Method for detecting incorrect storage of medication packages

• US 9,984,353 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2013
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CareFusion Germany 326 GmbH (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Original Assignee: CareFusion Germany 326 GmbH (Becton, Dickinson & Co)
• Inventors: Hellenbrand, Christoph, Reif, Dennis, Klapperich, Andreas
• Primary Examiner(s): Stanford, Christopher
• Application Number:
  US14/380,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20150012293A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,951 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0407 using stacker cranes constructional features of stacker cranes B66F9/06
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/0421 with control for stacker crane operations
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/1371 with data records
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 2203/041 Camera
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 47/90 Devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for detecting incorrect storage of medicament packages in a pharmacy order-picking device. Such incorrect storage can occur in the event that manual removal of medicament packages becomes necessary due to a malfunction. The pharmacy order-picking device comprises a series of shelves comprising a plurality of shelf compartments and at least one movable operating device in front of the row of shelves, wherein the operating device has a gripping device as well as a sensor. In order to detect incorrect storage, shelf compartments with potential incorrect storage of medicament packages are detected; the operating device is moved to a prescribed shelf position if a shelf compartment is detected; with the sensor switched on, the operating device moves across a detected shelf compartment in a horizontal direction, detects the storage depths at various X positions using the sensor and creates a virtual image of the actual situation on the basis of the detected storage depths; the image of the actual situation is then compared with a target image of the shelf compartment.

Claims

1. A method for detecting incorrect storage of medication packages in a pharmacy order-picking device, the method comprising:

providing the pharmacy order-picking device, the device comprising;

at least one row of shelves, each having a plurality of shelf bases extending in a horizontal direction and a plurality of shelf walls extending in a vertical direction, wherein the plurality of shelf bases and the plurality of shelf walls form a plurality of shelf compartments,

at least one operating device, which is movable in the horizontal direction and in the vertical direction on a front side of the plurality of shelf compartments, wherein the operating device comprises;

a gripping device for placing and/or retrieving medication packages on or from the shelf bases,

a sensor, and

a control unit coupled to the operating device,

identifying, from the plurality of shelf compartments, a shelf compartment marked as having incorrect storage of medication packages,

scanning, using the sensor of the operating device, the identified shelf compartment from a front side of the identified shelf compartment in the horizontal direction,

determining a depth of the identified shelf compartment based on the scanning,

generating a first actual depth image of the identified shelf compartment based on the determined depth of the identified shelf compartment,

comparing the first actual depth image to a target depth image of the identified shelf compartment, and

analyzing deviations between the target depth image and the first actual depth image.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the shelf compartment is marked as having the incorrect storage of the medication packages by a user, or

the shelf compartment is marked as having the incorrect storage of the medication packages automatically after one or more medication packages are manually retrieved from the shelf compartment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the shelf compartment is marked as having incorrect storage when the shelf compartment is affected during a disturbance of the pharmacy order-picking device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the target depth image is generated on the basis of a target occupation of the shelf compartment.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the target depth image of the shelf compartment is generated or updated when placing the medication packages in the shelf compartment or when retrieving the medication packages from the shelf compartment, and

the generated target depth image or the updated target depth image is loaded from a memory of the control unit for the comparison.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising, if a result of the analysis of the deviations between the target depth image and the first actual depth image indicates that at least one medication package is missing from the shelf compartment, the at least one medication package is removed from a theoretical inventory stored in the control unit.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising, if a result of the analysis of the deviations between the target depth image and the first actual depth image indicates that at least one medication package, which is not recorded in a theoretical inventory, is stored in the shelf compartment, the at least one medication package is retrieved or identified and stored again.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising, if a result of the analysis of the deviations between the target image and the first actual image indicates that a medication package is shifted,

determining, based on the incorrect storage of the medication package, whether the shifted medication package is retrievable using the gripping device, and

if the shifted medication package is retrievable using the gripping device, retrieving the shifted medication package and storing the shifted medication package again.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising, if the shifted medication package is not retrievable using the gripping device,

determining that the shifted medication package can be unambiguously assigned to a theoretically present medication package, and,

retrieving surrounding medication packages and then retrieving the remaining medication package such that it can be stored again.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, determining that the shifted medication package cannot be unambiguously assigned to a theoretically present medication package,

ascertaining which adjacent medication packages can be assigned to theoretically present medication packages;

retrieving a set of medication packages which can be assigned to theoretically present medication packages, and

retrieving remaining medication packages, and storing the remaining medication packages.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising, if the shifted medication package cannot be retrieved using the gripping device, informing a user accordingly and prompting the user to perform manual retrieval.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after a correction of shelf compartment having incorrect storage,

scanning the identified shelf compartment again in the horizontal direction with the sensor of the operating device, and

determining the depth of the identified shelf compartment at various X positions using the sensor,

generating a second actual depth image of the identified shelf compartment on the basis of the depth of the identified shelf compartment after the correction of the shelf compartment,

comparing the second actual depth image to the target depth image of the identified shelf compartment, and

analyzing deviations between the target depth image and the second actual depth image.

13. A method for detecting incorrect storage of medication packages in a pharmacy order-picking device, the method comprising:

identifying a shelf compartment marked as having incorrect storage of medication packages;

moving an operating device in the pharmacy order-picking device to a predefined shelf position at the identified shelf compartment;

scanning, using a sensor of the operating device, the identified shelf compartment from a front side of the identified shelf compartment along a horizontal direction of the shelf compartment;

determining a storage depth of the identified shelf compartment at a plurality of positions along the identified shelf compartment based on the scanning;

generating an actual depth image of the identified shelf compartment, based on the determined storage depth of the shelf compartment at the plurality of positions along the shelf compartment;

comparing the actual depth image to a target depth image of the shelf compartment; and

determining deviations between the target depth image and the actual depth image based on the comparison.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the shelf compartment having incorrect storage of medication packages comprises marking, by a user, the shelf compartment as having incorrect storage of medication packages.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the shelf compartment having incorrect storage of medication packages comprises automatically marking, after a manual retrieval of medication packages, the shelf compartment as having incorrect storage of medication packages.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining that a medication package is missing from the shelf compartment based on the deviations between the target depth image and the actual depth image; and

erasing the medication package from a theoretical inventory stored in a control unit.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

determining that a medication package which is not recorded in a theoretical inventory is stored in the shelf compartment;

retrieving the medication package or identifying the medication package; and

storing the medication package.

16. A method for detecting incorrect storage of medication packages in a pharmacy order-picking device, the method comprising:

identifying a shelf compartment having incorrect storage of medication packages;

moving an operating device in the pharmacy order-picking device to a predefined shelf position at the identified shelf compartment;

moving the operating device along a horizontal direction along the shelf compartment;

determining, using the sensor, a storage depth at a plurality of positions along the shelf compartment;

preparing an actual image of the shelf compartment, based on the storage depth at the plurality of positions along the shelf compartment;

comparing the actual image to a target image of the shelf compartment; and

determining deviations between the target image and the actual image based on the comparison,

wherein the target image is prepared or updated when placing and retrieving medication packages in or from the shelf compartment and is loaded from a memory of a control unit.

19. A method for detecting incorrect storage of medication packages in a pharmacy order-picking device, the method comprising:

identifying, from a plurality of shelf compartments, a shelf compartment marked as having incorrect storage of medication packages;

moving a sensor of an operating device along a horizontal direction along the shelf compartment to scan the shelf compartment marked as having incorrect storage of medication packages;

scanning, using the sensor of the operating device, the identified shelf compartment from a front side of the identified shelf compartment in the horizontal direction;

determining, using the sensor, a storage depth of the shelf compartment at a plurality of positions along the shelf compartment;

preparing an actual depth image of the shelf compartment based on the determined storage depth at the plurality of positions along the shelf compartment;

comparing the actual depth image to a target depth image of the shelf compartment; and

determining deviations between the target depth image and the actual depth image based on the comparison.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

determining that a medication package has shifted;

determining whether the shifted medication package is retrievable using a gripping device of the pharmacy order-picking device; and

if the shifted medication package is retrievable, retrieving the shifted medication package and storing the medication package.