Patents by Inventor Karsten Westermann

Karsten Westermann has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20160250089
    Abstract: An electric actuator system for hospital and care beds (1, 20) for adjusting e.g. the lying surface of the bed (1, 20). The actuator system is connected to one or more light sources (19, 23, 24), which may be switched on if a change in the patient's movement pattern and/or position in the bed (1, 20) is registered. The electric actuator system may thus help the patient navigate around the room.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann
  • Patent number: 9360199
    Abstract: An electric actuator system for hospital and care beds (1, 20) for adjusting e.g. the lying surface of the bed (1, 20). The actuator system is connected to one or more light sources (19, 23, 24), which may be switched on if a change in the patient's movement pattern and/or position in the bed (1, 20) is registered. The electric actuator system may thus help the patient navigate around the room.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2016
    Assignee: Linak A/S
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann
  • Patent number: 9220649
    Abstract: An electric actuator system for hospital and care beds comprising at least one linear actuator (9,48) for adjusting the lying surface of the bed. The actuator (9,48) used for adjusting the backrest section (6,57) of the bed comprises means for registering the force which it is exposed to. By comparing the registered forces to a zero value and/or a force interval, it can be determined whether the person occupying the bed is in the process of leaving the bed or has already left the bed. A connected alarm can thus notify the staff that the bed-bound person is in the process of leaving the bed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: Linak A/S
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann
  • Patent number: 8965777
    Abstract: Communications system for exchanging data between a patient in an article of care furniture and a nursing staff or service personnel which manages a nursing task for the patient or a service function of the article of care furniture, where the control communicationwise is connected to a gateway, which comprises a modem for communication between a patient and the nursing staff or service personnel via the mobile telephone network where the communication is carried out by exchanging data in the form of text strings. The patient may with his actions or by activating a switch initiate the transmittal of a text string. When receiving a text string on a mobile receiver, the nursing staff may, based on the contents of the text string, determine whether the visiting route should be changed so that a more acute nursing task may be given a higher priority.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2015
    Assignee: Linak A/S
    Inventors: Karsten Westermann, Peter Brøndum Jensen
  • Publication number: 20140009917
    Abstract: An electric actuator system for hospital and care beds (1, 20) for adjusting e.g. the lying surface of the bed (1, 20). The actuator system is connected to one or more light sources (19, 23, 24), which may be switched on if a change in the patient's movement pattern and/or position in the bed (1, 20) is registered. The electric actuator system may thus help the patient navigate around the room.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Publication date: January 9, 2014
    Applicant: Linak A/S
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann
  • Publication number: 20140000031
    Abstract: An electric actuator system for hospital and care beds comprising at least one linear actuator (9,48) for adjusting the lying surface of the bed. The actuator (9,48) used for adjusting the backrest section (6,57) of the bed comprises means for registering the force which it is exposed to. By comparing the registered forces to a zero value and/or a force interval, it can be determined whether the person occupying the bed is in the process of leaving the bed or has already left the bed. A connected alarm can thus notify the staff that the bed-bound person is in the process of leaving the bed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2012
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann
  • Patent number: 8272087
    Abstract: A piece of resting furniture such as a bed or chair comprising a least one actuator (4,5) and a control unit (11) and at least one control panel (9,10) to bring about an adjustment of the piece of furniture, and further comprising at least one strain gauge (18,19) connected to an alarm to detect whether a person is occupying the piece of furniture or not wherein the strain gauge (18,19) is located in connection with the actuator (4,5). The function is based on relative changes in the load on the strain gauge (18, 19) from a preset reference thereby allowing use of sensors with low resolution, which thereby are comparatively cheap. Moreover, when placing the strain gauge (18,19) in connection with the actuator (4,5) this simplifies the incorporation thereof in the piece of furniture. Not least the construction also renders it possible in an easy manner to upgrade existing hospital and care beds with an egress function.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2012
    Assignee: Linak A/S
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann
  • Publication number: 20110202364
    Abstract: Communications system for exchanging data between a patient in an article of care furniture and a nursing staff or service personnel which manages a nursing task for the patient or a service function of the article of care furniture, where the control communicationwise is connected to a gateway, which comprises a modem for communication between a patient and the nursing staff or service personnel via the mobile telephone network where the communication is carried out by exchanging data in the form of text strings. The patient may with his actions or by activating a switch initiate the transmittal of a text string. When receiving a text string on a mobile receiver, the nursing staff may, based on the contents of the text string, determine whether the visiting route should be changed so that a more acute nursing task may be given a higher priority.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 27, 2009
    Publication date: August 18, 2011
    Inventors: Karsten Westermann, Peter Brøndum Jensen
  • Publication number: 20100132117
    Abstract: A piece of resting furniture such as a bed or chair comprising a least one actuator (4,5) and a control unit (11) and at least one control panel (9,10) to bring about an adjustment of the piece of furniture, and further comprising at least one strain gauge (18,19) connected to an alarm to detect whether a person is occupying the piece of furniture or not wherein the strain gauge (18,19) is located in connection with the actuator (4,5). The function is based on relative changes in the load on the strain gauge (18, 19) from a preset reference thereby allowing use of sensors with low resolution, which thereby are comparatively cheap. Moreover, when placing the strain gauge (18,19) in connection with the actuator (4,5) this simplifies the incorporation thereof in the piece of furniture. Not least the construction also renders it possible in an easy manner to upgrade existing hospital and care beds with an egress function.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 11, 2008
    Publication date: June 3, 2010
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann
  • Patent number: 7137489
    Abstract: An actuator, preferably a linear actuator for furniture, comprises a brake spring (20) in the form of a helical spring having a plurality of windings wound around a cylindrical element (10) of plastics rotatable at least during braking, said spring being tightened around the cylindrical element for braking. The frictional heat generated hereby can cause the plastics to be deformed, which adversely affects the braking power. This is solved by providing the cylindrical element (10) consisting of plastics with an insert (12) of metal for carrying off the frictional heat preferably into other metal parts of the actuator that may serve as cooling faces. To carry off heat additionally, it is proposed to arrange a second heat-conducting element (18) in intimate contact with the outer side of the spring (20), said element being likewise connected with other metal parts of the actuator that may serve as cooling faces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2006
    Assignee: Linak A/S
    Inventors: Jeppe Christian Bastholm, Karsten Westermann
  • Publication number: 20050173209
    Abstract: An actuator, preferably a linear actuator for furniture, comprises a brake spring (20) in the form of a helical spring having a plurality of windings wound around a cylindrical element (10) of plastics rotatable at least during braking, said spring being tightened around the cylindrical element for braking. The frictional heat generated hereby can cause the plastics to be deformed, which adversely affects the braking power. This is solved by providing the cylindrical element (10) consisting of plastics with an insert (12) of metal for carrying off the frictional heat preferably into other metal parts of the actuator that may serve as cooling faces. To carry off heat additionally, it is proposed to arrange a second heat-conducting element (18) in intimate contact with the outer side of the spring (20), said element being likewise connected with other metal parts of the actuator that may serve as cooling faces.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 22, 2003
    Publication date: August 11, 2005
    Inventors: Jeppe Bastholm, Karsten Westermann
  • Patent number: 6606572
    Abstract: In a circuit arrangement for deriving the measured variable from the signals (S1 to S2) of at least two sensors (23, 24) of a flow meter, which flow meter comprises one or several parallel fluid lines (20, 21) and means (22) for exciting oscillations of a predetermined fundamental frequency (&ohgr;) in the fluid line(s), the sensors (23, 24) detect the oscillations and the sensor signals (S1 to S2) are supplied by way of a respective A-D converter (36; 37) to a digital processing unit (P) having a computation circuit (46), in which their phase difference (&PHgr;) is determined as a measure of the flow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2002
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2003
    Assignee: Danfoss A/S
    Inventors: Henning Max Hansen, Frands Wulff Voss, Niels Per Mondrup, Karsten Westermann, Hans Jørgen Moos, James D. Collier, Roger F. Sewell, Richard-Jan E. Jansen
  • Publication number: 20030033096
    Abstract: In a circuit arrangement for deriving the measured variable from the signals (S1 to S2) of at least two sensors (23, 24) of a flow meter, which flow meter comprises one or several parallel fluid lines (20, 21) and means (22) for exciting oscillations of a predetermined fundamental frequency (&OHgr;) in the fluid line(s), the sensors (23, 24) detect the oscillations and the sensor signals (S1 to S2) are supplied by way of a respective A-D converter (36; 37) to a digital processing unit (P) having a computation circuit (46), in which their phase difference (&phgr;) is determined as a measure of the flow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2002
    Publication date: February 13, 2003
    Inventors: Henning Max Hansen, Frands Wulff Voss, Niels Per Mondrup, Karsten Westermann, Hans Jorgen Moos, James D. Collier, Roger F. Sewell, Richard-Jan E. Jansen
  • Patent number: D463381
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 24, 2002
    Assignee: Linak A/S
    Inventor: Karsten Westermann