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EP-4737786-A1 - CART-BORNE ULTRASONIC IMAGING SYSTEM WITH IMPROVED LOCKING DEVICE

EP4737786A1EP 4737786 A1EP4737786 A1EP 4737786A1EP-4737786-A1

Abstract

A cart-borne ultrasonic imaging system comprising: a cart housing mounted on wheels; a control panel or a support for a portable ultrasound unit; an articulating arm assembly to which the control panel is connected for adjusting the position of the control panel, or the support for a portable ultrasound unit is connected for adjusting the position of the support for a portable ultrasound unit, the articulating arm assembly including a first lower arm rotatably mounted on the cart and a second upper arm pivotably connected to the first lower arm and rotatably connected to the control panel, or the support for a portable ultrasound device, wherein at least one of the arms includes a 4-bar linkage optionally comprising a main damping member, like a gas spring; and a locking mechanism which acts to restrict motion of the articulating arm assembly. The locking mechanism comprises one or more electromagnetic elements controllable to exert a magnetic force on movable actuating elements comprising: a friction mass coupled with a corresponding braking element acting to restrict rotation of the first lower arm with respect to the cart and/or of the control panel/the support for a portable ultrasound unit with respect to the second arm; and/or a locking member kinematically coupled with main damping member acting to restrict the movement of such main damping member and thus of the 4-bar linkage, wherein the electromagnetic elements are electrically actuated by a switch so that, upon activating the switch, the electromagnetic elements are energized to move synchronously the actuating elements in an unlocking position.

Inventors

  • TEDESCO, DANIELE
  • Vigo, Valerio

Assignees

  • ESAOTE S.p.A.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20241105

Claims (15)

  1. A cart-borne ultrasonic imaging system comprising: a cart housing (5) mounted on wheels (6); a control panel (3) or a support (3a) for a portable ultrasound unit (1a); an articulating arm assembly (9) to which the control panel (3) is connected for adjusting the position of the control panel (3), or the support (3a) for a portable ultrasound unit (1a) is connected for adjusting the position of the support (3a) for a portable ultrasound unit (1a), the articulating arm assembly (9) including a first lower arm (109) rotatably mounted on the cart housing (5) and a second upper arm (209) pivotably connected to the first lower arm (109) and rotatably connected to the control panel (3), or the support (3a) for a portable ultrasound unit (1a), wherein at least one of the arms includes a 4-bar linkage optionally including a main damping member (97); and a locking mechanism which acts to restrict motion of the articulating arm assembly (9), characterised in that the locking mechanism comprises one or more electromagnetic elements (95, 96, 98) controllable to exert a magnetic force on movable actuating elements comprising: a friction mass (950) coupled with a corresponding braking element (93, 94) acting to restrict rotation of the first lower arm (109) with respect to the cart (5) and/or of the control panel (3) / the support (3a) for a portable ultrasound unit (1a) with respect to the second arm (209); and/or a locking member (981) kinematically coupled with the main damping member (97) acting to restrict the movement of such damping member (97) and thus of the 4-bar linkage, wherein the electromagnetic elements (95, 96, 98) are electrically actuated by a switch (32) so that, upon activating the switch, the electromagnetic elements (95, 96, 98) are energized to move synchronously the actuating elements in an unlocking position.
  2. The system according to claim 1, wherein at least one electromagnetic element is configured to move, when energized, the corresponding friction mass (950) from a locking position, wherein such mass is in contact with a braking element (93, 94) integral with the first arm (109) or the second arm (209), to an unlocking position, wherein such mass does not interfere with such braking element to restrict rotation of the first lower arm (109) with respect to the cart (5) and/or of the control panel (3) / the support (3a) for a portable ultrasound unit (1a) with respect to the second arm (209).
  3. The system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the locking mechanism is configured to restrict the rotation of the lower arm (109) with respect to the cart (5) and/or of the control panel (3) / support (3a) with respect to the upper arm (209) on a horizontal plane, wherein the braking element (93, 95) is an element having, at least partially, the shape of a disk integral with the lower arm (109) and/or the upper arm (209) and the electromagnetic element (95, 96) is housed on the cart (5) and/or the control panel (3) / support (3a) to exert a magnetic force to move the friction mass (950) in a direction transversal to the disk, particularly perpendicularly to the disk, to realize a magnetic-controllable disk brake.
  4. The system according to any preceding claim, further comprising a rotary bearing (91, 92) between the lower arm (109) and the cart (5) and/or between the control panel (3) / support (3a) and the upper arm (109), wherein the braking element (93, 94) is an element having, at least partially, the shape of a disk integral with the part of the bearing associated with the lower arm and/or the upper arm.
  5. The system according to any preceding claim, comprising: a first electromagnetic element (95) coupled with a corresponding braking element (93) to lock/unlock rotational movement of the first arm (109) with respect to the cart (5); a second electromagnetic element (96) coupled with a corresponding braking element (94) to lock/unlock rotational movement of the control panel (3) / support (3a) with respect to the second arm (209); a third electromagnetic element (98) coupled with the main damping element (97) to lock/unlock the movement of the 4-bar linkage (98), wherein the electromagnetic elements (95, 96, 98) are actuated synchronously by the same switch (32) so that, upon activating the switch (32), the full motion of the articulating arm assembly (9) is allowed.
  6. The system according to any preceding claim, wherein the switch (32) is selected from the group consisting in: a pedal located on the cart, a button located on a frontal handle of the control panel or of the support for the portable ultrasound device, a button located on the cart, a button located on the frame of a flat panel display electrically coupled to imaging electronics contained in the cart housing and/or in the portable ultrasound unit, a pedal used to brake the wheels of the cart or combination thereof.
  7. The system according to any preceding claim, wherein elastic elements are provided to keep the friction masses pushed onto the braking elements when the electromagnetic elements are not actuated by the switch.
  8. The system according to any preceding claim, comprising an O-ring, a gasket, a rubber element or the like (951) on the surface of the friction elements facing the braking elements to increase friction.
  9. The system according to any preceding claim, comprising one or more damping elements further to the main damping element (97) to balance the forces acting on the 4-bar linkage (98) when in unlocked position.
  10. The system according to claim 9, wherein at least one of the one or more further damping elements is lockable/unlockable by the same or a different electromagnetic element (98) locking/unlocking the main damping element (97).
  11. The system according to any preceding claim, further comprising an indicator (31) providing information on the status of the locking mechanism, particularly with a luminous indication in green/red or any other suitable colour, for example surrounding the button actuating the electromagnet(s).
  12. The system according to any preceding claim, further comprising a mechanical lock (7) to secure the magnetic braking during transportation, such lock comprising a lever (71) moving a slidable pin (77) into a corresponding hole of the rotary bearing(s) when secure locking is to be achieved.
  13. The system of claim 12 wherein the mechanical lock (7) further comprises a pin holder (72) and an elastic element (73), wherein the pin (77) is installed inside a cavity (721) of the pin holder (72) against the force of the elastic element (73) so that, when the lever (71) is activated, the pin (77) slides consequently inside the pin holder (72) to protrude from the pin holder (72) to engage a hole in a bracket (921, 911) integral with the corresponding bearing (92, 91), locking its rotation.
  14. The system according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the lever (71) of the mechanical lock (7) is located on the cart (5) and/or on the control panel (3) / support (3a) for a portable ultrasound device in a position accessible by a user.
  15. The system according to any claim 12 to 14, wherein the lever (71) is located in a position remote from the mechanical lock (7) accessible to a user and connected with the mechanical lock (7) through a wiring cable (78) to transmit motion from the lever (71) to the slidable pin (77).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to the technical field of medical ultrasound imaging systems and, in particular, to lock devices, support arms thereof and ultrasound imaging systems using the same. STATE OF THE ART Cart-borne ultrasound systems are now being designed for being more ergonomically comfortable for the user to operate. Particularly, control panels must be easily positioned (lowered, lifted or rotated) for comfort use during examinations. At the same time, once properly positioned, they must remain solidly in place and not move against the user's will. Various methods have been proposed to optimize panel floating devices and their braking systems. CN107835662 discloses a panel floating device comprising a translation mechanism, a floating device body and a rotation mechanism; the floating device body comprises a supporting seat and a top plate; the rotating mechanism is arranged on the top plate; the top plate is mounted on the support base by the translation mechanism and is translatable relative to the support base. This solution requires a motor to operate, hence is cumbersome, noisy and expensive. Furthermore, the use of a motorized system prevents the positioning of the panel in a single movement as height and rotation regulations are separated. US9504447 discloses a control panel and a display of a cart-borne ultrasound system supported by a lift which can be controlled to allow the control panel and display to be raised, lowered and rotated. A pair of hydraulic struts are mounted to the four-bar linkage to support the weight of the control panel and display. When a control button on the handle of the control panel is depressed, the control panel and display can be freely raised, lowered and rotated. When the control button is released the pivot elbows and four-bar linkages are locked in their current positions. Each base plate has a circular arrangement of teeth which are engaged by a solenoid-controlled pin to lock the mechanism in its current rotated orientation. Hence, the system disclosed in this document has the disadvantage of not allowing the locking in any position but only in one of the allowed intermediate steps. To increase the number of the permitted positions, it is necessary to increase the number of teeth, but this means decreasing their thickness and consequently the mechanical resistance and thus increasing the risk of rupture. Furthermore, the complexity of the system makes the user experience unpleasant. US8758246 discloses an ultrasound system which has a control panel adjustable in height. The system includes a power transmission device adjusting the height of the control panel, a contact detection unit detecting contact and generating a selection signal and a controller controlling the power transmission device according to the selection signal. This is advantageous, but the use of a control unit increases the cost and complexity of the solution. Thus, a need continues to exist to have a system for locking/unlocking the positioning of the control panel of an ultrasound apparatus without obliged intermediate steps that limit the positioning or the use of expensive elements such as motors or control units. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is thus an object of embodiments herein to provide a cart-borne ultrasonic imaging system comprising: a cart housing mounted on wheels;a control panel or a support for a portable ultrasound unit;an articulating arm assembly to which the control panel is connected for adjusting the position of the control panel, or the support for a portable ultrasound unit is connected for adjusting the position of the support for a portable ultrasound unit, the articulating arm assembly including a first lower arm rotatably mounted on the cart housing and a second upper arm pivotably connected to the first lower arm and rotatably connected to the control panel, or the support for a portable ultrasound device, wherein at least one of the arms includes a 4-bar linkage optionally including a main damping member such as a gas spring; anda locking mechanism which acts to restrict motion of the articulating arm assembly. The locking mechanism comprises one or more electromagnetic elements controllable to exert a magnetic force on movable actuating elements comprising: a friction mass coupled with a corresponding braking element acting to restrict rotation of the first lower arm with respect to the cart and/or of the control panel/the support for a portable ultrasound unit with respect to the second arm; and/ora locking member kinematically coupled with the main damping member acting to restrict the movement of the damping member and thus of the 4-bar linkage,wherein the electromagnetic elements are electrically actuated by a switch so that, upon activating the switch, the electromagnetic elements are energized to move synchronously the actuating elements in an unlocking position. This allows to realize a structure able to guarantee a wide range of