Method and system for article management

• US 10,013,842 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2013
• Issued: 07/03/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Distributrices Medicales BHL Inc.
• Original Assignee: Distributrices Medicales BHL Inc.
• Inventors: Levesque, Stephane, Boucher, Michel
• Primary Examiner(s): Waggoner, Timothy R
• Application Number:
  US14/093,104
• Publication Number:
  US 20140148947A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,677 Days
• Field of Search: 700231-244
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A system and method for article management, the method comprising providing a processor and a terminal connected to the processor, providing a closet comprising at least one module comprising at least one location for an article, each location comprising a presence sensor and a signaling unit, at least one door, a user interface connected to the terminal; wherein the processor controls the door into preventing access to articles stored within the closet in a closed position and allowing access to an article requested through the user interface in an open position if the article is authorized for retrieval by the processor.

Claims

1. A method for individually and independently continuously tracking articles from a supply thereof with identification features thereof to a use thereof in relation to an end user in absence of intermediate identification input, comprising, for each incoming article, reading the identification features of the incoming article and individually and independently tracking the article continuously from the supply thereof to the use thereof in relation to the end user using the identification features thereof, the method comprising:

providing a processor and a terminal connected to the processor; and

providing, in the operating room, a closet comprising;

at least one module, each module comprising at least one location, each location comprising an optical presence sensor and a signaling unit;

at least one door;

a user interface connected to the terminal;

a control board of the closet, communicating with the processor;

a control board of the presence sensors, communicating with the processor and with the control board of the closet;

wherein, for replenishing of the closet, a program run by the processor controls unlocking of the door, reading of the identification features of an incoming article, placing the incoming article within an empty location, the presence sensor of the location returning the identification features of the incoming article placed therein to the control board of the presence sensors and to the control board of the closet and the program updating an inventory of the closet with the identification features of the incoming article and the location thereof;

wherein, for retrieving an article stored with the closet, a program run by the processor controls identification of a user through the user interface of the closet, identification of an article the user requests using identification features of the article the user requests and identification of an end-user of the requested article, and localisation of a location housing an article having the manufacturer identification features and a nearest expiration date within the closet, unlocking of the door, activation of a signaling unit into signaling the localised location, selectively allowing the user to withdraw the corresponding article from the signaled location, closing of the door once the corresponding article has been retrieved from the signaled location, the presence sensor of the signaled location returning an absence signal of the withdrawn article by its identification features to the control board of the presence sensors and to the control board of the closet and the program updating an inventory of the closet with the identification features of the retrieved article and the location thereof; and

wherein the processor controls the door into preventing access to articles stored within the closet in a closed position and allowing access to an article requested through the user interface in an open position if the article is authorised for retrieval by the processor.

2. The method of claim 1, the program controlling retrieval of articles from the closet, replenishing of the closet, payment of articles used from the closet, and real-time tracking of operation of the closet.

3. The method of claim 1, the program controlling retrieval of articles from the closet, replenishing of the closet, payment of articles used from the closet, and real-time tracking of operation of the closet, the program being connected to a data base containing at least a list of articles, a list of users, a list of end users, a list of the modules, and a list of door locks.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the program activates a scan of all articles already within the closet, locating any expired article, controlling unlocking of the door, and:

in case an expired article is detected, the program prompts a user to withdraw the detected expired article and, only when the detected expired article is withdrawn from the closet, controls a signaling unit into pointing out to a specific location within the closet in which a new incoming article is to be placed, the presence sensor of the specific location returning a presence signal once the new incoming article is placed in the specific location, and the program updating an inventory of the closet.

5. The method of claim 1, the program controlling payment of articles retrieved from the closet and generation of replacement articles orders.

6. The method of claim 1, the program controlling insertion of the incoming article in a specific location of the closet, by activating buttons of the specific location into blocking access to the specific location.

7. The method of claim 1, the program monitoring expiration date of articles stored within the closet, the program automatically scanning all locations containing an article in the module and checking an expiration date of the stored articles and activating blocking access to locations detected as containing expired articles.

8. The method of claim 1, the program automatically scanning all locations containing an article in the module and checking an expiration date of the stored articles, activating blocking access to locations detected as containing expired articles, and prompting a user to withdraw the detected expired articles.

9. A method for tracking article management, comprising:

providing a closet comprising locations, each location comprising an optical presence sensor and a signaling unit;

providing articles from a supplier, each article having identification features provided by the supplier;

entering the articles identified by identification features thereof one by one in the closet, each article being positioned in a location within the closet, and transferring, for each article positioned within the closet, a response signal from the presence sensor of the location it is positioned in together with the identification features of the positioned article, to an inventory database, thereby uniquely associating each article with a unique location thereof within the closet by the identification features of the article;

closing a door of the closet;

upon a request for an article, by a user using identification features thereof, through a user interface of the closet, for an end user, determining in the inventory database a location within the closet housing the requested article having a nearest expiration date, unlocking the door, activating a signaling unit into signaling the location within the closet housing the requested article having the nearest expiration date, selectively allowing the withdrawal of the requested article from the signaled location, closing the door once the requested article has been retrieved from the location, updating the status of the associated presence sensor, the inventory database and a file associated with the end user of the article with the identification features of the retrieved article, and generating a purchase order for replacing the article that has been retrieved from the closet;

upon a request, by the user through the user interface of the closet, for replenishing of the closet, activating a scan of all articles already within the closet, locating any expired article, controlling unlocking of the door, and;

i) in case an expired article is detected, prompting the user to withdraw the detected expired article and, only when the detected expired article is withdrawn from the closet as detected by the presence sensor of the location of the detected expired article sending an absence signal, controlling a signaling unit into pointing out to a specific location within the closet in which a new incoming article is to be placed, the presence sensor of the specific location returning a presence signal once the new incoming article is placed in the specific location;

ii) in absence of a detected expired article, controlling a signaling unit into pointing out to a specific location within the closet in which a new incoming article is to be placed, the presence sensor of the specific location returning a presence signal once the new incoming article is placed in the specific location; and

transferring, for each location within the closet, the response signal from the presence sensor together with the identification features of the associated article, to the inventory of the closet,

thereby individually and independently continuously tracking each article from a supply thereof with the identification features thereof to a use thereof in relation to the end user in absence of intermediate identification input.