Multi-lidded dispensing cartridge system

• US 8,706,294 B2
• Filed: 11/16/2012
• Issued: 04/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: Carefusion 303 Incorporated (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Rahilly, Michael, Weber, Frank Dean
• Primary Examiner(s): Waggoner, Timothy
• Application Number:
  US13/679,843
• Publication Number:
  US 20130079927A1
• Time in Patent Office: 522 Days
• Field of Search: 700/241, 700/242, 221/154, 312/209, 312/222
• US Class Current: 700/242
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 47/0012 with rotary electromotors actuators with rotary electromotors per se H02K7/06, H02K23/68
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 53/003 flexible
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 65/46 for drawers
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 5/26 Interlocks, e.g. for locking the doors of compartments other than that to be used

Abstract

A dispensing system has a cartridge with a body having a plurality of bins and a plurality of attached lids that cover the respective bins when the lids are closed. The body has an external connector and the lids are opened by receipt of a command signal through the connector. The system also includes a cabinet with a docking location configured to accept a cartridge. The cabinet has a docking connector that connects to the cartridge connector when the cartridge is placed on the docking location. The cabinet also has a controller that sends the command signal through the docking connector to the cartridge to open one or more of the lids.

Claims

1. A dispensing system, comprising:

a cartridge comprising;

a body having an exterior and a plurality of bins;

a plurality of lids movably attached to the body, the lids having closed positions wherein the lids cover the respective bins;

a connector having contacts exposed on the exterior of the body;

a release mechanism movably attached to the body; and

a plurality of latches movably attached to the body, each of the plurality of latches configured to engage a respective one of the plurality of lids when in a first position and to release the respective lid when in a second position;

wherein the latches and release mechanism are configured such that the release mechanism will not cause a latch to move to the second position when the release mechanism is moving in a first direction and the release mechanism will cause a selectable one of the plurality of latches to move to the second position while leaving the remaining latches in the first position when the release mechanism is moving in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, and

wherein the cartridge is configured such that the lids cannot be opened except by receipt of a command signal by the cartridge through the connector; and

a cabinet comprising;

a housing having a docking location configured to accept the cartridge;

a docking connector attached to the housing, wherein the housing is configured such that the docking connector connects to the contacts of the cartridge when the cartridge is placed on the docking location; and

a controller coupled to the docking connector, the controller configured to send the command signal to the cartridge via the docking connector to open one or more of the lids.

2. The dispensing system of claim 1, wherein:

the cartridge body comprises a retention feature and the cabinet housing comprises a latch movably attached to the housing and coupled to the controller;

the latch is configured to engage the retention feature when the cartridge is placed on the docking location; and

the controller is configured to cause the latch to release the retention feature of the cartridge.

3. The dispensing system of claim 1, wherein:

the housing has a plurality of docking locations and a plurality of docking connectors associated with respective docking locations; and

wherein the cartridge may be placed in a plurality of docking locations.

4. The dispensing system of claim 3 wherein:

at least one cartridge has a first width;

at least one cartridge has a second width that is approximately an integer multiple of the first width;

at least one docking location is configured to accept both the first width cartridge and the second width cartridge.

5. The dispensing system of claim 4 wherein:

cartridges are provided in a plurality of widths that are approximately integer multiples of the first width; and

at least one docking location is configured to accept any of the plurality of widths of cartridges.

6. The dispensing system of claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface coupled to the controller; and

a memory coupled to the controller, the memory containing instructions and data related to the cartridge;

wherein the controller is further configured to receive a request for an item from a user via the user interface, whereupon the controller is configured to retrieve the instructions and data from the memory and send a command signal to the cartridge according to the retrieved instructions and data to open the lid over the bin containing the requested item.

7. The dispensing system of claim 6, wherein the item is a medication.

8. The dispensing system of claim 7, wherein the medication is a controlled substance.

9. The dispensing system of claim 6, further comprising a communication module coupled to the controller and to a remote database containing information about a plurality of cartridges, the information including identification of the contents of at least one bin of the plurality of cartridges, and wherein the cartridge comprises an identifier, and wherein the controller is further configured to retrieve the cartridge identifier from the cartridge when the docking location has accepted the cartridge, transmit the cartridge identifier to the remote database, receive the information about the cartridge from the remote database, and to store the information about the cartridge.

10. The dispensing system of claim 9, wherein the cartridge further comprises a cartridge memory that comprises the cartridge identifier, and wherein the controller is further configured to retrieve the cartridge identifier from the cartridge memory when the cartridge is connected to the docking connector.

11. The dispensing system of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to send information related to each item for which the lid over the bin containing the item is opened to the remote database via the communication module.

12. The dispensing system of claim 9, wherein the remote database also contains information about users, and wherein the controller is further configured to request the information about the users from the remote database upon receipt of a request for an item from a user via the user interface, and the controller is further configured to compare the user request to the information received from the remote database and verify that the user is authorized to remove the requested item prior to sending the command signal to the cartridge to open the lid over the bin containing the requested item.

13. The dispensing system of claim 10, wherein the cartridge contains a medication, and the remote database also contains information about orders for administration of medications to patients, and wherein the controller is further configured to request the information about medication administration orders from the remote database upon receipt of a request for a medication from a user via the user interface wherein the request includes an identification of a patient to whom the medication will be administered, and the controller is further configured to compare the user request to the information received from the remote database and verify that the requested medication has been ordered to be administered to the identified patient prior to sending the command signal to the cartridge to open the lid over the bin containing the requested medication.

14. A cartridge comprising:

a body having an exterior and a plurality of bins, each bin having an opening;

a plurality of lids movably attached to the body, each lid configured to cover the opening of a bin;

a release mechanism movably attached to the body and movable in first and second directions; and

a plurality of latches movably attached to the body, each of the plurality of latches configured to engage a respective one of the plurality of lids when in a first position and to release the respective lid when in a second position;

wherein the latches and release mechanism are configured such that the release mechanism will not cause a latch to move to the second position when the release mechanism is moving in the first direction and the release mechanism will cause a single latch to move to the second position while leaving the remaining latches in the first position when the release mechanism is moving in the second direction.

15. The cartridge of claim 14, wherein the release mechanism is movable along an axis.

16. The cartridge of claim 14, wherein the plurality of bins are aligned in a single row.

17. The cartridge of claim 14, further comprising a plurality of biasing elements coupled to the plurality of latches, each biasing element configured to urge the respective latch to move to the first position.

18. A method comprising the steps of:

placing an item in one of a plurality of bins formed in a body of a cartridge, the cartridge comprising a plurality of lids movably attached to the body, each lid having a closed position wherein the lid covers the opening of a bin, the cartridge further comprising a plurality of latches movably attached to the body, each of the plurality of latches configured to engage a respective one of the plurality of lids when in a first position and to release the respective lid when in a second position, each of the plurality of latches biased to the first position;

closing the lid over the bin in which the item was placed, thereby engaging the respective latch in the first position thereby retaining the respective lid in the closed position;

moving a release mechanism in a first direction until a latch driver that is coupled to the release mechanism is disposed proximate to the latch that is retaining the lid over the bin in which the item was placed; and

moving the release mechanism in a second direction until the latch driver moves the latch that is retaining the lid over the bin in which the item was placed to the second position, thereby releasing the respective lid and providing access to the item.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first direction and the second direction are along an axis.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein each of the plurality of latches are biased to the first position by a respective biasing element coupled to each of the plurality of latches.