Automated medication-dispensing cart
First Claim
1. An automated medications-dispensing cart for use by a health care professional in dispensing medications to a plurality of patients, comprising:
- a substantially closed portable cart housing, the cart housing including a flat top working surface for the nurse/health practitioner;
a plurality of medication-containing bins;
means for supporting the individual bins within the cart housing;
means for moving the bins within the cart housing in a controlled manner, such that a bin can be stopped at a preselected position in the vicinity of the top front edge of the cart housing;
means for opening a door assembly from a normally closed position and then returning it to its closed position, the door assembly being located at the preselected position, exposing a selected portion of the bin when it is in said preselected position; and
an onboard microprocessor for controlling the movement of said moving means and said opening means, the microprocessor operating in response to a control signal from a computer source thereof, which is located external to the microprocessor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automated medication-dispensing cart includes a closed cart housing and a plurality of medication-containing bins which extend for substantially the length of the cart and which are supported within the cart housing. The support structure includes two spaced sets of sprockets positioned at both ends of the cart and endless chains which extend around the sprockets, with one of the sprockets being motor-driven. The bins are connected at opposing ends thereof to the spaced chains. The movement of the bins is controlled such that the bins can be stopped at a preselected position within the cart, in the vicinity of the top front edge of the cart. A plurality of doors is located in the top of the cart, such that when one or more of the doors is opened, a preselected portion of the bin in the preselected position and the medications therein are exposed.
308 Citations
24 Claims
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1. An automated medications-dispensing cart for use by a health care professional in dispensing medications to a plurality of patients, comprising:
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a substantially closed portable cart housing, the cart housing including a flat top working surface for the nurse/health practitioner;
a plurality of medication-containing bins;
means for supporting the individual bins within the cart housing;
means for moving the bins within the cart housing in a controlled manner, such that a bin can be stopped at a preselected position in the vicinity of the top front edge of the cart housing;
means for opening a door assembly from a normally closed position and then returning it to its closed position, the door assembly being located at the preselected position, exposing a selected portion of the bin when it is in said preselected position; and
an onboard microprocessor for controlling the movement of said moving means and said opening means, the microprocessor operating in response to a control signal from a computer source thereof, which is located external to the microprocessor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. An automated medications-dispensing cart, comprising:
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a substantially closed cart housing;
a plurality of medication-containing bins;
means for supporting individual bins within the cart housing;
means for moving the bins within the cart housing in a controlled manner, such that a bin can be stopped at a preselected position in the vicinity of the top front edge of the cart housing;
means for opening a door assembly from a normally closed position, the door assembly being located at the preselected position, exposing a selected portion of the bin when it is in the preselected position; and
an indexing system for determining the position of each bin within the cart relative to the preselected position, wherein the indexing system includes one tab element positioned on a selected bin and one sensor located at the preselected position, so that the selected bin can be located in the preselected position, and wherein the indexing system further includes a bin position determining assembly for ascertaining the position of each bin relative to the preselected position.
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24. An automated medication-dispensing cart, comprising:
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a substantially closed cart housing;
a plurality of medication-containing bins;
means for supporting the individual bins within the cart housing;
means for moving the bins within the cart housing in a controlled manner, such that a bin can be stopped at a preselected position in the vicinity of the top front edge of the cart housing;
means for opening a door assembly from a normally closed position, the door assembly being located at the preselected position, exposing a selected portion of the bin when it is in the preselected position; and
sensor means to determine the presence of any medications which extend above an upper edge of the bin.
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Specification