Drawer mechanism

An apparatus for positioning supported components, comprising:

• a first drawer lifting mechanism that comprises:
• two or more linkage structures that each comprise a plurality of linkage bars;
• a supporting member having a supporting surface, wherein the supporting member is disposed on or coupled to a first linkage bar of the plurality of linkage bars;
• and
• a first actuator assembly having an output shaft that is coupled to a second linkage bar of the plurality of linkage bars, and is adapted to move the supporting member from a first position to a second position by changing the orientation of the second linkage bar;
• a system controller that is in communication with the first actuator, and comprises a timing circuit and a processor;
• a weight sensing assembly that is configured to measure the weight of an object disposed on the supporting member and provide information relating to the measured weight to the system controller;
• a bar-code reading system that is configured to provide information about the object to the system controller when a bar code disposed on the object is scanned by the bar-code reading system;
• and
• a memory having stored therein a number of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
• monitoring a characteristic of the object over a period of time;
• and
• generating the alarm when the monitored characteristic exceeds a value stored in memory, wherein generating the alarm comprises delivering an audio signal to a speaker or a visual prompt generated on a display coupled to the system controller.

An apparatus for positioning supported components, comprising:

• a first drawer lifting mechanism that comprises:
• a base structure;
• two or more linkage structures, each of the linkage structures comprising:
• a driven bar that is rotationally coupled to a driven axis;
• a first bar that is rotationally coupled to the base structure;
• a second bar that is rotationally coupled to the base structure;
• a third bar that is rotationally coupled to the first bar, the second bar and the driven bar;
• and
• a fourth bar that is rotationally coupled to the first bar and the second bar;
• a supporting member that is disposed on the fourth bar, and having a supporting surface;
• and
• a first actuator assembly having an output shaft that is coupled to the driven bar and is adapted to move the supporting member from a first position to a second position by changing the orientation of the driven bar;
• a system controller comprising a timing circuit, a first wireless transceiver and a processor, wherein the first wireless transceiver is in communication with a second wireless transceiver that is in communication with the first actuator assembly;
• a weight sensing assembly that is configured to measure the weight of an object disposed on the supporting member and provide information relating to the measured weight to the system controller;
• a bar-code reading system that is configured to provide information about the object disposed on the supporting member when a bar code disposed on the object is scanned by the bar-code reading system;
• and
• a memory having stored therein a number of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes the apparatus to perform operations comprising:
• monitoring a characteristic of the object over a period of time, wherein the monitored characteristic is selected from a group consisting of a change in the weight and an amount of time the object is positioned on the supporting member;
• and
• generating the alarm when the monitored characteristic exceeds a value stored in memory, wherein generating the alarm comprises delivering an audio signal to a speaker or a visual prompt generated on a display coupled to the system controller.