Medication dispensing cabinet, computing device and associated method for measuring the force applied to a drawer
First Claim
1. A medication dispensing cabinet comprising:
- a cabinet body defining an internal cavity;
a plurality of drawers comprising a plurality of pockets configured to store medication disposed within the internal cavity of the cabinet body and configured to be slidably opened and closed relative to the cabinet body;
a force sensor carried by at least one of the cabinet body or one or more of the drawers and configured to measure force applied to a drawer of the medication dispensing cabinet; and
processing circuitry providing a notification in response to one or more predefined conditions being detected by the force sensor, wherein at least one of the one or more predefined conditions comprises an increase in average force over time.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A medication dispensing cabinet, a computing device and an associated method are provided to measure the force applied to a drawer of a medication dispensing cabinet. By measuring the force applied to the drawer of a medication dispensing cabinet, certain predefined condition(s) may be detected, such as the closure of a drawer of a medication dispensing cabinet with an excessive amount of force. In this regard, a medication dispensing cabinet is provided that includes a cabinet body defining an internal cavity and a plurality of drawers disposed within the internal cavity of the cabinet body. The drawers are configured to be slidably opened and closed relative to the cabinet body. The medication dispensing cabinet also includes a force sensor carried by at least one of the cabinet body or one or more of the drawers and configured to measure force applied to a drawer of the medication dispensing cabinet.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A medication dispensing cabinet comprising:
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a cabinet body defining an internal cavity; a plurality of drawers comprising a plurality of pockets configured to store medication disposed within the internal cavity of the cabinet body and configured to be slidably opened and closed relative to the cabinet body; a force sensor carried by at least one of the cabinet body or one or more of the drawers and configured to measure force applied to a drawer of the medication dispensing cabinet; and processing circuitry providing a notification in response to one or more predefined conditions being detected by the force sensor, wherein at least one of the one or more predefined conditions comprises an increase in average force over time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A computing device for association with a medication dispensing cabinet, the computing device comprising processing circuitry configured to:
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receive an indication of force applied to a drawer of the medication dispensing cabinet; cause storage of information relating to measurements of the force applied to the drawer; and process the information relating to measurements of the force applied to the drawer to detect one or more predefined conditions wherein at least one of the one or more predefined conditions comprises an increase in average force over time, wherein the drawer comprises a plurality of pockets configured to store medication. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of monitoring a medication dispensing cabinet comprising:
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measuring force applied to a drawer of the medication dispensing cabinet; causing storage of information relating to measurements of the force applied to the drawer; and processing the information relating to measurements of the force applied to the drawer to detect one or more predefined conditions wherein at least one of the one or more predefined conditions comprises an increase in average force over time, wherein the drawer comprises a plurality of pockets configured to store medication. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification