System and Apparatus for Item Management

• US 20130218330A1
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Chudy Group LLC
• Original Assignee: Chudy Group LLC
• Inventors: Chudy, Duane S., Montgomery, Larry, Spernow, James T.
• Granted Patent: US 9,672,327 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/244
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/03 for pills or tablets containers for pills or tablets with special dispensing means therefor B65D83/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/10 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/20 Colour codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/60 using magnetic or electronic identifications, e.g. chips, RFID, electronic tags
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0069 Trays for holding or distributing medicines display trays A47F3/14; serving trays A47G23/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/04 Arrangements for time indication or reminder for taking medicine, e.g. programmed dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/04 Packaging single articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65G 1/02 Storage devices furniture A47B; shop fittings A47F
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/22 Social work or social welfare, e.g. community support activities or counselling services
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/10 relating to drugs or medications, e.g. for ensuring correct administration to patients
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/60 relating to nutrition control, e.g. diets
• 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

Item-management systems, apparatus, and methods are described, preferably for management of items such as medicaments. In embodiments, an item-management system comprises a container defining plural cells, a docking station configured to receive the container, sources of visible information to indicate the cell(s) into which an item is to be loaded, and at least one controller operable to control the visible information sources to indicate the cell into which the item is to be received.

Claims

1. A medicament-management system which enables a pharmacy user to rapidly and accurately hand-load medicament container cells with medicaments, the system comprising:

plural portable medicament containers, each container having plural cells and each cell having a cell upper opening through which a medicament is hand-loaded;

a docking station to which a first of the containers is temporarily docked while being hand-loaded and to which a second of the containers is temporarily docked after the first container is removed from the docking station, the docking station enabling control of visible information proximate the cells indicating yes and no states of the cells;

indicators which communicate the visible information to the user; and

at least one controller controlling the visible information such that yes state information is viewable proximate each cell into which medicament is to be hand-loaded, thereby enabling the user to rapidly and correctly perform repetitive hand-loading of cells with correct medicament.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the visible information is viewable directly on the docked container proximate the cells.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first and second containers are adapted to transfer the medicaments to an automated dispensing machine.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the cells of the first and second containers are arranged in a pattern which is identical to a pattern of cells of the automatic dispensing machine.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein each cell of the first and second containers has a cell lower opening through which a medicament is discharged from the container.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein each lower cell opening is closable for hand-loading and is openable for discharging the medicaments from the container.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the first and second containers each include a closure which closes and opens the cell lower openings.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the closure is a sliding shuttle.

9. The system of claim 2 wherein the containers include light-transmissive material and the visible information is viewable through the light-transmissive material.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the plural containers are blister packages.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the blister packages each have walls defining plural cells arranged in a pattern and a cell upper opening through which a medicament is hand-loaded into the cell.

12. The system of claim 11 further including a closure for sealing the cell upper openings after medicaments are loaded in the cells to provide a self-contained, sealed container.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the docking station further includes a plurality of cell-receiving pockets arranged in a pattern matching the pattern of the blister package cell walls such that the blister package nests within the pockets when docked.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the docking station further includes circuitry enabling the control of the visible information.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein indicators radiate light.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the indicators include an energizable light source.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein each light source is multi-colored.

18. The system of claim 16 further including plural indicators associated with each cell of the docked container.

19. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one controller is operable to store information indicating cells into which medicament is to be hand-loaded.

20. A medicament-management system which enables a pharmacy user to rapidly and accurately perform repetitive tasks of hand-loading blister package cells with medicaments, the system comprising:

a portable blister package having walls defining plural cells arranged in a pattern each cell having a cell upper opening through which a medicament is hand-loaded into the cell;

a docking station to which the blister package is temporarily docked during the hand-loading, the docking station including a plurality of cell-receiving pockets arranged in the pattern such that the blister package cell walls are nested within the pockets when docked;

visible information sources controlled through the docking station providing yes state or no state visible information, a source being associated with each pocket to indicate by the yes state the cell of a docked blister package into which each medicament is to be hand-loaded; and

at least one controller operable to store information indicating the cell into which each medicament is to be hand-loaded and to control through the docking station the visible information to indicate the cell into which the medicament is to be hand-loaded, thereby enabling the pharmacy user to rapidly and correctly perform the repetitive manual tasks of hand-loading the cells with a correct type of medicament.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the docking station includes:

a housing including the pockets, the housing having a top side over which the blister package is docked with the cell walls nested in the pockets; and

the visible information sources, the visible information sources being positioned such that the visible information is viewable proximate the pockets.

22. The system of claim 21 wherein the blister package cell walls have a cross-sectional shape and the pockets have a cross-sectional shape complementary thereto to facilitate the nesting of the blister package with the docking station.

23. The system of claim 21 wherein the docking station pockets are arranged in a plurality of pocket groups, each pocket group being capable of receiving a separate blister package thereby enabling a plurality of the blister packages to be docked simultaneously at the docking station.

24. The system of claim 21 wherein the blister package has a body of light-transmissive material and the visible information is viewable through the body when the blister package is docked.

25. The system of claim 24 further including a closure for sealing the cell upper openings after medicaments are loaded in the cells to provide a self-contained, sealed container.

26. The system of claim 21 wherein the docking station further includes circuitry enabling the control of the visible information.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the visible information sources radiate light.

28. The system of claim 27 wherein each visible information source includes an energizable light source.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein each visible information source further includes a light pipe having a body, a first end aligned with the energizable light source, a second end viewable from the top side of the docking station housing and the light pipe communicates the light.

30. The system of claim 29 wherein the light source is multi-colored.

31. The system of claim 21 further including a sensor guide associated with the docking station and operably connected to the at least one controller, the sensor guide having plural openings, an opening being associated with each pocket and each cell of a docked blister package, the sensor guide further having a sensor associated with each opening which detects passage of a medicament through the opening toward the cell of the docked blister package, and the visible information is viewable on the sensor guide.

32. The system of claim 31 wherein the sensor guide detects whether the medicament is placed into an expected cell.

33. The system of claim 32 wherein the at least one controller generates a signal if the medicament is placed in other than the expected cell.