 86, the patient support apparatus server 84 may be omitted, and any one or more of the functions of the patient support apparatus server 84 described herein may be performed by the remote server 86.

[0077] The patient support apparatus server 84 is also configured to determine the location of each patient support apparatus 20 (and / or its associated devices) or receive the location of each patient support apparatus 20 (and / or its associated devices) from the patient support apparatus 20. In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus server 84 determines the room number and / or bay area of ​​each patient support apparatus 20 and its associated devices located within the room 58, as well as the location of patient support apparatuses 20 and their associated devices located outside the room 58, which may be located in a hallway, service area, or some other area. In general, the patient support apparatus server 84 can be configured to determine the location of any patient support apparatus 20 positioned within communication range of one or more locator units 60, as well as the location of any associated devices positioned within one or more volumes defined around the patient support apparatus 20, as discussed in more detail below.

[0078] The patient support device server 84 (FIG. 4) is configured to communicate with multiple other servers, such as a traditional EMR server 92, a traditional badge server 94, a traditional ADT (Admission, Discharge, and Transfer) server 102, and / or a traditional caregiver assignment server 104. Alternatively, the patient support device server 84 may be combined, in part or in whole, with any one or more of these other servers. The EMR server 92 stores individual patient records. Such patient records identify the patient by name and contain medical information related to that patient. Such medical information may include all of the medical information generated from the patient's current stay at the medical facility as well as medical information from previous visits. It will be understood that the term "EMR server" as used herein also includes an electronic health record server, or EHR server for short, and that this disclosure does not distinguish between electronic medical records and electronic health records.

[0079] The caregiver assignment server 104 (FIG. 4) stores data matching specific caregivers to specific rooms and / or bays within the healthcare facility. The caregiver assignment server 104 stores information regarding shift changes, staffing, and the general assignment of caregivers employed at the healthcare facility. In some caregiver assignment servers 104, caregivers are assigned to specific patients rather than specific rooms, in which case the server 104 can correlate caregivers to individual patients rather than rooms and / or bays. Additionally, some conventional nurse call systems can be configured to perform the functions of the caregiver assignment server 104, in which case the caregiver assignment server 104 can replace and / or be supplemented by a nurse call server.

[0080] The ADT server 102 stores patient information, including the patient's identity and the corresponding room 58 and / or bay within the facility to which the patient is assigned. That is, the ADT server 102 matches a particular patient to a particular room and / or bay within the facility. Whenever a patient checks into the facility and is assigned to a particular room within the facility, the patient's name is entered into the ADT server 102 by one or more medical facility staff. Whenever and / or whenever a patient is moved to another room and / or exits the facility, the medical facility staff updates the ADT server 102. Thus, the ADT server 102 maintains an up-to-date set of data correlating patient names with their assigned rooms and / or bays. In some conventional electronic medical record systems, the functionality of the ADT server 102 can be incorporated into the EMR system, and the EMR server 92 can therefore, in some embodiments, perform the functions of the ADT server 102.

[0081] The badge server 94 (FIG. 4) is configured to manage communication between individual badges 142 and track their location and the specific caregiver to which they are assigned. Badges 142 are typically worn by healthcare workers, such as caregivers, service technicians, cleaning personnel, and transportation aides. The badge server 94 maintains a set of data correlating individual healthcare workers with their badge IDs. Each badge 142 has a unique ID that distinguishes it from other badges 142. When a healthcare provider arrives at a healthcare facility, the healthcare provider typically grabs a badge 142 from a common set of badges 142 and wears it for the duration of the healthcare provider's work shift (and returns it to the common set after the healthcare provider's shift). For some badge servers 94, the healthcare provider manually associates the specific badge 142 they choose to wear that day with their name (or some other healthcare worker ID) so that the badge server 94 knows that a particular badge 142 is assigned to a specific healthcare worker. This manual association involves scanning the badge on a badge reader in communication with server 94, entering information (such as badge ID and / or healthcare professional ID) into a computer coupled to server 94, entering information into badge 142 (if the badge allows for data entry), performing other actions, and / or a combination of these steps.

[0082] The badge server 94 can also be configured to monitor the location of the badges 142 within the medical facility. Typically, this location monitoring is done through monitoring wireless access points 82 throughout the medical facility. That is, the badges 142 are often equipped to use WiFi or other wireless communication protocols that allow them to communicate with the wireless access points 82. By monitoring which access points the badges 142 are currently connected to and using a map of the locations of the access points 82 within the facility, and possibly using the signal strength between the badges 142 and one or more access points 82, the general location of the badges 142 within the medical facility can be determined by the badge server 94. In some embodiments, the badges 142 may have UWB transceivers, which allow their location within the medical facility to be more precisely determined and / or allow the badges 142 to perform other functions.Examples of badges 142 having UWB transceivers are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,061, filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,065, filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Gerald Trepanier et al., entitled "BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM," and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,065, filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Gerald Trepanier et al., entitled "BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM." No. 63 / 356,238, filed June 28, 2018, by Madhu Sandeep Thota et al., entitled "A SYSTEM," which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The patient support apparatus 20, patient support apparatus server 84, badge 142, and / or locator unit 60 of the present disclosure may be configured to perform any of the functions of the patient support apparatus, patient support apparatus server, badge, and locator unit, respectively, disclosed in any of the aforementioned U.S. Provisional Patent Applications 63 / 356,061, 63 / 356,065, and / or 63 / 356,238.

[0083] The badge 142 may be of the type sold or marketed by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan under the name Vocera Badge, Vocera Smartbadge, and / or Vocera Minibadge. Other types of badges may also or alternatively be used. Such badges 142 have the capability to transmit voice communications of healthcare professionals to other badges 142 and / or other locations within the healthcare facility. Some badges may also include text messaging capabilities, alarm notifications, and other features. When integrated into the systems described herein, such badges 142 may be modified to include one or more ultra-wideband transceivers and / or tags that communicate with ultra-wideband transceivers mounted on the patient support apparatus 20 and / or incorporated within the locator unit 60, as described in more detail herein. That is, patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator unit 60 may be configured to repeatedly determine the location of any badge 142 located within range of its ultra-wideband transceiver and determine whether badge 142 is located inside or outside one or more volumes, as also described in more detail below. Badges 142 that do not have UWB transceivers may also be incorporated into the communication systems described herein.

[0084] In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus server 84 (FIG. 4) communicates with the EMR server 92 to transmit patient data to be recorded in the patient's health record (e.g., vital sign readings from one or more vital sign sensors; weight readings obtained from a scale integrated within the patient support apparatus 20; treatment provided to the patient using the powered mattress 42 mounted on the patient support apparatus 20; data from other devices determined to be associated with a patient assigned to the patient support apparatus 20, etc.). Additionally, the server 84, in some embodiments, communicates with the EMR server 92 to receive data from one or more of the devices used for a particular patient.

[0085] It is understood that the architecture and content of local area network 80 will vary from healthcare facility to healthcare facility, and the example shown in FIG. 4 is merely one example of the type of network a healthcare facility may employ. Typically, one or more additional servers will be hosted on network 80, one or more of which may be configured to communicate with patient support apparatus server 84. Local area network 80 also typically allows one or more electronic devices 98 to access local area network 80 and the servers hosted therein via wireless access point 82. Such electronic devices 98 include, but are not limited to, smartphones, tablet computers, portable laptops, desktop computers, smart televisions, and other types of electronic devices with Wi-Fi® capability and appropriate credentials (e.g., SSID, password, etc.) to access network 80 (and, in at least some circumstances, patient support apparatus server 84). The patient support apparatus server 84, in some embodiments, is configured to share data with one or more electronic devices 98 regarding the patient support apparatus 20, regarding one or more user devices 100 that become associated with the patient support apparatus 20 (or the patient assigned thereto), regarding one or more badges 142 that become associated with the patient support apparatus 20, and / or regarding one or more medical records of the patient stored within the EMR server 92. As described in more detail below, the electronic devices 98 include, but are not limited to, a caregiver phone / tablet 242, a display 240, and a caregiver badge 142.

[0086] Linked locator unit 60 is configured to receive signals wirelessly from patient support apparatus 20 when a conventional nurse call cable 66 is directly connected between patient support apparatus 20 and communication outlet 64 (via cable port 148; FIG. 5 ), and to transmit signals to communication outlet 64 in a manner compatible with how signals would otherwise be transmitted to communication outlet 64. Linked locator unit 60 is also configured to transmit signals received from communication outlet 64 to patient support apparatus 20 via BT transceiver 106 and / or UWB transceiver 126 (FIG. 5 ). In this manner, the locator units 60 linked to patient support apparatuses 20 cooperate to send signals to and receive signals from the communication outlets 64 in a manner that is transparent to the communication outlets 64, such that the locator units 60 cannot detect whether the outlets 64 are communicating with the patient support apparatus 20 via a wired connection, or whether they are communicating with the patient support apparatus 20 via a wireless connection between the patient support apparatus 20 and the linked locator units 60 (which are in wired communication with the outlets 64). In this manner, a healthcare facility can take advantage of the wireless communication capabilities of one or more patient support apparatuses 20 without making any modifications to existing communication outlets 64.

[0087] As described above, in addition to transmitting signals received from the patient support apparatus 20 to the communication outlet 64, the linked locator unit 60 is also configured to forward signals received from the communication outlet 64 to the patient support apparatus 20. Thus, the linked locator unit 60 is configured to provide bidirectional communication between the patient support apparatus 20 and the communication outlet 64. This bidirectional communication includes, but is not limited to, communicating command signals from any of the controls 50 and / or any of the electronics 98 to the corresponding room devices 72, 74, and / or 76, and communicating audio signals between a person supported on the patient support apparatus 20 and a caregiver located remotely from the patient support apparatus 20. Audio signals received by the linked locator unit 60 from a microphone on the patient support apparatus 20 are forwarded to the communication outlet 64 (for forwarding to the nurse call system 70), and audio signals of a remotely located nurse received at the communication outlet 64 (from the nurse call system 70) are forwarded to a speaker onboard the patient support apparatus 20.

[0088] The nurse call cable 66, in some embodiments, has a conventional 37-pin connector on each end, one of which is configured to be inserted into a receptacle 64 and the other of which is configured to be inserted into the linked locator unit 60 (or into the cable port 148 of the patient support apparatus 20, if wired communication is desired). Such a 37-pin connector is one of the most common types of connectors found in existing walls of a healthcare facility for connection to the nurse call system 70 and room devices 72, 74, 76. Thus, the linked locator unit 60 and nurse call cable 66 are configured to mate with one of the most common types of communication receptacles 64 used in healthcare facilities. However, it will be understood that such a 37-pin connector is not the only type of connector, and the linked locator unit 60 can utilize different types of connectors configured to electrically couple to different types of nurse call cables 66 and / or different types of communication receptacles 64. One example of such an alternative communication outlet 64 and cable 66 is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 819,844, filed August 6, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "PATIENT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWAL COMMUNICATION," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of communication outlets 64 and corresponding connectors may be utilized.

[0089] Locator unit 60 (FIG. 4) also includes an electrical cord 150 configured to be inserted into a conventional electrical outlet 108 having a plug disposed at the distal end. Electrical cord 150 allows locator unit 60 to receive power from a mains power source via outlet 108. Of course, in some embodiments, locator unit 60 is battery operated and cord 150 may be omitted. In yet other embodiments, locator unit 60 may both be battery operated and include cord 150, thereby allowing battery power to power locator unit 60 in the event of a power outage and / or receiving power through outlet 108 in the event of a battery failure.

[0090] In some embodiments, the locator unit 60 has a video port configured to accept a display cable 110 ( FIG. 4 ). The display cable 110 is configured to couple to the locator unit 60 at one end and to the display device 56 at its opposite end. The locator unit 60 can be configured to use the cable 110 to send data to the display device 56 to be displayed thereon. Such data can include data from one or more user devices 100 associated with a patient on the patient support apparatus 20 (or the patient support apparatus 20), data from one or more badges 142, status data from one or more sensors mounted on the patient support apparatus 20, location data related to the location of the patient support apparatus 20, and / or other data. The cable 110 can be a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI®) cable, a Video Graphics Array (VGA) cable, a DisplayPort (DP) cable, a Radio Company of America (RCA) cable, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) cable, and / or other types of cables. The locator unit 60 is configured to have a complementary connector that mates with a connector on the end of the cable 110. In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20, the positioning device 60, and the display device 56 can be configured to display data in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 426,450, filed November 18, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al., entitled "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0091] In addition to other functions described herein, locator unit 60 is configured to communicate location data to patient support apparatus 20 to enable patient support apparatus 20 and / or patient support apparatus server 84 to determine the location of patient support apparatus 20 within the healthcare facility. Typically, such location determination is performed by patient support apparatus 20 analyzing wireless signals communicated between itself and locator unit 60 to determine the location of patient support apparatus 20 relative to locator unit 60. If patient support apparatus 20, or a predetermined reference point on patient support apparatus 20 (e.g., head end, its center, etc.) is positioned within a threshold distance of locator unit 60, patient support apparatus 20 associates itself with locator unit 60. When associated, patient support apparatus 20 communicates data to and receives data from locator unit 60 and can consider its location within the healthcare facility to be the same as the location of locator unit 60. When the patient support apparatus 20 is outside the threshold distance, the patient support apparatus 20 itself is not associated with the locator unit 60 and therefore does not exchange data with the locator unit 60 or consider its location to be the same as the locator unit 60's.

[0092] In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to associate itself with a particular locator unit 60 when the controller 140 determines that the locator unit 60 is within the volume 152a (FIG. 4) or when the locator unit 60 determines that the patient support apparatus 20 (or a reference point thereon) is positioned within the volume 152a. In some embodiments, the volume 152a is defined for each locator unit 60 and does not move. In other embodiments, the volume 152a is defined for the patient support apparatus 20 and moves when the patient support apparatus 20 moves. In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 associates itself with a nearby locator unit 60 when both the locator unit 60 and the patient support apparatus 20 (or a reference point thereon) are simultaneously within a given volume 152a. Regardless of whether a volume 152a is defined for the locator unit 60 or the patient support apparatus 20, the locator unit 60 and the patient support apparatus 20 are positioned within a threshold distance of each other by at least one or both of these devices (locator unit 60 and patient support apparatus 20) being positioned within a given volume 152a. An example of a patient support apparatus 20 occupying the volume 152a is shown in FIG. 4, where the head end 38 of the patient support apparatus 20 (including appropriate reference points on the patient support apparatus 20) is positioned within the volume 152a, and therefore the patient support apparatus 20 is associated with that particular locator unit 60.

[0093] After a patient support apparatus 20 associates itself with a particular locator unit 60, the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to have its absolute location within the healthcare facility determined by receiving a unique locator identifier (ID) 122 (FIG. 5) from the locator unit 60. The location of each locator unit 60 within the healthcare facility is surveyed during installation of the locator unit 60, and the unique ID 122 of each locator unit 60 is also recorded during installation of the locator unit 60. This survey information and corresponding ID information can be stored onboard the patient support apparatus server 84 and / or the patient support apparatus 20, thereby allowing the location of the patient support apparatus 20 and / or the patient support apparatus server 84 to be determined once the patient support apparatus 20 has been associated with a particular locator unit 60.

[0094] In those embodiments in which the patient support apparatus server 84 is configured to determine the location of the patient support apparatus 20, the patient support apparatus 20 transmits to the server 84 its relative position information with respect to its associated locator unit 60 and / or the ID 122 of the associated locator unit 60 (and its own unique patient support apparatus ID 130 ( FIG. 5 )). The server 84 has a table of all locator unit 60 locations (generated via a surveying operation during installation of the locator unit 60, as described above), and the server 84 uses this table to correlate the patient support apparatus IDs 130 and locator unit IDs 122 received by the server 84 with specific locations within the healthcare facility. Thus, if a particular patient support apparatus 20 (with a particular ID 130) transmits to the server 84 an associated locator unit ID 122 corresponding to room 430, the server 84 determines that the particular patient support apparatus 20 is located in the current room 430. Generally speaking, as discussed in more detail below, the position of the patient support apparatus 20 is considered to correspond to whichever locator unit 60 the patient support apparatus 20 is currently associated with, and if the patient support apparatus 20 is not currently associated with any locator unit 60, the position of the patient support apparatus 20 can be considered indeterminate.

[0095] In some embodiments of the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit 60, the relative position of the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit 60 is determined solely using ultra-wideband communication between the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit 60. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 determines the relative position of the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit 60 solely using short-range infrared communication with the locator unit 60, and such short-range infrared communication is only possible when the patient support apparatus 20 is located within close proximity (e.g., an unobstructed range of approximately 1 meter to 3 meters) of the locator unit 60. In these embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 can report that its position matches the position of a nearby locator unit 60 when it can successfully communicate with the nearby locator unit 60 using these short-range infrared communications. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit 60 can communicate with each other using both infrared and ultra-wideband communications. Further details regarding the use of short-range infrared communication for location determination are set forth in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. 9,999,375, issued June 19, 2018 to inventors Michael Hayes et al., entitled "LOCATION DETECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0096] In some embodiments, locator unit 60 and / or patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to utilize wireless headwall communication, as described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14 / 819,844, filed Aug. 6, 2015, to inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION," commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 26,937, issued May 19, 2020, to inventors Alexander Bodurka et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH HEADWALL COMMUNICATION," and / or "SYSTEM FOR LOCATING PATIENT SUPPORT." The present invention may be configured to have any or all of the functionality of the wireless head wall unit and / or patient support device disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 245,245, filed on September 17, 2021, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al., entitled "Wireless Head Wall Unit and Patient Support," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0097] Further, in some embodiments, the locator unit 60 and / or the patient support apparatus 20 can be configured to have any of the features and / or functions of the head wall unit 144a and / or the patient support apparatus disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 131,508, filed on December 29, 2020, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al., entitled "TOOL FOR CONFIGURING HEADWALL UNITS USED FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION," the full disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0098] In some embodiments, one or more user devices can interact with the locator unit 60 in the same or similar manner as the patient support apparatus 20 interacts with the locator unit 60, as described above. That is, in some embodiments, the locator unit 60 can be configured to communicate location data to one or more user devices 100 to enable the user device 100, the associated patient support apparatus 20, and / or the patient support apparatus server 84 to determine the location of the user device 100 within the healthcare facility. Generally, such location determination is performed by the user device 100 performing ultra-wideband ranging with the locator unit 60 to determine the location of the user device 100 relative to the locator unit 60. If the user device 100 is located within a threshold of the locator unit 60, the user device associates itself with the locator unit 60. Once associated, the user device 100 communicates data to and receives data from the locator unit 60, and the location of the user device 100 within the healthcare facility can be considered the same as the location of the locator unit 60. When user device 100 is outside the threshold distance, user device 100 may not associate itself with locator unit 60 and therefore may cease exchanging data with locator unit 60 .

[0099] 5 shows a block diagram of a patient support apparatus 20, a linked locator unit 60, a first user device 100a, a second user device 100b, a network 80, and multiple electronic devices with which the network 80 can communicate. As described in more detail below, the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to automatically determine the location of one or more locator units 60, badges 142, and / or user devices 100, each having either a built-in UWB transceiver or a UWB tag attached thereto. Furthermore, the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to automatically communicate with these devices (including the user device 100) when they are positioned within a defined vicinity of the patient support apparatus 20. In some embodiments, when a particular user device 100 is positioned within the defined vicinity, the patient support apparatus 20 automatically associates the user device 100 with the patient assigned to the patient support apparatus 20 (and / or the patient support apparatus 20 itself), so that data from that user device 100 (or device 100) is automatically directed to one or more destinations. If the user device 100 is located outside the specified vicinity, the patient support device 20 may automatically disassociate itself from the user device 100 and, in some cases, terminate communication with the user device 100 and / or notify the patient support device server 84 of this disassociation.

[0100] Linked locator unit 60 (FIG. 5) includes ultra-wideband transceiver 126, Bluetooth® transceiver 106, locator unit control 112, configuration circuitry 114, television control 116, headwall interface 118, network transceiver 120, unit ID 122, and, in some embodiments, infrared transceiver 124. Bluetooth® transceiver 106 is configured to communicate with Bluetooth® transceiver 128 onboard patient support apparatus 20 using radio frequency waves according to conventional Bluetooth® standards (e.g., IEEE 802.14.1 and / or any of the standards maintained by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) of Kirkland, Washington, USA). In some embodiments, transceivers 106 and 128 utilize Bluetooth® low energy communication.

[0101] The ultra-wideband transceiver 126 is configured to communicate with one or more ultra-wideband transceivers 132 mounted on and positioned in the patient support apparatus 20 and / or one or more ultra-wideband transceivers 158, 178 mounted on and positioned in the user device 100. The transceiver 126 is configured to determine a distance between itself and the patient support apparatus 20 and / or the user device 100. Alternatively or additionally, the transceiver 126 may be configured to enable one or more of the UWB transceivers 132 mounted on the patient support apparatus 20 (or one or more of the UWB transceivers 158, 178 mounted on the user device 100) to determine a distance from the transceiver 126. In other words, the one or more position engines may be mounted on and located in the patient support apparatus 20, the locator unit 60, the user device 100, and / or the server 84.

[0102] In some embodiments, transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178 use time-of-flight (TOF) calculations to determine these distances. In other embodiments, transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178 may use other techniques (e.g., time difference of arrival, two-way ranging, angle of arrival, channel condition information, etc.) to determine their distance from one another in addition to or instead of TOF calculations. In some embodiments, transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178 may also determine the angle between them using angle information derived from antenna array positions on transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178, or by using other techniques. The position and orientation of each transceiver 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 is known and stored in onboard memory 134 and is used to determine the position and orientation of patient support apparatus 20 relative to the locator unit 60 with which it is communicating. Such position and orientation information may be determined using conventional trilateration and / or triangulation techniques, or other techniques.

[0103] In some embodiments, transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178 are implemented as any of the Trimension® ultra-wideband modules available from NXP Semiconductors, Inc. of Austin, Texas. These modules include, but are not limited to, Trimension® UWB modules ASMOP1BO0N1, ASMOP1CO0R1, and / or ASMOP1CO0A1 that utilize any of the following chips: NXP SR150, SR100T, SR040, NCJ29D5, and / or OL23DO chips. Modules manufactured and / or sold by other companies may also be used, including, but not limited to, the DECAWAVE DM1000, DWM10001C, and DWM3000 modules (available from Decawave, Dublin, Ireland); the Nordic TSG5162 SiP module (available from Tsingoal Technology, Beijing, China); and / or UWB hubs, wands, and / or sensors available from Zebra Technology, Linsure, Illinois. Still other types of UWB modules may be used to implement transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178.

[0104] Locator unit control 112 is configured to control the operation of transceivers 126, 106, configuration circuitry 114, television control 116, headwall interface 118, network transceiver 120, and, if included, infrared transceiver 124 (FIG. 5). If infrared transceiver 124 is included, it may be included to provide backward compatibility with patient support apparatus 20 that do not include UWB transceiver 132. That is, some healthcare facilities may have one or more patient support apparatuses that do not include UWB transceiver 132 but have an IR transceiver configured to communicate with IR transceiver 124. When locator unit 60 includes IR transceiver 124, it can communicate its unit ID 122 to such patient support apparatus via IR transceiver 124, which is a short-range transceiver configured to communicate only with adjacent patient support apparatuses when the patient support apparatuses are nearby (e.g., not within about 1.5 meters (about 5 feet)). Such nearby patient support apparatus 20 then communicates the received locator unit ID 122 and its own unique ID 130 (FIG. 5) to server 84, which can correlate the locator unit ID 122 with a particular location relative to the medical facility, as described above. In this manner, server 84 can use locator unit 60 to determine the location of patient support apparatus 20 of a type that does not have a UWB transceiver 132 but does have an IR transceiver.

[0105] Headwall interface 118 is configured to change the electrical state of one or more pins in electrical communication with communication outlet 64 (via cable 66). Headwall interface 118 changes these electrical states in response to commands from controller 112. For example, when exit detection system 136 of patient support apparatus 20 detects patient exit, controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 sends an exit alert signal to linked locator unit 60, and controller 112 responds by commanding headwall interface 118 to change the electrical state of at least one pin used to signal an exit alert (or general priority alert) to nurse call system 70 via communication outlet 64. Additionally, when a device 100, such as a portable exit detection sensor, is associated with the patient support apparatus 20 and detects patient exit, the exit detection sensor can transmit an exit detection alert signal to the patient support apparatus 20, which forwards the exit detection alert signal to the linked locator unit 60, and the controller 112 responds by instructing the headwall interface 118 to change the electrical state of the same pin or pins in response to receiving the exit detection alert from the exit detection system 136.

[0106] In some embodiments, the headwall interface 118 can be constructed in the same manner as and / or have any one or more of the functionality of the cable interface 88 described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 193,778, filed May 27, 2021, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND HEADWALL UNIT SYNCING," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively or additionally, head wall interface 118 may be configured in the same manner and / or have one or more of the same functions as head wall interface 120 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 131,508, filed December 29, 2020, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al., entitled "TOOL FOR CONFIGURING HEADWALL UNITS USED FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Also, linked locator unit 60 may be configured to perform any of the functions of head wall unit 94 disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 193,778, supra.

[0107] The configuration circuitry 114 and television control unit 116 may perform any of the same functions and / or be configured in any of the same manner as the configuration circuitry 132 and television control circuitry 134, respectively, in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 131,508, filed December 29, 2020, entitled "TOOL FOR CONFIGURING HEADWALL UNITS USED FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION," inventors Kirby Neihouser et al., the complete disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference. Additionally or alternatively, the linked locator unit 60 may be configured to perform any of the functions of the headwall unit 144 disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 131,508.

[0108] The headwall interface 118, television control 116, and configuration circuitry 114 may be omitted from an unlinked locator unit 60 because the unlinked locator unit 60 is not configured to communicate with the communication outlet 64, and these components are designed to communicate with the outlet 64. The unlinked locator unit 60 may also omit (or include) the IR transceiver 124. The linked locator unit and / or the unlinked locator unit 60 may optionally include (or omit) the network transceiver 120. If the network transceiver 120 is included, the control unit 112 may use the network transceiver 120 to communicate with the patient support apparatus server 84 (via the access point 82 and the network 80).

[0109] The patient support apparatus 20 includes a controller 140, a memory 134, an exit detection system 136, a scale system 144, a monitoring system 138, a microphone 146, a Bluetooth® transceiver 128, one or more UWB transceivers 132, a display 52 (which may be part of the control panel 54a and / or another control panel 54), a network transceiver 96, a nurse call interface 154, and several additional components not shown in FIG. 5 . Each UWB transceiver 132 is positioned at a known location on the patient support apparatus 20. This known location information may be stored in the memory 134 and / or elsewhere and may be defined with respect to any suitable reference frame common to the patient support apparatus 20. The known location information may include spatial relationships between the UWB transceivers 132 and / or any other components of the patient support apparatus 20. For example, in some embodiments, the known position information includes not only the spatial relationship between UWB transceivers 132, but also the spatial relationship between UWB transceivers 132 and one or more of the head end 38 of the patient support apparatus 20, the foot end 40 of the patient support apparatus 20, the sides of the patient support apparatus 20, reference points defined on the patient support apparatus 20, the floor, and / or other components and / or landmarks of the patient support apparatus 20. In some embodiments, this position information is used to determine the orientation of the patient support apparatus 20 relative to one or more walls 62, the locator unit 60, another patient support apparatus 20, and / or other objects or structures within the healthcare facility.

[0110] In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 includes four UWB transceivers 132, with each transceiver positioned generally adjacent one of the four corners of the patient support apparatus 20. In some such embodiments, the four UWB transceivers 132 are mounted to or positioned near the four corners of the litter frame 28. In other embodiments, the four UWB transceivers 132 are mounted to or positioned near the four corners of the base 22. In some embodiments, each of the four UWB transceivers 132 is mounted to a corner of the support deck 30. Still other locations for the UWB transceivers 132, as well as different numbers of UWB transceivers 132, may be incorporated into the patient support apparatus 20. In those embodiments of the patient support apparatus 20 in which one or more of the UWB transceivers 132 are coupled to a component of the patient support apparatus 20 that is movable (e.g., a litter frame 28 whose height and orientation can be changed; or a head section 44, a support deck 30 that can have its sections pivotable), a sensor is included within the patient support apparatus 20 that communicates the current position of the movable component to the controller 140, thereby enabling the controller 140 to determine the current position of the UWB transceiver 132 and use the current position of the UWB transceiver 132 when determining the current position of a device such as a badge 142 and / or another device 100.

[0111] The nurse call interface 154 of the patient support apparatus 20 ( FIG. 5 ), in some embodiments, includes a Bluetooth® transceiver 128 and a cable port 148. The nurse call interface 154 provides an interface through which the patient support apparatus 20 communicates with the outlet 64 of the nurse call system 70. That is, the nurse call interface 154 provides a means for the patient support apparatus 20 to communicate bidirectionally with the communication outlet 64. As described above, in some situations, the patient support apparatus 20 uses the Bluetooth® transceiver 128 to communicate with the Bluetooth® transceiver 106 of the linked locator unit 60, and the linked locator unit 60 communicates back and forth between the outlet 64 and the patient support apparatus 20. In other words, in some situations, the linked locator unit 60 acts as a communication intermediary between the nurse call interface 154 and the outlet 64. Alternatively, the nurse call cable 66 can be coupled directly between the patient support apparatus 20 and the wall outlet 64, thereby avoiding the need to use the linked locator unit 60 as a communications intermediary. In such a situation, one end of the nurse call cable 66 is plugged into the cable port 148 of the patient support apparatus 20, and the other end of the cable 66 is plugged directly into the outlet 64. The nurse call interface 154 thereby provides the patient support apparatus 20 with the ability to communicate with the outlet 64 wirelessly or via wired means.

[0112] The patient support apparatus 20 also includes, in at least some embodiments, a microphone 146 ( FIG. 5 ) that is used to detect the patient's voice when the patient wishes to speak to a remotely located nurse. The patient's voice is converted into audio signals by the microphone 146, and the controller 140 is configured to transmit these audio signals to an adjacent communication outlet 64 positioned in the wall 62 ( FIG. 4 ). When a cable 66 is coupled between the cable port 148 of the patient support apparatus 20 and the outlet 64, the controller 140 forwards these audio signals to the outlet 64 via the cable 66. When such a cable 66 does not extend between the patient support apparatus 20 and the outlet 64, the controller 140 wirelessly forwards these audio signals to the currently associated linked locator unit 60 (using the transceiver 128 or, in some embodiments, one of the transceivers 132), and the controller 112 of the linked locator unit 60 forwards these audio signals to the outlet 64. As mentioned above, the outlet 64 is in electrical communication with a conventional nurse call system 70 configured to send audio signals to the correct nurse station 78 and / or other location. In some embodiments, the microphone 146 acts as both a microphone and a speaker. In other embodiments, a separate speaker may be included to communicate audio signals received from a remotely located nurse. In some embodiments, audio communication between the patient support apparatus 20 and the communication outlet 64 is performed in any of the manners and / or has any of the structures disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 16 / 847,753, filed April 14, 2020, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al., entitled "NURSE CALL AUDIO MANAGEMENT," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0113] In the example shown in Figure 5, there are two types of user devices 100a and 100b located near the patient support apparatus 20. The first type of user device 100a is a portable communication device, such as a cell phone or tablet computer, that the patient uses to communicate with people outside the room 58. The second type of user device 100b is a control device, such as a patient support apparatus pendant, that is used by the patient (or other individual) to control some aspect of the patient support apparatus 20. In some embodiments, as described above, the pendant user device 100b can have a control panel of the type shown in Figure 3.

[0114] User device 100a includes a control unit 156, a UWB transceiver 158, a microphone 160, a speaker 162, a network transceiver 164, a unique ID 166, and at least one software application 168. User device 100b includes a control unit 170, a Bluetooth transceiver 172, a UWB transceiver 178, an identifier 176, and a plurality of controls 174. In some embodiments, control unit 174 of user device 100b corresponds to one or more of controls 50g-50t of the control panel of FIG. 3 .

[0115] The UWB transceivers 158, 178 of the user devices 100a and 100b are configured to communicate with the UWB transceiver 132 mounted on and positioned on the patient support apparatus 20, allowing the position of both user devices (100a and 100b) relative to the patient support apparatus 20 to be repeatedly determined. The UWB transceivers 158, 178 of the user devices 100a and 100b may be identical to all other UWB transceivers discussed herein (e.g., UWB transceivers 132, 126, etc.). The UWB transceiver 158 of the user device 100a is further configured to transmit a unique ID 166 of the user device 100a to the patient support apparatus 20, so that the patient support apparatus 20 knows which particular user device 100a it is communicating with. Similarly, the UWB transceiver 178 of the user device 100b is further configured to transmit the unique ID 176 of the user device 100b to the patient support apparatus 20 so that the patient support apparatus 20 knows which particular user device 100b it is communicating with.

[0116] It should be understood that the components of user devices 100a and 100b shown in FIG. 5 are merely illustrative examples of user devices 100, and that different user devices 100 may be utilized with the systems of the present disclosure having fewer, more, and / or different components than those shown in FIG. 5.

[0117] Controller 156 of user device 100a is configured to oversee operation of user device 100a, handle UWB transceiver 158 communications with other UWB transceivers (e.g., transceiver 132), respond to activation of controls (if present) on user device 100a, oversee operation of microphone 160 and speaker 162, and execute software applications 168. In some embodiments, as described above, user device 100a may be a conventional smartphone, a conventional tablet computer, or other conventional computing device configured to execute software applications 168. In other words, user device 100a is a conventional device, except for software applications 168, which, in some embodiments, when executed by controller 156, provide user device 100a with new functionality and interaction capabilities with respect to patient support apparatus 20 as well as other devices in a healthcare facility.

[0118] Controller 156 of user device 100a is configured to oversee operation of user device 100a, handle communications of UWB transceiver 158 with other UWB transceivers (e.g., transceiver 132), respond to activation of controls (if present) on user device 100a, oversee operation of microphone 160 and speaker 162, and execute software application 168. In some embodiments, as described above, user device 100a may be a conventional smartphone, a conventional tablet computer, or other conventional computing device configured to execute software application 168. In other words, user device 100a is a conventional device except for software application 168, which, in some embodiments, when executed by controller 156, provides user device 100a with new functionality and interaction capabilities with respect to not only patient support apparatus 20 but also other devices in a healthcare facility. Furthermore, as described in more detail below, software application 168 is configured to facilitate this remote communication automatically, without requiring the patient or healthcare provider to enter phone numbers and / or other contact information into user device 100a. This automatic facilitation is based on determining the relative state of the user device 100 a relative to the patient support apparatus 20 .

[0119] The controller 170 of the user device 100b (FIG. 5) is configured to oversee the operation of the pendant user device 100b. As previously mentioned, the pendant user device 100b is configured to allow the patient to control various operations of the patient support apparatus 20. As previously explained, the controller 170 can be configured to transmit operation commands to the patient support apparatus 20 via both the Bluetooth® transceiver 172 and the UWB transceiver 178 in response to user actuation of one or more operation controls 174. Furthermore, the controller 170 is configured to automatically utilize the UWB transceiver 178 to determine the relative position of the pendant user device 100b with respect to the patient support apparatus 20. When the pendant user device 100b is located within a predetermined threshold (e.g., the predetermined volume 152b) of the patient support apparatus 20, the controller 170 forwards commands (both operation and non-operation commands) to the patient support apparatus 20. If the pendant user device 100b is located outside the predetermined threshold of the patient support apparatus 20, the controller 170 will not forward commands (both operational and non-operational commands) to the patient support apparatus 20. In other words, the controller 170 uses the UWB transceiver 178 to determine whether to associate itself with the patient support apparatus 20, and if associated, the controller 170 will allow commands to be sent to the patient support apparatus 20, and if not associated, the controller 170 will not allow commands to be sent to the patient support apparatus 20.

[0120] Controller 140 and controllers 112, 156, and 170 can take a variety of different forms. In the illustrated embodiment, each of these controllers is implemented as a conventional microcontroller. However, these controllers can be modified to use various other types of circuitry, alone or in combination with one or more microcontrollers, such as any one or more microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays, systems on a chip, volatile or non-volatile memory, discrete circuits, and / or other hardware, software, or firmware capable of performing the functions described herein, as known to those skilled in the art. Such components can be physically configured in any suitable manner, such as by mounting them on one or more circuit boards or otherwise arranging them, whether combined into a single unit or distributed across multiple units. The instructions followed by controllers 112, 140, 156, and 170 in performing the functions described herein, as well as the data needed to perform those functions, are stored in corresponding memory accessible to that particular controller (e.g., memory 134 for controller 140). In some embodiments, controllers 112, 140, 156, and 170 may have and / or cooperate with a microcontroller integrated into or associated with the UWB transceiver(s) installed in that particular device (e.g., UWB transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178), and the microcontroller may act as a location engine, either alone or in combination with controllers 112, 140, 156, and 170, to determine the location of other UWB transceivers with which it is communicating.

[0121] The control unit 140 of the patient support apparatus 20 utilizes the UWB transceiver 132 to determine the relative position of the patient support apparatus 20 with respect to one or more nearby locator units 60, one or more user devices 100, and / or one or more badges 142. In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 may also use the UWB transceiver 132 to determine the relative position of other objects with respect to the patient support apparatus 20, such as one or more medical devices or other types of devices.

[0122] When a patient support apparatus 20 is positioned within range of a locator unit 60, its UWB transceiver 132 communicates with a UWB transceiver 126 positioned on its locator unit 60, and the transceivers 132 and 126 exchange signals that allow them to determine the distance between the transceivers 132 and 126. This distance determination is made for each UWB transceiver 132 mounted on the patient support apparatus 20 (or for as many as necessary to determine the precise location of the locator unit 60 relative to the patient support apparatus 20). When a user device 100 is located within communication range of a UWB transceiver 132 of the patient support apparatus 20, the UWB transceivers 158 and / or 178 of the user device 100 communicate with the UWB transceiver 132 of the patient support apparatus 20 and exchange signals that allow the UWB transceivers 158 and / or 178 to determine the distance between the transceivers. In some embodiments, this distance determination is made for each UWB transceiver 132 mounted on the patient support apparatus 20 (or as many as necessary to determine the precise location of the user device 100 relative to the patient support apparatus 20).

[0123] Similarly, when the caregiver badge 142 is located within range of a UWB transceiver 132 of the patient support apparatus 20, the UWB transceiver(s) of the caregiver badge 142 communicate with the UWB transceiver 132 of the patient support apparatus 20 and exchange signals that allow them to determine the distance between the UWB transceivers. In some embodiments, this distance determination is made for each UWB transceiver 132 positioned on and in the patient support apparatus 20 (or as many as necessary to determine the precise location of the badge 142 relative to the patient support apparatus 20).

[0124] In some embodiments, the UWB transceivers (126, 132, 158, 178, and the UWB transceiver integrated into badge 142) can be configured to determine the angular relationship between the UWB transceivers. The distance (and angular information) in at least some embodiments is calculated by the UWB transceiver 132 and / or the controller 140 of the patient support apparatus 20. In other embodiments, one or more of the other devices 60, 100, 142 can additionally or alternatively calculate this distance (and angular information) and forward the results of the calculation to the patient support apparatus 20 (via the UWB transceiver or BT transceiver). In either situation, the patient support apparatus controller 140 is informed of the distance (and, in some embodiments, angular information) between its UWB transceiver 132 and the transceiver on the nearby device. These distances and directions are then used to calculate the relative position of the patient support apparatus 20 with respect to these devices (locator unit 60, user device 100, and / or caregiver badge 142) in a common reference coordinate system that can be defined in a fixed relationship to the patient support apparatus 20 or devices.

[0125] 4 and 5 illustrate only a single locator unit 60, it will be understood that a typical healthcare facility will have multiple locator units 60 located at different locations throughout the facility, including some located within patient rooms and others located outside of patient rooms. Typically, at least one locator unit 60 will be located in each patient room in the healthcare facility, and if a patient room (e.g., including multiple bays) is intended to be occupied by more than one patient, additional locator units 60 may be included, such that each patient support apparatus 20 has a locator unit 60 located adjacent each bay area within that room. Additional locator units 60, such as unlinked locator unit 60a, may also be located at other locations throughout the healthcare facility.

[0126] The location of the patient support apparatus 20 relative to the locator unit 60, the user device 100, and the badge 142 is repeatedly determined by an exchange of signals between their UWB transceivers 126, 132, 158, and 178. This exchange is initiated by an interrogation signal that may be transmitted by the UWB transceiver 126 of one or more of these devices (20, 60, 100, and / or 142). The trigger for transmitting these interrogation signals (from either source), at least in some embodiments, may simply be the passage of a predetermined time interval. That is, in some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20, the locator unit 60, the user device 100, and / or the badge 142 may be configured to periodically send out an interrogation signal that is responded to by any UWB transceivers located within range of the signal. In those embodiments in which the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to transmit such interrogation signals, the time intervals between these interrogation signals can vary depending on the location, the number of user devices 100 and / or badges 142 (if any) positioned within range of the patient support apparatus 20, and / or the state of the patient support apparatus 20. For example, in some embodiments, the controller 140 can be configured to transmit interrogation signals with longer time intervals between interrogation signals when the patient support apparatus is stationary (and, in some cases, when no user devices 100 or badges 142 are currently located within communication range), and with shorter time intervals between interrogation signals when the patient support apparatus 20 is moving and / or when at least one device 100 or badge 142 is currently located within communication range of the transceiver 132. In any of the above-described embodiments, movement of the patient support apparatus 20 can be detected in any suitable manner, such as by having one or more movement sensors (e.g., one or more accelerometers) on the patient support apparatus 20 and / or by monitoring the values ​​of repeated distance measurements and looking for changes indicative of movement.

[0127] In some embodiments, the UWB transceiver of each UWB device 20, 60, 100, and 142 is configured to act as either a UWB anchor or a UWB tag. In at least one embodiment, the UWB transceiver 126 of the locator unit 60, the UWB transceivers 158, 178 of the user device 100, and the UWB transceiver of the caregiver badge 142 are all configured to act as UWB tags, while the UWB transceiver 132 of the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to act as a UWB anchor. It will be appreciated that modifications to these roles of anchor and tag can be made. For example, in some embodiments, the UWB transceiver 132 of the patient support apparatus 20 can be modified to act as a UWB anchor in some instances and as a UWB tag in other instances. Still other modifications are possible.

[0128] Generally, when a UWB transceiver is configured to act as a UWB tag, it is configured to periodically transmit a UWB initiation packet, which acts as a discovery packet. The initiation packet requests a response from any UWB anchor within communication range. If another UWB transceiver operating as a UWB tag is configured to receive an initiation packet from another UWB tag, the UWB transceiver is configured not to respond to it. That is, the tag transmits an initiation packet but does not respond to the initiation packet. On the other hand, a UWB anchor does not transmit an initiation packet but instead responds to the initiation packet with a response packet, which may be referred to as a stamp packet. Thus, the anchor transmits a stamp packet but does not transmit an initiation packet. Also, a UWB anchor does not respond to other stamp packets that may be detected from other UWB anchors. In response to receiving a stamp packet from a UWB anchor, the UWB tag is configured to transmit an end packet back to the UWB anchor that transmitted the stamp packet.

[0129] The combination of the Start Packet, Stamp Packet, and End Packet generally defines a ranging session between a UWB anchor and a UWB tag, where the Time of Flight (TOF) information generated from the Start Packet, Stamp Packet, and End Packet is used to enable the anchor and / or tag to determine the distance between the tag and the anchor.

[0130] In some embodiments, the start packet, stamp packet, and / or end packet may also include other data in their payloads that are used for purposes other than ranging. From the ranging information, the distance between the anchor and the tag is determined. These ranging sessions are performed repeatedly while the UWB anchor and the UWB tag are within communication range. In some embodiments, the time interval between ranging sessions is controlled by the UWB tag. That is, after the UWB tag transmits a start packet, receives a stamp packet in response, and transmits an end packet in response to the stamp packet, the UWB tag is configured to wait a specified amount of time before transmitting another start packet. The specified amount of time is programmed into the UWB tag and can be changed during operation of the UWB tag. In some embodiments, the UWB tag may be configured to change this specified amount of time (hereinafter referred to as the "ranging interval") based on whether the UWB device having the tag is associated or not with the UWB device having the anchor. In other embodiments, the ranging interval may be varied by the tag based on the state of one or more of the UWB devices involved in the ranging session, which may include, but are not limited to, one or more movement states of the UWB devices, the location and / or state of one or more components of device 250, the location of device 250 within the medical facility and / or its relationship to other UWB device(s) within the medical facility, and / or other factors.

[0131] After installing locator units 60 in a particular medical facility, the location of each locator unit 60 within the facility is recorded. In some embodiments, the coordinates of the locations of the locator units 60 are recorded in a common reference coordinate system (or are recorded and then transformed to a common reference coordinate system). Such coordinates may be three-dimensional (i.e., include a vertical component and two horizontal components) or two-dimensional (i.e., do not include a height component). In other embodiments, rather than the exact coordinates of the locator units 60, a more generalized location of one or more locator units 60 is determined. The generalized location of the locator units 60 may include an indication of the room, bay, area, hallway, portion of a hallway, wing, service area, etc. in which the locator unit 60 is located. In still other embodiments, the location of one or more locator units 60 is determined both roughly and more precisely.

[0132] Regardless of how the location of each locator unit 60 is initially determined after installation in the medical facility (e.g., whether their coordinates are determined or a more generalized location is determined), the locations of all locator units 60 and their unique IDs 122 are stored in memory accessible to the server 84. The server 84 then uses this location and ID data to determine the location of the patient support apparatus 20 (and the locations of associated user devices 100 and badges 142). Alternatively or additionally, the location data and IDs 122 are transferred to the patient support apparatus 20 for storage in the patient support apparatus 20's on-board memory 134 and for use in determining the location of the patient support apparatus 20. In some embodiments, the location of each locator unit 60 (whether specific and / or general) can also be stored in memory within that particular locator unit 60 and shared with devices (e.g., patient support apparatus 20) with which it communicates. In other embodiments, the location of each locator unit 60 can be stored in multiple locations.

[0133] It will be appreciated, of course, that the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with the locator unit 60 regardless of the orientation of the patient support apparatus 20. That is, the UWB transceivers 126 and 132, unlike the IR transceiver 124 (if present), are radio frequency transceivers that do not rely on line-of-sight communication. Thus, the patient support apparatus 20 does not need to be oriented in any particular direction with respect to the locator unit for the transceivers 126 and 132 to communicate. This differs from some prior art systems that use IR communication between the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit, requiring that an IR transceiver mounted on the patient support apparatus be pointed at the locator unit for communication to be established. It should also be appreciated that the locator unit 60 can be located on a wall, column, ceiling, or any other fixed structure within a healthcare facility.

[0134] The patient support apparatus 20 can also be configured to repeatedly determine the location of other devices relative to the patient support apparatus 20, beyond the user device 100, the locator unit 60, and / or the caregiver badge 142, using the UWB transceiver 132. When so configured, the controller 140 uses the UWB transceiver 132 to determine the relative positions of these other items in the same manner as described above for the user device 100, the locator unit 60, and / or the caregiver badge 142. These other devices may include, but are not limited to, one or more of an infusion pump, a vital signs sensor, a motion sensor, a heel care boot, an IV stand and / or pole, a ventilator, a DVT pump, a patient monitor (such as a saturated oxygen (SpO2) monitor, an EKG monitor, a vital signs monitor, etc.), a patient positioning device (such as a wedge, a turning device, etc.), an ambient sensor (e.g., temperature, air, light, humidity, barometric pressure, altitude, sound / noise), a mattress 42, a portable exit detection sensor, a wearable nurse call device, a discontinuity pad or one or more sensors configured to detect discontinuities, a Holter device configured to monitor and record the patient's cardiac signals, a patient ID tag or bracelet that identifies the patient, a caregiver tag or ID bracelet, a caregiver that identifies the patient, a patient temperature management device (or related device such as one or more hoses, heat wraps, etc.), one or more mobility aids that the patient is expected to use, and / or other types of user devices.

[0135] In embodiments in which the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to perform UWB ranging using an infusion pump, the patient support apparatus 20 and the patient support apparatus server 84 are configured to perform any of the functions associated with the infusion pump described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 349,369, filed June 6, 2022, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al., entitled "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In embodiments in which the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to perform UWB ranging using a portable exit detection sensor, another patient support apparatus, and / or an attachable nurse call device, the patient support apparatus 20 and the patient support apparatus server 84 may be configured to perform any of the functions associated with the portable exit detection sensor, the nurse call device, and the secondary patient support apparatus disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 352,061, filed June 15, 2022, by inventors Gerald Trepanier et al., entitled "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0136] For all UWB devices for which the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to determine location (i.e., perform UWB ranging), the control unit 140 of the patient support apparatus 20 uses the relative position information to determine how to interact with these devices, including whether to associate with them. When the control unit 140 associates the patient support apparatus 20 with one or more of these devices, the control unit 140 and / or the server 84 may display data from these devices on the display 52 and / or another display device; automatically route data from one or more of these devices to one or more appropriate destinations, and / or perform other actions, as described in more detail below; retrieve data relating to one or more of these devices from the patient support apparatus server 84, the EMR server 92, and / or the badge server 94 via the network transceiver 96; send one or more signals from these devices to the communication outlet 64 (via cable 66 or via a linked locator unit 60); forward one or more signals from the outlet 64 to one or more of these devices; retrieve data from the EMR server 92 generated by these devices; retrieve data from these devices via another path independent of the EMR server 92; and / or perform other actions.

[0137] As described above, with respect to the locator unit 60, the controller 140 is configured to determine whether to automatically associate the patient support apparatus 20 with a particular locator unit 60 based on whether both the locator unit 60 and the patient support apparatus 20 (or a reference point thereon) are located within a common volume (e.g., volume 152a in FIG. 4 ). With respect to the user device 100, the controller 140 is configured to determine whether to automatically associate the patient support apparatus 20 with a particular user device 100 based on whether the user device 100 is positioned within a predetermined volume surrounding the patient support apparatus 20, such as volume 152b in FIG. 4 . With respect to the caregiver badge 142, the controller 140 is configured to determine whether to automatically associate the patient support apparatus 20 with a particular caregiver badge 142 based on whether the caregiver badge 142 is positioned within another predetermined volume surrounding the patient support apparatus 20, such as volume 152c in FIG. 4 . If the patient support apparatus 20 is configured to associate with further devices, the control unit 140 determines whether to associate with those other devices based on whether those other devices are located within one or more predetermined volumetric spaces that surround the patient support apparatus 20 and that may be the same as or different from one or more of the volumetric spaces 152 shown in FIG. 4 (and / or which may be different from each other).

[0138] Once a device, such as the locator unit 60, user device 100, or caregiver badge 142, is associated with the patient support apparatus 20, it will remain associated with the patient support apparatus 20 until it moves outside of a particular volume, such as volumes 152a-152c in FIG. 4, at which point the controller 140 disassociates the device from the patient support apparatus 20. That is, the controller 140 repeatedly determines and monitors the location of the device while within UWB communication range, and if the device moves outside of the corresponding volume 152, the controller 140 automatically disassociates the device from the patient support apparatus 20. For example, the controller 140 may perform such automatic disassociation if the patient support apparatus 20 moves such that the locator unit 60 is no longer within volume 152a (as defined relative to the patient support apparatus 20), or if the patient support apparatus 20 moves such that it is no longer within volume 152a (as defined relative to the locator unit 60). Similarly, if the user device 100 moves, for example, outside the volume space portion 152b defined around the associated patient support apparatus 20, the control unit 140 can automatically disassociate the user device 100 from the patient support apparatus 20.

[0139] In some embodiments, the controller 140 may use a modified volume, such as, but not limited to, a larger volume, when determining whether to automatically disassociate a device from the patient support apparatus 20. In other words, when a device, such as the locator unit 60, the user device 100, and / or the caregiver badge 142, is determined to be located inside a particular volume, such as volumes 152a-152c (and any further association conditions, if present, are met), the controller 140 may increase the size of the volume 152 and / or otherwise change one or more dimensions of the volume 152 when determining whether to associate the device with the patient support apparatus 20 and then automatically disassociate the device from the patient support apparatus 20. In this manner, the volume 152 may have a type of hysteresis whereby a device must be located inside the smaller volume in order to be associated with the patient support apparatus 20, but can then only be disassociated if it moves outside the larger sized volume. An example of this type of hysteresis effect is shown in FIG. 12 of commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 356,242, filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION AND LOCATION SYSTEM," the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some embodiments, the controller 140 can be configured to utilize the hysteresis effect and / or perform any of the patient support apparatus functions disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 356,242. In yet other embodiments, the controller 140 can use the same dimensions for the volume 152 for both association and disassociation purposes.

[0140] In some embodiments, volumes 152a-152c (FIG. 4) are defined relative to the patient support apparatus 20 and therefore move as the patient support apparatus 20 moves. Volume 152a, which may be the smallest of volumes 152, is generally used for automatic association and disassociation between the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit 60. Volume 152b is generally used for automatic association and disassociation between the patient support apparatus 20 and the user device 100. Volume 152c is generally used by the controller 140 for automatic association and disassociation between the patient support apparatus 20 and the badge 142. It will be appreciated that the controller 140 may utilize other volumes 152 other than the three shown in FIG. 4.

[0141] Volume 152c is typically sized to encompass substantially all of the room 58 in which the patient support apparatus 20 is located, or at least the portion of the room in which a healthcare professional wearing badge 142 is expected to be present, particularly during the healthcare professional's attendance at the patient assigned to the patient support apparatus 20 and / or the patient support apparatus 20 itself. In some circumstances, volume 152c may be large enough to extend into adjacent rooms 58, although this does not affect the proper association of badge 142 with the patient support apparatus 20 unless the healthcare professional can gain access to those rooms without exiting volume 152b before traveling to those rooms. In other words, volume 152c may be advantageously defined so that moving a person's badge 142 out of room 58 through a doorway necessarily moves badge 142 out of volume 152c, thereby disassociating badge 142 from the patient support apparatus 20.

[0142] In some embodiments, any of the volumes 152a-152c (FIG. 4) may be defined by one or more static dimensions. In other embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 and / or the patient support apparatus server 84 may be configured to allow authorized individuals to modify one or more dimensions of the volumes 152a-152c. Additionally, in some embodiments, the volumes 152a-152c may have variable dimensions based on the particular room, bay, or other location in which the patient support apparatus 20 is currently located. In these embodiments, the controller 140 may utilize a table stored in the memory 134 that defines the dimensions of any of the volumes 152a-152c based on the current location of the patient support apparatus 20. The location of the patient support apparatus 20 may be determined by the controller 140 from the locator unit ID 122 received from the associated locator unit 60 and / or may be derived from information received from the patient support apparatus server 84.

[0143] It will be understood that the dimensions of any volume 152 may be variable, customizable, location-dependent, and / or may differ from those shown in Figure 4. Although all of the accompanying figures depict all of the volumes 152 as having rectangular shapes, it will also be understood that these shapes may vary, including shapes that are all curved and / or shapes that have a combination of curved and straight boundaries. In some embodiments, such as when the patient support apparatus 20 has only a single UWB transceiver 132, the volume 152 may be spherical.

[0144] In some embodiments, the controller 140 may be configured to allow a user device 100 to be associated with a patient support apparatus 20 via a manual process in addition to the automatic association process described above. For manual processing, a caregiver must manually inform the patient support apparatus 20 that a particular user device 100 should now be associated with that patient support apparatus 20. This manual process can be accomplished in different ways. For example, in some embodiments, the user device 100 and the patient support apparatus 20 may have near-field transceivers that, when positioned within close proximity (e.g., within a few inches) of each other, exchange information establishing that a particular user device 100 should be associated with that particular patient support apparatus. Further details regarding the use of a near-field transceiver to associate a user device 100 with a patient support apparatus 20 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 352,061, filed June 14, 2022, by inventors Jerald Trepanier et al., entitled "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES," the complete disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

[0145] Other types of manual association processes may also or alternatively be used. For example, in some embodiments, if the user device 100a is a conventional mobile phone, it may be manually associated with the patient support apparatus 20 by connecting a conventional USB cable between the user device 100a and the patient support apparatus 20. As another alternative, if the user device 100a is a conventional mobile phone, when the mobile phone's UWB transceiver 158 detects its proximity to the patient support apparatus 20, the software application 168 may be configured to automatically display a message on the mobile phone's display asking the user (e.g., the patient) if they wish to pair their phone with the patient support apparatus 20. Such pairing may be accomplished by the controller 140 displaying a four-digit code (or a code having a different number of digits) on the display of the patient support apparatus 20 (e.g., display 52), which the user is then requested to enter into their mobile phone to complete and confirm the pairing (and association) process. Alternatively, the controller 140 can be configured to audibly announce the code via one or more speakers mounted on the patient support apparatus 20 and audibly instruct the user to enter the code into their mobile phone. The controller 140 can also or alternatively cause one or more lights on the patient support apparatus 20 to flash, and the software application 168 prompts the user to confirm on the user's phone that the patient support apparatus 20 with the flashing light is the one the user wants to pair with. Still other types of manual association processes can be used (some of which are also disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 352,061).

[0146] In some embodiments, if the user device 100a is a conventional mobile phone, the user may be required to install a software application 168 on the mobile phone to enable automatic association with the patient support apparatus 20. Alternatively, in some embodiments, if the user device 100a is a mobile phone, the mobile phone may have built-in functionality for pairing with UWB devices, and the controller 140 may associate itself with the mobile phone without installing a software app 168. However, regardless of whether a software app 168 is required to associate the patient support apparatus 20 with the mobile phone, the software app 168 may be configured to enable a user (e.g., a patient) to more easily communicate with the caregiver(s) assigned to that particular user, as described in more detail below with respect to FIGS.

[0147] Depending on whether the mobile phone is Android®-based, Apple®-based, or built with another platform, the user can install the software app 168 in any conventional manner by navigating to the Google Play® Store, the Apple® Store, or a similar store. In some embodiments of the patient support apparatus 20, the controller 140 can be configured to display information to the user to facilitate installation of the software app 168 on the user's device. Such information can include a QR code, a URL, and / or other information for downloading the software app 168. Indeed, in some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 can store a copy of the app 168 and transfer it directly to the user device 100a.

[0148] Once software app 168 (FIG. 5) is installed on user device 100a, software app 168 is configured to provide the user with enhanced capabilities to communicate with one or more remotely located caregivers. In some embodiments, software app 168 is configured to display a home screen, such as home screen 200 shown in FIG. 6. Home screen 200 includes a send message option 202, an in-room control option 204, an emergency call option 206, and a non-emergency call option 208. In response to a user touching or otherwise activating send message option 202, software app 168 is configured to cause controller 156 to display a message screen, such as message screen 210 of FIG. 7. In response to a user touching or otherwise activating in-room control option 204, software app 168 is configured to cause controller 156 to display an in-room control screen, such as in-room control screen 220 of FIG. 8. In response to a user touching or otherwise activating the emergency call option 206, the software app 168 is configured to cause the controller 156 to display an emergency call screen, such as the emergency call screen 230 of Figure 9. In response to a user touching or otherwise activating the non-emergency call option 208, the software app 168 is configured to cause the controller 156 to automatically place a call to a caregiver assigned to the patient associated with the user device 100a.

[0149] 7 includes a plurality of messages 212a-212g, including an "I'm thirsty" message 212a, an "I'm hungry" message 212b, an "I'm with chest pain" message 212c, an "I want to sit up" message 212d, an "I need to roll over" message 212e, an "I'm hot" message 212f, and an "I'm cold" message 212g. Of course, it will be understood that the specific messages 212a-212g shown in FIG. 7 may be modified. When a user touches or otherwise activates one of these messages 212a-212g, the software app 168 is configured to direct the controller 156 to send the message to the particular caregiver(s) assigned to care for the particular patient associated with that user device 100a (e.g., mobile phone). As described in more detail below, the controller 140 and / or the patient support device server 84 are configured to automatically determine the caregiver(s) assigned to the particular patient and automatically route the message from the particular patient's mobile phone to the appropriate caregiver(s).

[0150] The in-room control screen 220 (FIG. 8) includes multiple in-room control options 222a-222e. Each in-room control option 222 allows a user (e.g., a patient) to control a different aspect of the room 58 in which they are located. The volume up room option 222a increases the volume of the television 72 in the room. The volume down option 222b decreases the volume of the television 72. The channel up option 222c causes the television 72 to change channels by switching to the next higher channel. The channel down option 222d causes the television 72 to change channels by switching to the next lower channel. The light level option 222e changes the light intensity of the in-room light 74 (e.g., can progress in a looping manner so that its brightness increases, then turns off, then increases again). In some embodiments, the in-room control screen 220 may include a separate option 222 for turning on the in-room light 74, a separate option 222 for turning off the in-room light 74, and / or a separate option for controlling brightness. Additional control options may also be included for controlling the reading light 76.

[0151] The emergency call screen 230 (FIG. 9) includes a single message indicating that an emergency call is being made to the patient's caregiver. The user does not need to take any additional action to make this emergency call. The software app 168 is configured to receive this call in response to the user selecting the emergency call option 206. Although not shown in the accompanying drawings, the software app 168 may be configured to cause the control unit 156 to display a separate non-emergency call screen (not shown). Alternatively, the software app 168 may be configured to make a non-emergency call to the patient's caregiver in response to the user selecting the non-emergency option 208 (FIG. 6) without displaying a separate screen. In some embodiments, the difference between an emergency call and a non-emergency call is the recipient or recipients to which the call is directed. For example, an emergency call, in some embodiments, may be directed to multiple people, and the call is established when any one of the multiple people answers first, while a non-emergency call may be directed only to the person sending the signal. Other differences between emergency and non-emergency calls may also or alternatively be implemented. In some embodiments, there may be no distinction between the two types of calls, and the software app 168 may be modified to display only a single (emergency and non-emergency) call option on the home screen 200.

[0152] In response to a user selecting one of the options 222 on screen 220 (FIG. 8), the software app 168 is configured to transmit an in-room control message to the patient support apparatus 20 using the UWB transceiver 158 (although in some embodiments, the user device 100a may have a Bluetooth® transceiver, in which case the controller 156 may transmit the message using the Bluetooth® transceiver). The content of the in-room control message corresponds to the content of the particular in-room control option 222 selected by the user. In order for the controller 156 to transmit this in-room control message to the patient support apparatus 20, the controller 156 must first associate with the patient support apparatus 20. This association process provides the controller 156 with an address or other identification (e.g., patient support apparatus ID 130) that uniquely identifies the associated patient support apparatus 20, allowing the controller 156 to specifically address the in-room control message to the particular patient support apparatus 20 with which it is associated. In other words, any other patient support apparatus 20 located within communication range will ignore the in-room control message since it is not addressed to them.

[0153] After the controller 140 of the patient support apparatus 20 receives the in-room control message, it determines (e.g., based on the ID 166 included in the message) that the message is from the associated user device 100a. After the controller 140 determines that the message is from the associated user device 100a, it responds to the message in the same manner as it would respond to activation of a corresponding in-room control 50 integrated within the patient support apparatus 20 (or a corresponding control 50 from a corresponding pendant). For example, the controller 140 responds to a volume up control message from the user device 100a in the same manner as it would respond to activation of the volume up control 50l (FIG. 3) on the control panel 54c (or pendant 100b). The controller 140 responds to a volume down in-room control message from the user device 100a in the same manner as it would respond to activation of the volume down control 50m on the control panel 54c (or pendant 100b). The controller 140 responds to channel up and channel down control messages from the user device 100a, as well as to activation of the channel up and channel down controls 50n and 50o, respectively, on the control panel 54c (or pendant 100b). Similarly, the controller 140 may respond to room light control messages from the user device 100a, as well as to activation of the room light control 50t on the control panel 54c (or pendant 100b).

[0154] In response to a user selecting either the message option 212 on the screen 210 (FIG. 7) or the phone option 206, 208 on the home screen 200 (FIG. 6), the software app 168 may be configured to perform various actions in various embodiments. In a first embodiment, if the user device 100a is a mobile phone or tablet computer with mobile phone service, the software app 168 instructs the controller 156 to use the mobile phone service to send a text message (corresponding to one of options 212a-212g) to the patient's caregiver or to place a phone call to the patient's caregiver (depending on option 206 or 208). In a second embodiment, if the user device 100a is a mobile phone or tablet computer with mobile phone service, the software app 168 may be instructed to send a text message and / or place a phone call without using mobile phone service. In the first embodiment, the software app 168 automatically provides the caregiver's mobile phone number to the patient's mobile phone (or tablet computer) so that the patient does not need to enter the caregiver's mobile phone number into their mobile phone. The software app 168 also automatically updates the caregiver's phone number during a caregiver shift change (or other change in caregiver work assignment) so that patient messages and / or calls are automatically sent to the correct caregiver. In a second embodiment, the software app 168 does not need to know the caregiver's actual mobile phone number because the calls and / or messages are sent to their intended destination without using the cellular network.

[0155] Moving to the first embodiment, the caregiver's mobile phone number may be maintained within a server in the network 80, such as the caregiver assignment server 104 or another server. Regardless of which particular server the phone numbers are stored in, the patient support apparatus server 84 is configured to retrieve these phone numbers. As previously mentioned, the patient support apparatus server 84 is also configured to automatically determine which caregivers are assigned to which patients using communications with one or more of the caregiver assignment server 104, the ADT server 102, and / or the EMR server 92. After the patient support apparatus 20 determines which caregivers are currently assigned to which patients and / or which caregivers are currently assigned to which rooms 58 within the healthcare facility, the patient support apparatus 20 sends the phone number of the assigned caregiver to a patient support apparatus 20 assigned to one of that caregiver's patients. In other words, the patient support apparatus server 84 can be configured to determine, for example, that caregiver A is assigned to patient B, patient B is assigned to room X, and patient support apparatus Y is located within room X, and automatically send the cell phone number of caregiver A to patient support apparatus Y. Once patient support apparatus Y has this particular phone number, it automatically shares (and updates) this particular phone number with the user device 100a after the user device 100a is associated with the patient support apparatus 20, and the user device 100a stops sharing and updating this particular phone number with the patient support apparatus 20 after it disassociates from the patient support apparatus 20. In this way, the software app 168 can automatically provide the correct phone number of the caregiver assigned to that particular patient, and this phone number can be automatically updated when shift changes or other caregiver assignment changes occur.

[0156] Moving to the second embodiment, the software app 168 is configured to send a text or phone request to its associated patient support apparatus 20 in response to the patient selecting the message option 222 or the phone option 206 or 208, respectively. If the user device 100a is not associated with a patient support apparatus 20 when the patient selects the message option 222 or the phone option 206, 208, the software app 168 does not send the text or phone request to the patient support apparatus 20. After the associated patient support apparatus 20 receives the text and / or phone request message, the associated patient support apparatus 20 responds by forwarding the message to the patient support apparatus server 84 using its network transceiver 96. The forwarded message includes the locator ID 122 of the locator unit 60 associated with the patient support apparatus 20 and / or the message includes the patient support apparatus ID 130 for that patient support apparatus 20. The patient support apparatus server 84 is configured to automatically determine where to send the call or text request message based on the specific location of the patient support apparatus 20 within the healthcare facility, with data correlating that specific location to one or more specific caregiver phones, badges 142, and / or other destinations.

[0157] 5, after the patient support apparatus 20 forwards the text or phone request message to the patient support apparatus server 84 on the local area network 80, the patient support apparatus server 84 is configured to route those messages to several potential different destinations, including one or more non-interactive displays 240a, one or more interactive displays 240b, one or more caregiver badges 142, one or more caregiver phones and / or computers 242, and / or the nurse call system 70. The server 84 is configured to route these messages to one or more different destinations based on its communications with one or more other servers on the network 80 and / or based on different customization settings that may be implemented by authorized personnel at the medical facility.

[0158] Generally, the server 84 is configured to automatically determine which particular patient each particular user device 100a is associated with, and from that information, to automatically determine which caregiver is assigned to that particular patient, and from that information, to automatically determine which device (e.g., badge 142, caregiver mobile phone 242, display 242, etc.) should receive that particular caregiver's patient information.

[0159] The server 84 then sends the call or text request message to that particular device. The server 84 determines where to automatically send the call or text request message by collecting data from one or more additional servers on the network 80. For example, the server 84 may be configured to receive patient-room correlation data from the ADT server 102, where such data indicates a particular room in which a particular patient is located. In some embodiments, the server 84 may also be configured to receive caregiver-room correlation data or caregiver-patient correlation data from a caregiver assignment server 104 (which may be part of the nurse call system 70), where such data indicates a particular caregiver(s) assigned to a particular patient and / or a particular room. The server 84 may also be configured to receive caregiver-badge correlation data from the badge server 94, where such data indicates a particular caregiver associated with each particular badge 142. As previously mentioned, the server 84 may be configured to receive caregiver-phone correlation data from the badge server 94 or another server, such as another server on the network 80, where such data indicates a particular phone (including a phone number) associated with each particular caregiver.

[0160] In addition to the aforementioned data from other servers on network 80, patient support apparatus server 84 is further configured to receive caregiver-to-display or room-to-display correlation data from authorized personnel at the healthcare facility. Such data can be transferred to server 84 using any conventional computer that has access to network 80 and is authorized to communicate with server 84. The caregiver-to-display or room-to-display correlation data indicates what particular displays 240 are associated with a particular room or particular caregiver within the healthcare facility.

[0161] In some embodiments, the patient support device server 84 is configured to determine patient-room, patient-bed, patient-bed, patient-bay, patient-caregiver, caregiver-room, caregiver-patient support device, and / or caregiver-bay correlations in any of the ways disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 62 / 826,097, filed March 29, 2019, by inventors Thomas Durlach et al., entitled "PATIENT CARE SYSTEM," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0162] Using all of the aforementioned correlation data, the patient support apparatus server 84 is configured to automatically determine to which device an incoming text request and / or phone request message should be sent. The server 84 then routes the request message to the appropriate device. Thus, for example, if a patient sends a text request message, the text request message may be automatically sent to the badge 142 associated with the particular caregiver assigned to that particular patient. If a healthcare facility does not use badges 142 or if the healthcare facility wants to configure the server 84 differently, the server 84 can be customized to, for example, send the text request message to the cell phone 242 of the particular caregiver assigned to that particular patient. Alternatively, or in addition, the healthcare facility can customize the server 84 to display the text request message on one or more displays 240. That is, the patient support apparatus server 84 can be configured by authorized personnel at the healthcare facility to control where a patient's text request messages (and phone request messages) are sent within the healthcare facility.

[0163] After sending the call request message, the software app 168 can be configured to instruct the controller 156 to communicate a subsequent audio signal from the patient's voice (generated from the microphone 160) to the intended recipient using conventional Voice over IP (VoIP) communication protocols. In some embodiments, the VoIP signal is transmitted from the user device 100a to the patient support apparatus 20 (using either UWB and / or Bluetooth® communication), from the patient support apparatus 20 to the network 80 (e.g., the server 84) using WiFi® communication, and from the network 80 to the intended recipient using WiFi® and / or Ethernet communication.

[0164] The software app 168 makes it easy and convenient for patients to use their personal phone 100a (or tablet, etc.) to communicate with their caregivers, even when there are caregiver shift changes. The software app 168 allows patients to communicate with caregivers without requiring them to enter the caregiver's phone number, badge ID, or other information into their personal phone 100a. Instead, once the patient places their phone 100a within a given volume 152b of the patient support apparatus 20, the software app 168 communicates with the patient support apparatus 20 and the patient support apparatus server 84 to determine which caregiver is currently assigned to that particular patient (or room). Furthermore, the patient support apparatus server 84 automatically determines the phone number, badge ID, and / or other information needed to communicate with that particular caregiver. Thereafter, as long as the patient's phone 100a remains associated with the patient's patient support apparatus 20, any texts or calls the user makes using their phone 100a will be sent to the network 80 and automatically routed to the correct caregiver's device 242, badge 142 and / or display 240. Additionally, because the patient support apparatus server 84 is in near real-time communication with the caregiver assignment server 104 and / or other servers on the network 80, if there is a shift change, the server 84 is notified of the change and automatically adjusts the location to which the patient's calls and / or texts are sent.

[0165] It will be appreciated that the above-described automatic transfer of a patient's calls and / or texts to the appropriate caregiver differs from conventional nurse call systems currently in existence. In such conventional systems, when a user presses a button or other control on the patient support apparatus 20 or a pendant connected thereto, such as control 50g (FIG. 3), the patient support apparatus 20 sends a signal to the communication outlet 64, which in turn sends a signal via conductors 68 to the conventional nurse call system. Audio signals are then communicated back and forth between the nurse call system 70 and the patient support apparatus 20 via conductors 68 and through the outlet 64. In many conventional medical facilities, this communication is only half-duplex and may have poor audio quality. Furthermore, this communication is only operational if the nurse call cable 66 is properly connected to the outlet 64 and either the patient support apparatus 20 or the locator unit 60. In contrast, the system of the present disclosure not only provides full-duplex communication, but also allows patients to send text messages, eliminating the need to plug in cables and allowing patients to communicate using their own personal user device 100a (e.g., phone, tablet, etc.).

[0166] In some embodiments, because a patient can communicate with their caregiver using the user device 100a, the patient support apparatus 20 can omit its traditional nurse call interface 154 (FIG. 5), as noted. In other embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 can include both the nurse call interface 154 and the ability to communicate with the user device 100a, thereby providing the patient with potentially two different methods of communication with their caregiver. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the controller 140 can be configured to utilize both communication methods in certain situations (e.g., emergency calls). That is, for example, when a user presses the emergency call option 206 (FIG. 6) on the user device 100a, the controller 140 can be configured to route the user's phone call to the patient support apparatus server 84 using the network transceiver 96 and to the nurse call system 70 using the nurse call interface 154.

[0167] The displays 240 (FIG. 5) may take a variety of different forms. Some displays 240 may be portable display devices, while other displays 240 may be stationary displays that generally remain in one location. Portable displays include laptop computers, Computers on Wheels (CoWs), etc. Fixed displays may include large-screen smart televisions (e.g., with WiFi or network capabilities), personal computer displays, and others. The fixed displays 240 may be associated with a particular unit of the healthcare facility, a particular nursing station, wing, floor, and / or other section of the healthcare facility. This information is provided to the patient support apparatus server 84, so that the server 84 can automatically determine whether information from a particular patient should be displayed on a particular display. As mentioned, in some embodiments, the patient support apparatus server 84 allows for customization of what information is displayed on the displays 240 by authorized personnel at the healthcare facility. So, for example, if a patient sends the phrase "I'm thirsty," the medical facility can choose whether to automatically display this phrase on one or more displays 240, or simply forward it to a particular caregiver's (or caregivers') phone / tablet 242, badge 142, or other device.

[0168] In some embodiments, the display 240, whether fixed or portable, can communicate with the patient support apparatus server 84 via a conventional web browser. However, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments, some or all of the display 240 can be modified to run specialized or native software applications that are downloaded to the display and modified to run by the display's particular operating system.

[0169] In some embodiments, the controller 140 can be configured to display data from and / or process data from a user device 100a associated with the patient support apparatus 20 in either the manner described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 306,279, filed February 3, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al., entitled "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES," or commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 426,450, filed November 18, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al., entitled "COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES."

[0170] In some embodiments, if the user device 100b is a pendant-type user device, the pendant user device 100b can be configured to provide feedback to the user regarding the relative proximity of the pendant to the patient support apparatus 20. For example, if the pendant 100b is moved beyond a threshold distance from the patient support apparatus 20 (e.g., outside a particular volume 152), the pendant can be configured to vibrate and / or flash one or more lights. The patient support apparatus 20 can additionally or alternatively be configured to flash one or more lights and / or emit an audible alert. The flashing lights, vibration, and / or audible alert alert the caregiver and / or patient that the pendant has moved too far from the patient support apparatus 20 and should soon disassociate from the patient support apparatus 20. In some embodiments, additional and / or different alerts can be provided when the pendant 100b actually moves too far from the patient support apparatus 20 and disassociates from the patient support apparatus 20.

[0171] In some embodiments, when the pendant is moved close enough to the patient support apparatus 20 to initially associate with the patient support apparatus, the pendant 100b and / or the patient support apparatus 20 can be configured to flash one or more lights, vibrate, and / or emit an audible indication so that the user knows that the pendant 100b is associated with that particular patient support apparatus 20.

[0172] Because each patient support apparatus 20 repeatedly attempts to measure the distance to any UWB devices (such as user device 100) within communication range and repeatedly updates its associated or disassociated status with any of those UWB devices within communication range, any pendant user device 100b can be used by a caregiver as a universal pendant. That is, a single pendant 100b can be moved from one room to another, such that the pendant automatically associates with the patient support apparatus 20 upon the caregiver's entry into the other room (or other proximity to the patient support apparatus 20) and automatically disassociates from the patient support apparatus upon the caregiver's departure from the room (or other proximity to the patient support apparatus 20). When associated with a particular patient support apparatus 20, commands from the pendant 100b are directed only to that particular patient support apparatus 20 and not to other patient support apparatuses 20. In this way, the pendant 100b automatically switches to control only the patient support apparatus 20 that is in close proximity to the caregiver, thereby enabling the caregiver to use a single pendant 100b to control each of the patient support apparatuses 20 of the patients they are caring for.

[0173] 10 illustrates a communication diagram of several components of the patient support apparatus system of the present disclosure. More specifically, it illustrates an example of several types of communication that may occur between the patient support apparatus 20, the patient's user device 100a, the server 84, and the caregiver's phone / tablet 242 and / or badge 142. As illustrated herein, in some embodiments, the caregiver may log into the server 84 using their device 242 and / or badge 142 in step 250 and, in response, receive their assigned location and / or patient (step 252). Step 254 illustrates an automatic association process between the user's device 100a and the patient support apparatus 20, and step 256 illustrates sending this association status to the server 84. In some embodiments, the server 84 may be configured to automatically send a notification to the caregiver's phone / tablet 242 and / or badge 142 in step 258 when the patient moves to a new location (e.g., to the bathroom, out of their room, exits the patient support apparatus 20, etc.). Such movement may be detected through movement of the patient user device 100a (although exit from the patient support apparatus 20 may also or alternatively be detected by the exit detection system 136).

[0174] Step 260 (FIG. 10) illustrates commands from the patient's phone 100a being sent to the patient support apparatus 20 and acted upon by the patient support apparatus 20 (e.g., any of the in-room control options 204, commands to move components of the patient support apparatus 20, and / or other commands). In some embodiments, data identifying these commands is sent to the server 84 in step 262, which records this data. In this manner, the server 84 builds a database of patient commands for use with each patient support apparatus 20. This database can be used for diagnostic purposes, service purposes, and / or to design future improvements to the software app 168, the patient support apparatus 20, and / or the server 84.

[0175] Step 264 illustrates the process described above in which data from the patient's phone 100a is sent to the patient support apparatus 20 (step 264) and forwarded to the server 84 (step 266). This data may include text, voice calls, and / or other data. In step 268, the server 84 sends the data to the appropriate destination, such as one or more caregiver phones / tablets 242, badges 142, etc. In some embodiments, the server 84 may record the data (and / or characteristics of that data) received in step 266. The data may then be analyzed by the server 84 to determine patterns, such as which particular patients and / or which requests (texts) are most / least common. In some embodiments, the server 84 records the number of messages sent between the patient and caregiver, response times, a heat map of movements, and / or other information.

[0176] In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 and / or the server 84 may be configured to monitor and record the patient's movements (via the phone 100a). This is shown in FIG. 10 at steps 270, 272, and 274. In step 270, the location of the caregiver's phone 100a is sent to the patient support apparatus 20. This location information may be determined using a UWB transceiver or may use other location determination techniques. In step 272, the patient support apparatus 20 forwards the location of the patient's phone 100a to the server 84, which forwards this location to the appropriate caregiver's badge 142 or phone / tablet 242 in step 274. The server 84 also records this location information, thereby generating a record of all locations the patient has traveled to within the healthcare facility.

[0177] While the above description has focused on communicating data between one or more user devices 100a and the patient support device server 84 using the patient support device 20 as a communications intermediary, it will be appreciated that this may be modified in some embodiments so that the associated locator unit 60 functions as a communications intermediary in addition to or instead of the patient support device 20. In such an embodiment, a call from a patient's user device 100a may be routed from the user device 100a to the associated locator unit 60, from that locator unit 60 to the network 80, and from the network 80 to the badge 142, caregiver phone / tablet 242, and / or display 240. The caregiver's audio signals are routed back to the user device 100a via the same path.

[0178] It will also be appreciated that in some embodiments, any of the functionality of the software app 168 may be incorporated within the patient support apparatus 20 itself, thereby avoiding the need for a separate user device 100a to be associated with the patient support apparatus 20. In such an embodiment, the patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to display any one or more of the options 202, 204, 206, and / or 208 on its display 52 (or another display) to achieve the same functionality as described herein.

[0179] In some embodiments, UWB transceivers 125, 132, 158, and 178 (FIG. 5) may operate in the same manner, and have any of the same functions, as the anchors and pseudo-anchors disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 193,777, filed May 27, 2021, by inventors Thomas Deeds et al., entitled "SYSTEM FOR ASSOCIATING MEDICAL DEVICE DATA," the complete disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference. In some embodiments, locator unit 60 may operate in the same manner, and have any of the same functions as the anchors and pseudo-anchors disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 63 / 193,777, filed May 27, 2021, by inventors Thomas Deeds et al., entitled "PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE NETWORKS," by inventors Alexander Bodulka. No. 63 / 132,514, filed December 31, 2020, by inventor Celso Pereira et al., or U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 154,677, filed February 27, 2021, by inventor Celso Pereira et al., entitled "SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE LOCATION," configured to determine the location of a device (e.g., user device 100, badge 142), the complete disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0180] While the foregoing description primarily depicts the controller 140 determining whether to associate or disassociate a patient support apparatus 20 with one or more user devices 100, badges 142, and / or locator units 60, it will be appreciated that the association and / or disassociation processes can alternatively, partially, and / or additionally be performed by the patient support apparatus server 84. In such an embodiment, the controller 140 forwards relative position information regarding these devices to the patient support apparatus server 84, such that the server 84 can determine whether a particular device should be associated with a particular patient support apparatus 20. In such an embodiment, the server 84 sends messages back to the patient support apparatus 20 informing it of which devices the patient support apparatus 20 should and should not be associated with.

[0181] 5 illustrates two user devices 100a and 100b, it should be understood that this is for illustrative purposes only. One user device (100a or 100b) or more than two user devices (100a or 100b) can be associated with the patient support apparatus 20.

[0182] In some embodiments, the control unit 140 is configured to automatically associate itself with any one or more of the devices disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 154,677, filed February 27, 2021, by inventors Celso Pereira et al., entitled "SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE LOCATION," the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0183] In some embodiments, the locator unit 60 may have additional information stored thereon that is shared with the patient support apparatus 20 when the patient support apparatus 20 becomes associated with the locator unit 60. Such additional information may include location information that identifies the relative location of the locator unit 60 with respect to one or more other nearby locator units 60. Additionally or alternatively, the locator unit 60 may have information regarding the thickness and / or material of the wall 62 to which it is attached, such information providing the patient support apparatus 20 with an indication of the amount of attenuation that a UWB signal will experience when traveling through that wall. Additionally or alternatively, locator units 60 may include information identifying their general location within the healthcare facility (e.g., room 400, bay A of room 302, hallway X, service area Y, radiology, emergency department, etc.) and / or information identifying a more specific location of locator unit 60 within the healthcare facility (e.g., a set of X, Y, Z coordinates within a reference coordinate system having all or a portion of the healthcare facility; height above wall 62, distance from one or more landmarks and / or architectural features within the healthcare facility, and / or other more specific information). In some embodiments, patient support apparatus 20 is configured to use this information to determine its location within the healthcare facility and / or to determine whether it is positioned on the same side of wall 62 as a particular locator unit 60. In some embodiments, the patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator unit 60 may have any of the same structure, function, and / or features of any of the patient support apparatus and / or wall units disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 245,245, filed September 17, 2021, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al., entitled "SYSTEM FOR LOCATING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSE," the complete disclosure of which has been previously incorporated by reference into this specification.

[0184] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the use of the term "transceiver" throughout this specification is not intended to be limited to devices in which the transmitter and receiver are necessarily in the same housing or share some circuitry. Instead, the term "transceiver" is used broadly herein to refer to both structures in which circuitry is shared between the transmitter and receiver, and transmitters and receivers in which the transmitter and receiver do not share circuitry and / or a common housing. Thus, the term "transceiver" refers to any device having a transmitter component and a receiver component, regardless of whether the two components are a common entity, separate entities, or have some overlap in their structure.

[0185] Various additional modifications and variations may be made to the foregoing embodiments beyond those already described herein. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be construed as an exhaustive description of all embodiments or to limit the scope of the claims to the particular elements shown or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, but not by way of limitation, any individual element(s) of the described embodiments may be replaced by an alternative element providing substantially the same function or otherwise performing the appropriate operation. This includes, for example, currently known alternative elements, as currently known in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future as art becomes aware of such alternatives. Any reference to a claim element in the singular, for example, using the articles "a," "an," "the," or "said," should not be construed as limiting the element to the singular.

Claims

1. 1. A patient support apparatus comprising: the patient support apparatus comprising: a support surface configured to support a patient; an ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a user device; a network transceiver configured to communicate with a medical facility computer network; a controller configured to use UWB communications between the UWB transceiver and the user device to determine whether the user device is positioned within a first distance from the patient support apparatus, the controller configured to transfer data from the user device to a server on the healthcare facility network when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus, and to not transfer the data to the server when the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus.

2. 10. The patient support apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to use UWB communication between the UWB transceiver and a fixed locator unit to determine whether the fixed locator unit is positioned within a second distance from the patient support apparatus.

3. 3. The patient support apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to transfer the data from the user device to a server on the medical facility network only when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus and the patient support apparatus is positioned within the second distance from the fixed locator unit, and not transfer the data to the server when the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus or when the patient support apparatus is positioned outside the second distance from the fixed locator unit.

4. The patient support apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the data includes an audio signal generated from a microphone on the user device.

5. 10. The patient support apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user device is one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a wireless bed pendant.

6. 2. The patient support apparatus of claim 1, wherein the user device is a wireless bed pendant having a control unit for transmitting wireless operational commands to the patient support apparatus, the control unit being configured to implement the wireless operational commands using at least two different wireless communication protocols only when the wireless bed pendant transmits the wireless operational commands to the patient support apparatus.

7. The patient support apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the at least two different wireless communication protocols include Bluetooth and UWB communication.

8. 3. The patient support apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is further configured to receive a locator unit ID from the fixed locator unit when the fixed locator unit is positioned within the second distance from the patient support apparatus.

9. The patient support apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to transfer the data to the server by transferring the data to the fixed locator unit.

10. The patient support apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the controller is configured to transfer the data to the server by using the network transceiver to transfer the data to the server.

11. The patient support apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the controller is further configured to transfer the locator unit ID to the server.

12. The patient support apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the data comprises an audio signal generated by a microphone on the user device.

13. 13. The patient support apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a first Bluetooth transceiver configured to communicate with a second Bluetooth transceiver integrated into the user device, and wherein the audio signal is transmitted to the patient support apparatus via the first Bluetooth transceiver and the second Bluetooth transceiver.

14. 14. The patient support apparatus of claim 13, wherein the controller is further configured to receive pairing data from the user device via the UWB transceiver when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus, and to use the pairing data to automatically pair the first Bluetooth® transceiver and the second Bluetooth® transceiver together when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus.

15. The patient support apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the network transceiver is a WiFi transceiver.

16. A patient support apparatus system including a patient support apparatus and a server, the patient support apparatus comprising: (a) a support surface configured to support a patient; (b) an ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with a user device; (c) a network transceiver configured to communicate with the server; (d) a controller configured to use UWB communication between the UWB transceiver and the user device to determine whether the user device is positioned within a first distance from a patient support apparatus, the controller further configured to: transfer a location ID and data to the server if the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus; and not transfer the location ID and the data to the server if the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus. The server is configured to use the location ID to determine a destination to send the data from the user device.

17. 17. The patient support apparatus system of claim 16, wherein the server is further configured to communicate with a second server to receive a caregiver ID of a caregiver associated with the patient and use the caregiver ID to determine a destination to send the data to.

18. 20. The patient support apparatus system of claim 17, wherein the server is further configured to communicate with a third server to receive a badge ID of a badge associated with the caregiver and to send the data to the badge.

19. 17. The patient support apparatus system of claim 16, wherein the controller is further configured to use UWB communication between the UWB transceiver and the fixed locator unit to determine whether the fixed locator unit is positioned within a second distance from the patient support apparatus.

20. 20. The patient support apparatus system of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configured to transfer the data from the user device to the server only when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus and the patient support apparatus is positioned within the second distance from the fixed locator unit, and not to transfer the data from the user device to the server when the user device is positioned outside the first distance from the patient support apparatus or when the patient support apparatus is positioned outside the second distance from the fixed locator unit.

21. 17. The patient support apparatus system of claim 16, wherein the data includes an audio signal generated from a microphone on the user device.

22. 17. The patient support apparatus system of claim 16, wherein the user device is one of a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or a wireless bed pendant.

23. 17. The patient support apparatus system of claim 16, wherein the user device is a wireless bed pendant having a control unit for transmitting wireless operational commands to the patient support apparatus, the control unit being configured to implement the wireless operational commands using at least two different wireless communication protocols only when the wireless bed pendant transmits the wireless operational commands to the patient support apparatus.

24. 24. The patient support apparatus system of claim 23, wherein the at least two different wireless communication protocols include Bluetooth and UWB communication.

25. 20. The patient support apparatus system of claim 19, wherein the controller is further configured to receive the location ID from the fixed locator unit when the fixed locator unit is positioned within the second distance from the patient support apparatus.

26. 20. The patient support apparatus system of claim 19, wherein the controller is configured to transfer the data to the server by transferring the data to the fixed locator unit.

27. 17. The patient support apparatus system of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to transfer the data to the server by using the network transceiver to transfer the data to the server.

28. 22. The patient support apparatus system of claim 21, wherein the patient support apparatus further comprises a first Bluetooth® transceiver configured to communicate with a second Bluetooth® transceiver integrated into the user device, and wherein the audio signal is transmitted to the patient support apparatus via the first Bluetooth® transceiver and the second Bluetooth® transceiver.

29. 29. The patient support apparatus system of claim 28, wherein the controller is further configured to receive pairing data from the user device via the UWB transceiver when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus, and to use the pairing data to automatically pair the first Bluetooth transceiver and the second Bluetooth transceiver together when the user device is positioned within the first distance from the patient support apparatus.

30. 17. The patient support apparatus system of claim 16, wherein the network transceiver is a WiFi transceiver.

31. 18. The patient support apparatus system of claim 17, wherein the server is configured to use the location ID to determine multiple destinations for sending the data from the user device.

32. 20. The patient support apparatus system of claim 17, wherein a first destination of the plurality of destinations is a display device mounted in a fixed location within the healthcare facility.

33. 33. The patient support apparatus system of claim 32, wherein a second destination of the plurality of destinations is a portable device configured to be carried by a caregiver assigned to the patient.

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