# US 8,770,479 B1 · Medical storage cabinet with RFID inventory > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 8,770,479 B1 - Document ID: US8770479B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 13/739,329 - Filed: 2013-01-11 - Published: 2014-07-17 - Granted: 2014-07-08 - Earliest claimed: 2013-01-11 - Assignees: S&S X-Ray Products, Inc. - Applicants: Norman A. Shoenfeld - Inventors: Norman A. Shoenfeld - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8770479B1 ## CPC - G06Q 90/00: Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing - G07F 17/0092: {for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles (medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00)} - G16H 20/13: delivered from dispensers - G16H 40/67: for remote operation - A61G 12/001: {Trolleys for transport of medicaments, food, linen, nursing supplies (carts specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis A61B50/13; hand carts B62B3/00)} - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G07F: COIN-FREED OR LIKE APPARATUS (coin sorting G07D3/00; coin testing G07D5/00; {handling coins or paper currencies apart from payment activated apparatus G07D; payment architectures, schemes or protocols G06Q20/00}) - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA - A61G: TRANSPORT, PERSONAL CONVEYANCES OR ACCOMMODATION SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR PATIENTS OR DISABLED PERSONS (appliances for aiding patients or disabled persons to walk A61H3/00); OPERATING TABLES OR CHAIRS; CHAIRS FOR DENTISTRY; FUNERAL DEVICES (embalming corpses A01N1/00) ## Abstract A medication and/or medical supplies storage cabinet of all-steel construction has an RFID transducer or reader with an antenna array (i.e., an antenna or series of antennas) carried on a vertical elevator at the rear of the cabinet's metal shelves and drawers. The metal shelves, sides and back of the cabinet define successive compartments in which RFID-tagged item are stored. The vertical elevator may have a drive motor, e.g., gear-motor controlled by a computer associated with the cabinet. There may be a wall or window of a suitable radiolucent material at the rear of the cabinet to permit the RFID energy to radiate between the RFID antenna array and any RFID-tagged inventory items contained in the respective compartments or drawers. ## Claims ### Claim 1 Medical storage cabinet comprising a frame, side walls, a top, a base, a back, a plurality of horizontal shelves arranged one above another in said cabinet wherein successive ones of said shelves define between them respective storage compartments in which may be stored a plurality of RFID-tagged items; and for each compartment an access door disposed at a front side of the cabinet; wherein the side walls, top, base, back, shelves and doors are formed of steel; an RFID inventory interrogation and data collection arrangement within said cabinet, including an RFID transducer having an antenna array capable of emitting an RFID interrogate signal and capable of receiving from said RFID tagged items RFID response signals, a vertical elevator disposed within said cabinet at a rear of said shelves, and on which said RFID antenna array is mounted, and a drive arrangement for controllably driving said elevator up and down to move said RFID antenna array to a position aligned with a selected one of said compartments; and means controlling the RFID transducer to cause same to interrogate the RFID-tagged items within the selected compartment and to interpret the RFID response signals received from said RFID-tagged items. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said means controlling the RFID transducer includes a suitably programmed computer connected by a wire or wireless connection to said RFID transceiver and to said drive arrangement. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said at least one of said compartments includes a plurality of locking drawers formed of steel. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 3 wherein each of said drawers has a rear wall at a distal end that is positioned adjacent the back wall of the cabinet when the drawer is pushed closed, and said distal wall is at least partly formed of a radiolucent material that permits the RFID interrogate and response signals to penetrate therethrough. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said vertical elevator includes a vertical slide oriented vertically at the back of said cabinet, with said RFID antenna array being mounted on said slide, and wherein said drive arrangement includes a drive motor selected from a group consisting of a servomotor, a DC gearmotor, an AC gearmotor, and a stepper motor. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said vertical elevator includes an indexed belt oriented vertically at the back wall of said cabinet, with said RFID antenna array being mounted on said belt, and wherein said drive arrangement includes a drive motor selected from a group consisting of a servomotor, a DC gearmotor, an AC gearmotor, and a stepper motor. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 1 wherein the back of said cabinet includes for each said compartment a window formed of a radiolucent material permitting the RFID interrogate and response signals to penetrate therethrough. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said drive arrangement is adapted to position said RFID transceiver at a plurality of positions at each selected one of said compartments. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The medical storage cabinet according to claim 1 wherein said antenna array comprises a plurality of antenna boards disposed side to side to occupy substantially the width of the shelf of the associated compartment.