1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a system for operating one or more drawers that are housed in cabinets, either alone or in multiples of many drawers in a single cabinet, such as in medication or supply cabinets or stations for dispensing pharmaceutical or other supply items from locked storage. More particularly, the invention pertains to a system for controlling the drawers such that they may be opened only a certain distance to expose only certain items with the rest of the items remaining securely stored in the cabinet and, more importantly, that the drawers cannot be jerked open in an effort to expose unauthorized supplies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The practice of storing and dispensing pharmaceutical items and hospital supplies from locked storage has, over the past several years, become a rather common practice. The benefits of such a practice are readily apparent and are increasingly needed to reduce medical costs and improve efficiency. With controlled storage and dispensing, the existing stock of items is completely used up before new stock is added, resulting in reduced loss from exceeding the expiration dates on certain items. Theft is controlled and/or virtually eliminated, especially theft of controlled substances such as narcotics, steroids, and the like. The patient's records are more accurately controlled and more efficiently handled by computers interconnected the storage and dispensing cabinets. And, reordering of exhausted or near-exhausted supplies is faster and more carefully controlled. There appears to be no limit to the benefits of these practices. Our previous inventions, disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,875 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,297, have been greatly assimilated into the aforesaid practice and represent the state-of-the-art.
Presently, the storage and dispensing of small items, such as ampules, syringes and other small, cylindrically-shaped items are handled by high-density storage and dispensing devices, as disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,596. Larger items are stored in and dispensed from large, supply cabinet-sized auxiliary units, as disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,297. For smaller items that are not slender in size or that are loosely housed in small packets, such as packages of aspirin, packets of laxatives, bandages, and the like, neither the high-density devices nor the auxiliary units are extremely efficient. These items would be more efficiently stored and dispensed from drawers of various sizes.
Unfortunately, most drawers housed in cabinets operate only between fully-open and closed positions, thus allowing access to all the contents in the entire drawer. This is not acceptable where controlled dispensing is required. There are some patents that control the motion of a drawer from a closed to an open position, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,951. However, total control over the drawer is not thought to be necessary in some medical circles. What is needed is a drawer-operating system that allows graduated access to a drawer so that items stored in the drawer may be extracted from the front of the drawer and access given to deeper and more rearward parts of the drawer only after inventories in the front have been exhausted. If the distance the drawer slides open can be controlled, then the cabinet can function as a security device, retaining therein those items that are not authorized to be dispensed when the drawer is partially opened. Unfortunately, there are those who would abuse any such system in an effort to obtain access to items to which they are not authorized. With drawer storage, there is the ever-present threat that a user will jerk the drawer open in an effort to by-pass any security device lock and achieve full opening of the drawer whether authorized or not.
The benefits of a workable security arrangement of this type are many. First, only one drawer is opened so that the user does not have to search through all of the drawers to locate the needed item. Secondly, all other items in all other drawers are retained in locked storage and not accessible until appropriate clearance is obtained. Third, with the drawer openable only a limited distance out of the cabinet, items at the rear are retained in locked storage. Fourth, with only partial opening and graduated access, the user is forced to use items stored in the front of the drawer, thus insuring the utilization of existing inventory before access to fresher inventory is granted. Finally, should theft occur, identification of the culprit is easily determined, because only the previous user had access to the other inventory in the drawer. Thus, the blame falls on his or her shoulders.
An important feature would be to allow the user to manually pull the drawer open to its fully authorized extent, instead of having it driven fully open. This is because a driven drawer might strike the user who is unaware it is opening. In addition, the user may wish to place a tray or other device under the drawer for aid in unloading the bin. If the drawer is driven open, it may interrupt this activity or knock the tray from the user's hands.
Another important feature that does not exist in the prior art is the ability to pre-load the bins in the drawer at a location remote from the dispensing cabinet. Presently, one must go to the dispensing cabinet, shut it down, open all the drawers and fill the bins with new supplies. This causes downtime of the cabinet and interrupts the normal work schedule of the personnel that use the cabinet. If a way could be found to fill the drawers at a remote location, say at the pharmacy, and seal the bins with a cover, then the newly filled drawers could be brought to the cabinet and inserted therein to eliminate the downtime.