Systems and methods for accumulation

• US 9,242,751 B1
• Filed: 03/05/2012
• Issued: 01/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Express Scripts Strategic Development, Inc. (The Cigna Group)
• Original Assignee: Express Scripts Incorporated (The Cigna Group)
• Inventors: Joplin, Jonathan W., Christopher, Jerry W., Eller, Charles E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Snelting, Jonathan
• Application Number:
  US13/412,033
• Time in Patent Office: 1,422 Days
• Field of Search: 414/567
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 3/00 Sorting according to destination collating the pages of a book B42C1/00
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/34 Sorting according to other particular properties material testing per se G01N; quality control G07C3/14
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/3412 according to a code applied to the object which indicates a property of the object, e.g. quality class, contents or incorrect indication sorting according to size measured by light-responsive means B07C5/10; sorting according to optical properties B07C5/342; for packages B65D79/02; for information carriers G06K7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/36 Sorting apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution sorting according to destination B07C3/003, B07C3/02
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/361 Processing or control devices therefor, e.g. escort memory
• CPC Class Codes: B07C 5/38 Collecting or arranging articles in groups
• CPC Class Codes: B21B 41/00 Guiding, conveying, or accumulating easily-flexible work, e.g. wire, sheet metal bands, in loops or curves; Loop lifters
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 43/52 using roller-ways or endless conveyors
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/04 Packaging single articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/02 responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of binding or wrapping material, containers, or packages
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 7/2807 Feeding closures
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 7/2842 Securing closures on containers in general B65B51/00
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1373 for fulfilling orders in warehouses
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1378 the orders being assembled on fixed commissioning areas remote from the storage areas
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 3/02 by applying flanged caps, e.g. crown caps, and securing by deformation of flanges
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 3/06 Feeding caps to capping heads
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 3/26 Applications of control, warning, or safety devices in capping machinery
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/00 Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or content of the data handled logic circuits H03K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Method and systems for accumulation are described. In one embodiment, a dispensing station includes a receiving opening, a dispensing opening and a storage area. The dispensing station receives and dispenses a container. A transportable storage system includes multiple partitions disposed on a carrier portion to define multiple carriage sections. The carriage sections are electronically identifiable and selectively hold or eject the container. A bin apparatus for receiving the container includes a movable portion to selectively hold and release the container. A control unit for commanding the bin apparatus to dispense the container to a desired carriage section of the transportable storage system is provided. Additional methods and systems are disclosed.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a dispensing station including a receiving opening, a dispensing opening, and a storage area, the dispensing station being configured to receive and dispense a container;

a transportable storage system including a plurality of partitions disposed on a carrier portion to define a plurality of carriage sections, a carriage section of the plurality of carriage sections being electronically identifiable, the carriage section being configured to selectively hold and eject the container;

a bin apparatus to receive the container dispensed by the dispensing station, the bin apparatus including a movable portion to selectively hold and release the container to the carriage section with the container being maintained in a same orientation from the bin apparatus to the carriage section; and

a control unit to command the bin apparatus to dispense the container to the carriage section among the plurality of carriage sections of the transportable storage system to fill a prescription order.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the dispensing station includes a robot picker and a container scanner to scan the container.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the container scanner is communicatively coupled to the control unit to identify the container and associate the container with a prescription order.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the dispensing station includes a rack for unit-of-use containers.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the receiving opening is configured to receive the container from a first conveyor,

wherein the dispensing opening is configured to dispense the container to the bin apparatus, and

wherein the storage area is between the receiving opening and the dispensing opening.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the dispensing opening and the bin apparatus are connected by a second conveyor.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the receiving opening is connected to a conveyor that is configured to transport the containers to the dispensing station, and wherein the robot picker is configured to pick the container from a conveyor, position the container proximal to the container scanner, and rotate the container about an axis during scanning of a label of the container.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the robot picker is further configured to place the container into a storage pocket of the storage area.

9. The system of claim 8, where the robot picker is further configured to pick the container from the storage pocket and dispense the container at the dispensing opening to the bin apparatus.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the control unit tracks the carriage section and commands the movable portion of the bin apparatus to release the container as the carriage section passes underneath.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an order processing device to generate a prescription order including the container, the order processing device being communicatively connected to the control unit.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the movable portion of the bin apparatus is actuated by an actuator communicatively connected to the control unit.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the transportable storage system includes RFID tags at the carriage sections and a scanner to read the RFID tags, the scanner being communicatively connected to the control unit.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the bin apparatus includes a fixed portion to support the container while in the bin apparatus, the fixed portion being approximately perpendicular to the moveable portion.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the moveable portion is coupled to an actuator, wherein the actuator opens and closes the moveable portion to selectively hold and release the container.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the storage area is an inventory storage area configured to temporarily hold a plurality of containers to accumulate multiple containers of a prescription order.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the dispensing station dispenses a plurality of containers for a same prescription order to the bin apparatus.

18. A prescription order filling system comprising:

a dispensing station configured to accumulate a plurality of prescription bottles, the dispensing station being configured to receive a prescription bottle of the plurality of prescription bottles, the dispensing station including a dispensing opening configured to dispense the prescription bottle and a storage area to hold the prescription bottle, wherein the dispensing station includes a container scanner to scan the prescription bottle to identify the prescription bottle before the prescription bottle exits the dispensing opening;

a bin apparatus to receive the prescription bottle dispensed by the dispensing station, the bin apparatus including a fixed portion including an inclined floor and a movable portion to selectively hold at and release the prescription bottle from the floor;

a transportable storage system including a moveable carrier and a plurality of partitions disposed on a carrier portion to define a plurality of carriage sections, a carriage section of the plurality of carriage sections being electronically identifiable and configured to selectively hold and eject the prescription bottle, the carriage section being configured to receive the prescription bottle at a same orientation as the prescription bottle had on the floor of the bin apparatus; and

a control unit to track the prescription bottle identified by the scanner, to associate the prescription bottle to a prescription order, and to command the bin apparatus to dispense the container to the carriage section among the plurality of carriage sections of the transportable storage system to fill the prescription order, wherein the control unit tracks the prescription bottle in the carriage section to aggregate any other prescription bottle for the prescription order at the carriage section.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the transportable storage system includes a continuous conveyor including sections divided by the partitions;

wherein the dispensing station includes a robot picker to select the prescription bottle from the storage area and align the prescription bottle to container scanner to identify the prescription bottle;

wherein the bin apparatus includes a floor to support at least one prescription bottle and a movable portion to allow the at least one prescription bottle on the floor to move to the conveyor in the carriage section, the floor is at an incline to bias the at least one prescription bottle therein toward the movable portion; and

wherein the conveyor at a location to receive the at least one prescription bottle is inclined in a same direction as the floor at an angle equal to or less than the incline angle of the floor.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the carriage section includes an identifier to be machine scanned to identify the carriage section;

and

wherein the transportable storage system includes an exit chute to remove the prescription bottle from the identified carriage section.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the dispensing station includes a rack in the storage area for storing a plurality of prescription bottles, and

wherein the dispensing station includes a robot picker to select the prescription bottle from the rack and align the prescription bottle to the container scanner to identify the prescription bottle.

22. The system of claim 18, the control unit is configured to track a location of the carriage section and order release of the prescription bottle from the bin apparatus when the carriage section associated with a set prescription order is aligned with the bin apparatus.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the control unit is configured to control a plurality of bin apparatus to release a plurality of the prescription bottles to a same carriage section associated with the set prescription order.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the control device is configured to control different order fulfillment devices to complete the prescription order.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the different order fulfillment devices include at least one of a loading device, a sorting device, an automated dispensing device, or a manual fulfillment device.

26. The system of claim 18, wherein the bin apparatus includes a plurality of bins in which a group of bins may include one prescription container in the prescription order and wherein the control unit is configured to track the location of the carriage section associated with the prescription order and instruct one bin of the group of bins to release the prescription bottle therein to the carriage location when the carriage location is aligned with the bin apparatus.