Patient support apparatus and asset monitoring

Abstract

An asset tracking system includes first and sensing units and a computing device. The first sensing unit senses when a product is stored and unused, while the second sensing unit senses when the product is used. The computing device changes a maintenance counter at different rates depending upon the usage or storage of the product. When the maintenance counter reaches a target, the computing device notifies appropriate personnel of a maintenance event, such as replacement or repair. A patient support apparatus may include the second sensing unit. Alternatively, or additionally, the patient support apparatus may automatically determine when a mattress thereon has been lifted for proper cleaning of the surface underneath the mattress. The patient support apparatus may also, or alternatively, automatically determine when access is gained to an enclosure on the patient support apparatus or on another product, and / or automatically determine when an IV pole is bent.

Description

PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND ASSET MONITORINGCROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application serial number 63 / 615,806 filedDecember 29, 2023, by inventors Michael Graves et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND ASSET MONITORING, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND

[0002] The present disclosure relates to asset tracking systems and patient support apparatuses, such as beds, cots, stretchers, recliners, or the like.SUMMARY

[0003] According to the various aspects described herein, the present disclosure is directed to an asset tracking system that is able to automatically distinguish between times when products in a facility are merely being stored (i.e. not used) and times when those products are in actual use. The system is further designed to change a maintenance counter at different rates depending upon whether the product is in use or in storage. When the maintenance counter reaches a target (e.g. zero), the system notifies appropriate personnel of a maintenance event, such as replacement or repair of the product. In some aspects, a portion of the asset tracking system may be integrated into a patient support apparatus. The present disclosure is also directed to a patient support apparatus that, whether part of the asset tracking system or not, may be configured to automatically determine when a mattress thereon has been lifted for proper cleaning of the surface underneath the mattress. The patient support apparatus may also, or alternatively, automatically determine when access is gained to an enclosure on the patient support apparatus or on another product, and / or automatically determine when an IV pole is bent. These and other aspects of the present disclosure will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art in light of the following written description and the accompanying drawings.

[0004] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an asset tracking system is provided that includes a first sensing unit, a second sensing unit, and a computing device (such as, but not limited to, a server). The first sensing unit is adapted to detect (a) when a product is positioned in a storage area of a healthcare facility and unused, and (b) a product ID of the product. The first sensing unit is further adapted to transmit a first message indicating a first time at which the first sensing unit detects the product positioned in the storage area. The second sensing unit is adapted to detect (a) when the product is put into use, and (b) the product ID. The second sensing unit is also adapted to transmit a second message indicating a second time at which the second sensing unit detects that the product is used. The computing device is in communication with the first and second sensing units and is adapted to perform the following: (1) use the product ID to select a value for a maintenance counter, the value indicating when a maintenance event should be performed for the product; (2) change the maintenance counter at a first rate in response to receipt of the first message; (3) change the maintenance counter at a second and different rate in response to receipt of the second message; and (4) issue a notification when the maintenance counter reaches a target.

[0005] According to other aspects of the present disclosure, the product may be one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a patient support apparatus, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

[0006] The maintenance event, in some aspects, is a replacement of the product or the performance of service on the product.

[0007] In some aspects, the first sensing unit includes a first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver adapted to communicate with a second UWB transceiver coupled to the product.

[0008] The second sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver.

[0009] In some aspects, the second sensing unit is built into a patient support apparatus.

[0010] The second sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a controller adapted to determine a distance between the third UWB transceiver and the second UWB transceiver, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the second message to the computing device.

[0011] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the distance is greater than the threshold.

[0012] The second sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a plurality of UWB transceivers built into a patient support apparatus and adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver, and the second sensing unit is adapted to determine a three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver relative to the patient support apparatus.

[0013] In some aspects, the second sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine if the three- dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is inside or outside of a predetermined volume of space, and to send the second message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is inside the predetermined volume of space.

[0014] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is outside of the predetermined volume of space.

[0015] In some aspects, the second sensing unit includes a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product, and the second UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a distance between the second and third UWB transceivers.

[0016] The second sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a controller adapted to compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is greater than the threshold, to send the second message to the computing device.

[0017] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the distance is less than the threshold.

[0018] The product, in some aspects, is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in storage, and the second and third UWB transceivers are positioned a first distance less than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are folded, and are positioned a second distance more than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

[0019] The computing device, in some aspects, is adapted to return to change the maintenance counter at the first rate in response to the first sensing unit detecting a return of the product to the storage area.

[0020] In some aspects, both the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit are incorporated into a patient support apparatus.

[0021] The computing device, in some aspects, is adapted to receive an estimate of a location of the product when the second message is received.

[0022] In some aspects, the computing device is adapted to receive an estimate of a location of the product from the second sensing unit after the second sensing unit detects when the product is in use.

[0023] In some aspects, the second sensing unit is built into a mattress.

[0024] The second sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a controller adapted to determine a distance between the third UWB transceiver and the second UWB transceiver, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the second message to the computing device.

[0025] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the distance is greater than the threshold.

[0026] The first and second sensing units, in some aspects, include a first UWB transceiver and a second UWBtransceiver, respectively, and the first and second UWB transceivers are adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product.

[0027] The product, in some aspects, is a mattress and the second sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine if a surface of a patient support apparatus underneath the mattress has been properly cleaned or not.

[0028] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to determine if the surface has been properly cleaned or not by repetitively detecting a position of the third UWB transceiver relative to the second UWB transceiver.

[0029] The asset tracking system, in some aspects, includes a third sensing unit adapted to detect when a person accesses a component of the product and to send a third message to the computing device indicating that a person has accessed the component of the product.

[0030] In some aspects, the computing device is adapted to change the maintenance counter in response to receiving the third message.

[0031] The third sensing unit, in some aspects, is adapted to detect when a person accesses the component of the product by detecting when a distance between two locations associated with the product move away from each other by more than a threshold distance.

[0032] In some aspects, the product is a mattress and a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on a cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that does not move with the zipper.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an asset tracking system is provided that includes a patient support apparatus and a computing device in communication with the patient support apparatus. The patient support apparatus includes a support surface adapted to support a patient and a sensing unit. The sensing unit is adapted to detect when a product is put into use and to transmit a message to the computing device indicating the product is being used. The sensing unit includes a first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver adapted to wirelessly communicate with a second UWB transceiver coupled to the product. The computing device is adapted to perform the following: (1) select a value for a maintenance counter, wherein the value indicates when a maintenance event should be performed for the product; (2) change the maintenance counter at a first rate while the product is in storage; (3) change the maintenance counter at a second and different rate in response to receipt of the message; and (4) issue a notification when the maintenance counter reaches a target.

[0034] According to other aspects of the present disclosure, the product may be one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

[0035] In some aspects, the maintenance event may refer to a replacement of the product or a performance of service on the product.

[0036] The sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a controller adapted to determine a distance between the first UWB transceiver and the second UWB transceiver, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the message to the computing device.

[0037] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the distance is greater than the threshold.

[0038] In some aspects, the sensing unit includes a plurality of UWB transceivers adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver, and wherein the sensing unit is adapted to determine a three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver relative to the patient support apparatus.

[0039] In some aspects, the sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine if the three-dimensionalposition of the second UWB transceiver is inside or outside of a predetermined volume of space, and to send the message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is inside the predetermined volume of space.

[0040] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is outside of the predetermined volume of space.

[0041] The product, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver coupled thereto, and the second UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a distance between the second and third UWB transceivers.

[0042] The sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a controller adapted to compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is greater than the threshold, to send the message to the computing device.

[0043] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the distance is less than the threshold.

[0044] The product, in some aspects, is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in storage, and the second and third UWB transceivers are positioned a first distance less than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are folded, and are positioned a second distance more than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

[0045] The computing device, in some aspects, is adapted to return to changing the maintenance counter at the first rate in response to the product being returned to storage.

[0046] The patient support apparatus, in some aspects, is adapted to send an estimate of a location of the product when the product is being used.

[0047] The asset tracking system, in some aspects, includes a second sensing unit adapted to detect when the product is positioned in a storage area of a healthcare facility where the product is unused and to transmit a second message indicating a time at which the second sensing unit detects the product positioned in the storage area.

[0048] The second sensing unit, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver coupled to the product.

[0049] The product, in some aspects, is a mattress and the sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine if the support surface of the patient support apparatus underneath the mattress has been properly cleaned or not.

[0050] The mattress, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver, and the controller is adapted to determine if the support surface has been properly cleaned or not by repetitively detecting a position of the third UWB transceiver relative to the second UWB transceiver.

[0051] The mattress, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver, and the controller is adapted to determine if the support surface has been properly cleaned or not by repetitively detecting a position of the third UWB transceiver relative to the first UWB transceiver.

[0052] In some aspects, the asset tracking system includes a second sensing unit adapted to detect when a person accesses a component of the product and to send a second message to the computing device indicating that a person has accessed the component of the product.

[0053] The computing device, in some aspects, is adapted to change the maintenance counter in response to receiving the second message.

[0054] The second sensing unit, in some aspects, is adapted to detect when a person accesses the component of the product by detecting when a distance between two locations associated with the product move away from each other by more than a threshold distance.

[0055] The product, in some aspects, is a mattress and a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on a cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that doesnot move with the zipper.

[0056] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a patient support apparatus includes a support surface adapted to support a patient, a first UWB transceiver, and a controller. The first UWB transceiver is adapted to communicate with a second UWB transceiver coupled to a mattress. The controller is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine a first distance between the first and second UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a second distance between the first and second UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a first portion of the mattress has been lifted if the second distance exceeds the first distance by more than a first threshold.

[0057] According to other aspects of the present disclosure, the mattress may include a third UWB transceiver coupled thereto. The controller may be adapted to determine a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a fourth distance between the first and third UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the fourth distance exceeds the third distance by more than a second threshold.

[0058] In some aspects, the patient support apparatus includes a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and the controller is adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

[0059] In some aspects, the first and second thresholds are the same, while in other aspects, the first and second thresholds are different.

[0060] The patient support apparatus, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with a fourth UWB transceiver coupled to the mattress, and the controller is adapted to use the third UWB transceiver to determine a third distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a fourth distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the fourth distance exceeds the third distance by more than a second threshold.

[0061] The patient support apparatus, in some aspects, includes a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and the controller is adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

[0062] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to determine if a patient is currently present on the support surface by determining if the first distance is less than a second threshold.

[0063] The patient support apparatus, in some aspects, is adapted to determine when a person has accessed a core of the mattress by detecting when a third distance between two locations on a cover of the mattress move away from each other by more than a second threshold.

[0064] In some aspects, a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on the cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that does not move with the zipper.

[0065] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to monitor when a third distance between two locations on the patient support apparatus move away from each other by more than a second threshold.

[0066] In some aspects, a first one of the two locations includes a movable cover positioned over an opening into an enclosure of the patient support apparatus.

[0067] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when themattress is being used and to transmit a message to a computing device when the mattress is being used.

[0068] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when the mattress is not being used and to transmit a second message to the computing device when the mattress is not being used.

[0069] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when a product other than the mattress is being used and to transmit a message to a computing device when the product is being used.

[0070] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when the product is not being used and to transmit a second message to the computing device when the product is not being used.

[0071] The product, in some aspects, is one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

[0072] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to determine a distance between the first UWB transceiver and a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product, compare the distance to a second threshold, and if the distance is less than the second threshold, send the message to the computing device.

[0073] The product, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver and a fourth UWB transceiver coupled to the product, and the third UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a third distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers.

[0074] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to compare the third distance to a second threshold, and if the third distance is greater than the second threshold, to send the message to the computing device.

[0075] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the third distance is less than the second threshold.

[0076] In some aspects, the product is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in storage, and the third and fourth UWB transceivers are positioned a fourth distance less than a third threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are folded, and are positioned a fifth distance more than the third threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

[0077] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to send an estimate of a location of the product when the product is being used.

[0078] The first UWB transceiver, in some aspects, is adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to an IV pole and to determine when the IV pole is coupled to the patient support apparatus.

[0079] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to compare a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the IV pole is coupled to the patient support apparatus to a second threshold, and if the third distance is less than the second threshold, to conclude that the IV pole is bent.

[0080] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a patient support apparatus is provided that includes a support surface adapted to support a patient, first and second UWB transceiver, and a controller. The first UWB transceiver is positioned at a fixed location on the patient support apparatus, and the second UWB transceiver is positioned on a cover of the patient support apparatus and adapted to communicate with the first UWB transceiver. The cover is adapted to move between a first position in which access to an enclosed area of the patient support apparatus is prevented by the cover and a second position in which access to the enclosed area is not prevented by the cover. The controller is adapted to use the first and second UWB transceivers to determine a first distance between the first and second UWB transceivers while the cover is in the first position and to determine a second distance between the first and second UWB transceivers while the cover is in the second position. The controller is further adapted to issue a notification to a user in response to detecting the cover in the second position.

[0081] According to other aspects of the present disclosure, the enclosed area contains an electrical component of the patient support apparatus.

[0082] In some aspects, at least one of the first and second UWB transceivers is adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to a mattress and to receive data from the mattress indicating that a mattress cover over the mattress has been opened.

[0083] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to issue a second notification in response to receiving the data from the mattress indicating that the mattress cover over the mattress has been opened.

[0084] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to send a message to a computing device indicating that the cover has moved to allow access to the enclosed area.

[0085] The first UWB transceiver, in some aspects, is adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to a mattress, and the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a fourth distance between the first and third UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a first portion of the mattress has been lifted if the fourth distance exceeds the third distance by more than a first threshold.

[0086] The mattress, in some aspects, includes a fourth UWB transceiver coupled thereto, and the controller is adapted to determine a fifth distance between the first and fourth UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a sixth distance between the first and fourth UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the sixth distance exceeds the fifth distance by more than a second threshold.

[0087] In some aspects, the patient support apparatus includes a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and the controller is adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

[0088] In some aspects, the first and second thresholds are the same, while in other aspects, the first and second thresholds are different.

[0089] In some aspects, the patient support apparatus includes a fourth UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with a fifth UWB transceiver coupled to the mattress, and the controller is further adapted to use the fourth UWB transceiver to determine a fifth distance between the fourth and fifth UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a sixth distance between the fourth and fifth UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the sixth distance exceeds the fifth distance by more than a second threshold.

[0090] In some aspects, the patient support apparatus includes a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and the controller is adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

[0091] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to determine if a patient is currently present on the support surface by determining if the third distance is less than a second threshold.

[0092] The controller, in some aspects, is adapted to determine when a person has accessed a core of the mattress by detecting when a fifth distance between two locations on a cover of the mattress move away from each other by more than a second threshold.

[0093] In some aspects, a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on the cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that does not move with the zipper.

[0094] The controller, In some aspects, Is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when a product Is being used and to transmit a message to a computing device when the product Is being used.

[0095] In some aspects, the controller Is adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when the product Is not being used and to transmit a second message to the computing device when the product Is not being used.

[0096] The product, in some aspects, is one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

[0097] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to determine a distance between the first UWB transceiver and a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the message to the computing device.

[0098] The product, in some aspects, includes a third UWB transceiver and a fourth UWB transceiver coupled thereto, and the third UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a third distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers. The controller is adapted to compare the third distance to a threshold, and if the third distance is greater than the threshold, to send the message to the computing device. If the third distance is less than the threshold, the controller is adapted to not send the message to the computing device.

[0099] In some aspects, the product is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in storage, and the third and fourth UWB transceivers are positioned a fourth distance less than a second threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are folded, and are positioned a fifth distance more than the second threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

[0100] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to send an estimate of a location of the product when the product is being used.

[0101] The first UWB transceiver, in some aspects, is adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to an IV pole and to determine when the IV pole is coupled to the patient support apparatus.

[0102] In some aspects, the controller is adapted to compare a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the IV pole is coupled to the patient support apparatus to a second threshold, and if the third distance is less than the second threshold, to conclude that the IV pole is bent.

[0103] Before the various aspects of the disclosure are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the claims are not to be limited to the details of operation or to the details of construction and the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The aspects described herein are capable of being practiced or being carried out in alternative ways not expressly disclosed herein. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including" and "comprising" and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items and equivalents thereof. Further, enumeration may be used in the description of various embodiments.Unless otherwise expressly stated, the use of enumeration should not be construed as limiting the claims to any specific order or number of components. Nor should the use of enumeration be construed as excluding from the scope of the claims any additional steps or components that might be combined with or into the enumerated steps or components.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0104] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a patient support apparatus according to a first aspect of the present disclosure;

[0105] FIG. 2 is a plan view of an illustrative caregiver control panel of the patient support apparatus of FIG. 1 ;

[0106] FIG. 3 is a plan view of an illustrative patient control panel of the patient support apparatus of FIG. 1;

[0107] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a patient support apparatus system of the present disclosure that may beincorporated into, or operate separate from, an asset tracking system;

[0108] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the patient support apparatus of FIG. 4, as well as several devices that may be in communication with the patient support apparatus;

[0109] FIG. 6 is a side view diagram of the patient support apparatus showing an end of a mattress being lifted for proper cleaning of a surface underneath the mattress;

[0110] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an enclosure of the patient support apparatus shown with a cover removed;

[0111] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a mattress shown with a top cover removed;

[0112] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an asset tracking system according to one aspect of the present disclosure;

[0113] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an illustrative implementation of the asset tracking system of FIG. 9;

[0114] FIG. 11 is a side view of an IV pole that may be selectively attached to the patient support apparatus;

[0115] FIG. 12 is a plan view of a cord management device that may be selectively attached to the patient support apparatus;

[0116] FIG. 13 is a side view diagram of a mattress and mattress cover;

[0117] FIG. 14 is a side view diagram of a mattress cover and / or sheet shown in first, folded configuration and also shown in a second, unfolded configuration;

[0118] FIG. 15 is a screen shot of an illustrative maintenance event notification screen; and

[0119] FIG. 16 is a screen shot of an illustrative access event notification screen.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0120] An illustrative patient support apparatus 20 according to the present disclosure is shown in FIG. 1. Although the particular form of patient support apparatus 20 illustrated in FIG. 1 is a bed adapted for use in a hospital or other medical setting, it will be understood that patient support apparatus 20 could, in different constructions, be a cot, a stretcher, a recliner, an operating table, or any other structure capable of supporting a patient in a healthcare environment.

[0121] In general, 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. Patient support apparatus 20 further includes a headboard 32, a footboard 34 and a plurality of siderails 36. Siderails 36 are all shown in a raised position in FIG. 1 but are each individually movable to a lower position in which ingress into, and egress out of, patient support apparatus 20 is not obstructed by the lowered siderails 36.

[0122] Lifts 26 are adapted to raise and lower litter frame 28 with respect to base 22. Lifts 26 may be hydraulic actuators, electric actuators, or any other suitable device for raising and lowering litter frame 28 with respect to base 22. In the illustrated construction, lifts 26 are operable independently so that the tilting of litter frame 28 with respect to base 22 can also be adjusted, to place the litter frame 28 in a flat or horizontal orientation, a Trendelenburg orientation, or a reverse Trendelenburg orientation. That is, litter frame 28 includes a head end 38 and a foot end 40, each of whose height can be independently adjusted by the nearest lift 26. Patient support apparatus 20 is designed so that when an occupant lies thereon, his or her head will be positioned adjacent head end 38 and his or her feet will be positioned adjacent foot end 40.

[0123] Litter frame 28 provides a structure for supporting support deck 30, the headboard 32, footboard 34, and siderails 36. Support deck 30 provides a support surface for a mattress 42, or other soft cushion, so that a person may lie and / or sit thereon. In some constructions, the mattress 42 includes one or more inflatable bladders that are controllable via a blower, pump, or other source of pressurized air. In at least one construction, the inflation of the bladders of the mattress 42 is controllable via electronics built into patient support apparatus 20. In one such construction, mattress 42 may take on any of the functions and / or structures of any of the mattresses disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent 9,468,307 issued October 18, 2016, to inventors Patrick Lafleche et al., the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference. Still other types of mattresses may be used.

[0124] Support deck 30 is made of a plurality of sections, some of which are pivotable about generally horizontal pivot axes. In the construction shown in FIG. 1, support deck 30 includes at least a head section 44, a thigh section 46, and a foot section 48, all of which are positioned underneath mattress 42 and which generally form flat surfaces for supporting mattress 42. Head section 44, which is also sometimes referred to as a Fowler section, is pivotable about a generally horizontal pivot axis between a generally horizontal orientation (not shown in FIG. 1) and a plurality of raised positions (one of which is shown in FIG. 1). Thigh section 46 and foot section 48 may also be pivotable about generally horizontal pivot axes.

[0125] In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 may be modified from what is shown to include one or more components adapted to allow the user to extend the width and / or length of patient support deck 30, thereby allowing patient support apparatus 20 to accommodate patients of varying sizes. When so modified, the width of deck 30 may be adjusted sideways and / or lengthwise in increments or otherwise. In some such constructions, a length extender may be attached to the foot end 40 of litter frame 28 in order to extend the length of patient support apparatus 20.

[0126] As used herein, the term “longitudinal” refers to a direction parallel to an 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 a surface on which the patient support apparatus 20 rests.

[0127] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that patient support apparatus 20 can be designed with other types of mechanical constructions that are different from what is shown in the attached drawings, such as, but not limited to, the construction described in commonly assigned, U.S. Patent No. 10,130,536 to Roussy et al., entitled PATIENT SUPPORT USABLE WITH BARIATRIC PATIENTS, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In another construction, the mechanical construction of patient support apparatus 20 may include the same, or nearly the same, structures as the Model 3002 S3 bed manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This construction is described in greater detail in the 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 still another construction, the mechanical construction of patient support apparatus 20 may include the same, or nearly the same, structure as the Model 3009 Procuity MedSurg bed manufactured and sold by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. This construction is described in greater detail in the 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.

[0128] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that patient support apparatus 20 can be designed with still other types of mechanical constructions, such as, but not limited to, those described in commonly assigned, U.S. Pat. No. 7,690,59 issued April 6, 2010, to Lemire et al., and entitled HOSPITAL BED; and / or commonly assigned U.S. Pat. publication No. 2007 / 0163045 filed by Becker et al. and entitled PATIENT HANDLING DEVICE INCLUDING LOCAL STATUS INDICATION, ONE-TOUCH FOWLER ANGLE ADJUSTMENT, AND POWER-ON ALARM CONFIGURATION, the complete disclosures of both of which are also hereby incorporated herein by reference. The overall mechanical construction of patient support apparatus 20 may also take on still other forms different from what is disclosed in the aforementioned references provided the patient support apparatus includes one or more of the functions, features, and / or structures discussed in greater detail below. It will also be understood that, in addition to the functions disclosed herein, any and / or all of the electrical functions of the patient support apparatuses described in the aforementioned references may be incorporated into patient support apparatus 20, either wholly or partially, and such aforementioned references are explicitly incorporated herein by reference for such purposes.

[0129] Patient support apparatus 20 further includes a plurality of control panels 54 that enable a user of patientsupport apparatus 20, such as a patient and / or an associated caregiver, to control one or more aspects of patient support apparatus 20. In the construction shown in FIG. 1, 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). Footboard control panel 54a and outer siderail control panels 54b are intended to be used by caregivers, or other authorized personnel, while inner siderail control panels 54c are intended to be used by the patient associated with patient support apparatus 20. Each of the control panels 54 includes a plurality of controls 50 (see, e.g. FIGS. 2-3), although each control panel 54 does not necessarily include the same controls and / or functionality.

[0130] Among other functions, controls 50 of control panel 54a allow a user to control one or more of the following: change a height of support deck 30; raise or lower head section 44; activate and deactivate a brake for wheels 24; arm and disarm an exit detection system 136 and / or an onboard monitoring system 138 (FIG. 5); change various settings on patient support apparatus 20; view the current location of the patient support apparatus 20 as determined by the location detection system discussed herein; view what devices, such as, but not limited to, medical devices, exercise devices, nurse call devices, caregiver badges, patient badges, tagged objects, etc. that the patient support apparatus 20 has associated itself with and / or detected within a vicinity of patient support apparatus 20; input boundary information regarding the room in which patient support apparatus 20 located in (or may be located in in the future; control a process by which patient support apparatus 20 automatically determines such boundary information; input other room information; control characteristics of one or more zones that patient support apparatus 20 uses for associating itself with nearby devices; receive notifications; and / or perform other actions.

[0131] One or both of the inner siderail control panels 54c also include at least one control that enables 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 include one or more controls for controlling one or more features of one or more room devices positioned within the same room as the patient support apparatus 20. As will be described in more detail below, such room devices include, but are not necessarily limited to, a television, a reading light, and a room light. With respect to the television, the features that may be controllable by one or more controls 50 on control panel 54c include, but are not limited to, the volume, the channel, the closed-captioning, and / or the power state of the television. With respect to the room and / or night lights, the features that may be controlled by one or more controls 50 on control panel 54c include the on / off state and / or the brightness level of these lights.

[0132] Control panel 54a includes a display 52 (FIG. 2) configured to display a plurality of different screens thereon. Surrounding display 52 are a plurality of navigation controls 50a-f that, when activated, cause the 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 onboard exit detection system 136 (FIG. 5). The exit detection system 136 is as adapted to issue an alert when a patient exits from patient support apparatus 20. Exit detection system 136 may include any of the same features and functions as, and / or may be constructed in any of the same manners as, the exit detection system disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application 62 / 889,254 filed August 20, 2019, by inventors Sujay Sukumaran et al. and entitled PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ADJUSTABLE EXIT DETECTION ZONES, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of exit detection systems may be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0133] 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 the onboard monitoring system 138 (FIG. 5) built into patient support apparatus 20. The onboard 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 are in an undesired state, and uses that same unified indicator to indicate when all of the plurality ofsettings are in their respective desired states. Stated alternatively, monitoring system 138, when armed, monitors a plurality of conditions of patient support apparatus 20 (such as, but not limited to, any one or more of the following: brake status, siderail position, litter frame height, exit detection system 136, A / C cord status, nurse call cable status, etc.) and issues an alert if any one of those conditions are in an undesired state. Further details of one type of monitoring system that may be built into patient support apparatus 20 are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 864,638 filed June 21, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH CAREGIVER REMINDERS, as well as commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 721,133 filed December 19, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH MOTION CUSTOMIZATION, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Other types of monitoring systems may be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0134] When a user presses navigation control 50c, control panel 54a displays a scale control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control a scale system 144 (FIG. 5) of patient support apparatus 20. Such a scale system 144 may include any of the same features and functions as, and / or may be constructed in any of the same manners as, the scale systems disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application 62 / 889,254 filed August 20, 2019, by inventors Sujay Sukumaran et al. and entitled PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ADJUSTABLE EXIT DETECTION ZONES, and U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 885,954 filed August 13, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and 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 that are utilized by the exit detection system 136, or it may utilize one or more different sensors and / or other components. Other scale systems besides those mentioned above in the ‘254 and ‘954 applications may alternatively be included within patient support apparatus 20.

[0135] When a user presses navigation control 50d, control panel 54 displays a motion control screen that includes a plurality of control icons that, when touched, control the movement of various components of patient support apparatus 20, such as, but not limited to, the height of litter frame 28 and the pivoting of head section 44. In some constructions, the motion control screen displayed on display 52 in response to pressing control 50d may be the same as, or similar to, the position control screen 216 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 885,953 filed August 13, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH TOUCHSCREEN, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other types of motion control screens may be included on patient support apparatus 20.

[0136] When a user presses navigation control 50e, 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 patient support apparatus 20. Such motion lockout functions typically include the ability for a caregiver to use control panel 54a to lock out one or more of the motion controls 50 of the patient control panels 54c such that the patient is not able to use those controls 50 on control panels 54c to control the movement of one or more components of patient support apparatus 20. The motion lockout screen may include any of the features and functions as, and / or may be constructed in any of the same manners as, the motion lockout features, functions, and constructions disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 721,133 filed December 19, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and 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 patient support apparatus 20.

[0137] When a user presses on navigation control 50f, control panel 54a displays a menu screen that includes a plurality of menu icons that, when touched, bring up one or more additional screens for controlling and / or viewing one or more other aspects of patient support apparatus 20. Such other aspects include, but are not limited to, one or more of theaforementioned functions (e.g. activating and deactivating a brake for wheels 24; changing various settings on patient support apparatus 20; viewing the current location of the patient support apparatus 20 as determined by the location detection system discussed herein; viewing what devices, such as, but not limited to, medical devices, exercise devices, nurse call devices, caregiver badges, patient badges, tagged objects, etc. that patient support apparatus 20 has associated itself with and / or detected within its vicinity; inputting boundary information regarding the room in which patient support apparatus 20 located in (or may be located in in the future; controlling a process by which patient support apparatus 20 automatically determines such boundary information; inputting other room information; controlling and / or viewing characteristics of one or more zones that patient support apparatus 20 uses for associating itself with nearby devices; and / or performing other actions); displaying diagnostic and / or service information for patient support apparatus 20; displaying mattress control and / or status information; displaying configuration settings, location information, and other settings and / or information; and / or displaying and / or controlling other information relating to patient support apparatus 20.

[0138] Examples of menu screens are shown in FIGS. W and 11, as well as the menu screen 100 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 885,953 filed August 13, 2019, by inventors Kurosh Nahavandi et al. and 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 patient support apparatus 20. In at least one construction, utilization of navigation control 50f allows a user to navigate to a screen that enables a user to see which devices, if any, are currently associated with patient support apparatus 20. As will be discussed in greater detail below, patient support apparatus 20 includes an onboard locating system that is adapted to automatically determine the relative position of one or more devices with respect to patient support apparatus 20 and, in some instances, automatically associate and / or disassociate those devices with and / or from patient support apparatus 20 (and / or the patient assigned to patient support apparatus 20) depending upon the proximity of the device to patient support apparatus 20. Further details of this locating system are provided below.

[0139] For all of the navigation controls 50a-f (FIG. 2), screens other than the ones specifically mentioned above may be displayed on display 52 in other constructions of patient support apparatus 20 in response to a user pressing these controls. Thus, it will be understood that the specific screens mentioned above are merely representative of the types of screens that are displayable on display 52 in response to a user pressing on one or more of navigation controls 50a-f. It will also be understood that, although navigation controls 50a-f have all been illustrated in the accompanying drawings as dedicated controls that are positioned adjacent display 52, any one or more of these controls 50a-f could alternatively be touchscreen controls that are displayed at one or more locations on display 52. Still further, although controls 50a-f have been shown herein as buttons, it will be understood that any of controls 50a-f could also, or alternatively, be switches, dials, or other types of non-button controls. Additionally, patient support apparatus 20 may be modified to include additional, fewer, and / or different navigation controls from the navigation controls 50a-f shown in FIG. 2.

[0140] FIG. 3 illustrates one example of a patient control panel that may be integrated into patient support apparatus 20 (e.g. control panel 54c), that may be integrated into a stand-alone pendant that is communicatively coupled to patient support apparatus 20, either by a cord or wirelessly, and / or that may be both integrated into patient support apparatus 20 and a stand-alone pendant. The patient control panel of FIG. 3 includes a plurality of controls 50g-tthat are intended to be operated by a patient. A nurse call control 50g, when pressed by the patient, sends a signal to a nurse call system requesting that a remotely positioned nurse talk to the patient. A Fowler-up control 50h, when pressed by the patient, causes a motorized actuator onboard patient support apparatus 20 to raise Fowler section 44 upwardly. A Fowlerdown control 50I, when pressed by the patient, causes the motorized actuator to lower Fowler section 44 downwardly. A gatch-up control 50j, when pressed by the patient, causes another motorized actuator to raise a knee section of support deck 30, while a gatch-down control 50k causes the motorized actuator to lower the knee section of support deck 30. Theknee section may refer to the joint that couples thigh section 46 to foot section 48.

[0141] A volume-up control 50I, when pressed by the patient, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to an in-room television instructing it to increase its volume, while a volume down control 50m, when pressed, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to decrease its volume. A channel-up control 50n, when pressed by the patient, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to increase the channel number, while a channel-down control 50o, when pressed, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to decrease the channel number.

[0142] A mute control 50p, when pressed, causes patient support apparatus 20 to send a signal to the television instructing it to either mute itself or unmute itself, depending upon whether the television is currently muted or unmuted. In other words, mute control 50p is a toggle control that alternatingly sends mute and unmute commands to the television when it is pressed.

[0143] Power control 50q is a toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to the television to either turn on or turn off, depending upon the television’s current power status. Closed-captioning control 50r is another toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to the television to either turn on its closed-captioning feature or to turn off its closed captioning feature, depending upon whether the closed-captioning feature is currently on or off.

[0144] Control 50s is a toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to a first light to either turn on or turn off, depending upon the current state of that first light. Control 50t is another toggle control that, when pressed, sends a signal to a second light to either turn on or turn off, depending upon the current state of that second light. In some constructions, the first light is a reading light and the second light is a room light, both of which are positioned off-board the patient support apparatus 20. In other constructions, instead of being pure toggle switches, controls 50s and / or 50t may gradually increase or decrease the brightness of the reading or room light as long they are held down, and if subsequently turned off and on, they may reset the brightness level to an initial low (or high) intensity level (that the user can adjust by continuing to press down on the corresponding control 50s or 50t.

[0145] It will be understood that not only the number of controls 50 on the control panel of FIG. 3, but also the functions of these controls 50, the layout of these controls 50, and / or other aspects of these controls 50 may be modified from what is shown in FIG. 3.

[0146] FIG. 4 illustrates patient support apparatus 20 positioned within a room 58 of a healthcare facility. FIG. 4 also illustrates additional items that may be present in a healthcare facility and which patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with, including, but not limited to, a locator unit 60, a conventional local area network 80 of the healthcare facility, and a plurality devices 100. FIG. 4 also illustrates a storage sensing unit 160 that may be part of an asset tracking system described in more detail herein. Devices 100 may take on a wide variety of different forms, as will be discussed in greater detail below. Some or all of devices 100 may constitute products and / or assets whose location and / or usage may be monitored by the asset tracking system 200 described later herein. The following description will therefore utilize the terms “devices 100" and “products 100" interchangeably.

[0147] Locator units 60 are positioned at known and fixed locations within the healthcare facility in which patient support apparatus 20 is positioned. Locator units 60 function as fixed locators. That is, locator units 60 communicate with patient support apparatuses 20 and share information with them that allows the location of the patient support apparatuses 20 to be determined, as well as the location of any devices 100 that are associated with patient support apparatus 20. In some constructions, locator units 60 may store, determine, and / or share boundary information regarding the boundary of the particular room 58 in which the locator unit 60 is positioned. Locator units 60, in some constructions, may also store, determine, and / or share other room information. The sharing of such information includes the transmission of such information to one or more patient support apparatuses 20 and / or to the healthcare facility network 80 (or a server incommunication with the network 80).

[0148] In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 is configured to be able to communicate with at least two different types of locator units 60: linked locator units and unlinked locator units. In other constructions, patient support apparatus 20 may be only able to communicate with a single type of locator unit 60, or with no locator units 60, or with more than two different types of locator units 60. One example of a linked locator unit 60 is shown in FIG. 4. Examples of unlinked locator units 60 are shown (and referred to as unlinked locator units 60b) in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 306,279 filed February 3, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al. and entitled COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Other examples of unlinked locator units 60 are shown (and referred to as unlinked locator units 60a) in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 356,061 filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with the unlinked locator units described in either of the aforementioned ‘279 or ‘061 applications and / or to perform any one or more of the functions described therein that utilize such unlinked locator units and / or information provided by such unlinked locator units. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, all references herein to “locator units 60” without the term “linked” or “unlinked” in the reference may refer to linked locator unit 60, unlinked locator units 60, and / or both.

[0149] Linked locator units 60 are adapted to be communicatively linked to a conventional communication outlet 64 and are adapted to provide location information to patient support apparatus 20. Linked locator units 60 are also adapted to serve as a communication conduit for routing wireless communications between patient support apparatus 20 and one or more devices and / or systems that are communicatively coupled to communication outlet 64 (e.g. room devices 72, 74, 76, and / or nurse call system 70, FIG. 4). In general, linked locator units 60 are typically positioned in patient rooms of the healthcare facility where one or more communication outlets 64 are present.

[0150] As shown in FIG. 4, linked locator unit 60 is adapted to be mounted to a wall 62, such as a headwall of a patient room 58 within the healthcare facility. The headwall of a conventional healthcare facility room 58 typically includes a conventional communications outlet 64 physically integrated therein. Communications outlet 64 is adapted to receive a nurse call cable 66 that physically connects at its other end either to patient support apparatus 20 (not shown) or to linked locator unit 60 (shown in FIG. 4). In many healthcare facilities, communication outlet 64 includes a 37-pin connector, although other types of connectors are often found in certain healthcare facilities. As will be discussed in greater detail below, linked locator unit 60 and nurse call cable 66 allow patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with a nurse call system 70, and one or more room devices positioned within room 58.

[0151] 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 a 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. Conductors 68 are typically located behind wall 62 and not visible. In some healthcare facilities, conductors 68 may first couple to a room interface circuit board that includes one or more conductors 68 for electrically coupling the room interface circuit board to room device 72, 74, 76 and / or nurse call system 70. Still other communicative arrangements for coupling communication outlet 64 to nurse call system 70 and / or one or more room devices 72, 74, 76 are possible.

[0152] Nurse call cable 66 (FIG. 4) enables linked locator unit 60 to communicate with nurse call system 70 and / or room devices 72, 74, 76. Because patient support apparatus 20 is able to wirelessly communicate with linked locator unit 60, patient support apparatus 20 is thereby able to communicate with nurse call system 70 and room devices 72, 74, 76. A patient supported on patient support apparatus 20 who activates a nurse call control (e.g. 50g; see FIG. 3) on patient support apparatus 20 causes a signal to be wirelessly sent from patient support apparatus 20 to linked locator unit 60, whichin turn conveys the signal via nurse call cable 66 to the nurse call system 70, which forwards the signal to one or more remotely located nurses (e.g. nurses at one or more nurse’s stations 78). If the patient activates one or more room device controls (e.g. controls 50l-t; see FIG. 3), one or more wireless signals are conveyed to linked locator unit 60, which in turn sends appropriate signals via nurse call cable 66 to communication outlet 64 and the room device 72, 74, 76 that change one or more features of these devices (e.g. the volume, channel, on / off state, etc.).

[0153] As is also shown in FIG. 4, patient support apparatus 20 is further configured to communicate with a local area network 80 of the healthcare facility. In the construction shown in FIG. 4, patient support apparatus 20 includes a wireless network transceiver 96 (FIG. 5) that communicates wirelessly with local area network 80. Network transceiver 96 is, in at least some constructions, a WiFi transceiver (e.g. IEEE 802.11) that wirelessly communicates with one or more conventional wireless access points 82 of local area network 80. In other constructions of patient support apparatus 20, network transceiver 96 may be a wireless transceiver that uses conventional 5G technology to communicate with network 80, one or more servers hosted thereon, and / or other devices. In some constructions, network transceiver 96 may include any of the structures and / or functionality of the communication modules 56 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent 10,500,401 issued to Michael Hayes and entitled NETWORK COMMUNICATION FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of wireless network transceivers may be utilized.

[0154] In some constructions, network transceiver 96 is a wired transceiver that is adapted to allow patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with 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 patient support apparatus 20. In still other constructions, patient support apparatus 20 includes both a wired transceiver 96 for communicating with network 80 via a wired connection and a wireless transceiver 96 for wirelessly communicating with network 80.

[0155] Patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate with one or more servers that are accessible via local area network 80 of the healthcare facility. One such server is a patient support apparatus server 84. Patient support apparatus server 84 is adapted, in at least one construction, to receive data from the patient support apparatuses 20 positioned within the healthcare facility and distribute this data to caregivers, other servers, one or more electronic devices 98, and / or other software applications. As will be discussed in greater detail below, server 84 may also be configured to receive data from one or more devices 100 that are positioned within one or more zones defined around patient support apparatus 20 and / or within one or more zones defined around locator units 60. Such data is then routed by patient support apparatus server 84 to one or more desired destinations. In some constructions, discussed in more detail below, the data that is received from one or more devices 100 may include audio signals from a microphone in the device 100, and patient support apparatus server 84 may forward those audio signals to an appropriate caregiver device (e.g. a smart phone 98, a badge 100, or another device with audio-playback capabilities).

[0156] In some constructions and for some devices 100, the data from the device(s) 100 is forwarded 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 constructions, such as where a locator unit 60 includes its own network transceiver, the data from a device 100 may be forwarded to the locator unit 60 and the locator unit 60 may then forward the data to server 84 via its network transceiver’s communication with one or more of the access point 82. In such constructions, the device 100 may forward its data directly to the locator unit 60 without sending it to patient support apparatus 20, or it may send its data to patient support apparatus 20 first and patient support apparatus 20 may then forward the data to the locator unit 60. Other manners of routing data from the device 100 to server 84 may be used, and in some constructions, the device 100 may send some types of data to server 84 along a first route and send other types of data to server 84 along a second and different route. Still further, some devices 100 may include their own network transceiver and communicate with server 84without using patient support apparatus 20 or locator unit 60 as a communication intermediary.

[0157] In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to communicate at least some of its data and / or at least some of the data from one or more devices 100 to a remote server 86 that is positioned geographically remotely from the healthcare facility. Such communication between patient support apparatus 20 and the remote server 86 may take place without utilizing patient support apparatus server 84, or it may take place using patient support apparatus server 84 as a communication conduit between patient support apparatus 20 and the remote server 86. The communication with the remote server 86 may take place via a conventional network appliance 88, such as, but not limited to, a router and / or a gateway, that is coupled to the Internet 90. The remote server 86, in turn, is also coupled to the Internet 90, and patient support apparatus 20 and / or patient support apparatus server 84 is / are provided with the URL and / or other information necessary to communicate with remote server 86 via the Internet connection between network 80 and server 86.

[0158] In those constructions where patient support apparatus 20 is configured to communicate directly with one or more cloud-based servers, such as remote server 86, without utilizing patient support apparatus server 84, patient support apparatus server 84 may be omitted and any one or more of the functions of patient support apparatus server 84 described herein may be performed by remote server 86. Alternatively, patient support apparatus server 84 may be retained in such constructions and may perform any one or more of the functions described herein.

[0159] Patient support apparatus server 84 may be configured to determine the location of each patient support apparatus 20 and / or any devices 100 that are associated with, or in direct communication with, patient support apparatus 20. Patient support apparatus server 84 may alternatively receive the location of each patient support apparatus 20 and / or any devices 100 that are associated with, or in direct communication with, patient support apparatus 20 from the patient support apparatus 20 itself, and / or from any of the products themselves 100 and / or from any of the locator units 60. In some constructions, patient support apparatus server 84 determines the room number and / or bay area of each patient support apparatus 20 and its associated devices 100 that are positioned within a room 58, as well as the location of patient support apparatuses 20 and their associated devices 100 that are positioned outside of a room 58, such as those that may be positioned in a hallway, a maintenance area, or some other area. In general, patient support apparatus server 84 may be configured to determine the position of any patient support apparatus 20 that is positioned within communication range of one or more locator units 60, as well as the location of any associated devices 100 that are positioned within one or more zones defined around the patient support apparatus 20, as will be discussed in greater detail below.

[0160] Patient support apparatus server 84 (FIG. 4) may be adapted to communicate with a plurality of other servers, such as a conventional EMR server 92, a conventional badge server 94, a conventional Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) server 102, and / or a conventional caregiver assignment server 104. Alternatively, patient support apparatus server 84 may be combined, either partially or wholly, with any one or more of these other servers. The functionality of any one or more of these other servers may also be combined, either partially or wholly, with any other ones of these other servers. For example, the caregiver assignment server 104 may have one or more of its functions combined with ADT server 102 and / or badge server 94, and / or one or more of the functions of ADT server 102 may be combined with EMR server 92 and / or caregiver assignment server 104. Other combinations of functionality are, of course, also possible.

[0161] EMR server 92 stores individual patient records. Such patient records identify a patient by name and include medical information associated with that patient. Such medical information may include all of the medical information generated from the patient’s current stay in the healthcare facility as well as medical information from previous visits. It will be understood that the term “EMR server,” as used herein, also includes Electronic Health Records servers, or EHR servers for short, and that the present disclosure does not distinguish between electronic medical records and electronic health records.

[0162] Caregiver assignment server 104 (FIG. 4) stores data that matches specific caregivers to specific rooms and / or bays within the healthcare facility. Caregiver assignment server 104 stores information regarding shift changes, personnel, and the general assignments of caregivers who are employed by the healthcare facility. In some caregiver assignment servers 104, caregivers are assigned to specific patients, rather than to specific rooms, in which case server 104 may correlate caregivers to individual patients rather than rooms and / or bays. Still further, some conventional nurse call systems may be configured to carry out the functions of caregiver assignment server 104, in which case caregiver assignment server 104 may be replaced by and / or supplemented with a nurse call server.

[0163] ADT server 102 stores patient information, including the identity of patients and the corresponding rooms 58 and / or bays within rooms to which the patients are assigned. That is, ADT server 102 matches specific patients to specific rooms and / or bays within the healthcare facility. The patient’s names are entered into the ADT server 102 by one or more healthcare facility staff whenever a patient checks into the healthcare facility and the patient is assigned to a particular room within the healthcare facility. If and / or when a patient is transferred to a different room and / or discharged from the healthcare facility, the staff of the healthcare facility update ADT server 102. ADT server 102 therefore maintains an up-to- date set of data that correlates patient names with their assigned rooms and / or bays. In some conventional electronic medical record systems, the functions of the ADT server 102 may be incorporated into the EMR system, and EMR server 92 may therefore, in some constructions, carry out the functions of ADT server 102.

[0164] Badge server 94 (FIG. 4) is configured to manage communications between, and keep track of the locations of, and the particular people assigned to, individual badges. Such badges are one of the many types of devices 100, and will therefore be referred to herein as “badges 100.” Badges 100 may be worn by caregivers, service technicians, visitors, patients, cleaning personnel, transportation assistants, and / or other healthcare facility personnel. Badge server 94 maintains a set of data that correlates badge IDs with individual healthcare workers and / or patients. Each badge 100 includes a unique ID that distinguishes that badge 100 from other badges 100. When a healthcare provider or patient arrives at a healthcare facility, he or she is provided with a badge 100 that often comes from a common collection of badges 100. The healthcare worker or patient then wears the badge 100 for the duration of his or her work shift or stay within the healthcare facility. After the caregiver completes his / her shift and / or after a patient is discharged from the healthcare facility, the badge 100 may be returned to the general collection of badges 100. For some badge servers 94, in order for the badge server 94 to know that a particular badge 100 is assigned to a particular person, a person must manually associate the particular badge 100 they will wear with their name (or some other ID). This manual association may involve scanning the badge on a badge reader in communication with badge server 94, typing information (such as the badge ID and / or the worker’s or patient’s ID) into a computer coupled to badge server 94, entering information into badge 100 (if it is a badge that allows data entry), performing other actions, and / or a combination of these steps.

[0165] Badges 100 worn by patients may be different from the badges 100 worn by caregivers. When constructed differently, the patient badges 100 may have reduced or different sets of functionality when compared to the caregiver badges 100. For example, the patient badges 100 in some constructions may simply serve to identify a patient, while the caregiver badges 100 may provide communication and / or other functions in addition to containing an ID that identifies the caregiver. In some constructions, the patient badges 100 may be incorporated into a wristband, or other easily wearable device.

[0166] Badge server 94 may also be configured to monitor the location of badges 100 within a healthcare facility. Typically this location monitoring is performed through the monitoring of the wireless access points 82 throughout the healthcare facility. That is, badges 100 are often equipped to use WiFi, or other wireless communication protocols, that allow them to communicate with wireless access points 82. By monitoring which access points the badges 100 are currently connected to, using a map of the location of the access point 82 within the facility, and, in some cases, using the signalstrengths between the badges 100 and one or more of the access points 82, the general position of the badges 100 within the healthcare facility can be determined by badge server 94. In some constructions, badges 100 may include UWB transceivers that enable their location within the healthcare facility to be more precisely determined, and / or that enable the badges 100 to perform other functions. Examples of badges 100 that include UWB transceivers and that may be incorporated into the system of the present disclosure are described in greater detail in commonly assigned U.S. provisional patent application serial number 63 / 356,061 filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM; in commonly assigned U.S. provisional patent application serial number 63 / 356,065 filed June 28, 2022, by inventors Jerald Trepanier et al. and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM; and in commonly assigned U.S. provisional patent application serial number 63 / 356,238 filed June 28, 2028, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al. and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM; the complete disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference. Patient support apparatus 20, patient support apparatus server 84, badges 100, and / or locator units 60 of the present disclosure may be configured to carry out any of the functions of the patient support apparatuses, patient support apparatus server, badges, and locator units, respectively, disclosed in any of the aforementioned ‘061, ‘065, and / or ‘238 patent applications.

[0167] Caregiver badges 100 may be badges of the type sold or marketed by Stryker Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, under the names Vocera Badge, Vocera Smartbadge, and / or Vocera Minibadge. Other types of badges may also, or alternatively, be used. Such badges 100 include the ability to transmit voice communications of healthcare workers to other badges 100 and / or other locations within a healthcare facility. Some of the badges may also include text messaging abilities, alarm notifications, and other functions. When integrated into the system described herein, such badges 100 may be modified to include one or more ultra-wideband transceivers that communicate with ultra-wideband transceivers onboard patient support apparatus 20 and / or built into locator unit 60, as will be discussed in greater detail herein. Patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator units 60 may be configured to repetitively determine the location of any of the badges 100 that are positioned within range of its ultra-wideband transceivers and determine whether the badge 100 is positioned inside or outside of one or more zones, as will also be discussed in greater detail below. Badges 100 that do not include UWB transceivers may also be incorporated into the communication system described herein

[0168] In some constructions, patient support apparatus server 84 and / or remote server 86 (FIG. 4) communicates with EMR server 92 in order to transmit patient data that is to be recorded in a patient’s health record (e.g. vital sign readings from one or more vital sign sensors; weight readings taken from the scales built into patient support apparatuses 20; therapies provided to patients using a powered mattress 42 onboard patient support apparatuses 20; data from other devices that are determined to be associated with the patient assigned to patient support apparatus 20, etc.). In addition, server 84 and / or 86 communicates with EMR server 92, in some constructions, in order to receive data from one or more of the devices that are being used with a particular patient.

[0169] It will be understood that the architecture and content of local area network 80 will vary from healthcare facility to healthcare facility, and that the example shown in FIG. 4 is merely one example of the type of network a healthcare facility may be employ. Typically, one or more additional servers will be hosted on network 80 and one or more of them may be adapted to communicate with patient support apparatus server 84. Local area network 80 will also typically allow one or more electronic devices 98 to access the local area network 80 and the servers hosted thereon via wireless access points 82. Such electronic devices 98 include, but are not limited to, smart phones, tablet computers, portable laptops, desktop computers, smart televisions, network-connected displays, and other types of electronic devices that include a WiFi capability and that are provided with the proper credentials (e.g. SSID, password, etc.) to access network 80 (and, in at least some situations, patient support apparatus server 84). Patient support apparatus server 84 is configured, in some versions,to share data with one or more electronic devices 98 that relates to patient support apparatus 20, that relates to one or more products or devices 100 that become associated with patient support apparatus 20, with the patient assigned thereto, and / or with one or more particular zones 152, and / or that relates to one or more medical records of the patient stored in EMR server 92.

[0170] Linked locator units 60 are adapted to wirelessly receive signals from patient support apparatus 20 and deliver the signals to communications outlet 64 in a manner that matches the way the signals would otherwise be delivered to communications outlet 64 if a conventional nurse call cable 66 were connected directly between patient support apparatus 20 (via a cable port 148; FIG. 5) and communications outlet 64. Linked locator units 60 are also adapted to transmit signals received from communications outlet 64 to patient support apparatus 20 via a BT transceiver 106 and / or a UWB transceiver 126 (FIG. 5). Thus, patient support apparatus 20 and linked locator unit 60 cooperate to send signals to, and receive signals from, communications outlet 64 in a manner that is transparent to communications outlet 64 such that outlet 64 cannot detect whether it is in communication with patient support apparatus 20 via a wired connection or it is in communication with patient support apparatus 20 via a wireless connection between patient support apparatus 20 and linked locator unit 60 (the latter of which is in wired communication with outlet 64). In this manner, a healthcare facility can utilize the wireless communication abilities of one or more patient support apparatuses 20 without having to make any changes to their existing communication outlets 64.

[0171] As noted, in addition to sending signals received from patient support apparatus 20 to communications outlet 64, linked locator units 60 are also adapted to forward signals received from communications outlet 64 to patient support apparatus 20. Linked locator units 60 are therefore adapted to provide bidirectional communication between patient support apparatus 20 and communications outlet 64. This bidirectional communication includes, but is not limited to, communicating command signals from any of controls 50 to corresponding room devices 72, 74, and / or 76, and communicating audio signals between a person supported on patient support apparatus 20 and a caregiver positioned remotely from patient support apparatus 20. The audio signals received by linked locator unit 60 from a microphone on patient support apparatus 20 are forwarded to communications outlet 64 (for forwarding to nurse call system 70), and the audio signals of a remotely positioned nurse that are received at communications outlet 64 (from nurse call system 70) are forwarded to a speaker onboard patient support apparatus 20.

[0172] Nurse call cable 66, in some constructions, includes a conventional 37 pin connector on each end, one of which is adapted to be inserted into outlet 64 and the other one of which is adapted to be inserted into a linked locator unit 60 (or cable port 148 of patient support apparatus 20 if wired communication is desired). Such 37 pin connections are one of the most common types of connectors found on existing walls of medical facilities for making connections to the nurse call system 70 and room devices 72, 74, and 76. Linked locator unit 60 and nurse call cable 66 are therefore configured to mate with one of the most common type of communication outlets 64 used in medical facilities. Such 37 pin connectors, however, are not the only type of connectors, and it will be understood that linked locator units 60 can utilize different types of connectors that are adapted to electrically couple to different types of nurse call cables 66 and / or different types of communication outlets 64. One example of such an alternative communications outlet 64 and cable 66 is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 14 / 819,844 filed August 6, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Still other types of communication outlets 64 and corresponding connectors may be utilized.

[0173] Locator unit 60 (FIG. 4) also includes an electrical cord 150 having a plug positioned at a far end that is adapted to be inserted into a conventional electrical outlet 108. Electrical cord 150 enables locator unit 60 to receive power from the mains electrical supply via outlet 108. It will be appreciated that, in some constructions, locator unit 60 is batteryoperated and cord 150 may be omitted. In still other constructions, locator unit 60 may be both battery operated and include cord 150 so that in the event of a power failure, battery power supplies power to locator unit 60, and / or in the event of a battery failure, electrical power is received from outlet 108.

[0174] In some constructions, locator units 60 include a video port 120 that is adapted to receive a display cable 110 (FIG. 4). The display cable 110 is adapted to couple to locator unit 60 at one end and a display device 56 at its opposite send. Locator unit 60 may be configured to use cable 110 to send data to display device 56 that is to be displayed thereon. Such data may include data from one or more devices 100 that are associated with the patient on patient support apparatus 20 (or with patient support apparatus 20 itself), data from one or more badges 100, notification data, status data from one or more sensors onboard patient support apparatus 20, location data regarding the location of patient support apparatus 20 and / or devices 100, and / or other data. Cable 110 may be a High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable, a Video Graphics Array (VGA) cable, a DisplayPort (DP) cable, a plurality of Radio Corporation of America (RCA) cables, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) cable, and / or another type of cable. Locator unit 60 is configured to include a complementary type of connector that mates with a connector on an end of cable 110. In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20, locator units 60, and display device 56 may be configured to display data in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 426,450 filed November 18, 2022, by inventors Madhu Sandeep Thota et al. and entitled COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0175] In addition to the other functions described herein, locator units 60 are configured to communicate location data to patient support apparatus 20 that enables patient support apparatus 20, patient support apparatus server 84, and / or remote server 86 to determine the location of patient support apparatus 20 within the healthcare facility. In general, such location determination is carried out by patient support apparatus 20 analyzing wireless signals communicated between itself and locator unit 60 in order to determine its position relative to locator unit 60. If patient support apparatus 20, or a predefined reference point R (FIG. 10) on patient support apparatus 20 (e.g. its head end, its center, etc.) is positioned within a threshold distance of locator unit 60, patient support apparatus 20 associates itself with the locator unit 60. When associated, patient support apparatus 20 may communicate data to locator unit 60, receive data from locator unit 60, and also deem its location within the healthcare facility to be the same as the location of locator unit 60. When patient support apparatus 20 is outside of the threshold distance, it does not associate itself with locator unit 60, and therefore does not exchange data with locator unit 60 or consider its location to be the same as that of locator unit 60’s location.

[0176] In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 is configured to associate itself with a particular locator unit 60 if a controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 determines that the locator unit 60 is within a particular zone (e.g. 152a of FIG. 4), or locator unit 60 determines that patient support apparatus 20 (or a reference point R thereon) is positioned within the zone, such as zone 152a. In some constructions, the zone 152a is defined with respect to each locator unit 60 and does not move. In other constructions, the zone 152a is defined with respect to patient support apparatus 20 and moves as patient support apparatus 20 moves. In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 associates itself with a nearby locator unit 60 if both the locator unit 60 and the patient support apparatus 20 (or a reference point R thereon) are concurrently within the predefined zone 152a. Regardless of whether zone 152a is defined with respect to a locator unit 60, or with respect to a patient support apparatus 20, by at least one or both of these devices (locator unit 60 and patient support apparatus 20) being positioned within the same zone 152a, the locator unit 60 and patient support apparatus 20 will be positioned within a threshold distance of each other. An example of patient support apparatus 20 occupying a zone 152a is shown in FIG. 4, where head end 38 of patient support apparatus 20 (that includes the appropriate reference point R on patient support apparatus 20) is positioned inside of zone 152a, and patient support apparatus 20 has therefore associated itself with that particular locator unit 60.

[0177] After associating itself with a particular locator unit 60, patient support apparatus 20 is configured to be able to have its absolute position 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 in the healthcare facility is surveyed during the installation of locator units 60, and the unique IDs 122 of each locator unit 60 are also recorded during the installation of locator units 60. This surveying information and corresponding ID information may be stored in patient support apparatus server 84, remote server 86, and / or onboard the patient support apparatuses 20, thereby enabling a patient support apparatus 20, remote server 86, and / or patient support apparatus server 84 to determine the location of a patient support apparatus 20 once it is associated with a particular locator unit 60.

[0178] In those constructions where patient support apparatus server 84 is configured to determine the location of patient support apparatus 20, patient support apparatus 20 sends its relative position information with respect to the 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)) to server 84. Server 84 includes a table of all of the locations of the locator units 60 (which, as noted, is generated via a surveying operation during the installation of locator units 60), and it uses that table to correlate the patient support apparatus IDs 130 and the locator unit IDs 122 it receives to specific locations within the healthcare facility. Thus, if a particular patient support apparatus 20 (with a particular ID 130) sends to server 84 an associated locator unit ID 122 that corresponds to room 430, server 84 determines that that particular patient support apparatus 20 is currently located in room 430. Generally speaking, and as will be discussed in greater detail below, the location of a patient support apparatus 20 is deemed to correspond to whichever locator unit 60 it is currently associated with, and if it is not currently associated with any locator unit 60, its location may be considered to be indeterminate (unless determined by means other than locator unit 60). In addition, if one or more devices 100 are associated with a particular patient support apparatus, the location of those devices 100 may be deemed to be at the same location as patient support apparatus 20.

[0179] In some versions of patient support apparatuses 20 and locator units 60, the relative location of a patient support apparatus 20 to a locator unit 60 is determined solely using ultra-wideband communication between the patient support apparatus 20 and the locator unit 60. Alternatively, in some versions, patient support apparatus 20 solely uses short range infrared communications with locator unit 60 to determine its relative location, wherein such short range infrared communications are only possible when the patient support apparatus 20 is positioned within a close proximity to the locator unit 60 (e.g. in the range of about 1-3 unobstructed meters). In these latter versions, patient support apparatus 20 may report that its location coincides with that of the nearby locator unit 60 when it is able to successfully communicate with the nearby locator unit 60 using these short range infrared communications. Still further, in some versions, patient support apparatus 20 and locator unit 60 may communicate with each other using both infrared and ultra-wideband communications. Further details regarding the use of short range infrared communications for location determination are described in commonly assigned U.S. patent 9,999,375 issued June 19, 2018, to inventors Michael Hayes et al. and entitled LOCATION DETECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0180] In some constructions, locator units 60 and / or patient support apparatuses 20 may be constructed to include any or all of the functionality of the wireless headwall units and / or patient support apparatuses disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 14 / 819,844 filed August 6, 2015, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH WIRELESS HEADWALL COMMUNICATION; in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 26,937 filed May 19, 2020, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH HEADWALL COMMUNICATION; and / or in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 245,245 filed September 17, 2021, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR LOCATING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0181] Still further, in some constructions, locator units 60 and / or patient support apparatuses 20 may be constructed to include any of the features and / or functions of the headwall units 144a and / or patient support apparatuses disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 131 ,508 filed December 29, 2020, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al. and entitled TOOL FOR CONFIGURING HEADWALL UNITS USED FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0182] In some constructions of locator units 60, one or more devices 100 may interact with locator units 60 in the same or similar manner as the patient support apparatuses 20 interact with the locator units 60, as described above. That is, in some constructions, locator units 60 may be configured to communicate location data to one or more devices 100 that enables the device 100, an associated patient support apparatus 20, patient support apparatus server 84, and / or remote server 86 to determine the location of the device 100 within the healthcare facility. In general, such location determination is carried out by the device 100 performing ultra-wideband ranging with the locator unit 60 in order to determine its position relative to locator unit 60. If the device 100 is positioned within a threshold distance of locator unit 60 (such as within a particular zone 152), the device 100 associates itself with the locator unit 60. When associated, the device 100 may communicate data to locator unit 60, receive data from locator unit 60, and also deem its location within the healthcare facility to be the same as the location of locator unit 60. When device 100 is outside of the threshold distance (e.g. zone), it does not associate itself with locator unit 60, and therefore may cease to exchange data with locator unit 60.

[0183] FIG. 5 depicts a block diagram of patient support apparatus 20, a linked locator unit 60, network 80, a storage sensing unit 160, and two devices 100. As will be discussed in greater detail below, patient support apparatus 20 is configured to automatically determine the location of one or more locator units 60 and / or devices 100 that have wireless location technology built into them, such as one or more UWB transceivers. Patient support apparatus is also configured to automatically carry out communications with devices 100 (and locator unit 60) if they are positioned within a defined proximity (i.e. a zone) of patient support apparatus 20. In some constructions, if a particular locator unit 60 and / or device 100 is positioned within the defined zone, patient support apparatus 20 automatically associates the locator unit 60 and / or device 100 with the patient assigned to patient support apparatus 20 (and / or with patient support apparatus 20 itself), and causes data from that locator unit 60 and / or device 100 (or devices 100) to be automatically directed to one or more destinations. When the locator unit 60 and / or device 100 is positioned outside the defined proximity, patient support apparatus 20 may automatically disassociate itself from the locator unit 60 and / or device 100 and, in some situations, terminate communications with the locator unit 60 and / or device 100 and / or inform patient support apparatus server 84 and / or remove server 86 of the disassociation.

[0184] As will be discussed in greater detail below, storage sensing unit 160, when included in a particular healthcare facility, is adapted to detect when one or more products (i.e. devices 100) are in a storage area of the healthcare facility, and therefore not being used. This information may be communicated to an appropriate server, such as patient support apparatus server 84 and / or remote server 86. Server 84 and / or 86 is in communication with one or more usage sensing units 170 that inform the server when the one or more products 100 are placed into use (and thus no longer in storage). The server 84 and / or 86 can therefore more accurately monitor the amount of usage of the product 100 for determining maintenance events, such as performing repairs, services, and / or replacements of the product 100.

[0185] In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, locator unit 60 includes an ultra-wideband transceiver 126, a Bluetooth transceiver 106, a locator unit controller 112, configuration circuitry 114, a television controller 116, a headwall interface 118, a video port 120, a unit ID 122, a memory 178, and, in some versions, a network transceiver 124. It will be understood, of course, that the components of locator unit 60 may vary in different constructions and that locator unit 60 may include fewer components than that illustrated in FIG. 5, as well as, in some other constructions, additional components. For example, and without limitation, locator unit 60 in some constructions may omit any one or more of thefollowing: video port 120, network transceiver 124, and / or BT transceiver 106. When locator unit 60 is an unlinked locator unit, it may also omit headwall interface 118, TV controller 116, and configuration circuitry 114. Still further, in some constructions, one or more of the items stored in memory 178 (e.g. unit ID 122, boundary info 180, doorway info 182, and / or room info 184) may be omitted and / or stored elsewhere (e.g. in a memory 134 of patient support apparatus 20). Still other variations are possible.

[0186] Bluetooth transceiver 106 of locator unit 60 (FIG. 5) is adapted to communicate with a Bluetooth transceiver 128 onboard patient support apparatus 20 using RF waves in accordance with 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 constructions, transceivers 106 and 128 utilize Bluetooth Low Energy communications.

[0187] Ultra-wideband transceiver 126 is adapted to communicate with one or more ultra-wideband transceivers 132 positioned onboard patient support apparatus 20 and / or one or more ultra-wideband transceivers 158 positioned onboard devices 100. Transceiver 126 is adapted to determine a distance between itself and patient support apparatus 20 and / or a device 100. Alternatively, or additionally, transceiver 126 may be adapted to allow one or more of the UWB transceivers 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 (or one or more of the UWB transceivers 158 onboard device(s) 100) to determine their distance(s) from transceiver 126. In other words, one or more location engines may be positioned onboard the patient support apparatus 20, onboard the locator unit 60, onboard the devices 100, and / or onboard server 84 and / or server 86.

[0188] In some constructions, UWB transceivers 126, 132, and 158, use time of flight (TOF) computations to determine the distances between patient support apparatus(es) 20, locator unit(s) 60, and device(s) 100. In other constructions, transceivers 126, 132, and 158 may utilize other techniques (e.g. time difference of arrival, two-way ranging, angle of arrival, channel state information, etc.) for determining their distances from each other, either in addition to, or in lieu of, TOF computations. In some constructions, transceivers 126, 132, and 158 may also determine an angle between themselves using angular information derived from antenna arrays positions onboard transceivers 126, 132, and 158, or by using other techniques. During the manufacture of patient support apparatus 20 (or during the installation of patient support apparatus 20 within a healthcare facility), the position and orientation of each transceiver 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 relative to a frame of reference defined with respect to patient support apparatus 20 is determined and stored in an onboard memory 134. This position and orientation information is used to determine the position and orientation of patient support apparatus 20 with respect to the locator unit(s) 60 with which the patient support apparatus 20 communicates. Such position and orientation information may be determined using conventional trilateration and / or triangulation techniques, or other techniques.

[0189] In some constructions, transceivers 126, 132, and 158 are implemented as any of the Trimension™ ultra-wideband modules available from NXP Semiconductors of Austin, Texas. These modules include, but are not limited to, the Trimension™ UWB modules ASMOP1BOON1, ASMOP1COOR1, and / or the ASMOP1COOA1, that utilize any of the following chips: the NXP SR150, SR100T, SR040, NCJ29D5, and / or the OL23DO chips. Modules manufactured and / or marketed by other companies may also be used, including, but not limited to, the Decawave DWM1000, DWM10001C, DWM3000 modules (available from Decawave of Dublin, Ireland); the Nordic TSG5162 SIP module (available from Tsingoal Technology of Beijing, China); and / or the UWB hub, wand, and / or sensors available from Zebra technologies of Lincolnshire, Illinois. Still other types of UWB modules may be used to implement transceivers 126, 132, and 158.

[0190] Locator unit controller 112 is adapted to control the operation of transceivers 126, 106, configuration circuitry 114, TV controller 116, headwall interface 118, video port 120, and, if included, network transceiver 124 (FIG. 5). When network transceiver 124 is included, it allows locator unit 60 to communicate with local area network 80. As will be discussed in more detail below, in some versions of locator unit 60, controller 112, network transceiver 124, and UWBtransceiver 126 may act as a usage sensing unit 170 and report the detected usage of one or more products 100 to server 84 and / or 86 using network transceiver 124.

[0191] Headwall interface 118 is adapted to change the electrical state of one or more pins that are in electrical communication with communication outlet 64 (via cable 66). Headwall interface 118 changes these electrical states in response to instructions from controller 112. For example, if the exit detection system 136 of patient support apparatus 20 detects a patient exit, a controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 sends an exit alert signal to linked locator unit 60 and controller 112 responds by instructing headwall interface 118 to change the electrical state of at least one pin that is used to signal an exit alert (or a generic priority alert) to the nurse call system 70 via communications outlet 64. Additionally, if a device 100, such as a portable exit detection sensor, is associated with patient support apparatus 20 and it detects a patient exit, the exit detection sensor may transmit an exit detection alert signal to patient support apparatus 20, which in turn forwards the exit alert signal to linked locator unit 60, and controller 112 responds by instructing headwall interface 118 to change the electrical state of the same pin or pins that it does in response to receiving an exit detection alert from exit detection system 136.

[0192] In some designs, headwall interface 118 may be constructed in the same manner as, and / or may include any one or of the functions as, the cable interface 88 described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 193,778 filed May 27, 2021, by inventors Krishna Bhimavarapu et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND HEADWALL UNIT SYNCING, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, or additionally, headwall interface 118 may be constructed in the same manner as, and / or may include any one or more of the same functions as, the headwall interface 120 disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 131 ,508 filed December 29, 2020, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al. and entitled TOOL FOR CONFIGURING HEADWALL UNITS USED FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Linked locator unit 60 may also be configured to perform any of the functions of the headwall units 94 disclosed in the above-mentioned 778 patent application.

[0193] Configuration circuitry 114 and TV controller 116 may be configured to perform any of the same functions as, and / or be constructed in any of the same manners as, the configuration circuitry 132 and the TV control circuit 134, respectively, of commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 131,508 filed December 29, 2020, by inventors Kirby Neihouser et al. and entitled TOOL FOR CONFIGURING HEADWALL UNITS USED FOR PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION, the complete disclosure of which has already been incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, or alternatively, linked locator unit 60 may be configured to perform any of the functions of the headwall units 144 disclosed in the aforementioned ‘508 patent application.

[0194] As was noted, headwall interface 118, television controller 116, and configuration circuitry 114 may be omitted from unlinked locator units 60. This is because unlinked locator units 60 are not adapted to communicate with a communication outlet 64 and these components are designed for communications with outlet 64. Unlinked locator units 60 may also omit (or include) network transceiver 124 (and / or BT transceiver 106). Linked locator units and / or unlinked locator units 60 may optionally include (or omit) video port 120. In some constructions, linked and / or unlinked locator units 60 may include a network transceiver adapted to communicate with network 80 (and patient support apparatus server 84 and / or remote server 86 via access points 82 and network 80).

[0195] As was noted, memory 178 of locator unit 60 may include one or more of the following additional items of information: boundary info 180, doorway info 182, and / or room info 184 (FIG. 5). Boundary information 180 refers to data that defines the boundary of the room 58 in which locator unit 60 is positioned. Doorway information 182, if included within memory 178 of locator unit 60, defines the position of one or more doorways within, or connected to, room 58. Room information 184 may include additional information about room 58 that is not contained within boundary info 180 and / ordoorway info 182. Such additional information may include, but is not limited to, any one or more of the following: a room number of room 58 (e.g. room 408); a floor of the healthcare facility in which room 58 is located (e.g. second floor), a wing, department, ward, or the like of which room 58 is a part (e.g. post-operative department, pediatric department, emergency department, etc.); an indication whether room 58 is a private room (one patient and one patient support apparatus 20) or a semi-private room (two or more patients and patient support apparatuses 20); the location of any areas of interest within the room, as well as an identification of what those areas of interest are (e.g. a handwashing station, a sink, a supply closet, a storage area for patient belongings, a safe for patient use, a cupboard, etc.); a height of room 58 (e.g. three meters); and / or the presence / absence and / or location of any other equipment within the room 58 (e.g. X-ray machine, MRI machine, etc.).

[0196] Further information regarding boundary info 180, doorway info 182, and / or room info 184 is found in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 597,412 filed November 9, 2023, by inventors Michael W. Graves et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. In some versions of patient support apparatus 20, locator unit 60, and / or server 84, any of these devices may carry out any of the functions disclosed in the aforementioned ‘412 patent application.

[0197] Controller 112, in some constructions, is configured to share its ID 122 and any one or more of boundary info 180, doorway info 182, and / or room info 184 with a patient support apparatus 20 that is positioned within room 58 and that becomes associated with locator unit 60. In some constructions, controller 112 may share some, or all, of this information with one or more devices 100 that are positioned within room 58 and that become associated with locator unit 60 and / or patient support apparatus 20. Any one or more of the boundary info 180, doorway info 182, and / or room info 184 may alternatively, or additionally, be stored within memory 134 of patient support apparatus 20 (and / or on server 84 and / or server 86).

[0198] Patient support apparatus 20 includes a controller 140, a memory 134, exit detection system 136, a scale system 144, monitoring system 138, a microphone 146, Bluetooth transceiver 128, one or more UWB transceivers 132, display 52 (which may be part of control panel 54a, and / or another control panel 54), network transceiver 96, a nurse call interface 154, and a plurality of additional components that are not shown in FIG. 5. It will be understood, of course, that the components of patient support apparatus 20 may vary in different constructions and that patient support apparatus 20 may include fewer components than that illustrated in FIG. 5, as well as, in some other constructions, additional components. For example, and without limitation, patient support apparatus 20 may omit may omit any one or more of the following: exit detection system 136, microphone 146, monitoring system 138, scale system 144, cable port 148, and / or Bluetooth transceiver 128. In other constructions, one or more other components may be omitted. In still other constructions, one or more additional components may be added beyond those shown in FIG. 5.

[0199] Each UWB transceiver 132 is positioned at a known location on patient support apparatus 20. This known location information is stored in memory 134 and / or elsewhere, and may be defined with respect to any suitable frame of reference that is common to patient support apparatus 20. The known location information may include the spatial relationship between UWB transceivers 132 and / or any other components of patient support apparatus 20. For example, in some constructions, the known location information includes the spatial relationship not only between UWB transceivers 132, but also the spatial relationships between UWB transceivers 132 and one or more of the following: the head end 38 of patient support apparatus 20, the foot end 40 of patient support apparatus 20, the sides of patient support apparatus 20, a reference point R defined on patient support apparatus 20, the floor, and / or other components and / or landmarks of patient support apparatus 20. In some constructions, this location information is used to determine the orientation of patient support apparatus 20 with respect to one or more walls 62, locator units 60, another patient support apparatus 20, and / or another object or structure within the healthcare facility.

[0200] In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 includes four UWB transceivers 132, each of which are positioned generally adjacent one of the four corners of patient support apparatus 20. The four UWB transceiver 132 may be attached to, or positioned near, the four corners of litter frame 28. In other constructions, the four UWB transceivers 132 are attached to, or positioned near, the four corners of base 22. Each of the four UWB transceivers 132 may also, or alternatively, be attached to the corners of support deck 30. Still other locations of the UWB transceivers 132, as well as different numbers of the UWB transceiver 132, may be incorporated into patient support apparatus 20. In those constructions of patient support apparatus 20 where one or more of the UWB transceivers 132 are coupled to components of patient support apparatus 20 that are movable (e.g. litter frame 28, which can have its height and orientation changed; or support deck 30 that can have its sections, such as head section 44, pivoted), sensors are included within patient support apparatus 20 that communicate the current position of the movable component to controller 140 so that controller 140 is able to determine the current positions of the UWB transceivers 132 and use those positions when determining the current location of a device 100 and / or a locator unit 60.

[0201] Nurse call interface 154 of patient support apparatus 20 (FIG. 5) includes Bluetooth transceiver 128 and a cable port 148. Nurse call interface 154 provides an interface for patient support apparatus 20 to communicate with outlet 64 of nurse call system 70. That is, nurse call interface 154 provides the means for patient support apparatus 20 to bidirectionally communicate with communication outlet 64.

[0202] When patient support apparatus 20 includes microphone 146 (FIG. 5), it is used to detect the voice of the patient when the patient wants to speak to a remotely positioned nurse. The patient’s voice is converted to audio signals by microphone 146 and controller 140 is adapted to forward these audio signals to an adjacent communications outlet 64 positioned in wall 62 (FIG. 4). When a cable 66 is coupled between cable port 148 of patient support apparatus 20 and outlet 64, controller 140 forwards these audio signals to outlet 64 via the cable 66. When no such cable 66 extends between patient support apparatus 20 and outlet 64, controller 140 wirelessly forwards these audio signals to the linked locator unit 60 that it is currently associated with (using transceiver 128, or in some constructions, one of transceivers 132) and controller 112 of linked locator unit 60 forwards these audio signals to outlet 64 via a cable 66. As was noted, outlet 64 is in electrical communication with a conventional nurse call system 70 that is adapted to route the audio signals to the correct nurse’s station 78, and / or other location. In some constructions, microphone 146 acts as both a microphone and a speaker. In other constructions, a separate speaker may be included in order to communicate the voice signals received from the remotely positioned nurse. In some constructions, the audio communication between patient support apparatus 20 and communications outlet 64 is carried out in any of the manners, and / or includes any of the structures, disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 847,753 filed April 14, 2020, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUSES WITH NURSE CALL AUDIO MANAGEMENT, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0203] In the example shown in FIG. 5, there are two devices 100 shown. This is merely for purposes of illustration. Fewer or greater numbers of devices 100 may be present and within detection range of patient support apparatus 20, locator unit 60, and / or other structures (e.g. a storage sensing unit 160 and / or a usage sensing unit 170).

[0204] Devices 100 may include any of the following: another patient support apparatus 20, an infusion pump, a vital sign sensor, an exercise device, a heel care boot, an IV stand and / or pole, a ventilator, a DVT pump, a patient monitor (e.g. a saturated oxygen (SpO2) monitor, an EKG monitor, a vital sign monitor, etc.), a patient positioning devices (e.g. a wedge, turning device, pump), an ambient sensor (e.g. air temperature, air flow, light, humidity, pressure, altitude, sound / noise), a mattress 42, an air pump for a mattress 42 (internal or external to the mattress 42), a patient repositioning system adapted to more easily allow a patient to be repositioned (such as being slid from one patient support apparatus to another), a bed extender adapted to extend a length of patient support apparatus 20, an incontinence pad or one or moresensors adapted to detect patient incontinence, a cord or line management device, a Holter device adapted to monitor and record a patient’s heart signals, a caregiver tag, badge, or ID bracelet worn by a caregiver that identifies the caregiver, a wedge used to help turn or reposition a patient, a patient temperature management device (or associated device, such as a one or more hoses, thermal wraps, etc.), a pendant, one or more mobility assistance devices that a patient may be expected to use, and / or other types of devices.

[0205] Devices 100 may come in different constructions. Two of such constructions are illustrated in FIG. 5. Device 100a includes a UWB tag 168 coupled to the device itself. UWB tag 168 includes a UWB transceiver 158a, a controller 162a, and a unique ID 164a. UWB tag 168 is adapted to range with, and in some cases communicate with, either or both the UWB transceiver 126 of fixed locator unit 60 and / or the UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20. In general, UWB transceivers 126 and / or 132 range with the UWB transceiver 158a of tag 168 in order to determine the position of tag 168 relative to patient fixed locator unit 60 and / or patient support apparatus 20. Controller 112 and / or controller 140 is configured to determine the position of UWB tag 168 in two or three dimensions within the room frame of reference and / or another frame of reference. As will be discussed in greater detail below, after determining the position of UWB tag 168, controller 112 and / or 140 may be configured to associate device 100 with fixed locator unit 60 and / or patient support apparatus 20 (and / or the patient assigned to patient support apparatus 20) if the tag 168 is positioned within a particular zone 152.

[0206] UWB tags 168 may take on any of the forms of the tags described in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 193,777 filed May 27, 2021, by inventors Thomas Deeds et al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR ASSOCIATING MEDICAL DEVICE DATA, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Tags 168 may also take on other forms.

[0207] Device 100b illustrates an example of a device that has its own UWB transceiver(s) built into it, rather than attached to it in the form of a tag 168. UWB device 100 includes a controller 162b, ID 164bd, and, in this particular example, two UWB transceivers 158b. It will be understood that device 100b may include other components as well and / or include fewer UWB transceivers 158b than the two shown in FIG. 5. UWB transceiver 158b is adapted to range with UWB transceiver(s) 132 of patient support apparatus 20 and / or UWB transceiver 126 of fixed locator unit 60. When UWB transceiver 158b ranges with the UWB transceiver(s) 132 of patient support apparatus 20, those patient support apparatus UWB transceivers 132 (and / or UWB transceiver 158d itself) determine their distance from each other and / or their angular relationship to each other. In some constructions, in addition to ranging with other UWB transceivers, UWB transceiver 158b is adapted to communicate other data (i.e. non-ranging data) with one or more other UWB transceivers, such as UWB transceivers 132 and / or 126.

[0208] Controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 repetitively determines the position of the UWB device 100 relative to patient support apparatus 20, one or more zones 152, and / or locator unit 60, and may take one or more actions (e.g. associating, disassociating, carrying out or terminating communications, etc.) in response to the current relative position of a device 100. Each of the UWB transceivers 158 of devices 10Oa-b is adapted to transmit its corresponding unique ID 160a-d to patient support apparatus 20 and / or to fixed locator unit 60 so that so that patient support apparatus 20 and / or fixed locator unit 60 knows which specific device 100 it is communicating with.

[0209] It will be understood that the components of devices 10Oa-b shown in FIG. 5 are merely illustrative examples of devices 100-d, and that different devices 100 may be utilized with the system of the present disclosure that have fewer, greater, and / or different components than those shown in FIG. 5.

[0210] Controllers 112, 140, and 162 may take on a variety of different forms. In the illustrated construction, each of these controllers is implemented as a conventional microcontroller. However, these controllers may be modified to use a variety of other types of circuits— either alone or in combination with one or more microcontrollers— such as, but notlimited to, any one or more microprocessors, field programmable gate arrays, systems on a chip, volatile or nonvolatile memory, discrete circuitry, and / or other hardware, software, or firmware that is capable of carrying out the functions described herein, as would be known to one of ordinary skill in the art. Such components can be physically configured in any suitable manner, such as by mounting them to one or more circuit boards, or arranging them in other manners, whether combined into a single unit or distributed across multiple units. The instructions followed by controllers 112, 140, and 162 when carrying out the functions described herein, as well as the data necessary for carrying out these functions, are stored in a corresponding memory that is accessible to that particular controller (e.g. memory 134 for controller 140). In some constructions, controllers 112, 140, and 162 may include and / or work with a microcontroller that is integrated into, or associated with, the UWB transceiver(s) aboard that particular device (e.g. UWB transceivers 126, 132, and 158), and that microcontroller may act as a location engine, either alone or in combination with its associated controller 112, 140, and 162, for determining the locations of the other UWB transceivers with which it is in communication.

[0211] Controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 utilizes UWB transceivers 132 to determine the relative position of patient support apparatus 20 with respect to one or more nearby locator units 60 and any devices 100 that are positioned within communication range of patient support apparatus 20. If patient support apparatus 20 is positioned within range of a locator unit 60, its UWB transceivers 132 communicate with the UWB transceiver 126 positioned on that locator unit 60, and the transceivers 132 and 126 exchange signals that enable them to determine the distances between themselves (i.e. they range with each other). This distance determination is done for each UWB transceiver 132 positioned onboard patient support apparatus 20 (or for as many as is necessary in order to determine an accurate position of locator unit 60 relative to patient support apparatus 20).

[0212] If a device 100 is positioned within range of the UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20, the UWB transceivers 158 of the device 100 range with the UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20. In some constructions, this ranging is done for each UWB transceiver 132 positioned onboard patient support apparatus 20 (or for as many as is necessary in order to determine an accurate position of the device 100 relative to patient support apparatus 20).

[0213] In some constructions, the UWB transceivers 126, 132, 158 may also be configured to determine an angular relationships between themselves during the ranging process. The distance (and angle information) in at least some constructions is calculated by UWB transceiver 132 and / or controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20. In other constructions, one or more of the locator unit 60 or device(s) 100 may also, or alternatively, calculate the distance (and angle information) and forward the results of this calculation to patient support apparatus 20 (either via a UWB transceiver or BT transceiver). In either situation, patient support apparatus controller 140 is informed of the distances (and, in some constructions, as noted, the angle information) between its UWB transceivers 132 and those onboard nearby fixed locator(s) 60 and / or device(s) 100. These distances and orientations are then used to calculate a relative position of patient support apparatus 20 to these devices (locator units 60 and / or devices 100) in a common frame of reference that may be defined in a fixed relationship to the patient support apparatus 20 or the device. Alternatively, or additionally, controller 140 may determine the position of locator unit(s) 60 and / or device(s) 100 in the room frame of reference, if patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator unit 60 has been supplied with boundary info 180.

[0214] Although FIGS. 4 and 5 only illustrate a single locator unit 60, it will be understood that a typical healthcare facility will include multiple locator units 60 positioned at different locations throughout the facility, including ones positioned within patient rooms and others positioned outside of patient rooms. Typically, at least one locator unit 60 will be positioned in each patient room of the healthcare facility, and if the patient room is intended to be occupied by more than one patient (e.g. it includes multiple bays), then additional locator units 60 may be included so that each patient support apparatus 20 will have a locator unit 60 positioned adjacent to each bay area in the room. Additional locator units 60, such as unlinked locator units 60, may also be positioned at other locations through the healthcare facility. In some constructions,any of locator units 60 may include more than one UWB transceiver 126.

[0215] The location of patient support apparatus 20 relative to locator units 60 and devices 100 is repetitively determined by the ranging signals exchanged between their UWB transceivers 126, 132, and 158. This exchange may be initiated by an interrogation signal that is sent by the UWB transceivers 126, 132, and / or 158 of any of these devices. The trigger for sending these interrogation signals (from any source) may simply be the passage of a predefined interval of time, in at least some constructions. That is, in some constructions, patient support apparatus 20, locator units 60, and / or devices 100 may be configured to periodically send out an interrogation signal that will be responded to by any UWB transceivers that are positioned with range of that signal. In those constructions where patient support apparatuses 20 are configured to send out such an interrogation signal, the time intervals between the interrogation signals may be varied depending upon the location, the number of devices 100 that are positioned within range of patient support apparatus 20, and / or the status of the patient support apparatus 20. For example, in some constructions, controller 140 may be configured to send out the interrogation signals with longer time intervals between them when the patient support apparatus is stationary (and, in some cases, when no devices 100 are currently positioned in communication range), and to send out the interrogation signals with shorter time intervals between them when the patient support apparatus 20 is in motion and / or when at least one device 100 is currently positioned within communication range of transceivers 132. In any of the aforementioned constructions, motion of the patient support apparatus 20 may be detected in any suitable manner, such as by including one or more motion sensors on the patient support apparatus 20 (e.g. one or more accelerometers), and / or by monitoring the values of the repetitive distance measurements and looking for changes indicative of movement.

[0216] In some constructions, the UWB transceivers 126, 132, and / or 158 are configured to act as UWB anchors and / or as UWB tags, as described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 597,412 filed November 9, 2023, by inventors Michael W. Graves et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION, the complete disclosure of which has already been incorporated herein by reference. Further aspects of the operation of the UWB transceivers 126, 132, and / or 158 is also described in the aforementioned ‘412 patent application.

[0217] For all of the UWB devices 100 that patient support apparatus 20 is configured to determine the location of (i.e. perform UWB ranging with), controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 uses the relative position information to determine how it will interact with these devices 100, including, in some cases, determining that the device 100 is currently in use (as opposed to being in storage). When controller 140 associates patient support apparatus 20 with one or more of devices 100, controller 140, server 84 and / or server 86 may take one or more of the following actions: display data from these devices 100 on display 52 and / or another display; automatically route data from one or more of these devices 100 to one or more appropriate destinations; retrieve data about one or more of these devices 100 from patient support apparatus server 84, EMR server 92, and / or badge sever 94 via network transceiver 96; send one or more signals from these devices 100 to communication outlet 64 (via a cable 66 or through linked locator unit 60); forward one or more signals from outlet 64 to one or more of these devices 100; retrieve data from EMR server 92 that was generated by these devices 100; retrieve data from these devices 100 via another route that is independent from EMR server 92; associate the device 100 with the particular patient assigned to patient support apparatus 20; determine characteristics about the device (e.g. whether it is functioning correctly); determine whether access has been gained to one or more enclosed area; determine whether the product is in use and / or in storage; and / or perform other actions.

[0218] For locator units 60, controller 140 is configured to determine whether to automatically associate patient support apparatus 20 with a particular locator unit 60 based on whether both locator unit 60 and patient support apparatus 20 (or a reference point R thereon) are positioned within a common zone (e.g. zone 152a of FIG. 4). For some devices 100, controller 140 is configured to determine whether to automatically associate patient support apparatus 20 with a particulardevice 100 based on whether the device 100 is positioned within a zone 152 that surrounds the patient support apparatus 20, such as zone 152b of FIG. 4. For other devices 100, controller 140 may utilize a different zone 152, such as a zone 152 that is matched to the boundaries of the room 58, or still another zone 152, for determining whether to associate the device 100 with the patient assigned to patient support apparatus 20 and / or to take other actions.

[0219] The association and disassociation process of patient support apparatus 20, locator unit 60, and devices 100, as well various aspects of zones 152 (e.g. their dynamic and / or static size, shape, and / or usage) are described in more detail in the previously mentioned commonly assigned U.S. patent application 63 / 597,412 filed November 9, 2023, by inventors Michael W. Graves et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS WITH ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0220] It will be understood that, although the accompanying drawings all depict all of the zones 152 as having rectangular shapes, these shapes may be varied, including shapes that are all curved and / or shapes that have a combination of curved and straight boundaries. For example, in some constructions, such as where patient support apparatus 20 has only a single UWB transceiver 132, the zones 152 may be spherical and / or arcuate. It will also be understood that zones 152 may be defined in two dimensions or three dimensions, and thus may refer to areas or volumes of space.

[0221] In at least one construction of patient support apparatus 20, controller 140 is configured to automatically determine if a top surface 142 of support deck 30 (i.e. the surface on which mattress 42 rests) has been properly cleaned by cleaning personnel or not. This automatic determination is done in a manner that is illustrated in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates a patient support apparatus 20 having one or more UWB transceivers 132 built therein, as well as a mattress 42 positioned thereon that includes a plurality of UWB transceivers 158 coupled thereto. Mattress 42 is one type of device 100 that controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 is configured to range with using UWB transceivers 132. Controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 is configured to determine the distance between UWB transceivers 132a and 158a when mattress 42 is lying flat on support surface a42, as well as to determine the distance between UWB transceivers 132b and 158b when mattress 42 is lying flat on support surface 142. Controller 140 stores these distances in memory 134 and compares them to distances measured during the cleaning of patient support apparatus 20.

[0222] More specifically, when patient support apparatus 20 is being cleaned, controller 140 repetitively monitors the distances D1 and D2, where distance D1 is the distance between UWB transceivers 132a and 158a and distance D2 is the distance between UWB transceivers 132b and 158b. If those distances do not increase by at least a threshold amount during the cleaning process, controller 140 concludes that support surface 142 was not sufficiently cleaned during the cleaning process and issues a notification. If those distances D1 and D2 do increase by at least the threshold amount, controller 140 concludes that the cleaning person has lifted mattress 42 sufficiently to reach under mattress 42 and to reach surface 142.

[0223] It will be understood that FIG. 6 only illustrates one end of mattress 42 being lifted, and that, in order for controller 140 to conclude that mattress 42 has been properly lifted to clean surface 142, controller 140 must detect that distance D2 (between UWB transceivers 132b and 158b) also increases by more than a threshold. This increased distance must occur within a threshold amount of time of the lifting of the other end of mattress 42. The time threshold can vary, but in some constructions may be on the order of several minutes, or a fraction of any hour, although other time thresholds may be used. Still further, in some constructions, controller 140 is configured to not only check to see if distances D1 and D2 increase by more than a distance threshold, but to also see if the amount of time distance D1 exceeds the distance threshold is greater than a first time threshold and the amount of time distance D2 exceeds the distance threshold exceeds a second time threshold (which may be the same, or different from, the first time threshold). That is, in some constructions of patient support apparatus 20, controller 140 is configured to check to see if mattress 42 is not only sufficiently lifted, butremains in a lifted position for a long enough time for a proper cleaning (and / or drying) of surface 142 to have taken place. The particular amount of time may be set by a user, in some constructions, and may vary from healthcare facility to healthcare facility, depending upon their particular cleaning procedures and / or depending upon the size of surface 142. In some constructions, the time threshold may be on the order of seconds to minutes to even an hour or more.

[0224] It will be understood that not only the position of the UWB transceivers 132 and 158, but also the number of UWB transceivers 132 and 158 may be changed from what is shown in FIG. 6. Such changes may impact the threshold distance by which mattress 42 should be detected as moving during the cleaning process. For example, in some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 may only include a single UWB transceiver 132 positioned generally near the center of litter frame 28. In such constructions, controller 140 may utilize a threshold distance value that is different from the threshold distance value used when two UWB transceivers 132a and 132b are used.

[0225] In some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 may also include any of the cleaning monitoring functions disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent number 10,143,608 issued December 4, 2018, to inventors Marko N. Kostic et al. and entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE USABILITY OF PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUSES, and / or disclosed in commonly assigned PCT patent application serial number PCT / US2023 / 026418 filed June 28, 2023, by Stryker Corporation and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0226] Controller 140 is configured, in some constructions, to automatically determine when a cleaning process is being performed on patient support apparatus 20 and to then begin monitoring distances D1 and D2 automatically (and, in some constructions, the amount of time the ends of mattress 42 remain lifted). Alternatively, in some constructions, controller 140 may be configured to automatically monitor distances D1 and D2 at all times and record any time they increase above the threshold (and for more than a threshold amount of time, if time is being monitored). As noted, if mattress 42 is not sufficiently lifted during the cleaning process, controller 140 may be configured to issue a notification.

[0227] In those constructions where controller 140 automatically determines when a cleaning process commences, controller 140 may be constructed to automatically detect the cleaning process in one or more different ways. In some constructions, controller 140 automatically detects a cleaning process has begun, or is about to begin, by communicating with one or more servers on network 80. For example, controller 140 may be constructed to interrogate, or receive data from, ADT server 102 indicating when a patient has been discharged, after which it may be customary for patient support apparatus 20 to be cleaned. Alternatively, or additionally, one or more servers on network 80 may store information about when patient support apparatus 20 needs to be cleaned, and / or is scheduled to be cleaned.

[0228] In some constructions, controller 140 may use one or more of UWB transceivers 132 to automatically detect the presence of one or more badges worn by cleaning personnel. When such a badge is detected within the vicinity of patient support apparatus 20, controller 140 concludes that patient support apparatus 20 may be about to be, or is in the process of being, cleaned. In some constructions, controller 140 may determine that a cleaning process has commenced, or is about to commence, in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned PCT patent application serial number PCT / US2023 / 026418 filed June 28, 2023, by Stryker Corporation and entitled BADGE AND PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, and / or in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent number 10,143,608 issued December 4, 2018, to inventors Marko N. Kostic et al. and entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING THE USABILITY OF PERSON SUPPORT APPARATUSES, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference. Alternatively, or additionally, a switch or control may be present on patient support apparatus 20 that is activated by cleaning personnel during the cleaning process. Still further, in some constructions, controller 140 may detect the nearby presence of a locator unit 60 that is positioned in a cleaning area of a healthcare facility, and utilize the nearby presence of such a locator unit 60 to automatically conclude that a cleaning process hasbegun or is about to begin. Still other methods may be used for detecting when a cleaning process has begun.

[0229] In some constructions, controller 140 may alternatively and / or additionally be constructed to automatically determine if someone accesses an area of interest on patient support apparatus 20, mattress 42, or another area within communication range of UWB transceivers 132. In such cases, controller 140 is configured to automatically detect this access and to issue a notification to appropriate personnel. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, controller 140 may be configured to automatically detect when a cover 172 is removed from an enclosure 174. In the example shown in FIG. 7, cover 172 is adapted to fit over enclosure 174 and to normally be secured thereto (e.g. with screws or other fasteners). If it is desirable to know when a person has gained access to the interior of enclosure 174, which in the example of FIG. 7 houses various electronics of patient support apparatus 20, a UWB tag 168 may be attached to a suitable location on cover 172. Controller 140 then uses one or more of UWB transceivers 132 to periodically monitor the location of the tag 168 on cover 172. That is, controller 140 first determines the position of tag 168 when cover 172 is properly attached to enclosure 174 and thereafter periodically checks to see if cover 172 has been moved from this initial position. If it has, then controller 140 issues a notification. If it has not, then controller 140 does not issue a notification.

[0230] More specifically, controller 140, after determining the position (2D or 3D) of cover 172 when attached to enclosure 174, monitors the position of cover 172 and looks for a change in its position that is greater than a threshold. In some cases, the threshold may be set to be just above the expected variability of the accuracy of the UWB position determination, while in other cases, the threshold may be set to other values. The value may also depend upon the construction of the particular cover 172, its location, and / or the amount of movement expected when the cover 172 is opened. In any case, controller 140 uses one or more UWB transceivers 132 to repetitively range with the tag 168 coupled to cover 172 and look for a change in position greater than the threshold. In some cases, the frequency of the ranging may be on the order of one or more seconds, although such ranging may be configured to occur more slowly or more quickly.

[0231] It will be understood that controller 140 may be configured to monitor access to other areas on patient support apparatus 20 besides the particular enclosure shown in FIG. 7. For example, in some constructions of patient support apparatus 20, controller 140 may be configured to monitor when a siderail 36 is disassembled. That is, siderails 36 are often constructed of two halves that are secured together to define an interior in which one or more mechanical and / or electrical components are housed. By placing a tag 168 on one or more of these halves, controller 140 may be configured to monitor when one half of the siderail is separated from the other, thereby indicating that someone has gained access to the interior of siderail 36. In other constructions, controller 140 may monitor whether access is gained to an enclosure on patient support apparatus 20 that houses one or more load cells and / or that houses any components where fluid is desirably excluded. Still other locations on patient support apparatus 20 may be monitored for access.

[0232] In some constructions, controller 140 may also and / or alternatively be constructed to monitor when access is gained to an enclosure that is separate from patient support apparatus 20. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, controller 140 may be configured to monitor a mattress 42 to determine if a person has gained access to the interior of the mattress, and / or has removed a cover over the mattress 42. In the example shown in FIG. 8, mattress 42 includes a cover 186 and a mattress core 188. Cover 186 is adapted to fit over core 188. In some constructions, cover 186 may include a zipper that fastens cover 186 to core 188 when zipped, and allows the cover 186 to be separated from core 188 when unzipped. In the example shown in FIG. 8, one portion of the zipper (e.g. one set of zipper teeth) may be secured along an edge 190 of the cover and a second portion (e.g. the set of mating zipper teeth) of the zipper may be secured along an edge 192 of the cover. When zipped together, the two edges 190 and 192 form a secure seal that connects cover 186 to core 188. Other forms of securing core 188 to cover 186 may also, or alternatively, be used, including, but not limited to, snaps, buttons, hook-and-loop fasteners, ties, etc.

[0233] Controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20, in some constructions, is adapted to monitor a distancebetween a first UWB tag 168a secured to the cover 186 and a second UWB tag 168b secured to core 188. In such constructions, controller 140 may utilize UWB transceivers 132 to determine the position of each tag 168 and then determine the distance between the two tags 168. If the tags 168 are positioned far enough away from each other to indicate that cover 186 has been taken off of core 188, controller 140 issues a notification. In an alternative construction, tags 168a and 168b monitor their distance from each other and one and / or the other (or another non-UWB transceiver) reports their distance to controller 140 when patient support apparatus 20 is positioned within communication range of the tags 168a and 168b. When their distance exceeds the threshold that is indicative of cover 186 being separated from core 188, controller 140 issues a notification.

[0234] In still another construction, one of tags 168a, b is secured at a fixed location to either cover 186 or core 188, and the other of the tags 168a, b is secured to the movable zipper pull. When the zipper pull is pulled up or down, the distance between tags 168a, b changes. This change is monitored by tags 168a, b themselves, and / or by controller 140 using UWB transceivers 132. In either situation, controller 140 issues a notification when someone gains access to the interior of mattress 42 (i.e. gains access to core 188).

[0235] It will be understood that controller 140 may be further configured to monitor when a person gains access to other types of devices besides mattress 42. In general, controller 140 may be configured to monitor access being gained to any sort of enclosure wherein a cover, or other component that normally blocks access, is moved to an open position. Such monitoring takes place by coupling a UWB tag 168 to the movable component and monitoring movement of that component. When the component moves by more than a threshold, controller 140 issues a notification.

[0236] FIG. 9 illustrates an asset tracking system 200 that one or more patient support apparatuses 20 and / or locator units 60 may be a part of. Asset tracking system 200 tracks the usage of products and issues notifications to appropriate personnel when a maintenance event is detected for one or more products. As will be discussed in greater detail below, asset tracking system 200 differentiates between the actual usage of products and their storage in a storage area. This allows tracking system to accommodate for the fact that many products, while in storage, may not require any maintenance and / or may not be progressing as quickly toward needing maintenance (such as their end-of-life date) as they otherwise would be if they were being used instead of being in storage.

[0237] Asset tracking system 200 includes one or more storage sensing units 160, one or more usage sensing units 170, a computing device, such as a server 202, and one or assets (i.e. products or devices) 100 that are being tracked by asset tracking system 200. Storage sensing units 160 are adapted to detect when a product 100 is positioned in storage and report this information to a centralized computing device, such as server 202. Usage sensing units 170 are adapted to detect when a product 100 is in a position corresponding to its being used and to report this information to the centralized computing device, such as server 202. Server 202 may be the same as patient support apparatus server 84, remote server 86, or another server, or it may be separate from patient support apparatus server 84 and / or remote server 86. Server 202 receives data from each of the storage sensing units 160 and usage sensing units 170 within a healthcare facility and determines when each of the monitored products 100 reaches a time when a maintenance event should be performed for the monitored products. The maintenance event may refer to performing service on the product, or it may refer to replacing the product.

[0238] Storage sensing unit 160 includes one or more UWB transceivers 204, a network transceiver 206, and a controller 208. Storage sensing units 160 are typically placed in areas of the healthcare facility where one or more products 100 are stored, such as in closets, drawers, storage rooms, etc. Controller 208 of storage sensing unit 160 uses UWB transceiver 204 to detect when a product 100 is positioned within a vicinity of storage sensing unit 160, in which case controller 208 concludes that the product 100 is in storage (and thus not in use). That is, controller 208 uses UWB transceiver 204 to detect how far away a product 100 is from storage sensing unit 160, and then compares that distance to astorage threshold distance. If the distance is less than the storage threshold distance, controller 208 concludes that the product is in storage. If the distance is not less than the storage threshold distance, controller 208 may conclude that the product’s status (i.e. use or storage) is indeterminate, particularly if the product 100 is also not within a usage threshold distance, as discussed more below.

[0239] The value of the storage threshold distance may, of course, vary depending upon the particular location of storage sensing unit 160 and / or the size of the adjacent storage area. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a storage sensing unit 160 is positioned in a closet 318 having a plurality of shelves on which products 100 may be stored. In this particular example, the storage threshold distance may be approximately equal to the distance between storage sensing unit 160 in closet 318 and the farthest shelf within that closet 318. Alternatively, the storage threshold distance may be selected to encompass substantially the entirety, if not the entirety, of closet 318. Either of these storage thresholds may be used so long as storage sensing unit 160 is able to correctly conclude that a product 100 that is within the selected storage threshold distance is in storage, rather than in use.

[0240] Storage sensing unit 160 uses network transceiver 206 to communicate with server 202. Controller 208 sends a message to server 202 when it detects a product 100 is within the storage threshold distance of storage sensing unit 160. Controller 208 uses UWB transceiver 204 to determine when the product 100 is within the storage threshold distance, as well as to read the ID 164 of the corresponding product. Controller 208 sends the product ID 164 to server 202 when it detects the product 100 is within the storage threshold distance. As will be discussed in more detail below, server 202 uses the product ID 164 to determine what the product is and / or what its maintenance schedule is.

[0241] Usage sensing unit 170 (FIG. 9), like storage sensing unit 160, includes one or more UWB transceivers 210, a network transceiver 212, and a controller 214. Usage sensing units 170 are typically placed in areas of the healthcare facility where one or more products are used, such as outside of closets, drawers, storage rooms, etc. and / or in areas where a particular product 100 may be used, such as in a room 58 (but outside of a closet 318 in the room or outside of a storage cabinet in the room), near a patient support apparatus 20, and / or in other locations. Controller 214 of usage sensing unit 170 uses UWB transceiver 210 to detect when a product 100 is positioned within a vicinity of usage sensing unit 170, in which case controller 214 concludes that the product 100 is in use (and thus not in storage). That is, controller 214 uses UWB transceiver 204 to detect how far away a product 100 is from usage sensing unit 170, and then compares that distance to a usage threshold distance. If the distance is less than the usage threshold distance, controller 214 concludes that the product is in use. If the distance is not less than the usage threshold distance, controller 214 may conclude that the product’s status (i.e. use or storage) is indeterminate. The usage threshold used by controller 214 may be different than the storage threshold used by controller 208 of storage sensing unit 160 and, in some cases, may be productdependent. That is, controller 214 may use different usage threshold distances for different products 100 when determining whether the product is in use or not.

[0242] The value of the usage threshold distance may also vary depending upon the particular location a usage sensing unit 170 is positioned. In the example shown in FIG. 4, if a usage sensing unit 170 is built into patient support apparatus 20, the usage threshold may correspond to one or more of the zones 152 shown therein (e.g. zone 152a-c). That is, if a product 100 is positioned in any of zones 152a-c in FIG. 4 (and different ones of these zones 152a-c may apply to different types of products 100), controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 may conclude that the product 100 is in use. In such cases, the products 100 are of the type expected to be used in the care of a patient while those products are positioned adjacent, or on, patient support apparatus 20 (i.e. in one of zones 152a-c).

[0243] Usage sensing unit 170 uses network transceiver 212 to communicate with server 202. Controller 214 sends a message to server 202 when it detects a product 100 is within a corresponding usage threshold distance of usage sensing unit 170. Controller 214 uses UWB transceiver 210 to determine when a product 100 is within the usage thresholddistance, as well as to read the ID 164 of the corresponding product. Controller 214 sends the product ID 164 to server 202 when it detects the product 100 is within the usage threshold distance. As will be discussed in more detail below, server 202 may be configured to use the product ID 164 to adjust the rate at which a maintenance event is approached in response to receiving a message from usage sensing unit 170 that a product 100 is in use.

[0244] Network transceivers 206 and 212 may be constructed in the same manner as network transceiver 96 of patient support apparatus 20, as discussed previously. UWB transceivers 204 and 210 may be constructed in the same manner as any of the UWB transceivers 126, 132, and / or 158 discussed previously. And controllers 208 and 214 may utilize any of the same types of hardware discussed above with respect to controllers 112, 140, and / or 162.

[0245] In some constructions of asset tracking system 200 (FIG. 9), one or more usage sensing units 170 may be built into patient support apparatus 20 and / or locator unit 60. Examples of this are shown in FIG. 5. In the usage sensing unit 170 shown therein, controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 performs the same role as controller 214 of usage sensing unit 170. Similarly, one or more of UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20 perform the same role as the one or more UWB transceivers 210 of usage sensing unit 170. Also, network transceiver 96 performs the same role as network transceiver 212 of usage sensing unit 170 when usage sensing unit 170 is built into patient support apparatus 20.

[0246] In a similar manner when a usage sensing unit 170 is built into a locator unit 60, controller 112 of locator unit 60 performs the same role as controller 214 of usage sensing unit 170. Similarly, one or more of the UWB transceivers 126 of locator unit 60 perform the same role as the one or more UWB transceivers 210 of usage sensing unit 170, and network transceiver 124 of locator unit 60 performs the same role as network transceiver 212 of usage sensing unit 170 when usage sensing unit 170 is built into locator unit 60.

[0247] As shown in the example of FIG. 9, there are two products 100a and 100b that are part of asset tracking system 200. A first one of the products 100a has a UWB tag 168 attached to it, while a second one of the products 100b has one or more UWB transceivers 158b built into it. Tag controller 162a of tag 168 oversees the operation of UWB transceiver 158a of UWB tag 168. Product 100b also has a product controller 162b built into it that not only oversees the operation of UWB transceiver 158b and network transceiver 164b, but also oversees one or more aspects of the operation of product 100b. It will be understood that the illustration of two products 100 in FIG. 9 has been done merely for purposes of explanation, and that asset tracking system 200 may operate with any number of products 100, whether such products 100 are tagged products (such as product 100a) or products 100 that have a UWB transceiver built into them (such as product 100b).

[0248] Server 202 is configured to receive messages from one or more storage sensing units 160 indicating that one or more particular products 100 are in storage, as well as to receives messages from one or more usage sensing units 170 indicating that one or more particular products 100 are in usage. When server 202 receives an initial message indicating that a particular product 100 has been detected in storage, server 202 looks up a corresponding maintenance schedule for that particular product (using product ID 164). The maintenance schedule may vary for different products 100, depending upon the particular type of product it is. For some products 100, the maintenance schedule may only indicate how long the product should be used before being discarded. For other products 100, the maintenance schedule may indicate how long the product should be used before being serviced in some manner (e.g. cleaned, checked by a technician, or otherwise serviced). And for any of the products 100, the maintenance schedule may indicate different standards for monitoring the product based upon whether the product is being used or is in storage. For example, some products may require periodic maintenance at intervals of X amount of time while in storage, but require periodic maintenance at intervals of Y amount of time while in usage, where Y may be smaller than X. Alternatively, or additionally, some products may require discarding after X amount of time while in storage and after Y amount of time in usage, where Y once again may beless than X.

[0249] In general, server 202 Is configured to start a maintenance counter in response to receiving an initial message from a storage sensing unit 160 indicating that a product 100 has been placed into storage. The initial value of the maintenance counter is selected based upon the maintenance schedule for that particular product. Thus, for example, if a particular product 100 is to be discarded after, say, one year in storage or six months in usage, server 202 may start a maintenance counter with a value of 365 days. Server 202 then begins to decrement this counter as time passes (e.g. decrements it by one day for each day that passes while the product 100 is in storage). If / when server 202 subsequently receives a message from usage sensing unit 170 indicating that the product has been placed into use, server 202 is configured to adjust the rate at which it decrements the counter. In the example discussed above, server 202 may be configured to adjust the rate such that it decrements the maintenance counter by two days for every day that passes while the product is in use. Thus, the maintenance counter would be decremented by one day per actual day that passes while the product is in storage, and decremented by two days per actual day that passes while the product is in use. When the counter reaches zero, server 202 is configured to issue a maintenance event notification.

[0250] It will be understood that the above-mentioned example is only one of many types of manners in which server 202 may select an initial maintenance counter value, and only one of the many types of manners in which server 202 may adjust the rate at which it decrements the maintenance counter value in response to receiving a message from a usage sensing unit 170. In some situations, the maintenance schedule itself may specify different rates for decrementing the maintenance counter based upon whether the product is in use or in storage. Server 202 is also configurable by authorized personnel so that such personnel can customize the value of the maintenance counter and different rates for decrementing the counter.

[0251] It will be understood that, although the foregoing description of server 202 has been with respect to a maintenance counter that is decremented to zero, server 202 may be alternatively configured to increment a counter until a non-zero target value is reached. In such situations, server 202 is configured to adjust the rate at which the counter is incremented based upon whether the product 100 is in usage or in storage. It will also be understood that server 202 is adapted to use different maintenance schedules and make different changes to the incrementing / decrementing rates based upon different products 100. That is, server 202 may be configured to monitor a plurality of different products 100 with different maintenance schedules and / or different rates of incrementing / decrementing the maintenance counter based the products’ usage and storage status. For some products, server 202 may use a rate of zero when the product is in storage and a non-zero rate when the product is in use.

[0252] In some instances, the maintenance counter may be defined in terms of usage, rather than in terms of time. For example, some products 100 may be single-use products. In such cases, server 202 is configured to monitor whether the product is used only once. For some such products, the single-use may refer to use with only a single patient, use for only a single therapy session, or some other form of single use. In such instances, the single use may be determined from a single presence of the product 100 within a particular zone 152. Other products 100 may have a maintenance counter value defining a number of uses that is greater than one.

[0253] In some instances, the maintenance counter may refer to a value that indicates an amount of degradation of a product 100, rather than an amount of time or a number of uses. For example, in some situations, the maintenance counter for a mattress 42 may refer to the height to which the top surface of a mattress returns when no patient is present on patient support apparatus 20. As the mattress ages, the mattress may become more compressed and / or less able to return to its original shape and / or height after a patient gets off the mattress. This height of the mattress 42 (i.e. the distance from the bottom surface to the top surface) may be measured by one or more UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20 that detect the position of a UWB transceiver 158 coupled to the mattress 42. In suchsituations, controller 140 measures this height when no patient is present and when the mattress is first put into service and records this value (or an average of these values over an initial time period). As the mattress 42 continues to be used, controller 140 periodically takes more measurements of this height when no patient is present. When the no-patient-present height decreases by more than a threshold specified by the maintenance counter, controller 140 may conclude that the mattress 42 should be replaced (i.e. that there is a maintenance event for the mattress 42).

[0254] In some constructions, controller 140 may look for the no-patient-present height decreasing below the threshold for a certain amount of time, or a certain number of instances, before concluding that a maintenance event has occurred. In other words, controller 140 may take an average of multiple height readings and / or require the height to be under the threshold for more than a fleeting moment before concluding that a maintenance event has been reached. Still further, if mattress 42 is an inflatable mattress, controller 140 may receive readings of the air pressure inside the mattress 42 and adjust the height readings to account for different air pressures inside the mattress 42. If the mattress is not powered (i.e. not inflatable), then controller 140 may omit adjustments to the height readings based on air pressure. In some instances, multiple UWB transceivers 158 may be coupled to the mattress 42 at multiple locations, and changes in the shape of the mattress 42 may be monitored by controller 140 using ranging between UWB transceivers 132 and the UWB transceivers 158 of the mattress 42. Changes in shape beyond one or more thresholds specified by the maintenance counter value may trigger a maintenance event for the mattress 42.

[0255] In some constructions, controller 140 may be configured to monitor the height of mattress 42 at all times in order to determine when a patient is present on patient support apparatus 20 or not. When one or more UWB transceivers 158 coupled to the mattress move downward toward support deck 30 of patient support apparatus 20, this is an indication that a patient is present patient support apparatus 20. This movement is detected by UWB transceivers 132 ranging with the one or more UWB transceivers 158 of mattress 42. In some constructions, controller 140 may also utilize readings from scale system 144 to confirm that a patient weight is present before concluding that a patient is present on patient support apparatus 20.

[0256] It will be understood that sensing units 160 and 170 may repetitively send messages to server 202 indicating which products 100 are currently being detected in storage and which products 100 are currently being detected in use. Such messages may be repetitively sent at different frequencies, depending upon system design. In some constructions, sensing units 160 and / or 170 may be constructed to send updates of the products 100 they sense within their usage and / or storage threshold distances every minute or so, although it will be understood that this frequency may be varied to occur more often than once a minute and / or varied to occur less frequently than once a minute. The frequency at which such updates are sent to server 202 may also be different for different products and / or different locations.

[0257] When server 202 determines that a maintenance event is due for a particular product 100, it determines the location of that particular product 100. Such location information comes from a nearby locator unit 60, a nearby patient support apparatus 20 (which is positioned at a known location) and / or the known location of a storage or usage sensing unit 160, 170. That is, the location of whichever ones of these items a product 100 is able to communicate with when the maintenance event is reached may serve as the location of the product 100. This location information is sent to server 202 and server 202 may include this location information in the notification it sends.

[0258] In some situations, when a product 100 is returned to storage after having been in use, server 202 is configured to make a further adjustment to the rate at which it changes the maintenance counter. In such situations, server 202 may be configured to adjust the counter in the same manner it originally adjusted the counter when the product 100 was initially in storage. In other words, server 202 may be configured to change the maintenance counter at a first rate when a product 100 is initially in storage, switch to changing the counter at a second rate when the product is moved out of storage and into use, and to switch back to adjusting the maintenance counter at the first rate if the product 100 is taken out of useand placed back into storage. Alternatively, server 202 may switch to adjusting the maintenance counter at a third rate different from the first and second rates when a product 100 is returned to storage after having been used.

[0259] FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an asset tracking system 200 that is partially, or wholly, integrated into a portion of a healthcare facility. The portion of the healthcare facility shown in FIG. 10 includes a bathroom 156, a hallway 166, and a patient room 58. In the example shown in FIG. 10, patient support apparatus 20 includes a usage sensing unit 170 built therein and closet 318 includes a storage sensing unit 160 installed therein. When a product 100 is stored in closet 318, storage sensing unit 160 sends a message to server 202 indicating that the product 100 is currently in storage in closet 318. When the product 100 is moved out of closet 318 and into a particular zone 152 defined around patient support apparatus 20, controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 concludes that the product 100 is now in use, and therefore sends a message to server 202 indicating that that particular product is now in use. Depending upon the particular product 100 that is detected by the UWB transceivers 132 of patient support apparatus 20, controller 140 may conclude that the product 100 is in use in response to detecting the product 100 in any of zones 152a, 152b, 152c, and / or 152d. Still further, it will be understood that controller 140 may utilize one or more zones 152 having different sizes and / or shapes from the zones 152a-d depicted in FIG. 10. In the example of FIG. 10, one or more of the zones 152a-d define the usage threshold distance discussed previously.

[0260] If the product is something that is intended to be attached to patient support apparatus 20 when in use, such as a line management device, a patient repositioning system, a DVT pump, etc., controller 140 may use zone 152b and / or 152c to conclude that the product 100 is in use. If the product does not necessarily have to be in close proximity to patient support apparatus 20 when in use, controller 140 may utilize a larger zone, such as zone 152c and / or 152d. The dimensions and / or shapes of any of zones 152 may be configurable by a user, in some constructions of asset tracking system 200.

[0261] For some products that are intended for use in certain areas of the healthcare facility, a separate usage sensing unit 170 may be positioned therein. In the example of FIG. 10, a usage sensing unit 170 may be placed in bathroom 156 for any products 100 that are intended for use within a bathroom. Alternatively, or additionally, controller 140 of patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to detect products 100 that are in bathroom 156 using its UWB transceivers 132, thereby eliminating the need to place a usage sensing unit 170 in bathroom 156.

[0262] FIGS. 11 -14 illustrate several examples of products 100 that may be monitored by asset tracking system 200 for usage / storage. FIG. 11 illustrates an IV pole 220. FIG. 12 illustrates a line management device 230. FIG. 13 illustrates a mattress 42 and a cover 172 or sheet 240. And FIG. 14 illustrates a mattress cover 172 or sheet 240 in both a first, folded configuration and a second, unfolded configuration. All of these products 100 are adapted to communicate with one or more storage sensing units 160 and one or more usage sensing units 170 so that their usage / storage status can be determined by server 202. As was noted earlier, these products are only a small sampling of the types of products that may be monitored by asset tracking system 200.

[0263] IV pole 220 is shown in FIG. 11 attached to a patient support apparatus 20. IV pole 220 includes a UWB tag 168 attached toward its top end. When IV pole 220 is in storage (e.g. closet 318), a storage sensing unit 160 detects the nearby presence of IV pole 220 and sends a message to server 202 indicating that IV pole 220 is in storage. When a usage sensing unit 170, such as, but not limited to, one built into patient support apparatus 20, detects that IV pole 220 has been moved to within a threshold distance of itself (e.g. within an appropriate zone 152, such as zone 152b or 152c), the usage sensing unit 170 sends a message to server 202 indicating that the IV pole 220 is in use.

[0264] Line management device 230 includes a plurality of openings 232 and a flat surface 234. Openings 232 are adapted to receive cords, cable, wires, oxygen lines, IV lines, and / or other types of lines that may be used in a healthcare facility. Flat surface 234 is adapted to be secured to a surface of patient support apparatus 20, or to another flatsurface. In some situations, flat surface 234 may be secured to another object by use of an adhesive coating on flat surface 234, although other fasteners may be used to secure flat surface 234 to an object. Line management device 230 helps hold, organize, and separate lines and / or cords / cables so that they do not become entangled. Line management device 230 includes a UWB tag 168 attached thereto. When line management device 230 is in storage (e.g. closet 318), a storage sensing unit 160 detects the nearby presence of line management device 230 and sends a message to server 202 indicating that line management device 230 is in storage. When a usage sensing unit 170, such as, but not limited to, one built into patient support apparatus 20, detects that line management device 230 has been moved to within a threshold distance of the usage sensing unit 170 (e.g. within an appropriate zone 152, such as zone 152b or 152c), the usage sensing unit 170 sends a message to server 202 indicating that the line management device 230 is in use.

[0265] FIG. 13 illustrates a mattress 42 over which a cover 172 or sheet 240 may be positioned. The mattress 42 includes a first UWB tag 168a and the cover 172 or sheet 240 includes a second UWB tag 168b. When the distance between tags 168a and 168b, which they determine through UWB ranging, is less than or equal to a threshold distance D1, this serves as a proxy indication that the cover 172 or sheet 240 is in use. Thus, when either of tags 168a or 168b detect that they are within distance D1 , one or both of them report this information to a nearby usage sensing unit 170, such as one that is built into patient support apparatus 20. The usage sensing unit 170 then sends a message to server 202 indicating that the cover 172 or sheet 240 are in use. Alternatively, in some constructions, mattress 42 may omit a tag 168, and controller 140 can instead use one or more of its UWB transceivers 132 to check to see if the tag 168b of cover 172 or sheet 240 is within a threshold distance of the support deck 30 of patient support apparatus 20. If so, controller 140 reports to server 202 that the cover 172 or sheet 240 is in use. If not, controller 140 may conclude that the cover 172 or sheet 240 are not in use, in which case is may report this fact to server 202 and / or it may simply not report anything to server 202.

[0266] FIG. 14 illustrates another manner in which asset tracking system 200 may be configured to distinguish between a product 100 being in use and being in storage. In the example shown in FIG. 14, a cover 172 or sheet 240 is shown in a folded non-use configuration on the lefthand side, and in a flattened use configuration on the righthand side. The cover 172 or sheet 240 includes two or more UWB tags 168a, b. When the cover 172 or sheet 240 is in the folded configuration on the left, the distance between the two UWB tags 168 is a distance D1. When in the unfolded configuration on the right, the distance between the two UWB tags 168 is a distance D2. By repetitively measuring the distances between tags 168a, b, it can be determined whether the distance corresponds to distance D1 or distance D2, and from that information it can be determined whether the cover 172 or sheet 240 is in use (i.e. the distance is equal to, or close to, D2) or is in storage (i.e. the distance is equal to, or close to, D1). In some constructions, tags 168a, b repetitively measure this distance and report the results to a nearby storage sensing unit 160 and / or a nearby usage sensing unit 170. Alternatively, in some constructions, a nearby storage sensing unit 160 and / or a nearby usage sensing unit 170 may measure the distance between the tags 168, in which case the unit 160 or 170 determines the distance itself and tags 168 do not need to report the distance to any units 160 or 170.

[0267] It will be understood that, although FIG. 14 illustrates only a cover 127 or sheet 240, the principles illustrated in FIG. 14 can be applied to any product 100 that is folded, either partially or wholly, when in storage and that is unfolded, either partially or wholly, when in use, or vice versa. That is, the usage / storage status of any product 100 may be determined by comparing the distance between two tags 168 (or UWB transceivers 158) attached to the product (or integrated therein). One distance (or range of distances) will correspond to the product being used, and the other distance (or range of distances) will correspond to the product being used. As with the cover 127 and sheet 240 discussed above, the distance may be determined directly from ranging between the two UWB tags 168 or it may be determined by ranging between the tags 168 and one or more UWB transceivers that are part of a sensing unit 160 and / or 170.

[0268] Returning to FIG. 11 , in some constructions of patient support apparatus 20, controller 140 may beconfigured to automatically use one or more UWB transceivers 132 to determine if a piece of equipment has been damaged, such as an IV pole 220. As shown in FIG. 11 , a top end of IV pole 220 is bent. The unbent position of the top end of IV pole 220 is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 11. When IV pole 220 is bent, the distance between tag 168 and one of the UWB transceivers 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 is a first distance D1. When IV pole 220 is not bent, the distance between tag 168 and the UWB transceiver 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 is a second distance D2. By repetitively monitoring the distance between one or more UWB transceivers 132 onboard patient support apparatus 20 and the UWB tag 168 at the top end of IV pole 220, controller 140 is able to automatically detect if an IV pole 220 has been bent or not. When such a bent pole is detected, controller 140 issues a notification.

[0269] Although FIG. 11 specifically illustrates a bent IV pole 220, it will be understood that the principle illustrated in FIG. 11 may be applied to other components and / or products 100 besides IV poles 220. That is, any component or device 100 that, when damaged, may have its position relative to another UWB transceiver changed, can be monitored for such changes in position. When such a change occurs, a notification may be issued by controller 140.

[0270] FIG. 15 illustrates one example of a notification screen 300 that may be displayed on a display in response to asset tracking system 200 detecting that a product 100 has reached the time for its maintenance event. Notification screen 300 includes a back control 302, an acknowledgement control 304, and an information window 306. Information window 306 informs the viewer that a product 100 has reached the time for its maintenance event. In the particular example shown in FIG. 15, the maintenance event is the end-of-life of the product 100 (i.e. the product needs replacement). However, it will be understood that the maintenance event may refer to some sort of servicing of the product 100, rather than its replacement, in which case the content of window 306 will be changed. Further, although window 306 refers to “product X," it will be understood that notification screen 300 will actually provide an identity of the product 100 when screen 300 is displayed. The identity of the product is determined by server 202 from product ID 164.

[0271] In order to clear screen 300, the user must press on acknowledgment control 304 or back control 302, either of which cause the display to display whatever screen was previously being displayed. In some constructions, if the user does not press on the acknowledgement control 304, but instead presses on the back control 302, the display may periodically return to displaying screen 300 until the user presses on acknowledgement control 304. In other constructions, screen 300 may be displayed only once for a given product’s maintenance event.

[0272] FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a notification screen 310 that may be displayed on a display in response to controller 140 detecting a person has gained access to an enclosure 174 (or mattress core 188), as previously discussed with respect to FIGS. 7 and 8. Notification screen 310 includes a back control 302, an acknowledgement control 304, and an information window 306. Information window 306 informs the viewer that an interior of a product 100 (or component thereof) has been accessed. In the particular example shown in FIG. 16, the mattress core has been accessed. However, it will be understood that this particular type of access may be different (e.g. the electrical enclosure of FIG. 7 may have been accessed), in which case the content of window 306 will be changed.

[0273] As with screen 300, in order to clear screen 310, the user must press on acknowledgment control 304 or back control 302, either of which cause the display to display whatever screen was previously being displayed. In some constructions, if the user does not press on the acknowledgement control 304, but instead presses on the back control 302, the display may periodically return to displaying screen 310 until the user presses on acknowledgement control 304. In other constructions, screen 310 may be displayed only once for an individual act of accessing an enclosure or interior of a product.

[0274] It will be understood that screens 300 and 310 may be displayed in one or more different places. In some constructions, screens 300 and / or 310 may be displayed on display 52 of patient support apparatus 20. Additionally, or alternatively, screens 300 and / or 310 may be displayed on a screen of any computing device that is communicativelycoupled to server 202, such as, but not limited to, any of electronic devices 98. Server 202 and / or controller 140, in some constructions, are configured to automatically select which particular electronic devices 98 should receive a notification (in response to an access, a maintenance event, an improper cleaning event, a bent IV pole event, etc.) based upon the location of the event leading to the notification. For example, in some cases, if the event requiring notification occurs within a particular room 58 and the event is one in which a caregiver assigned to the patient in that room should be aware of, server 202 and / or controller 140 may send the notification to only those electronic devices 98 that are associated with the caregiver(s) associated with that particular room / patient. Alternatively, if the event is a maintenance event or the like that should be sent to the same service personnel, regardless of its location within a healthcare facility, server 202 and / or controller 140 may send the notification to only those electronic devices 98 that are associated with the service personnel (or a subset of them). In this manner, server 202 and / or controller 140 may be configured to target the notifications to selected individuals, thereby preventing notifications from being sent to the electronic devices 98 of individuals who do not need to know about the notifications.

[0275] It will be understood that additional notifications screens similar to screens 300 and 310 may be issued for other events detected by controller 140 and / or server 212, such as improper / proper cleaning of patient support apparatus 20, a damaged component of patient support apparatus 20, and / or other events.

[0276] In addition to, or in lieu of the screens 300 and 310 of FIGS. 15 and 16, the notifications issued by server 202 and / or controller 140 may include a text message, an email, a voice message, a phone call, or another kind of message sent to one or more electronic device 98. The electronic device 98 may include an individual’s phone, badge, computer, and / or other device. The notifications issued by controller 140 and / or server 202 may also, or alternatively, include a local indication on patient support apparatus 20, such as one or more lights, sounds, and / or graphics or text displayed on one or more control panels 54.

[0277] As was noted above, authorized individuals can customize server 202 by defining rules of who should receive a notification (caregivers, transport personnel, volunteers, security, service personnel, etc.) and how those individual(s) should be notified (text, email, phone, etc.) so that the server 202 carries out the notifications in the manner desired by the healthcare facility. Server 202 may automatically determine which caregiver(s) and / or other personnel to notify based on these customized rules, as well as based upon any patient-to-room, patient-to-bed, patient-to-bed-bay, patient-to-caregiver, caregiver-to-room, caregiver-to-patient-support-apparatus, and / or caregiver-to-bed-bay correlations.

[0278] In some constructions, server 202 is configured to determine patient-to-room, patient-to-bed, patient-to- bed-bay, patient-to-caregiver, caregiver-to-room, caregiver-to-patient-support-apparatus, and / or caregiver-to-bed-bay correlations in any of the manners disclosed in either or both of the following: commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 62 / 826,097, filed March 29, 2019 by inventors Thomas Durlach et al. and entitled PATIENT CARE SYSTEM, and commonly assigned Indian patent application serial number 202211062036 filed October 31, 2022, in the Indian Patent Office by inventors Thomas Durlach et al. and entitled CAREGIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0279] It will be understood that, although the foregoing description has described storage sensing unit 160 and usage sensing unit 170 as two separate devices, in some situations, these two units 160, 170 may be combined into a single unit that performs the functions of both sensing when a product 100 is in storage and when the product is in use. Such situations may arise when the storage location of one or more products is positioned within UWB sensing range of the area where it is intended to be used.

[0280] It will also be understood that, although the foregoing description has referred to UWB transceivers for carrying out the various position determination functions described herein, such UWB transceivers may be replaced with other transceivers that utilize other location-determining technology, such as, but not limited to, Bluetooth communications.

[0281] Still further, it will also be understood that, although the foregoing description has described patient support apparatus 20 as being configured to perform a variety of different functions, it is not necessary for patient support apparatus 20 to be able to perform all of these functions. In other words, in some constructions, patient support apparatus 20 may only perform one of the previously described functions of access monitoring, usage sensing (or storage sensing), damaged component detection (e.g. IV pole 220), proper / improper cleaning detection, etc. In other constructions, patient support apparatus 20 may be configured to include two or more of any of these functions.

[0282] The term “associates,” or its variants, as used herein, refers to the identification by controller 140 that a UWB device 100 is correlated with a particular patient support apparatus 20 such that controller 140 of the patient support apparatus 20 can safely conclude that the UWB device 100 is intended for use with the patient assigned to that particular patient support apparatus 20. Alternatively, or additionally, the term “associates,” or its variants, as used herein, refers to the identification by controller 140 and / or controller 112 that a UWB device 100 is positioned within a sufficiently close proximity to patient support apparatus 20 or fixed locator unit 60 (i.e. within a particular zone 152) such that the controller 140 or 112 can safely conclude that the location of the UWB device 100 within the healthcare facility is the same as the location of patient support apparatus 20 and / or fixed locator unit 60. Alternatively, or additionally, the term “associates,” or its variants, as used herein, may mean the pairing of patient support apparatus 20 and / or fixed locator unit 60 with another device 100. Such pairing may occur in response to the device 100 being positioned within a particular zone 152. Still further, the term “associates” or its variants may refer to a device 100 being positioned within sufficiently close proximity to a sensing unit 160, 170 such that the storage sensing unit 160 concludes the product 100 is in storage, and / or that the usage sensing unit 170 concludes that the product is in use.

[0283] Once an association has been made between a particular UWB device 100 and a particular patient support apparatus 20 and / or a particular locator unit 60, a further association may be made between that particular UWB device 100 and a particular patient. This task of associating and disassociating a particular patient to a particular UWB device 100 may also be carried out locally by controller 140 and / or 112, or it may be carried out remotely by patient support apparatus server 84 and / or remote server 86. Such remote association to a particular patient generally involves patient support apparatus server 84 using information from ADT server 102 or EMR server 92 on network 80 to determine the room location (e.g. room number and / or bed bay ID) of a particular patient, and then matching that room location with the room location of a particular UWB device 100 (which is reported to server 84 by patient support apparatus 20 or fixed locator unit 60 after either or both of these have associated themselves with the UWB device 100). In other words, server 84 consults a conventional server on network 80 that correlates specific patients to specific room numbers and / or bay areas, such as ADT server 102 and / or EMR server 92, and then uses the known room numbers and / or bay areas of specific UWB devices 100 to match a specific patient to those specific UWB devices 100.

[0284] In some constructions, UWB transceivers 126, 132, 158, 204, and / or 208 (FIG. 5) may operate in the same manner as, and include any of the same functions as, the anchors and pseudo-anchors disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 193,777 filed May 27, 2021, by inventors Thomas Deeds et al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR ASSOCIATING MEDICAL DEVICE DATA, the complete disclosure of which has already been incorporated herein by reference. In some constructions, locator units 60 may also be configured to determine the location of a device 100 in any of the manners disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 132,514 filed December 31, 2020, by inventors Alexander Bodurka et al. and entitled PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE NETWORKS, and in commonly assigned U.S. patent application serial number 63 / 154,677 filed February 27, 2021 , by inventors Celso Pereira et al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE LOCATION, the complete disclosures of both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0285] In some constructions, devices 100 may include any of the devices disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. patent application 63 / 154,677 filed February 27, 2021, by inventors Celso Pereira et al. and entitled SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING PATIENT SUPPORT APPARATUS AND MEDICAL DEVICE LOCATION, the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0286] From the foregoing description, it can be seen that asset tracking system 200 is able to track products 100 and record the number of uses for maintenance purposes, and to enable healthcare facility personnel to better track their assets and remove products from service once their expected life has expired. Asset tracking system 200 may utilize a time-based expected life or it may utilize a usage-based life to be established for different products 100.

[0287] In situations where a time-based life of a product 100 is used, a tag 168 may be attached to a product 100 and the first date at which is it used is determined by a usage sensing unit 170. This date is recorded by server 202 and the maintenance schedule, which may refer to the expected lifetime of the product 100, is then followed by server 202. Server 202 may further be configured to notify appropriate healthcare personnel when the product 100 is nearing its end of life (or other maintenance event), such as, for example, when the product is only 10% away from the maintenance event. The notification may take the form of any of the notifications previously discussed. The notification will remind the healthcare personnel to order a replacement and remove the product 100 from service. This may be especially helpful for products 100 that are not typically visible to healthcare personnel, such as mattress cores 188.

[0288] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the use of the term “transceiver” throughout this specification is not intended to be limited to devices in which a transmitter and receiver are necessarily within 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 transmitter-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 structures.

[0289] Various additional alterations and changes beyond those already mentioned herein can be made to the above-described embodiments. This disclosure is presented for illustrative purposes and should not be interpreted as an exhaustive description of all embodiments or to limit the scope of the claims to the specific elements illustrated or described in connection with these embodiments. For example, and without limitation, any individual element(s) of the described embodiments may be replaced by alternative elements that provide substantially similar functionality or otherwise provide adequate operation. This includes, for example, presently known alternative elements, such as those that might be currently known to one skilled in the art, and alternative elements that may be developed in the future, such as those that one skilled in the art might, upon development, recognize as an alternative. Any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a,” “an,” “the” or “said,” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. An asset tracking system comprising: a first sensing unit adapted to detect (a) when a product is positioned in a storage area of a healthcare facility where the product is unused, and (b) a product ID; the first sensing unit further adapted to transmit a first message indicating a first time at which the first sensing unit detects the product positioned in the storage area; a second sensing unit adapted to detect (a) when the product is put into use, and (b) the product ID; the second sensing unit adapted to transmit a second message indicating a second time at which the second sensing unit detects the product is used; and a computing device in communication with the first and second sensing units, the computing device adapted to perform the following:(1) use the product ID to select a value for a maintenance counter, the value indicating when a maintenance event should be performed for the product;(2) change the maintenance counter at a first rate in response to receipt of the first message;(3) change the maintenance counter at a second and different rate in response to receipt of the second message; and(4) issue a notification when the maintenance counter reaches a target.

2. The asset tracking system of claim 1 wherein the product is one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a patient support apparatus, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

3. The asset tracking system of claim 1 wherein the maintenance event is a replacement of the product.

4. The asset tracking system of claim 1 wherein the maintenance event is a performance of service on the product.

5. The asset tracking system of claim 1 wherein the first sensing unit includes a first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver adapted to communicate with a second UWB transceiver coupled to the product.

6. The asset tracking system of claim 5 wherein the second sensing unit includes a third UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver.

7. The asset tracking system of claim 6 wherein the second sensing unit is built into a patient support apparatus.

8. The asset tracking system of claim 7 wherein the second sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine a distance between the third UWB transceiver and the second UWB transceiver, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the second message to the computing device.

9. The asset tracking system of claim 8 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the distance is greater than the threshold.

10. The asset tracking system of claim 5 wherein the second sensing unit includes a plurality of UWB transceivers built into a patient support apparatus and adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver, and wherein the second sensing unit is further adapted to determine a three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver relative to the patient support apparatus.

11. The asset tracking system of claim 10 wherein the second sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is inside or outside of a predetermined volume of space, and to send the second message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWBtransceiver is inside the predetermined volume of space.

12. The asset tracking system of claim 11 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is outside of the predetermined volume of space.

13. The asset tracking system of claim 5 wherein the second sensing unit includes a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product, and the second UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a distance between the second and third UWB transceivers.

14. The asset tracking system of claim 13 wherein the second sensing unit includes a controller adapted to compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is greater than the threshold, to send the second message to the computing device.

15. The asset tracking system of claim 14 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the distance is less than the threshold.

16. The asset tracking system of claim 15 wherein the product is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in the storage area.

17. The asset tracking system of claim 16 wherein the second and third UWB transceivers are positioned a first distance less than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are folded, and are positioned a second distance more than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

18. The asset tracking system of claim 1 wherein the computing device is further adapted to return to changing the maintenance counter at the first rate in response to the first sensing unit detecting a return of the product to the storage area.

19. The asset tracking system of claim 6 wherein both the first sensing unit and the second sensing unit are incorporated into a patient support apparatus.

20. The asset tracking system of claim 1 wherein the computing device is adapted to receive an estimate of a location of the product when the second message is received.

21. The asset tracking system of claim 20 wherein the computing device is adapted to receive an estimate of a location of the product from the second sensing unit after the second sensing unit detects when the product is in use.

22. The asset tracking system of claim 6 wherein the second sensing unit is built into a mattress.

23. The asset tracking system of claim 22 wherein the second sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine a distance between the third UWB transceiver and the second UWB transceiver, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the second message to the computing device.

24. The asset tracking system of claim 23 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the second message to the computing device if the distance is greater than the threshold.

25. The asset tracking system of claim 1 wherein the first sensing unit includes a first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver, the second sensing unit includes a second UWB transceiver, and the first and second UWB transceivers are adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product.

26. The asset tracking system of claim 25 wherein the product is a mattress and the second sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine if a surface of a patient support apparatus underneath the mattress has been properly cleaned or not.

27. The asset tracking system of claim 26 wherein the controller is adapted to determine if the surface has been properly cleaned or not by repetitively detecting a position of the third UWB transceiver relative to the second UWB transceiver.

28. The asset tracking system of claim 1 further including third sensing unit adapted to detect when aperson accesses a component of the product and to send a third message to the computing device indicating that a person has accessed the component of the product.

29. The asset tracking system of claim 28 wherein the computing device is further adapted to change the maintenance counter in response to receiving the third message.

30. The asset tracking system of claim 28 wherein the third sensing unit is adapted to detect when a person accesses the component of the product by detecting when a distance between two locations associated with the product move away from each other by more than a threshold distance.

31. The asset tracking system of claim 30 wherein the product is a mattress and a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on a cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that does not move with the zipper.

32. An asset tracking system comprising: a patient support apparatus and a computing device in communication with the patient support apparatus; wherein the patient support apparatus includes: a support surface adapted to support a patient; a sensing unit adapted to detect when a product is put into use and to transmit a message to the computing device indicating the product is being used, the sensing unit including a first ultra- wideband (UWB) transceiver adapted to wirelessly communicate with a second UWB transceiver coupled to the product; and wherein the computing device is adapted to perform the following:(1) select a value for a maintenance counter, wherein the value indicates when a maintenance event should be performed for the product;(2) change the maintenance counter at a first rate while the product is in storage;(3) change the maintenance counter at a second and different rate in response to receipt of the message; and(4) issue a notification when the maintenance counter reaches a target.

33. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the product is one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

34. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the maintenance event is a replacement of the product.

35. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the maintenance event is a performance of service on the product.

36. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine a distance between the first UWB transceiver and the second UWB transceiver, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the message to the computing device.

37. The asset tracking system of claim 36 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the distance is greater than the threshold.

38. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the sensing unit includes a plurality of UWB transceivers adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver, and wherein the sensing unit is further adapted to determine a three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver relative to the patient support apparatus.

39. The asset tracking system of claim 38 wherein the sensing unit includes a controller adapted todetermine if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is inside or outside of a predetermined volume of space, and to send the message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is inside the predetermined volume of space.

40. The asset tracking system of claim 39 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the three-dimensional position of the second UWB transceiver is outside of the predetermined volume of space.

41. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the product includes a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product, and the second UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a distance between the second and third UWB transceivers.

42. The asset tracking system of claim 41 wherein the sensing unit includes a controller adapted to compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is greater than the threshold, to send the message to the computing device.

43. The asset tracking system of claim 42 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the distance is less than the threshold.

44. The asset tracking system of claim 43 wherein the product is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in storage.

45. The asset tracking system of claim 44 wherein the second and third UWB transceivers are positioned a first distance less than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are folded, and are positioned a second distance more than the threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

46. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the computing device is further adapted to return to changing the maintenance counter at the first rate in response to the product being returned to storage.

47. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the patient support apparatus is adapted to send an estimate of a location of the product when the product is being used.

48. The asset tracking system of claim 32 further including a second sensing unit adapted to detect when the product is positioned in a storage area of a healthcare facility where the product is unused and to transmit a second message indicating a time at which the second sensing unit detects the product positioned in the storage area.

49. The asset tracking system of claim 48 wherein the second sensing unit includes a third UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with the second UWB transceiver coupled to the product.

50. The asset tracking system of claim 32 wherein the product is a mattress and the sensing unit includes a controller adapted to determine if the support surface of the patient support apparatus underneath the mattress has been properly cleaned or not.

51. The asset tracking system of claim 50 wherein the mattress includes a third UWB transceiver, and the controller is adapted to determine if the support surface has been properly cleaned or not by repetitively detecting a position of the third UWB transceiver relative to the second UWB transceiver.

52. The asset tracking system of claim 50 wherein the mattress includes a third UWB transceiver, and the controller is adapted to determine if the support surface has been properly cleaned or not by repetitively detecting a position of the third UWB transceiver relative to the first UWB transceiver.

53. The asset tracking system of claim 32 further including a second sensing unit adapted to detect when a person accesses a component of the product and to send a second message to the computing device indicating that a person has accessed the component of the product.

54. The asset tracking system of claim 53 wherein the computing device is further adapted to change the maintenance counter in response to receiving the second message.

55. The asset tracking system of claim 53 wherein the second sensing unit is adapted to detect when aperson accesses the component of the product by detecting when a distance between two locations associated with the product move away from each other by more than a threshold distance.

56. The asset tracking system of claim 55 wherein the product is a mattress and a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on a cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that does not move with the zipper.

57. A patient support apparatus comprising: a support surface adapted to support a patient; a first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver adapted to communicate with a second UWB transceiver coupled to a mattress; and a controller adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine a first distance between the first and second UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a second distance between the first and second UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a first portion of the mattress has been lifted if the second distance exceeds the first distance by more than a first threshold.

58. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 wherein the mattress further includes a third UWB transceiver coupled thereto, and wherein the controller is further adapted to determine a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a fourth distance between the first and third UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the fourth distance exceeds the third distance by more than a second threshold.

59. The patient support apparatus of claim 58 further including a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and wherein the controller is further adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

60. The patient support apparatus of claim 58 wherein the first and second thresholds are the same.

61. The patient support apparatus of claim 58 wherein the first and second thresholds are different.

62. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 further including a third UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with a fourth UWB transceiver coupled to the mattress, and wherein the controller is further adapted to use the third UWB transceiver to determine a third distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a fourth distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the fourth distance exceeds the third distance by more than a second threshold.

63. The patient support apparatus of claim 62 further including a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and wherein the controller is further adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

64. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 wherein the controller is further adapted to determine if a patient is currently present on the support surface by determining if the first distance is less than a second threshold.

65. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 wherein the controller is further adapted to determine when a person has accessed a core of the mattress by detecting when a third distance between two locations on a cover of the mattress move away from each other by more than a second threshold.

66. The patient support apparatus of claim 65 wherein a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on the cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that does not move with the zipper.

67. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to monitor when a third distance between two locations on the patient support apparatus move away from each other by more than a second threshold.

68. The patient support apparatus of claim 67 wherein a first one of the two locations includes a movable cover positioned over an opening into an enclosure of the patient support apparatus.

69. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when the mattress is being used and to transmit a message to a computing device when the mattress is being used.

70. The patient support apparatus of claim 69 wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when the mattress is not being used and to transmit a second message to the computing device when the mattress is not being used.

71. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when a product other than the mattress is being used and to transmit a message to a computing device when the product is being used.

72. The patient support apparatus of claim 71 wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when the product is not being used and to transmit a second message to the computing device when the product is not being used.

73. The patient support apparatus of claim 72 wherein the product is one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

74. The patient support apparatus of claim 71 wherein the controller is adapted to determine a distance between the first UWB transceiver and a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product, compare the distance to a second threshold, and if the distance is less than the second threshold, send the message to the computing device.

75. The patient support apparatus of claim 71 wherein the product includes a third UWB transceiver and a fourth UWB transceiver coupled to the product, and the third UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a third distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers.

76. The patient support apparatus of claim 75 wherein the controller is adapted to compare the third distance to a second threshold, and if the third distance is greater than the second threshold, to send the message to the computing device.

77. The patient support apparatus of claim 76 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the third distance is less than the second threshold.

78. The patient support apparatus of claim 77 wherein the product is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in storage.

79. The patient support apparatus of claim 78 wherein the third and fourth UWB transceivers are positioned a fourth distance less than a third threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are folded, and are positioned a fifth distance more than the third threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

80. The patient support apparatus of claim 71 wherein the controller is adapted to send an estimate of a location of the product when the product is being used.

81. The patient support apparatus of claim 57 wherein the first UWB transceiver is further adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to an IV pole and to determine when the IV pole is coupled to the patientsupport apparatus.

82. The patient support apparatus of claim 81 wherein the controller is further adapted to compare a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the IV pole is coupled to the patient support apparatus to a second threshold, and if the third distance is less than the second threshold, to conclude that the IV pole is bent.

83. A patient support apparatus comprising: a support surface adapted to support a patient; a first ultra-wideband (UWB) transceiver positioned at a fixed location on the patient support apparatus; a second UWB transceiver positioned on a cover of the patient support apparatus and adapted to communicate with the first UWB transceiver, the cover adapted to move between a first position in which access to an enclosed area of the patient support apparatus is prevented by the cover and a second position in which access to the enclosed area is not prevented by the cover; and a controller adapted to use the first and second UWB transceivers to determine a first distance between the first and second UWB transceivers while the cover is in the first position and to determine a second distance between the first and second UWB transceivers while the cover is in the second position, the controller further adapted to issue a notification to a user in response to detecting the cover in the second position.

84. The patient support apparatus of claim 83 wherein the enclosed area contains an electrical component of the patient support apparatus.

85. The patient support apparatus of claim 83 wherein at least one of the first and second UWB transceivers is adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to a mattress and to receive data from the mattress indicating that a mattress cover over the mattress has been opened.

86. The patient support apparatus of claim 85 wherein the controller is further adapted to issue a second notification in response to receiving the data from the mattress indicating that the mattress cover over the mattress has been opened.

87. The patient support apparatus of claim 83 wherein the controller is further adapted to send a message to a computing device indicating that the cover has moved to allow access to the enclosed area.

88. The patient support apparatus of claim 83 wherein the first UWB transceiver is further adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to a mattress, and wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a fourth distance between the first and third UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a first portion of the mattress has been lifted if the fourth distance exceeds the third distance by more than a first threshold.

89. The patient support apparatus of claim 88 wherein the mattress further includes a fourth UWB transceiver coupled thereto, and wherein the controller is further adapted to determine a fifth distance between the first and fourth UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a sixth distance between the first and fourth UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the sixth distance exceeds the fifth distance by more than a second threshold.

90. The patient support apparatus of claim 89 further including a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and wherein the controller is further adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

91. The patient support apparatus of claim 89 wherein the first and second thresholds are the same.

92. The patient support apparatus of claim 89 wherein the first and second thresholds are different.

93. The patient support apparatus of claim 88 further including a fourth UWB transceiver adapted to communicate with a fifth UWB transceiver coupled to the mattress, and wherein the controller is further adapted to use the fourth UWB transceiver to determine a fifth distance between the fourth and fifth UWB transceivers while the mattress is positioned flat on the support surface, to thereafter determine a sixth distance between the fourth and fifth UWB transceivers, and to conclude that at least a second portion of the mattress has been lifted if the sixth distance exceeds the fifth distance by more than a second threshold.

94. The patient support apparatus of claim 93 further including a network transceiver adapted to communicate with a healthcare facility computer network, and wherein the controller is further adapted to send a message to the healthcare facility computer network indicating the support surface has been properly cleaned in response to both the first and second portions of the mattress having been lifted.

95. The patient support apparatus of claim 88 wherein the controller is further adapted to determine if a patient is currently present on the support surface by determining if the third distance is less than a second threshold.

96. The patient support apparatus of claim 88 wherein the controller is further adapted to determine when a person has accessed a core of the mattress by detecting when a fifth distance between two locations on a cover of the mattress move away from each other by more than a second threshold.

97. The patient support apparatus of claim 96 a first one of the two locations includes a movable portion of a zipper on the cover of the mattress and a second one of the two locations includes a stationary location that does not move with the zipper.

98. The patient support apparatus of claim 83 wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when a product is being used and to transmit a message to a computing device when the product is being used.

99. The patient support apparatus of claim 98 wherein the controller is further adapted to use the first UWB transceiver to determine when the product is not being used and to transmit a second message to the computing device when the product is not being used.

100. The patient support apparatus of claim 99 wherein the product is one of the following: a mattress core, a mattress cover, an external mattress pump, a cord management device, an IV pole, a defibrillator tray, a defibrillator, a heel care boot, a sheet, a pillow, a bed extender, a DVT pump, a patient repositioning system, or a wedge adapted to assist in repositioning a patient.

101. The patient support apparatus of claim 98 wherein the controller is adapted to determine a distance between the first UWB transceiver and a third UWB transceiver coupled to the product, compare the distance to a threshold, and if the distance is less than the threshold, send the message to the computing device.

102. The patient support apparatus of claim 98 wherein the product includes a third UWB transceiver and a fourth UWB transceiver coupled to the product, and the third UWB transceiver is adapted to determine a third distance between the third and fourth UWB transceivers.

103. The patient support apparatus of claim 102 wherein the controller is adapted to compare the third distance to a threshold, and if the third distance is greater than the threshold, to send the message to the computing device.

104. The patient support apparatus of claim 103 wherein the controller is further adapted to not send the message to the computing device if the third distance is less than the threshold.

105. The patient support apparatus of claim 104 wherein the product is one of a mattress cover or a sheet adapted to be folded when in storage.

106. The patient support apparatus of claim 105 wherein the third and fourth UWB transceivers are positioned a fourth distance less than a second threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet arefolded, and are positioned a fifth distance more than the second threshold away from each other when the mattress cover or sheet are unfolded.

107. The patient support apparatus of claim 98 wherein the controller is adapted to send an estimate of a location of the product when the product is being used.

108. The patient support apparatus of claim 83 wherein the first UWB transceiver is further adapted to communicate with a third UWB transceiver coupled to an IV pole and to determine when the IV pole is coupled to the patient support apparatus.

109. The patient support apparatus of claim 108 wherein the controller is adapted to compare a third distance between the first and third UWB transceivers while the IV pole is coupled to the patient support apparatus to a second threshold, and if the third distance is less than the second threshold, to conclude that the IV pole is bent.

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