Drawer control apparatus

1. A system for selectively controlling access to a plurality of secure areas, comprising:

a plurality of actuators each operative to grant or deny access to a corresponding one of the plurality of secure areas;

a plurality of access modules each assigned to at least one secure area of the plurality of secure areas;

a driver circuit including a plurality of drivers for driving a load, wherein at least one of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to an actuator corresponding to an access module's secure area, and

wherein unused drivers provided to a first access module of the plurality of access modules are output in a cascaded configuration to a second access module of the plurality of access modules.

2. The system according to claim 1 , wherein each actuator of the plurality of actuators is operatively coupled to two drivers of the plurality of drivers.

3. The system according to claim 1 , wherein a first driver of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to a first terminal of a plurality of actuators, and a second driver of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to a second terminal of only one actuator of the plurality of actuators.

4. The system according to claim 3 , wherein the driver circuit is operative to reverse polarity of a signal provided to an actuator of the plurality of actuators.

5. The system according to claim 3 , wherein at least one driver of the plurality of drivers is operative to be driven high, low or off.

6. The system according to claim 1 , wherein a single driver of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to a first terminal of each of the plurality of actuators.

7. The system according to claim 6 , wherein a single driver of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to a second terminal of one of the plurality of actuators.

8. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the system is a medication dispensing unit.

9. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a control module operatively coupled to the driver circuit, said control module configured to operate the plurality of drivers so as to selectively control access to the plurality of secure areas.

10. The system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one access module of the plurality of access modules is operative to detect a state of the corresponding secure area.

11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the possible states of the secure areas are open, closed, present or locked.

12. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of switches each corresponding to one of the plurality of secure areas, each switch operative to provide information corresponding to a state of the respective secure area.

13. The system according to claim 12 , further comprising an input circuit operatively coupled to each of the plurality of access modules, said input circuit including

i) a plurality of pull-up drivers operatively coupled to a first terminal of a switch of the plurality of switches, and

ii) a common input for coupling to a second terminal of each of the plurality of switches,

wherein each access module is configured such that unused pull-up drivers provided to a first access module of the plurality of access modules are cascaded to a second access module of the plurality of access modules.

14. The system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of access modules are physically identical to one another.

15. The system according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of locking mechanisms, wherein each of the plurality of locking mechanisms is operatively coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of actuators.

16. A system for selectively controlling access to a plurality of secure areas, comprising:

a plurality of loads each corresponding to a state of access to a corresponding one of the plurality of secure areas;

a plurality of access modules each assigned to at least one secure area of the plurality of secure areas; and

a driver circuit including a plurality of drivers, wherein at least one of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to an actuator corresponding to an access module's secure area, and

wherein unused drivers provided to a first access module of the plurality of access modules are output in a cascaded configuration to a second access module of the plurality of access modules.

17. The system according to claim 16 , wherein the load is an actuator or a status indicator.

18. The system according to claim 16 , wherein a first driver of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to a first terminal of a plurality of loads, and a second driver of the plurality of drivers is operatively coupled to a second terminal of only one load of the plurality of loads.

19. An access module for use in a system for selectively controlling access to a plurality of secure areas, said system including a) a plurality of loads each corresponding to a state of access to a corresponding one of the plurality of secure areas, and b) a driver circuit including a plurality of drivers, wherein the access module corresponds to at least one secure area of the plurality of secure areas, the access module comprising:

a plurality of inputs configured to receive signals from the plurality of driver circuits;

a first plurality of outputs operatively coupled to at least some of the plurality of inputs, wherein the first plurality of outputs are configured to communicate the signals to actuators corresponding to the access module's secure area; and

a second plurality of outputs operatively coupled to others of the plurality of inputs that are not coupled to the first plurality of outputs, wherein the second plurality of outputs provide a cascaded output of the others of the plurality of inputs.