Patent ID: 8269599

Claim:
A securable compartment within a computer workstation and controlled by said computer workstation, comprising: an articulating cabinet; a locking mechanism operatively connected to said securable compartment for selectively locking and unlocking said securable compartment; a computer for said computer workstation, said computer being supported within said articulating cabinet and providing a computer function other than securing said securable compartment; an access point functionally coupled to said computer and mounted externally to said securable compartment, said access point being operable for entry of requests for access to said securable compartment when said securable compartment is locked by said locking mechanism, and wherein said computer is responsive to entry of an authorized access request at said access point to cause said locking mechanism to unlock said securable compartment; at least one authorization computer programmed to provide a plurality of access codes to comprise at least part of said authorized access request, said computer being functionally coupled to said at least one authorization computer, said computer being further programmed for utilizing respective ones of said plurality of access codes for determining whether an access request is authorized or unauthorized; wherein said securable compartment is defined within said articulating cabinet; and wherein said securable compartment prevents access to one or more components of said computer when locked.