Author: claimsbot

1. A surge absorber comprising:
an insulator block including a first internal electrode film, a second internal electrode film, and a discharge hole;
ground external electrode layers provided on both opposed side surfaces of the insulator block so as to be connected to both ends of the first internal electrode film; and
signal external electrode layers provided on both opposed end surfaces of the insulator block so as to be connected to both ends of the second internal electrode film; wherein
the first internal electrode film extends in a longitudinal direction that is substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in which the second internal electrode film extends such that portions of the first and second internal electrode films overlap; and
the discharge hole is disposed between the overlapping portions of the first and second internal electrode films.
2. A surge absorber according to claim 1, further comprising a resistor film on at least one end surface of the insulator block, the resistor film being connected between one of the ends of the second internal electrode film and one of the signal external electrode layers.
3. A surge absorber array comprising:
an insulator block including a first internal electrode film, a plurality of second internal electrode films, and at least one discharge hole;
ground external electrode layers provided on both opposed end surfaces of the insulator block so as to be connected to both ends of the first internal electrode film; and
signal external electrode layers provided on both opposed side surfaces of the insulator block so as to be independently connected to both ends of each of the plurality of second internal electrode films; wherein
the first internal electrode film extends in a longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in which each of the plurality of second internal electrode films extends such that a portion of the first internal electrode film and portions of each of the plurality of second internal electrode films overlap; and
the at least one discharge hole is disposed between at least one of the overlapping portions of the first and the plurality of second internal electrode films.
4. A surge absorber according to claim 3, further comprising a resistor film on at least one end surface of the insulator block, the resistor film being connected between one of the ends of the second internal electrode film and one of the signal external electrode layers.
5. A surge absorber comprising:
a laminated compact of a first insulator sheet having a first internal electrode film, a second insulator sheet having a second internal electrode film, and a third insulator sheet between the first and second insulator sheets having a discharge hole;
ground external electrode layers provided on both opposed side surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be connected to both ends of the first internal electrode film; and
signal external electrode layers provided on both opposed end surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be connected to both ends of the second internal electrode film; wherein
the first internal electrode film extends in a longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in which the second internal electrode film extends such that portions of the first and second internal electrode films overlap; and
the discharge hole is disposed between the overlapping portions of the first and second internal electrode films.
6. A surge absorber according to claim 5, further comprising a resistor film on at least one end surface of the laminated compact, the resistor film being connected between one of the ends of the second internal electrode film and one of the signal external electrode layers.
7. A surge absorber array comprising:
a laminated compact of a first insulator sheet having a first internal electrode film, a second insulator sheet having a plurality of second internal electrode films, and a third insulator sheet between the first and the second insulator sheets having at least one discharge hole;
ground external electrode layers provided on both opposed end surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be connected to both ends of the first internal electrode film; and
signal external electrode layers provided on both opposed side surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be independently connected to both ends of each of the plurality of second internal electrode films; wherein
the first internal electrode film extends in a longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in which each of the plurality of second internal electrode films extends such that a portion of the first internal electrode film and portions of each of the plurality of second internal electrode films overlap; and
the at least one discharge hole is disposed between at least one of the overlapping portions of the first and second internal electrode films.
8. A surge absorber according to claim 7, further comprising a resistor film on at least one end surface of the laminated compact, the resistor film being connected between one of the ends of the second internal electrode film and one of the signal external electrode layers.
9. A surge absorber comprising:
a laminated compact of a first insulator sheet having a second internal electrode film and first internal electrode films on both sides of the second internal electrode film, and a second insulator sheet having a discharge hole located in proximity to the first internal electrode films and the second internal electrode film;
ground external electrode layers provided on both opposed side surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be connected with one end of each of the first internal electrode films; and
signal external electrode layers provided on both opposed end surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be connected with both ends of the second internal electrode film; wherein
each of the first internal electrode films extends in a longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in which the second internal electrode film extends such that the second internal electrode film is disposed between the first internal electrode films; and
the discharge hole is disposed so as to overlap a portion of the first and second internal electrode films.
10. A surge absorber according to claim 9, further comprising a resistor film on at least one end surface of the laminated compact, the resistor film being connected between one of the ends of the second internal electrode film and one of the signal external electrode layers.
11. A surge absorber comprising:
a laminated compact of a first insulator sheet having a first internal electrode film, a second insulator sheet having a second internal electrode film, and a third insulator sheet between the first and the second insulator sheets having a discharge hole;
a resistor film provided on a surface of the laminated compact;
ground external electrode layers provided on both opposed side surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be connected to both ends of the first internal electrode film;
a first signal external electrode layer provided on one end surface of the laminated compact so as to be connected to an end of the second internal electrode film and one end of the resistor film; and
a second signal external electrode layer provided on the other opposed end surface of the laminated compact so as to be connected to the other end of the resistor film; wherein
the first internal electrode film extends in a longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in which the second internal electrode film extends such that portions of the first and second internal electrode films overlap; and
the discharge hole is disposed between the overlapping portions of the first and second internal electrode films.
12. A surge absorber according to claim 11, wherein the resistor film is asymmetrical in plan view with respect to a line extending between both side surfaces of the laminated compact.
13. A surge absorber comprising
a laminated compact of a first insulator sheet having a first internal electrode film, a second insulator sheet having a second internal electrode film, a third insulator sheet between the first and second insulator sheets having a discharge hole, and a fourth insulator sheet having a resistor film;
ground external electrode layers provided on both opposed side surfaces of the laminated compact so as to be connected to both ends of the first internal electrode film;
a first signal external electrode layer provided on one end surface of the laminated compact so as to be connected with an end of the second internal electrode film and one end of the resistor film; and
a second signal external electrode layer provided on the other opposed end surface of the laminated compact so as to be connected with the other end of the resistor film; wherein
the first internal electrode film extends in a longitudinal direction that is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction in which the second internal electrode film extends such that portions of the first and second internal electrode films overlap; and
the discharge hole is disposed between the overlapping portions of the first and second internal electrode films.
14. A surge absorber according to claim 13, wherein the resistor film is asymmetrical in plan view with respect to a line extending between both side surfaces of the laminated compact.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. An image formation method, comprising:
forming on a paper an image of a document with an image formation unit; and
printing on the paper a guide information, which represents a layout of the document, with the image formation unit.
2. The image formation method according to claim 1, further comprising:
making an image reading unit read the image formed on the paper and containing the guide information; and
making the image formation unit form the image and the guide information on a different paper.
3. The image formation method according to claim 2, wherein the image reading unit is able to read a first surface and a second surface of the document.
4. An image formation apparatus comprising:
an image formation unit that forms on a paper an image read from a document; and
a guide information printing unit that prints on the paper a guide information, which represents a layout of the document.
5. The image formation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the guide information formation unit forms the guide information at a predetermined position on the paper.
6. The image formation apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:
an image reading unit that reads an image from a document; and
a guide presenceabsence deciding unit that decides presence or absence of the guide information at the predetermined position, by analyzing the image read by the image reading unit, wherein
when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit decides that the guide information is present, the image formation unit forms only the image read by the image reading unit on a different paper and does not print the guide information on the different paper.
7. The image formation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image reading unit is able to read a first surface and a second surface of the document.
8. The image formation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image reading unit comprises:
an image reading mechanism that reads an image from the first surface of the document; and
a document inverting mechanism that inverts the document, and feeds the inverted document to the image reading mechanism.
9. The image formation apparatus according to claim 7, in which the image reading unit comprises:
a first reading mechanism that reads a first image from the first surface of the document; and
a second reading mechanism that reads a second image from the second surface of the document.
10. The image formation apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:
a stapler that staples sheets of paper on which the image formation unit has formed images;
a staple position setting unit that sets a staple position of the stapler, based on the sheets of paper of which top and bottom directions of the images have been adjusted; and
a direction recognizing unit that recognizes the top and bottom directions of the images read by the image reading unit, based on the position information of the guide information included in the read images, when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that the guide information is present, wherein
the image formation unit forms on the paper, valid images of which directions are adjusted based on the top and bottom directions of the read images recognized by the direction recognizing unit so that the sheets of paper are stapled at the staple position set by the staple position setting unit.
11. The image formation apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising:
a concentration mode setting unit that selectively sets one of a non-concentration mode of forming one image on each of two surfaces of each of a plurality of the papers, and a concentration mode of forming a plurality of images on each of the two surfaces of the papers, wherein
when the concentration mode setting unit has set the concentration mode, the image formation unit forms valid images on the paper after adjusting directions of the images based on the staple position set by the staple position setting unit and the number of images to be concentrated.
12. The image formation apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image formation unit forms the guide information at a position different from the staple position set by the staple setting unit.
13. The image formation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the guide information formation unit forms the guide information at a lower left corner of the paper.
14. The image formation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image formation unit is able to form valid images on a first surface and a second surface of the paper, and the guide information formation unit prints the guide information on any one of the first surface and the second surface of the paper.
15. The image formation apparatus according to claim 14, in which the image formation unit comprises:
an image formation mechanism that forms an image on a first surface of the paper having the first surface and a second surface; and
a paper inverting mechanism that inverts the paper and feeds the inverted paper to the image formation mechanism.
16. The image formation apparatus according to claim 14, in which the image formation unit comprises:
a first image formation mechanism that forms a first image on the first surface of paper; and
a second image formation mechanism that forms a second image on the second surface of the paper.
17. The image formation apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:
an image formation mode setting unit that selectively sets one of a single-side image formation mode in which the image formation unit forms an image on only the first surface of the paper, and a both-side image formation mode in which the image formation unit forms images on both the first surface and the second surface of the paper, wherein
when the image formation mode setting unit has set the single-side image formation mode, the guide information formation unit forms on the first surface of the paper a first guide information that shows that a valid image is formed on the first surface, and when the image formation mode setting unit has set the both-side image formation mode, the guide information formation unit forms on any one of the first surface and the second surface of the paper a second guide information that shows that valid images are formed on the first surface and second surface of the paper.
18. The image formation apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:
a paper mode setting unit that selectively sets one of a normal single-side image formation mode of forming a valid image on the first surface of the paper having both the first surface and the second surface blank, and a back paper mode of forming a valid image on the second surface of the paper that has an invalid image formed on the first surface, when the image formation mode setting unit has set the single-side image formation mode, wherein
when the paper mode setting unit has set the back paper mode, the guide information formation unit forms on the second surface of the paper a third guide information that shows that an invalid image has been formed on the first surface of the paper.
19. The image formation apparatus according to claim 18, further comprising:
a guide type deciding unit that analyzes the guide information, and decides whether the guide information is any one of the first guide information, the second guide information, and the third guide information, when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that the guide information exists, wherein
when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that the guide information is the first guide information, the image formation unit obtains a valid image from the read image in which the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that the guide information exists,
when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that the guide information is the second guide information, the image formation unit obtains valid images from the images read from the first surface and the second surface of the document, and
when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that the guide information is the third guide information, the image formation unit obtains a valid image from the read image that includes the third guide information out of the images read from the first surface and the second surface of the document, and forms the obtained valid image on the paper.
20. The image formation apparatus according to claim 18, wherein when the paper mode setting unit has set the back paper mode, the image formation unit forms an invalid information that shows the image is an invalid image, in superimposition with the invalid image on the paper.
21. The image formation apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:
an unclear image display unit that displays the image read by the image reading unit on a display section, when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that there does not exist the guide information; and
a neednon-need assigning unit that assigns necessity or non-necessity of the read image that the unclear image display unit has displayed on the display section, wherein
the image formation unit forms the read image that the neednon-need assigning unit has assigned as the necessary image.
22. The image formation apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:
an unclear image display unit that displays the image read by the image reading unit on a display section, when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that there does not exist the guide information; and
a neednon-need assigning unit that assigns necessity or non-necessity of the read image that the unclear image display unit has displayed on the display section, wherein
the image formation unit forms the read image that the neednon-need assigning unit has assigned as the necessary image.
23. The image formation apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising:
an unclear image display unit that displays the image read by the image reading unit on a display section, when the guide presenceabsence deciding unit has decided that there does not exist the guide information; and
a neednon-need assigning unit that assigns necessity or non-necessity of the read image that the unclear image display unit has displayed on the display section, wherein
the image formation unit forms the read image that the neednon-need assigning unit has assigned as the necessary image.
24. A computer program that makes a computer execute:
forming on a paper an image of a document with an image formation unit; and
printing on the paper a guide information, which represents a layout of the document, with the image formation unit.
25. The computer program according to claim 24, that makes the computer execute:
deciding whether a guide information exists in an image read by an image reading unit from a surface of a document; and
when it is decided that the guide information exists in the read image, forming only the image read by the image reading unit on a different paper and not printing the guide information on the different paper.
26. The computer program according to claim 25, that makes the computer execute:
setting a staple position that indicates where a stapler should staple a plurality of the different paper;
recognizing the top and bottom directions of the image read by the image reading unit, based on the position of the guide information in the read image; and
forming on the different paper an image of which direction is adjusted based on the set staple position and the recognized top and bottom directions of the read image.
27. The computer program according to claim 26, that makes the computer execute:
setting one of a non-concentration mode of forming one image on each of two surfaces of each of a plurality of the papers, and a concentration mode of forming a plurality of images on each of the two surfaces of the papers; and
when the concentration mode is set, then forming on the paper an image of which direction is adjusted based on the staple position and a number of images to be formed in the concentration mode.
28. The computer program according to claim 24, that makes the computer execute:
setting one of a single-side image formation mode of forming an image on a first surface of the paper, and a two-side image formation mode of forming images on the first surface and a second surface of the paper;
when the single-side image formation mode is set, then forming a first guide information that shows that a valid image is formed on the first surface of the paper a first guide information that shows that a valid image is formed on the first surface; and
when the both-side image formation mode is set, then forming on any one of the first surface and the second surface of the paper a second guide information that shows that valid images are formed on the first surface and second surface of the paper.
29. The computer program according to claim 28, that makes the computer execute:
when the single-side image formation mode is set, setting one of a normal single-side image formation mode of forming a valid image on the first surface of the paper having both the first surface and the second surface blank, and a back paper mode of forming a valid image on the second surface of the paper that has an invalid image formed on the first surface; and
when the back paper mode is set, then forming on the second surface of the paper a third guide information that shows that an invalid image has been formed on the first surface of the paper.
30. The computer program according to claim 29, that makes the computer execute:
deciding whether the image read includes any one of the first guide information, the second guide information, and the third guide information; and
when it is decide that the image read includes the first guide information, then forming on the paper the read image that includes the first guide information,
when it is decide that the image read includes the second guide information, then forming the images read from the first surface and the second surface of the document on the paper, and
when it is decide that the image read includes the third guide information, the forming the read image that includes the third guide information on the paper out of the images read from both sides of the document.
31. The computer program according to claim 25, that makes the computer execute:
displaying the image read by the image reading unit and that does not include the guide information;
assigning whether the image displayed is necessary or not necessary; and
forming on the paper a read image that is assigned as necessary.
32. The computer program according to claim 28, that makes the computer execute:
displaying the image read by the image reading unit and that does not include the guide information;
assigning whether the image displayed is necessary or not necessary; and
forming on the paper a read image that is assigned as necessary.
33. A storage medium that stores the computer program that makes a computer execute:
forming on a paper an image of a document with an image formation unit; and
printing on the paper a guide information, which represents a layout of the document, with the image formation unit.

What is claimed is:

1. An arrangement for the optical detection of a moving target flow for pulsed energy beam pumped radiation generation based on a plasma in which a target generator is provided for generating a target flow advancing along a path and an energy beam for plasma generation is directed to a defined interaction point of the path of the target flow, this interaction point being located in a vacuum chamber for plasma generation, comprising:
said target generator providing a target flow of moving material with relatively constant target states in the interaction point;
said target flow having, at least in a recurring manner over time, identical conditions for the generation of plasma for radiation emission;
a sensor unit being provided for observation of the position of the target flow at a detection point which lies at a short distance from the interaction point on the path;
said sensor unit being provided for illuminating the target flow moving past with transmission light and for receiving proportions of the transmission light that are reflected at a portion of the illuminated target flow;
said sensor unit containing a detection module and a projection module, wherein the projection module having means for focusing the transmission light onto the detection point in the target flow, so that transmission light which is reflected from the detection point is received simultaneously by the projection module and is directed to the detection module;
said detection module being arranged at a spatial distance from the projection module so as to be shielded from interfering influences from plasma generation and resulting radiation; and
a light waveguide being provided between the detection module and projection module for transmitting transmission light and optical signals resulting from reflected portions of the transmission light at the target flow passing the detection point.
2. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the target flow is a flow of discrete liquid drops, wherein the projection module is oriented in lateral and longitudinal direction with the detection point to the middle path of the drops for detecting the drops.
3. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the target flow is a flow of discrete solid, frozen targets.
4. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the target flow is a continuous liquid jet.
5. The arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the projection module is directed with its detection point to the center of the target flow for detection of lateral variations.
6. The arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the projection module is directed with its detection point to an edge area of the target flow for detecting lateral variations.
7. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the projection module is arranged with its optical axis substantially orthogonal to the direction of the path of the target flow and essentially different than the direction of the axis of the energy beam, said energy beam being preferably an excitation laser.
8. The arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the projection module is arranged with its optical axis essentially orthogonal to the direction of the axis of the excitation laser.
9. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the projection module has focusing optical elements for coupling the transmission light out of the light waveguide and for focusing on a spatial region having a smaller extent than the lateral dimension of the target flow.
10. The arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the projection module has focusing optics with a focal length of a few centimeters and a numerical aperture that is selected in such a way that a focus of the transmission light generated by the focusing optics in the detection point is smaller than the diameter of the target flow and proportions of the transmission light reflected by the latter are received.
11. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the projection module is directed with its optical axis to a detection point which is at a distance along the path of the target flow of several millimeters to several centimeters from the interaction point of the excitation laser beam, wherein the optimal distance from the interaction point must be adjusted as a compromise between desired economical compactness of the projection module and the necessary accuracy of position determination of the target at the interaction point.
12. The arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the optical axis of the projection module is at a distance of several centimeters to decimeters from the interaction point, wherein, for a relatively large distance from the interaction point such as this, the projection module has simple focusing optics with a short focal length and a defined numerical aperture, so that a high resolution of the target position is possible at a short distance from the detection point.
13. The arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the optical axis of the projection module is at a distance of only a few millimeters from the interaction point, wherein, at such a short distance from the interaction point, the projection module has focusing optics with a long target-side focal length of several centimeters but the same numerical aperture as with short focal length positioning, so that exacting focusing optics are provided for a high resolution of the target position at a great distance from the detection point.
14. The arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the projection module is directed with its optical axis to the target jet in a detection point in front of the interaction point.
15. The arrangement according to claim 11, wherein the projection module is directed with its optical axis to the target jet in a detection point after the interaction point.
16. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the detection module has optical elements for generating the transmission light, for coupling the transmission light into the light waveguide and for coupling the transmission light out of the light waveguide, optical components for separating proportions of the transmission light that are reflected or backscattered in the detection point as optical measurement signals, and an optoelectronic detector for converting the optical measurement signal into an electric signal.
17. The arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the optical component for separating the optical measurement signal is a light waveguide with integrated direction-dependent signal splitting, particularly a fiber-optic circulator.
18. The arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the optical component for separating the optical measurement signal is a polarization-optical beam splitter, wherein the transmission light is linearly polarized.
19. The arrangement according to claim 18, wherein a polarization-preserving fiber is provided as light waveguide between the detection module and projection module.
20. The arrangement according to claim 18, wherein the detection module has an additional half-wave plate for adjustment of the polarization plane.
21. The arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the detection module contains an additional spectral filter element with high transmission for the optical measurement signal reflected by the target flow and a high blocking effect for scattered light originating from the laser beam and plasma.
22. The arrangement according to claim 16, wherein a continuous transmission light source with a collimated light bundle is provided for generating the transmission light.
23. The arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the transmission light source has a wavelength which is different than the wavelength of the excitation laser.
24. The arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the transmission light source is a waveguide-coupled luminescent diode, preferably a fiber-coupled luminescent diode.
25. The arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the transmission light source is a fiber laser.
26. The arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the transmission light source is a multimode laser diode.
27. The arrangement according to claim 22, wherein the transmission light source is a short pulse laser with a high repetition rate.
28. The arrangement according to claim 25, wherein the light waveguide between the detection module and the projection module uses a single-mode fiber, so that only one fundamental mode of the laser radiation used as transmission light can be transmitted.
29. The arrangement according to claim 18, wherein rotatable wedge plates are provided in the detection module for orienting the transmission light bundle before entering the light waveguide.
30. The arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the detection module is connected via the output of its detector to an electronic circuit for amplifying and processing the electric signal converted from the reflected optical signals and for generating a synchronization signal.
31. The arrangement according to claim 30, wherein the electronic circuit communicates with the pulsed energy beam source for generating a synchronization signal.
32. The arrangement according to claim 30, wherein the electronic circuit communicates with the target generator for generating a synchronization signal.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A method of determining a location of a medical device, comprising:
receiving, over a first communication connection, one or more signals at the medical device transmitted by one or more beacons, respectively, at known locations;
sending, over a second communication connection different from the first communication connection, from the medical device the received one or more signals to a processor; and
determining, by the processor, the location of the medical device based on the received one or more signals.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more signals transmitted by the one or more beacons, respectively, are coded with a unique ID.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining comprises:
when a plurality of signals are received at the medical device, measuring a signal strength of each of the plurality of received signals; and
triangulating the location of the medical device based on the measured signal strengths and the unique IDs of each of the plurality of received signals.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining comprises:
if a plurality of signals are received at the medical device, triangulating the location of the medical device based and the respective unique IDs of each of the plurality of received signals.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving, over the first communication connection, a signal at the medical device transmitted by a portable patient beacon;
sending, over the second communication connection, the received signal transmitted by the portable patient beacon to the processor; and
determining, by the processor, a location of the portable patient beacon, based on the determined location of the medical device.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein all of the one or more beacons transmit using the same frequency.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more beacons are portable such that the relative positioning of the one or more beacons is reconfigurable.
8. The method of claim 1, further comprising periodically powering up a receiver at the medical device and sending currently received signals transmitted by one or more beacons to the processor.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising recording determined locations of the medical device.
10. The method of claim 5, further comprising reducing a strength of the signal transmitted by the portable patient beacon to limit a range thereof.
11. A system for determining a location of a medical device, comprising:
one or more transmitting units at known locations to transmit one or more signals, respectively;
a receiver at the medical device to receive the one or more signals over a first communication connection; and
a transceiver, communicatively coupled to the receiver, to send the received one or more signals to a processor over a second communication connection different from the first communication connection, the processor determining the location of the medical device based on the received one or more signals.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the one or more signals transmitted by the one or more transmitting units, respectively, are coded with a unique ID.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to:
when a plurality of signals are received by the receiver, measure a signal strength of each of the plurality of received signals; and
triangulate the location of the medical device based on the measured signal strengths and respective unique IDs of each of the plurality of received signals.
14. The system of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to, if a plurality of signals are received at the receiver, triangulate the location of the medical device based on the respective unique IDs of each of the plurality of received signals.
15. The system of claim 11, further comprising:
a portable patient beacon to transmit a signal received by the receiver, wherein the transceiver sends the signal to the processor, over the second communication connection, to determine a location of the portable patient beacon, based on the determined location of the medical device.
16. The system of claim 11, wherein all of the one or more transmitting units are configured to transmit using the same frequency.
17. The system of claim 11, wherein the one or more transmitting units are portable such that the relative positioning of the one or more transmitting units is reconfigurable.
18. The system of claim 11, wherein the receiver is configured to periodically power up and communicate with the transceiver to send currently received signals transmitted by one or more transmitting units to the processor.
19. The system of claim 11, further comprising a memory configured to record determined locations of the medical device.
20. The system of claim 15, wherein a strength of the signal transmitted by the portable patient beacon is reducible to limit a range thereof.
21. An apparatus for determining a location of one or more items within an institution, comprising:
one or more beacons at known locations transmitting one or more signals, respectively;
a receiver at an item receiving the one or more signals over a first communication connection;
a transceiver sending the received one or more signals to a processor over a second communication connection different from the first communication connection, the processor determining the location of the item based on the received one or more signals; and
a portable patient beacon transmitting a signal received by the receiver, wherein the transceiver sends the signal transmitted by the portable patient beacon to the processor to determine a location of the portable patient beacon, based on the determined location of the item.