METHOD OF FILLING A RESTOCKING PACKAGE

• US 20070027577A1
• Filed: 06/08/2006
• Published: 02/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omnicell Incorporated
• Original Assignee: McKesson Automation Incorporated (Omnicell Inc)
• Inventors: Wangu, Manoj, Lal, Payal, Lunak, Richard, Hart, Gregory
• Granted Patent: US 8,571,701 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/236
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/12 with separate article supports or holders movable in a closed circuit to facilitate insertion or removal of articles the articles being books, documents, forms or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/127 the circuit being confined in a vertical plane
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/42 the articles being delivered by motor-driven means
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/54 about vertical axes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A method of filling a restocking package is provided in which a queue of requests of items to be picked from a carousel is evaluated based on a set of user configurable priorities, a carousel is operated based on said evaluating, items are picked from the carousel in response to said operating, and a restocking package is filled with items held in said carousel in response to said operating. The method may additionally comprise filling the restocking package at a configurable time.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

evaluating a queue of requests of items to be picked from a carousel based on a set of user configurable priorities;

operating a carousel based on said evaluating;

picking items from the carousel in response to said operating; and

filling a restocking package with items held in said carousel in response to said operating.

2. The method of claim 1 additionally comprising filling the restocking package at a configurable time.

3. A method, comprising:

filling an envelope with items in a centralized storage location;

delivering said envelope to a dispensing device at a decentralized location; and

inserting said envelope into a lock-lidded, patient specific location in said dispensing device.

4. The method of claim 3 additionally comprising scanning a bar code on said envelope to identify a patient specific location for said envelope and for updating the dispensing device'"'"'s records.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said inserting includes placing a tote containing patient specific envelopes into the dispensing device.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said tote contains a chip having information about the contents of said tote, said method additionally comprising dispensing from said tote, and modifying the information in said chip in response to said dispensing.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said centralized storage location includes an automation device, said method additionally comprising returning said tote to said centralized storage location, and connecting said tote to said automation device, said automation device accessing said information in said chip.

8. The method of claim 3 additionally comprising tracking delivery times of said envelopes.

9. A method, comprising:

filling a restocking package with items in a centralized storage location;

loading a plurality of restocking packages into a cart;

delivering the cart containing the plurality of restocking packages to a dispensing device at a decentralized location; and

connecting said cart carrying said plurality of restocking packages to the dispensing device.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said restocking packages include a plurality of patient specific envelopes.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein said cart contains a chip having information about the contents of said cart, said method additionally comprising dispensing from said cart, and modifying the information in said chip in response to said dispensing.

12. The method of claim 9 additionally comprising tracking delivery times of restocking packages.