Detachable Drive Module Coupling for Automated Patient Bed Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual transport of patient beds in medical facilities is tedious and time-consuming, requiring significant muscle power and lacking automation.
Innovation Solution
Patient beds are equipped with coupling devices that detachably connect to drive modules, which generate drive torque for automated transport, allowing the transport unit to move without human intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual transport method is used, then device complexity is low, but productivity is low and time consumption is high
Solution Approach 1:
A coupling device serves as an intermediary component that connects the patient bed to the drive module. This mediator enables automated transport by facilitating the transmission of drive torque from the drive module to the patient bed wheels, resolving the contradiction between maintaining simple manual operation and achieving automated high-efficiency transport.
Solution Approach 2:
The drive function is extracted from the patient bed itself and separated into an independent drive module. This extracted drive module can be detachably connected to different patient beds via the coupling device, enabling automated transport while keeping the patient bed design relatively simple and maintaining modularity.
2Loss of time
If automated drive module is added, then time consumption is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transport system is segmented into independent functional modules: the patient bed, the coupling device, and the drive module. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates easy assembly and disassembly, reducing the overall system complexity while enabling automated transport that significantly reduces transport time.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling device incorporates dynamic characteristics with detachable connections that can be easily assembled and disassembled. This dynamic design allows the system to transition between manual and automated modes as needed, reducing transport time when automated mode is used while keeping the complexity manageable through easy configuration changes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If detachable coupling is implemented, then adaptability is improved, but reliability may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling device is designed with universal characteristics that enable it to connect to different types of patient beds through standardized interfaces. This universality allows a single coupling device design to work with multiple bed types, improving adaptability while maintaining reliable connections through consistent mechanical coupling mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for carrying out transport operations in a medical facility by means of a transport arrangement, wherein the transport arrangement comprises several patient beds for receiving a patient, characterized in that the patient beds each have a coupling device on the bed side, wherein at least one drive module of the transport arrangement having a module-side coupling device is provided, wherein, to form a transport unit, the drive module or one of the drive modules and one of the patient beds are detachably mechanically coupled to one another via their coupling devices, wherein the at least one drive module comprises a drive device by means of which a drive torque is generated, by means of which the transport operation is carried out with respect to the respective transport unit.