Anesthesia cart with RFID keyless entry

• US 9,082,236 B2
• Filed: 11/27/2012
• Issued: 07/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: S&S X-Ray Products Inc.
• Original Assignee: S&S X-Ray Products Inc.
• Inventors: Shoenfeld, Norman A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Backer, Firmin
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILSON, BRIAN P
• Application Number:
  US13/686,417
• Publication Number:
  US 20140145822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 959 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00912 for safes, strong-rooms, vaults or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence

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. An RFID reader in the cart senses for RFID signals, and if a portable RFID transceiver is in range of about 3 meters of the cart, the compartments in the cart are unlocked 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 portable RFID transceiver is present. When the portable transceiver is out of range, the cart immediately relocks the compartments automatically.

Claims

1. An anesthesia cart comprising

a cabinet having a base, a top, a plurality of roller means mounted on the base of the cabinet to permit the cabinet to be moved;

a computer control arrangement mounted on said cabinet and including a computer processor, a data entry device, a fixed RFID 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 mechanism coupled to said computer processor;

at least one controlled-materials drawer in said cabinet having a plurality of lockable storage compartments and one or more motors for locking and unlocking the plurality of lockable storage compartments; and

an active RFID transceiver suitably configured for transmitting an anesthesia authorization code over a given range of at least one meter to said fixed RFID reader;

said fixed RFID reader cooperating with said computer control arrangement to communicate with the electro-mechanical lock mechanism of said at least one general use drawer and to communicate with the one or more motors of said plurality of lockable storage compartments, and respond to presence of said anesthesia authorization code to unlock said at least one general use drawer to permit access to said at least one general use drawer;

to await entry of an authorized pass code on said data entry device;

upon entry of said authorized pass code to unlock a respective lockable storage compartment of the plurality of lockable storage compartments in said at least one controlled-materials drawer, the electro-mechanical lock mechanism of said at least one general use drawer and a respective motor of the one or more motors of said at least one controlled-materials drawer being configured to keep the at least one general use drawer and the respective lockable storage compartment in said at least one controlled-materials drawer unlocked after having been unlocked, so long as said active RFID transceiver remains within said given range of at least one meter of said fixed RFID reader; and

upon loss by said fixed RFID reader of the anesthesia authorization code transmitted from said active RFID transceiver, to re-lock said at least one general use drawer and to re-lock the respective lockable storage compartment of the plurality of lockable storage compartments of said at least one controlled-materials drawer;

wherein said at least one controlled-materials drawer is configured as a pull out drawer slidably supported in the cabinet;

with said plurality of lockable storage compartments in said pull out drawer, the plurality of lockable storage compartments being arranged in a plurality of rows in a given direction across said pull out drawer, and an elongated channel portion arranged between each respective pair of rows of the plurality of rows and extending in said given direction;

each of said plurality of lockable storage compartments having a compartment lid that is normally locked down but is selectively releasable to permit the respective compartment lid to open for permitting access to the respective lockable storage compartment; and

a slide bar disposed in said channel portion and configured to move for at least a limited linear distance in said given direction within said channel portion located adjacent to each of the compartment lids of the respective pair of rows, and arranged to slide and be linearly displaced to different respective positions in said given direction, each position to unlock only a respective one of the compartment lids and leave the remaining compartment lids locked; and

a respective motor of the one or more motors moving said slide bar to a selected one of said positions in said given direction to permit only one said compartment lid to be lifted open.

2. The anesthesia cart according to claim 1 wherein said given range of said active RFID transceiver is between substantially one and three meters.

3. The anesthesia cart according to claim 1 wherein said computer control arrangement is suitably programmed to permit the at least one general use drawer to remain unlocked so long as the fixed RFID reader in the anesthesia cart continues to receive said anesthesia authorization code from said active RFID transceiver.

4. The anesthesia cart according to claim 1 wherein said computer control arrangement is suitably programmed to unlock a respective lockable storage compartment of the plurality of lockable storage compartments in said at least one controlled-materials drawer after entry of said authorized pass code on said data entry device, and permit the respective lockable storage compartment of the plurality of lockable storage compartments to remain unlocked so long as the fixed RFID reader in the anesthesia cart continues to receive said anesthesia authorization code from said active RFID transceiver.