Paper feed system and method
AssigneeExpress Scripts Strategic Development, Inc.
InventorRobert E. Hoffman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pharmaceutical filling system for a high volume pharmacy is described. The system can include a paper feed device and method. The system may include a paper collator with at one selectively openable shelf. A control device may monitor the capacity of the selectively openable shelf, and instruct a printer to hold printing additional print jobs. The selectively openable shelf may then be opened to allow the printed literature resting thereon to fall to a lower shelf, and the printer can then be restarted. Sheets of printed literature may be drawn from the paper collator, collected with any other sheets of printed literature associated with a prescription order, and mated with the prescription order for shipment.
Claims19
A pharmaceutical filling system comprising:
- a paper collator positioned to receive a printed literature from a printer, the paper collator including a first shelf and a second shelf, at least one of the first shelf and the second shelf being selectively openable, the printed literature including at least one sheet;
- a control device for determining a remaining capacity of at least one of the first shelf and the second shelve;
- at least one of a folded paper fixture stage and an unfolded paper fixture stage, the at least one of the folded paper fixture stage and the unfolded paper fixture stage positioned to receive individual jobs of the printed literature from the paper collator;
- and
- a paper conveyor for mating each of the individual jobs of the printed literature with an associated fulfilled prescription order,
- wherein at least one of the folded paper fixture stage and the unfolded paper fixture stage includes a comb device with spaced-apart tines to allow for faster paper settling.
A method comprising the steps of:
- receiving, by a control unit, a signal from a component in a pharmacy that fulfillment of a prescription order has reached a predetermined stage;
- instructing, by the control unit, a printer to print literature associated with the prescription order as a print job, the literature including at least one sheet;
- monitoring, by the control unit, a capacity status of a first shelf of a paper collator;
- upon determining that the capacity status of the first shelf is running low, the control unit:
- instructing the printer to hold printing on additional print jobs;
- instructing a first actuator associated with the first shelf to open the first shelf, causing at least one sheet supported by the first shelf to drop toward a second shelf of the paper collator;
- instructing the first actuator to close the first shelf;
- and
- instructing the printer to resume printing additional print jobs.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.