Assembly for packaging drug portions in dispensation packs and method for refilling a reservoir of a storing and metering station of a dispensing machine with drug portions

A method for refilling a reservoir of a storing and metering station of a dispensing machine with drug portions, wherein the dispensing machine has a plurality of storing and metering stations, a packing device which receives drug portions discharged by the storing and metering stations and places the same into dispensing packages, and a control device which controls the storing and metering stations and the packing device, wherein each storing and metering station has a stationary part and a removable part which contains the refillable reservoir, wherein the removable part has an information memory which stores an identifier, and contains a memory location for a filling code, and wherein a reading device for reading the information memory is functionally assigned to the stationary part, the method comprising:

• a) removing a removable part containing the emptied reservoir of one of the storing and metering stations, wherein the memory location contains a first value for the filling code, and transporting the removable part is transported to a charging station;
• b) reading the identifier at the charging station, refilling the reservoir with a prespecified amount of drug portions, and writing a second value into the memory location for the purpose of storing the filling code;
• c) saving the second value, together with the identifier that has been read, in a database which can be read by the control device;
• d) transporting the removable part with the filled reservoir back to the dispensing machine and placing the removable part on the stationary part of the original or a different storing and metering station, and reading the identifier and the filling code of the information memory;
• and
• e) comparing the identifier that has been read and the value of the filling code that has been read to the corresponding values in the database, and generating an error signal if they do not match.

A drug packing assembly comprising:

• a dispensing machine comprising:
• at least one storing and metering station configured to accommodate a plurality of drug portions and to discharge the plurality of drug portions individually, the storing and metering station comprising:
• a stationary portion fixed to one of a frame and a housing of the dispensing machine;
• and
• a removable portion, the removable portion comprising:
• a refillable reservoir for accommodating drug portions;
• and
• an information memory configured to store an identifier of the removable part, wherein the information memory contains a memory location for a filling code;
• a packager configured to receive the drug portions discharged by the storing and metering station and to place the received drug portions into dispensing packages;
• and
• a controller configured to control the storing and metering stations and the packager;
• a reader configured to read the information memory, wherein the reader is functionally assigned to the stationary part;
• and
• at least one charging station, wherein the at least one charging station is configured to refill drug portions into the reservoir of the removable part of the storing and metering station, wherein every time the reservoir is refilled, the filling code is changed at the charging station so that the refilling is detectable by the controller when the information memory is read by the reading device after the removable part has been placed back onto the stationary part of the same or a different storing and metering station,
• wherein the controller is configured to compare the changed filling code of the removable part to a modified filling code received by a database from the charging station to check whether they are the same.