Method for reliably filling a transport box having a plurality of accommodating compartments by using an output/input station that sequentially provides medicament packs from an automated storage system, and output/input station therefor

Abstract

A method for filling a tray with individual medicine portions, which are removed from medicament packs that are provided from an automated storage system by means of an output/input station, is provided. A target filling of accommodating compartments of the tray is provided to a control device, which determines the medicament packs to be removed from storage and the sequence of the removal. For removal, a medicament pack is placed on a first transfer position of the output/input station by an operating device, transported to an output position by a first transport device as soon as the output position is free, and removed from the output position. Individual portions are removed from the medicament pack and introduced into respective accommodating compartments of the tray as indicated by an indicating device. The medicament pack is transported to a second transfer position by a second transport device.

Claims

1. A method for adding medicaments to a transport tray, the method comprising: determining, by a control device, a medicament pack to be removed from an automatic storage system based on a target allocation; depositing, by an operator unit of the automated storage system, the medicament pack on a first receiving site of an output/input station; transporting, by a first transport device of the output/input station, the medicament pack to an output site through a tunnel having an air lock, the air lock closing the tunnel via an airlock door on an inlet side and via an airlock door on an output side; placing a medicament portion from the medicament pack into a compartment of the transport tray; placing the medicament pack on a restocking site of the output/input station; transporting, by a second transport device, the medicament pack from the restocking site to a second receiving site; and depositing, by the operator unit, the medicament pack back into the automated storage system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising repeating the steps using one or more additional medicament packs until the transport tray has been filled according to the target allocation.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising reading an identification affixed to the medicament pack to check the correctness of the removed medicament pack.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising reading an identification affixed to the medicament pack to check the correctness of the medicament pack to be restocked.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising generating a signal to cause transport of a subsequent medicament pack to the output site.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the signal is generated at one of during removal of a medicament pack from the output site, after filling of a transport tray compartment with a last medicament from the medicament pack, and after placing the medicament pack on the restocking site of the output/input station.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the signal is generated by activating an operator input device.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the signal is generated by triggering a sensor.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the placement of the medicament pack on the restocking site is detected by triggering a sensor.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the transport tray compartment to be filled is displayed on a display device controlled by the control device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein correct filling of the medicament is monitored by the control device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the medicament pack to be removed is based on one of a transport route, a storage location of the medicament pack and which type of medicament is to be stored in a particular compartment of the transport tray.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the control device, a complete sequence of medicament packs to be removed from storage based on the target allocation.

14. The method of claim 13, preventing, by the control device, the medicament packs identified by the complete sequence from being removed from the storage system for another purpose.

15. An output/input station for medicament packs, comprising: a first transport device having one of a first drive device and a first regulating device, the first transport device configured to receive a first medicament pack from an automated storage system at a first receiving site and to transport the first medicament pack to an output site; a second transport device having one of a second drive device and a second regulating device, the second transport device configured to receive the first medicament pack at a restocking site, wherein the restocking site is situated in close proximity to the output site, and to transport the first medicament pack to a second receiving site in an access area of the automated storage system; a detection device configured to detect removal of the first medicament pack from the output site; a control device coupled to the detection device and to one or more of the first and second drive and regulating devices, the control device configured to cause a second medicament pack to be transported to the output site when the first medicament pack is already present in the first transport device; and an air lock with an airlock door on an inlet side and an airlock door on an output side, wherein the first transport device is situated in a tunnel, and wherein the air lock is configured to close the tunnel via the airlock door on the inlet side and via the airlock door on the output side.

16. The output/input station of claim 15, wherein the air lock is an access block situated between the first receiving site and the output site, the access block configured to prevent further transport of the first medicament pack to the output site until the control device enables the transport.

17. The output/input station of claim 15, wherein the first transport device is a first belt conveyor having a first conveyor belt and a drive with the first receiving site and the output site on the first conveyor belt, and wherein the second transport device is a second belt conveyor having a second conveyor belt and a drive with the restocking site and the second receiving site on the second conveyor belt.

18. The output/input station of claim 17, wherein the first conveyor belt and the second conveyor belt are situated in parallel next to one another and have approximately the same length.

19. The output/input station of claim 18, wherein the first and the second conveyor belts are each situated in a tunnel, wherein in each case an air lock is configured to close the tunnel via an airlock door on an inlet side and via an airlock door on an output side.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention is described in greater detail below with reference to one preferred exemplary embodiment which is illustrated in the drawings, which show the following:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic front view of one exemplary embodiment of the output/input station according to the invention, with an output site and a restocking site situated next to one another;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of the exemplary embodiment of the output/input station according to the invention shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of the output/input station shown in FIG. 1, along the line A-A; and

(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of the process sequence of one embodiment of the method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) FIGS. 1 through 3 show schematic views of one exemplary embodiment of the output/input station 1 according to the invention of an automated storage system for medicament packs. The output/input station 1 has transport devices for outputting medicament packs removed form the storage system, and for restocking medicament packs in the storage system, the transport devices being passed through a wall 3 of a housing or a covering of the automated storage system (automated picking machine), and through a wall 2, to a clean room. The medicament packs removed from storage, as storage containers for medicament portions in the clean room, are provided to an operator, who removes successive tablets or capsules (medicament portions) from these medicament packs and manually inserts them, deblistered, for example, into receiving compartments of an open transport box (tray) having a plurality of such receiving compartments. This filling of the trays takes place in a clean room so that preferably few dirt particles pass into the receiving compartments of the tray.

(7) FIG. 1 shows a schematic top view of the front side of the output/input station 1 on the clean room side. The output/input station 1 includes a channel, accommodating the transport devices, which is situated in an opening in the wall 2 and in an opening in the outer wall 3 of the automated picking machine. Apparent in FIG. 1 is the rectangular channel which contains two conveyor belts 4 and 5 situated next to one another (the front sides of the conveyor belts on the deflection rollers are apparent in the figure).

(8) FIG. 2 shows a schematic top view of the output/input station 1. The wall 2 separates the clean room, illustrated beneath the wall 2 in FIG. 2, from the space which accommodates the automated picking machine, illustrated above the wall 2 in FIG. 2. The conveyor belts 4 and 5 on the clean room side are apparent, whereby the medicament packs resting on the conveyor belt 4 are transported from a first receiving site 8 within the housing of the automated picking machine to an output site 6 on the clean room side, while the medicament packs [resting on] the conveyor belt 5, which have been placed on a restocking site 7 on the clean room side, are transported to a second receiving site 9 within the housing of the automated picking machine. An operator unit (not illustrated) of the automated picking machine, in particular a gripper robot, on the one hand may deposit individual medicament packs on the first receiving site 8 on the first conveyor belt 4, and on the other hand may receive medicament packs from the second receiving site 9 on the second conveyor belt 5. The two conveyor belts 4 and 5 are situated next to one another in parallel at the same height, and may be moved independently of one another in opposite directions. On the side of the interior of the automated picking machine, the conveyor belts 4 and 5 are covered by a housing which lies closely against the recess in the wall 2. In addition, the channel of the output/input station 1, in which the conveyor belts 4 and 5 are situated, is provided with an air lock, so that the clean room may be separated from the space of the picking robot. For each of the two conveyor belts 4 and 5, there is an airlock gate on the side of the picking robot and an airlock gate facing the clean room. In addition, a partition which subdivides the channel is situated between the conveyor belts 4 and 5. An airlock gate situated at the front side inside the picking robot is denoted by reference numeral 10 in FIG. 2.

(9) FIG. 3 shows a schematic sectional view of the output/input station 1 along the line A-A according to FIG. 1. It is apparent here that the output/input station 1 includes a control device situated in the interior of the housing 3 of the automated picking machine, and therebeneath, a transport channel which accommodates the conveyor belts (the conveyor belt 4 is shown), the transport channel initially passing through an opening in the wall 3 of the automated picking machine and then through a recess in the wall 2 to the clean room. The conveyor belt 4 is driven by a drive motor 12. The deflection rollers are apparent at the ends of the conveyor belt. On the top side of the conveyor belt 4, the first receiving site 8 is situated on the clean room side of the deposit site 6 and, within an airlock chamber, on the side of the automated picking machine. Two airlock gates 10 and 11 close the channel above the conveyor belt 4. A first airlock gate 10 closes the airlock chamber on the side of the automated picking machine, and a second airlock gate 11 closes the airlock chamber on the output side to the clean room. The drives 13 for the airlock gates 10 and 11, among other elements, are situated in the installation space situated above the transport channel for accommodating control devices of the output/input station 1.

(10) The workstation, not illustrated in the figures, for filling the trays is situated directly next to the deposit site 6 and the restocking site 7, so that the operator who is inserting medicament portions into the receiving compartments of the trays is able to access the output site 6 and the restocking site 7. Also situated at the output site 6 and at the restocking site 7 are readers (scanners, for example) with which identification means (barcodes, for example) affixed to the medicament packs may be read. During removal of a medicament pack from the output site 6, the user may check its identity, for example by scanning a barcode. Likewise, during placement of a medicament pack back on the restocking site 7, the operator may once again have its identifier (barcode, for example) read so that the control device can check the correctness of the pack to be restocked. The control device may thus check whether the operator has actually placed the medicament pack, previously removed from the output site 6 after removal of the medicament portions to be inserted into the receiving compartments of the tray, back on the restocking site 7. If this is not the case, the control device generates a warning signal and prompts for a correction before the output of subsequent medicament packs is initiated.

(11) One preferred embodiment of the method according to the method for filling an open transport box (tray) having a plurality of receiving compartments with individual portions of medicaments is described below with reference to FIG. 4.

(12) In a first step 20, data which describe a target filling of a tray with individual portions of medicaments are sent to the control computer of the automated picking machine. These data indicate, for example, in which receiving compartments which type of tablets or capsules are to be filled. The receiving compartments of the tray are preferably arranged in a matrix of rows and columns, and preferably include the data which characterize the target filling [and] the coordinates of these receiving compartments.

(13) In step 21, the control computer subsequently determines a first pack to be removed from storage, based on the target filling. The selection of the first medicament pack may depend on the transport route and the storage location of the pack, or also on which type of medicament is to be stored in a first compartment of the matrix of receiving compartments of the tray. The control computer may also determine the complete sequence of the medicament packs to be removed from storage, based on the target filling, and then, by storing appropriate information in memories of the control computer provided for this purpose, may ensure that the medicament packs thus reserved cannot be removed from the storage system for other purposes.

(14) In step 22, a first pack is subsequently removed from storage by the operator unit and deposited on the first receiving site 8. For this purpose, the airlock gate 10 is optionally opened beforehand on the side of the interior of the automated picking machine, and is once again closed after the first pack is deposited. A check is made in step 23 as to whether the deposit site 6 is free. When the first pack is output, this question is of course answered in the affirmative. During subsequent removals of further packs from storage, this query ensures that the conveyor belt 4 is not activated until the preceding medicament pack has been removed from the deposit site 6. It is checked in a subsequent query 24 whether a medicament pack from which the operator is to remove medicament portions and which has been removed from the deposit site 6 by the operator is still queued for restocking, i.e., for depositing on the restocking site 7, i.e., whether such a pack has not yet been deposited once again on the restocking site 7. If this question is answered in the affirmative, i.e., if a medicament pack previously removed from storage has not been placed on the restocking site, the control computer waits so that no further transport of the subsequent medicament pack deposited on the first receiving site 8 takes place.

(15) However, if the question in step 24 is answered in the negative, i.e., the preceding medicament pack has already been deposited on the restocking site, the method continues with step 25, in which the medicament pack is transported from the first receiving site 8 to the deposit site 6. At that location, the medicament pack is then ready for removal by the operator.

(16) Without waiting for the removal by the operator, the method continues with query step 26, in which it is checked whether the pack just transported to the deposit site is the last pack that is necessary for the target filling. If this is answered in the affirmative, the removal from storage and output to the deposit site terminates. However, if this is answered in the negative, the method returns to step 21, in which the subsequent pack to be removed from storage is determined. In the event that the sequence of the packs to be removed from storage has been determined beforehand, the next pack in the sequence is simply provided here for removal from storage. The method then continues once again with step 22, in which the subsequent pack is removed from the automated storage system by the operator unit and deposited on the first receiving site 8. A query is then once again made in step 23 as to whether the deposit site is free. This is answered in the negative, for example, when the operator has not yet removed the pack previously transported to the deposit site 6 in step 25.

(17) The loops in the top half of the illustration in the figure ensure that provision is already made for transporting a subsequent pack to be removed from storage while the pack previously removed from storage is still on the deposit site 6. However, the conveyor belt 4 is not reactivated until the deposit site has been previously emptied by removing the pack.

(18) The sequence which begins with the removal of a pack from the deposit site 6 by the operator is illustrated in the bottom half of FIG. 4. This removal in step 28 is decoupled in terms of time from the transport step 25, as indicated by a dashed-line arrow 36. The removal of the pack in step 28 naturally takes place after the pack has been transported to the deposit site 6; however, an indeterminate period of time may elapse between the transport of the pack to the deposit site 6 and the removal of the pack.

(19) In step 29, the operator removes a medicament portion, for example a tablet or capsule, from the medicament pack removed from the deposit site 6.

(20) At the same time, the control computer displays to the operator the particular receiving compartment of the ready tray in which this medicament portion is to be inserted. Since the control computer monitors the transport as well as the removal of the specified medicament pack, and by means of sensors also monitors the filling of portions into the receiving compartments, at any point in time the control computer also knows into which receiving compartment of the tray the next medicament portion is to be inserted. As stated above, in the simplest case the particular receiving compartment of the tray may be displayed by a visual or acoustic output on a screen or by means of a speaker. However, the selected receiving compartment is preferably directly identified, for example by activating an optical display, visible to the operator, next to or below the receiving compartment. If the tray is in a specified orientation on a specified site, the display may also take place by directing a light spot onto the selected receiving compartment. The operator then inserts the medicament portion into the indicated receiving compartment of the tray, which in turn is detected by the control computer by means of a suitable sensor system.

(21) In step 30, a query is made as to whether a further medicament portion from this removed medicament pack is to be inserted into the same or a different receiving compartment of the tray. If this is the case, step 29 is carried out once again.

(22) When all medicament portions from the removed medicament pack to be inserted have been filled into the tray to be loaded, i.e., no further tablets are to be removed from this pack, the method continues with query 31. A query is made here as to whether the pack is empty. The control computer recognizes this automatically, since it tracks the particular filling level of the pack. In order to increase the reliability, it may also be provided that the operator makes an entry as soon as he/she determines that the medicament pack is empty. If a discrepancy between this entry by the operator and the filling level of the medicament pack tracked by the control computer is determined, an appropriate error signal may be output. The user may then be prompted to investigate the situation more closely.

(23) If it is determined in step 31 that the pack is empty (arrow 35), in step 34 the method continues with the query as to whether the pack most recently removed from storage is the last pack required for the target filling. If this is the case, the method terminates. If this is not the case, it may be assumed that the process sequence illustrated in the top half of FIG. 4 has already ensured that the subsequent medicament pack has been transported to the deposit site 6. The process sequence in the bottom half of FIG. 4 then continues with step 28, namely, removal of the pack by the operator.

(24) If it is determined in step 31 that the pack is not empty, the method continues with step 32, namely, with placement of the pack back on the restocking site 7. Multiple variants are likewise conceivable here. For example, due to the tracking of the filling level by the control computer, the user may be prompted to place the pack back on the restocking site, and optionally to have the barcode scanned. On the other hand, the user may always opt to place the pack back on the restocking site, this operation being detected by the control computer by means of suitable sensors. The control computer then checks whether the pack placed on the restocking site 7 is the correct pack.

(25) The method then continues with step 33, in which the pack placed on the restocking site 7 is transported by the conveyor belt 5 to the second receiving site 9. In turn, the airlock gates are appropriately actuated. The operator unit of the automated storage system removes the pack (which has been partially emptied) from the second receiving site 9 and stores it at an appropriate site. Of course, the control computer also stores the filling level of the partially emptied pack in association with the storage site of this pack.

(26) After step 33, the method continues once again with the query 34 described above. In alternative embodiments, step 34 and the subsequent steps may have already been carried out after it has been determined that the pack has been placed back on the restocking site 7 in step 32. Step 28 and optionally the subsequent steps 29 and 30 may already be carried out in this way during the return transport to the second receiving site and the restocking by the operator unit in step 33, which shortens the overall process. In this case, once again a query is to be provided, which avoids the situation in which a further medicament pack is placed back on the restocking site 7 before the pack previously placed there, on the second receiving site 9, has been removed by the operator unit.

(27) Numerous alternative embodiments are conceivable within the scope of the inventive concept. Instead of situating the airlock gates on the side of the automated picking machine, these may be situated on the side of the clean room. For example, the output site 6 as well as the restocking site 7 may be completely surrounded by walls, and may be accessible by the operator only after the doors provided on the front side have been opened. Slides, for example, may also be used as a transport device instead of the conveyor belts, and blocks may be provided along the slides which may prevent or enable further sliding of the medicament packs. However, it is important that the output site 6 and the restocking site 7 are situated in close proximity to one another, i.e., are simultaneously accessible by the operator carrying out the filling of the trays.