New patent application published for: PATIENT LIFT AND SLING HAVING MOTOR ENABLEMENT READER

PATIENT LIFT AND SLING HAVING MOTOR ENABLEMENT READER

Claims

1. A person lift system comprising: a motor; a sling bar coupled to the motor, the sling bar including an attachment hook; a sling including a main body section and a loop coupled to the main body section, the loop configured to attach to the attachment hook; an electronic reader coupled to the person lift system; at least one short range wireless tag coupled to the loop, wherein the electronic reader reads short range tag identification signals from the at least one short range wireless tag to determine whether the loop is coupled to the attachment hook, a patient tag coupled to a patient, and a caregiver tag coupled to a caregiver; wherein operation of the motor is enabled by the person lift system in response to at least one of (i) the electronic reader reading the patient tag, (ii) the electronic reader reading the caregiver tag, or (iii) the electronic reader confirming that the loop is coupled to the attachment hook.
2. The person lift system of claim 1, wherein operation of the motor is enabled in response to at least two of (i) the electronic reader reading the patient tag, (ii) the electronic reader reading the caregiver tag, and (iii) the electronic reader confirming that the loop is coupled to the attachment hook.
3. The person lift system of claim 2, wherein operation of the motor is enabled in response to all of (i) the electronic reader reading the patient tag, (ii) the electronic reader reading the caregiver tag, and (iii) the electronic reader confirming that the loop is coupled to the attachment hook.
4. The person lift system of claim 1, further comprising a control system to control the motor, wherein the control system is enabled in response to the electronic reader reading the short range wireless tag.
5. The person lift system of claim 4, wherein the control system tracks a number of person lift system uses based on the electronic reader reading the short range wireless tag.
6. The person lift system of claim 1, further comprising a user input configured to operate the motor and wherein the user input is mounted to the sling or is detachably coupled to the sling.
7. The person lift system of claim 1, further comprising a user input and a retractable tether coupling the user input to the sling bar.
8. The person lift system of claim 1, wherein the short range wireless tag includes a radio frequency identification tag.
9. The person lift system of claim 1, wherein the attachment hook is moveable between and an open position and a closed position, and further comprising a sensor coupled to the sling bar or to the attachment hook, the sensor being configured to determine whether the attachment hook is in the open position or closed position.
10. The person lift system of claim 9, wherein the electronic reader is enabled in response to the sensor indicating that the attachment hook has been moved to the open position.
11. The person lift system of claim 1, further comprising a switch coupled to the sling and a spring coupled to the switch, wherein the spring activates the switch in response to weight being applied to the sling, and wherein, in response to the switch being activated, power is supplied to the short range wireless tag.
12. The person lift system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless communication device coupled to the sling to communicate to a remote device that the sling is in use.
13. The person lift system of claim 12, wherein the remote device is operable to determine a location of the sling.
14. The person lift system of claim 1, wherein the sling further comprises a leg section coupled to the main body section, wherein the leg section includes pressure sensors to detect a pressure on a patient in the sling.
15. The person lift system of claim 14, wherein the main body section does not include pressure sensors.
16. The person lift system of claim 1, further comprising a handheld controller having a clip configured to attach to the loop, the handheld controller having user inputs that are configured to control the motor.
17. The person lift system of claim 16, wherein the user inputs include a first button and a second button, wherein one of the first button and the second button is usable to actuate the motor to raise the sling bar and the other of the first button and the second button is usable to actuate the motor to lower the sling bar.
18. The person lift system of claim 17, wherein the handheld controller includes an accelerometer to determine an orientation of the handheld controller, wherein a signal from the accelerometer is used by a processor to determine an upper button of the first button and the second button and to determine a lower button of the first button and the second button.
19. The person lift system of claim 18, wherein the upper button is configured to actuate the motor to raise the sling bar and the lower button is configured to actuate the motor to lower the sling bar.
20. The person lift system of claim 16, further comprising a retractable cord coupling the handheld controller to the sling bar.