US-12616444-B2 - Ultrasound diagnostic apparatus and method of controlling the same

US12616444B2US 12616444 B2US12616444 B2US 12616444B2US-12616444-B2

Abstract

Provided is an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including a plurality of casters allowing the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus to be moved according to a control signal, a detection sensor configured to detect a motion of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, an input configured to receive a control command of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus from a user, and a controller configured to determine whether a user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus on the basis of at least one of the detected motion or the received control command, and upon determining that the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, transmit a control signal for locking at least one of the plurality of casters.

Inventors

Chang Wook SONG
Kyeong Gu Woo
Gil Ju Jin

Assignees

SAMSUNG MEDISON CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240322
Priority Date: 20190215

Claims (18)

1 . An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising: at least one caster configured to be locked or unlocked; an ultrasound probe, connectable to the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, configured to irradiate an ultrasound signal to an object and receive an echo signal reflected from the object; and a controller configured to: while the ultrasound probe is being connected to the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, automatically lock the at least one caster in response to electrically detecting that the ultrasound probe is being operated such that the at least one caster cannot move the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus while the ultrasound probe is being operated, and automatically unlock the at least one caster in response to electrically detecting that the ultrasound probe is not being operated during a predetermined time.
2 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to lock the at least one caster based on receiving a user input for starting diagnosis.
3 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to lock the at least one caster based on receiving a user input by at least one input device of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.
4 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to lock the at least one caster in response to receiving the user input for operating the ultrasound probe.
5 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the at least one input device comprises at least one of a touch panel, a track ball, a keyboard, a foot switch, a mouse, a knob, or a paddle.
6 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a probe holder, wherein the controller is further configured to automatically lock the at least one caster in response to electrically detecting that the ultrasound probe is being dismounted from the probe holder.
7 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one caster comprises a wheel and a locking device configured to lock the wheel, wherein the controller is configured to lock the at least one caster by controlling the locking device to lock the wheel.
8 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one caster comprises a wheel and a motor configured to rotate the wheel, wherein the controller is configured to lock the at least one caster by not driving the motor.
9 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to unlock the at least one caster based on receiving a user input for unlocking the at least one caster.
10 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to unlock the at least one caster in response to the ultrasound probe not being operated, such that the at least one caster can move the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus while the ultrasound probe is not being operated.
11 . The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to unlock the at least one caster in response to an operation of the ultrasound probe being stopped, such that the at least one caster can move the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus while the ultrasound probe is not being operated.
12 . An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising: at least one caster configured to be locked or unlocked; an ultrasound probe, connectable to the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, configured to irradiate an ultrasound signal to an object and receive an echo signal reflected from the object; and a controller configured to, while the ultrasound probe is being connected to the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, automatically lock the at least one caster in response to electrically detecting that the ultrasound probe is being operated such that the at least one caster cannot move the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus while the ultrasound probe is being operated, wherein while an auto lock function of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is being deactivated, the controller is further configured to maintain unlocking of the at least one caster even if the controller electrically detects that the ultrasound probe is being operated.
13 . A method of controlling an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus comprising an ultrasound probe connectable to the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, at least one caster configured to be locked or unlocked, the method comprising: while the ultrasound probe is being connected to the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, automatically locking the at least one caster in response to electrically detecting that the ultrasound probe is being operated, such that the at least one caster cannot move the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus while the ultrasound probe is being operated; and automatically unlocking the at least one caster in response to electrically detecting that the ultrasound probe is not being operated during a predetermined time.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising locking the at least one caster based on receiving a user input by at least one input device of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus.
15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the locking the at least one caster based on receiving the user input comprises locking the at least one caster in response to receiving the user input for operating the ultrasound probe.
16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the locking the at least one caster comprises automatically locking the at least one caster in response to electrically detecting that the ultrasound probe is being dismounted from a probe holder.
17 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising unlocking the at least one caster in response to the operation of the ultrasound probe being stopped, such that the at least one caster can move the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus while the ultrasound probe is not being operated.
18 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising: while an auto lock function of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus is being deactivated, maintaining unlocking of the at least one caster even if the ultrasound probe being operated is electrically detected.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a Continuation Patent Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/831,880, filed on Jun. 3, 2022, which is a Continuation Patent Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/776,093, filed on Jan. 29, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,375,977, issued on Jul. 5, 2022, which is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 2019-0017988, filed on Feb. 15, 2019 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field The disclosure relates to an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus for acquiring an image of an internal state of an object using ultrasound, and a method of controlling the same. 2. Description of the Related Art Ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses operate to irradiate an ultrasound signal generated from a transducer of a probe to an object and receive an echo signal reflected from the object to acquire an image of the internal site of the object. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus has advantages in that it is inexpensive and moveable, is displayable in real time, and has high safety compared to X-ray diagnostic devices due to having no risk of exposure to X-rays or the like, and thus are widely used in a variety of fields, such as medical fields and the like. Such a trend has led the ultrasound diagnostic apparatuses to be variously advanced, and increased the weight of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and thus when a user moves the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, a great amount of strength is required. In order to remove such a limitation, various efforts have been conducted to minimize the force that the user takes to move the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus by providing all canisters for movement of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus to be independently moveable or replacing all the canisters with electric casters. However, as the degree of freedom of movement of a control panel of the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus increases, the electric caster operates with a high sensitivity, and thus even when a user desires to use the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus may be moved regardless of the user's intention. SUMMARY Therefore, it is an object of the disclosure to provide an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus capable of minimizing unneeded movement of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus or preventing an accident due to an undesired movement of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus by detecting a motion or input of a user and determining whether the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus on the basis of the detected motion or input and automatically locking casters of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus. Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure. Therefore, it is an aspect of the disclosure to provide an ultrasound diagnostic apparatus including: a plurality of casters allowing the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus to be moved according to a control signal; a detection sensor configured to detect a motion of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus; an input configured to receive a control command of the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus from a user; and a controller configured to determine whether a user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus on the basis of at least one of the detected motion or the received control command, and upon determining that the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, transmit a control signal for locking at least one of the plurality of casters. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus may include: a probe configured to radiate an ultrasound signal to an object and receive an ultrasound signal that is the ultrasound signal being radiated to the object, reflected from the object, wherein the controller may determine that the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus in response to detecting a position change of the probe. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus may further include: a monitor, wherein the controller may determine that the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus in response to detecting a position change of the monitor. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus may further include a control panel configured to control the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus, wherein the controller may determine that the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus in response to detecting a position change of the control panel. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus may further include a keyboard, wherein the controller may determine that the user desires to use the ultrasound diagnostic apparatus in response to detecting a position change of the keyboard. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus may further include a footrest on which a foot of the user is rested, wherein t