Apparatus for securing drawer contents
AssigneeSupplyPro, Inc.
InventorsWilliam K. Holmes, Kent V. Savage, Charles A. Tyack
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cabinet having a plurality of drawers, each drawer having at least one compartment. The cabinet includes a computer and a panel pivotally coupled to one of the drawers. The panel is disposed in a covering relationship with the compartments within the drawer and includes at least one opening. The opening corresponds with the compartment. A cover is pivotally connected to the panel and covers the opening. A locking mechanism is interconnected with the drawer and the cover. The locking mechanism receives a signal from the computer to position it in one of a locked and unlocked position.
Claims20
A method of retrofitting a kit for controlling contents into a preexisting cabinet, the cabinet including a drawer having a base wall and perimeter walls defining a compartment, the method comprising:
- providing a panel defining an opening;
- attaching a cover to the panel, the cover being configured to selectively cover the opening;
- securing the panel to the drawer to substantially cover the compartment;
- and
- connecting the panel to a control center, the control center being operable to selectively allow movement of the cover relative to the panel to provide access to the compartment in the drawer through the opening in the panel.
A method of retrofitting a kit for controlling contents into a preexisting cabinet, the cabinet including a plurality of drawers, each drawer having a base wall and perimeter walls defining a plurality of compartments, the method comprising:
- providing a plurality of panels, each panel defining a plurality of openings;
- attaching a plurality of covers to each of the plurality of panels, each cover being configured to selectively cover one of the plurality of openings of the corresponding panel;
- attaching a plurality of locking mechanisms to each of the plurality of panels, each locking mechanism corresponding to one of the plurality of covers on the corresponding panel and being operable to selectively engage the one of the plurality of covers to lock the one of the plurality of covers in a position that covers the corresponding opening;
- positioning a plurality of indicators on each of the plurality of panels, each indicator corresponding to one of the plurality of covers;
- securing each panel to one of the plurality of drawers to substantially cover the plurality of compartments in the corresponding drawer;
- and
- connecting each locking mechanism and each indicator to a control center, the control center being operable to independently actuate each of the plurality of locking mechanisms to selectively unlock each cover from the corresponding panel and operable to trigger each of the plurality of indicators to identify which of the plurality of compartments in a particular drawer contains a desired item.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.