Patent ID: 7971715

Claim:
A medical sharps disposal system for disposal of sharps, comprising a container having a mechanical full position safety door movable between a first position and a second position for introducing material to be disposed into the container, the first position being a ready to use position and the second position being a full position corresponding to the container being full of sharps, the door being obstructed from returning to the first position when the container is full of the sharps; and a sensing system operatively associated with the container to sense the position of the door and to generate an alarm signal in response to a predetermined position of the door, the sensing system including a proximity element and a sensing unit positioned to detect the presence of the proximity element based on the position of the door, wherein one of the proximity element or the sensing unit moves with the door when the door is moved and the other is at a fixed location relative to the door and does not move when the door is moved, the positions of the proximity element and the sensing unit being reversible, wherein when the proximity element does not correspond to a predetermined relationship relative to the sensing unit, the sensing system generates an alarm signal.