Routing of totes and bottles within a pharmacy conveyor system
AssigneeInnovation Associates, Inc.
InventorsFletcher A. Chapin, Jr., Todd Bower
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system, method, and apparatus for the routing of totes and bottles within a pharmacy fulfillment center are disclosed. The system, method, and apparatus are configured to transmit routing tables from an application server to station controllers (e.g., PLCs) to enable each station to locally make a routing decision. Since the routing logic is locally stored at each station, the controllers do not need to transmit request messages to the server every time a tote or bottle is scanned. The system, method, and apparatus increase conveyor throughput by enabling each station to make a routing decision without having to wait for a response from a server.
Claims20
A pharmacy conveyor system comprising:
- a memory device configured to store a data structure of at least one bottle lookup table, each bottle lookup table including a bottle identifier and an assigned destination of a bottle;
- a conveyor belt including a plurality of stations, the conveyor belt for each station including:
- a reader configured to read a barcode on a bottle,
- a router configured to divert the bottle from the conveyor belt to a medication fulfillment area, and
- a controller configured to receive the at least one bottle lookup table and determine whether the router is to be activated based on the read barcode matching a bottle identifier in the at least one bottle lookup table;
- and
- an application server communicatively coupled to the memory device, the application server configured to:
- receive a prescription for filling through a pharmacy workflow,
- assign the prescription to the bottle,
- determine routing information for the bottle,
- create a bottle element within the at least one bottle lookup table in the memory device using an assigned bottle identifier,
- determine a route code with a destination identifier specified in the respective routing information, and
- transmit the at least one bottle lookup table with the bottle element to at least one controller before the bottle is received on the conveyor belt.
A pharmacy conveyor system comprising:
- a memory device configured to store a data structure of at least one tote lookup table, each tote lookup table including a tag name corresponding to a respective tote identifier of a tote and a route code indicative of a current location or an assigned destination of the tote;
- a conveyor belt including a plurality of stations, the conveyor belt for each station including:
- a reader configured to read a barcode on a tote,
- a pusher configured push the tote from the conveyor belt to a medication fulfillment area, and
- a controller configured to receive the at least one tote lookup table and determine whether the pusher is to be activated based on the read barcode matching a tote identifier in the at least one tote lookup table;
- and
- an application server communicatively coupled to the memory device, the application server configured to:
- receive a prescription for filling through a pharmacy workflow,
- assign the prescription to the tote,
- determine routing information for the tote,
- select a tote element in the at least one tote lookup table in the memory device,
- update the route code with a destination identifier specified in the routing information, and
- transmit the at least one tote lookup table with the tote element to at least one controller before the tote is received on the conveyor belt.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.