Paper feed system and method
AssigneeExpress Scripts, 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.
Claims18
A system for routing sheets for a pharmaceutical filling center, comprising:
- at least one sensor configured to monitor a paper collator and determine a remaining capacity of the paper collator, the paper collator including an upper shelf and a lower shelf;
- a processor configured to selectively
- (i) instruct a printer to hold printing the sheets in response to determining that the remaining capacity of the paper collator is smaller than a threshold;
- and
- (ii) resume printing the sheets in response to determining that the remaining capacity of the paper collator is larger than the threshold;
- and
- an upper actuator configured to selectively (a) open the upper shelf to thereby drop the sheets retained by the upper shelf to the lower shelf and (b) close the upper shelf after the lower shelf has received the sheets from the upper shelf,
- wherein the at least one sensor comprises:
- an upper sensor positioned to monitor and determine an remaining capacity of the upper shelf;
- and
- a lower sensor positioned to monitor and determine an remaining capacity of the lower shelf, and
- wherein:
- the remaining capacity of the paper collator is determined to be smaller than the threshold when the remaining capacity of the upper shelf and the remaining capacity of the lower shelf are determined to be smaller than the threshold, and
- the remaining capacity of the paper collator is determined larger than the threshold when one of the remaining capacity of the upper shelf and the remaining capacity of the lower shelf is determined to be larger than the threshold.
A method for routing sheets for a pharmaceutical filling center, comprising:
- monitoring a paper collator to determine an remaining capacity of the paper, wherein the paper collator includes an upper shelf and a lower shelf;
- in response to determining that the remaining capacity of the paper collator is smaller than a threshold, instructing a printer to hold printing the sheets;
- in response to determining that the remaining capacity of the paper collator is larger than the threshold, resuming printing the sheets;
- instructing an upper actuator associated with the upper shelf to selectively (i) open the upper shelf to thereby drop the sheets retained by the upper shelf to the lower shelf and (ii) close the upper shelf after the lower shelf has received the sheets from the upper shelf;
- determining that the remaining capacity of the paper collator is smaller than the threshold when an remaining capacity of the upper shelf and an remaining capacity of the lower shelf are both smaller than the threshold;
- and
- determining that the remaining capacity of the paper collator is larger than the threshold when one of the remaining capacity of the upper shelf and the remaining capacity of the lower shelf is larger than the threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.