Jerk-resistant drawer operation system

The process of controlling the opening and closing of an elongated drawer, housed in a cabinet, said drawer defined by a front portion and a rear portion and sub-divided into a plurality of consecutively spaced bins for holding material therein, said drawer arranged to move between a fully closed position and a plurality of progressively open positions, said process comprising the steps of:

• providing coded information at said cabinet concerning a particular item needed from said drawer and identification information as to the party entering the coded information;
• opening the drawer, upon receipt of said identification information, a first distance to expose the material contained in at least one bin;
• stopping further withdrawal of the drawer when the appropriate bin has been exposed from the cabinet;
• monitoring the length of opening of the drawer;
• and
• closing the drawer in the cabinet.

A drawer operating system housed in a cabinet and arranged to move a drawer between a closed position and progressively open positions to allow access to one or more drawer bins and any contents stored therein, said system comprising:

• a drawer, said drawer including a plurality of bins for storing contents;
• a monitor in association with said drawer, said monitor adapted to monitor the position of said drawer, said monitor adapted to produce a signal relative to the position of said drawer;
• a drawer stop arranged adjacent said drawer and within said cabinet;
• a controller adapted to receive said signal;
• an actuator in association with said drawer, said actuator adapted to be actuated by said controller to prevent said drawer from being manually opened beyond a certain distance out from said cabinet wherein a bin containing items to be withdrawn is exposed;
• and
• a shaft extending from the rear of said drawer, said shaft having a first spring associated therewith, said shaft and spring adapted to cushion the jarring effect of closing said drawer and to store potential energy for use in pushing the drawer outward upon opening.