Anesthesia Cart with Keyless Entry and Automatic Re-Locking
First Claim
1. An anesthesia cart comprisinga cabinet having a base, a front, a rear, and a top;
- a computer control arrangement mounted on said cabinet and including a computer processor, a data entry device, and a key code reader mounted in the cabinet and being coupled to said computer processor;
at least one general use drawer in said cabinet including an electro-mechanical lock coupled to said computer processor;
at least one controlled-materials drawer in said cabinet having one or more lockable compartments and having an electro-mechanical lock mechanism for locking and unlocking the one or more lockable compartments; and
a sonic presence sensor mounted on said cabinet and capable of detecting presence or absence of a user within a given beam volume and within a predetermined range of said sensor and providing an output signal to said computer processor;
said key code reader cooperating with said computer control arrangement to communicate with the electro-mechanical lock mechanism of said general use drawer and to communicate with the electro-mechanical lock mechanism of said one or more lockable compartments, and respond to presence of an anesthesia authorization code to unlock said at least one general use drawer to permit access to said drawer;
to await entry of an authorized pass code on said data entry device;
upon entry of said authorized pass code to unlock the one or more lockable compartments in said controlled-materials drawer; and
said computer processor being adapted to maintain the at least one general use drawer in an unlocked condition so long as said sonic presence sensor provides said output indicating that the user is present within said given beam volume, and to re-lock said at least one general use drawer and to re-lock said one or more lockable compartments of said controlled materials drawer in response to the output of said sonic sensor indicating that the user is absent from said given beam volume.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A controlled access anesthesia cart has at least one drawer or compartment for storing general-use anesthesia items, and at least one drawer or compartment for storing controlled substances, e.g., narcotics. A key card reader on the cart is sensitive to an authorization code to unlock the compartments in the cart for access. The anesthesiologist needs to enter a pass code for access to the controlled substances compartment(s). The compartments then remain unlocked so long as the anesthesiologist remains present. A sonic sensor, e.g., an ultrasonic rangefinder device, communicates with the computer of the cart, and when the anesthesiologist is outside a given beam volume in front of the cart, the cart automatically re-locks the compartments either immediately or after a predetermined short delay period.
16 Citations
9 Claims
-
1. An anesthesia cart comprising
a cabinet having a base, a front, a rear, and a top; -
a computer control arrangement mounted on said cabinet and including a computer processor, a data entry device, and a key code reader mounted in the cabinet and being coupled to said computer processor; at least one general use drawer in said cabinet including an electro-mechanical lock coupled to said computer processor; at least one controlled-materials drawer in said cabinet having one or more lockable compartments and having an electro-mechanical lock mechanism for locking and unlocking the one or more lockable compartments; and a sonic presence sensor mounted on said cabinet and capable of detecting presence or absence of a user within a given beam volume and within a predetermined range of said sensor and providing an output signal to said computer processor; said key code reader cooperating with said computer control arrangement to communicate with the electro-mechanical lock mechanism of said general use drawer and to communicate with the electro-mechanical lock mechanism of said one or more lockable compartments, and respond to presence of an anesthesia authorization code to unlock said at least one general use drawer to permit access to said drawer;
to await entry of an authorized pass code on said data entry device;
upon entry of said authorized pass code to unlock the one or more lockable compartments in said controlled-materials drawer; andsaid computer processor being adapted to maintain the at least one general use drawer in an unlocked condition so long as said sonic presence sensor provides said output indicating that the user is present within said given beam volume, and to re-lock said at least one general use drawer and to re-lock said one or more lockable compartments of said controlled materials drawer in response to the output of said sonic sensor indicating that the user is absent from said given beam volume. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A medications and medical supplies cart comprising
a cabinet having a base and a top; -
a computer control arrangement mounted on said cabinet and including a computer processor, a key code reader mounted in the cabinet and being coupled to said computer processor; at least one general use compartment in said cabinet including an electro-mechanical lock mechanism coupled to said computer processor; and means for communicating an unlock code to said reader; said reader cooperating with said computer control arrangement to communicate with the electro-mechanical lock mechanism of said general use compartment, and respond to presence of said unlock code to unlock said at least one general use compartment to permit access to said compartment; and a sonic presence sensor mounted on said cabinet and operative to detect presence of a user within a given beam volume of the sonic pressure sensor in front of the cabinet, providing an output that indicates the user is present in said given beam volume and providing another output that indicates the user is absent from said given beam volume; the computer control arrangement being operative, when the output of the sensor indicates the user is present to maintain said at least one general use compartment in an unlocked state, and upon the output of said sensor indicating that the user is absent from said beam volume to re-lock said at least one general use compartment. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
-
Specification