US-12617566-B2 - Literature packaging system for a high-volume pharmacy

Abstract

A medication packaging system can include a tray with a slot and a literature receiving area to hold literature in a position above the slot, and a robotic arm with a literature grabbing mechanism that can have a plurality of fingers that extend parallel to one another. The plurality of fingers including a central finger and a pair of outer fingers that are located on opposite sides of the central finger which are relatively movable between a disengaged position on one side of the slot of the tray to an engaged position at least partially on the other side of the slot to engage and fold the literature in the literature receiving area of the tray. The robotic arm can move the literature and place it in a shipping bag or container.

Inventors

• Robert E. Hoffman
• Daniel Riippa
• Micah Baggett

Assignees

• EXPRESS SCRIPTS STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT, INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20240715

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A medication packaging system, comprising: a tray with a slot and a literature receiving area that is configured to hold literature in a position above the slot; and a robotic arm extending to a distal end that has a literature grabbing mechanism, the literature grabbing mechanism including a plurality of fingers that extend parallel to one another in a first direction, the plurality of fingers including a central finger and a pair of outer fingers that are located on opposite sides of the central finger, at least one of the central and outer fingers being movable in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction between a disengaged position on one side of the slot of the tray to an engaged position at least partially on another side of the slot to engage and fold the literature in the literature receiving area of the tray, the system configured to operate by: disposing the literature in the literature receiving area of the tray and across the slot of the tray; bringing the literature grabbing mechanism at the distal end of the robotic arm to the tray, positioning the central finger of the literature grabbing mechanism directly above the literature, and positioning the two outer fingers of the literature grabbing mechanism directly below the literature; and moving at least one of the central and outer fingers towards at least one of the other fingers in the second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and at least partially through the slot of the tray to cause the literature to fold around the central finger.
2. 2 . The medication packaging system as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the central finger is movable relative to the outer fingers.
3. 3 . The medication packaging system as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the literature grabbing mechanism further includes a stop device that is spaced from the plurality of fingers, and wherein movement of the central finger in the second direction from the disengaged position to the engaged position is towards the stop device to trap the literature between the central finger and the stop device.
4. 4 . The medication packaging system as set forth in claim 1 , further including a bagger mechanism that is configured to open a top of a bag.
5. 5 . The medication packaging system as set forth in claim 4 , further including a controller, the controller being configured to activate the robotic arm to: engage the literature in the literature receiving area of the tray with the plurality of fingers, and insert the literature into the bag that has been opened by the bagger mechanism.
6. 6 . The medication packaging system as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the controller is further configured to activate the robotic arm to: rotate the literature from a first orientation that the literature has immediately after the fingers engage the literature to a second orientation that is perpendicular to the first orientation prior to inserting the literature into the bag.
7. 7 . The medication packaging system as set forth in claim 6 , wherein the controller is further configured to activate the robotic arm to: insert at least six inches of the literature into the bag prior to disengaging the literature and removing the fingers from the bag.
8. 8 . The medication packaging system as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the controller is further configured to activate the robotic arm to: slide the literature from the literature receiving area of the tray in a horizontal direction.
9. 9 . A method of filling a medication package, comprising the steps of: disposing at least one sheet of literature in a literature receiving area of a tray and across a slot of the tray; bringing a literature grabbing mechanism at a distal end of a robotic arm to the tray and positioning at least one central finger of the literature grabbing mechanism directly above the at least one sheet of literature and positioning at least two outer fingers of the literature grabbing mechanism directly below the at least one sheet of literature, the fingers extending in parallel relationship with one another in a first direction; and moving at least one of the fingers towards at least one of the other fingers in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and at least partially through the slot of the tray to cause the at least one sheet of literature to fold around the at least one central finger.
10. 10 . The method as set forth in claim 9 , wherein the at least one central finger includes only a single central finger.
11. 11 . The method as set forth in claim 10 , wherein the step of moving at least one of the fingers towards at least one of the other fingers in the second direction includes moving the single central finger towards the outer fingers while the outer fingers remain stationary.
12. 12 . The method as set forth in claim 11 , wherein the literature grabbing mechanism further includes a stop device, and wherein the method further includes the step of: sandwiching portions of the at least one sheet of literature between the single central finger and the stop device.
13. 13 . The method as set forth in claim 9 , further including the step of opening a top of a bag with a bagger mechanism.
14. 14 . The method as set forth in claim 13 , further including the steps of: removing the at least one sheet of literature from the tray with the robotic arm; and bringing the at least one sheet of literature from the tray to the bagger mechanism with the robotic arm.
15. 15 . The method as set forth in claim 14 , further including the step of inserting the at least one sheet of literature into the bag with the robotic arm.
16. 16 . The method as set forth in claim 15 , wherein the step of inserting the at least one sheet of literature into the bag with the robotic arm includes inserting a majority of the at least one sheet of literature into the bag and then further opening the bag with the at least one sheet of literature prior to disengaging the fingers of the literature grabbing mechanism from the at least one sheet of literature.
17. 17 . The method as set forth in claim 16 , further including the step of rotating the at least one sheet of literature from a first orientation to a second orientation with the robotic arm during the step of bringing the at least one sheet of literature from the tray to the bagger mechanism.
18. 18 . The method as set forth in claim 17 , further including the step of inserting a medication into the bag.
19. 19 . A high-volume pharmacy, comprising: a bagger mechanism configured to receive a bag from a bag source and open a top of the bag; a tray with a slot and a literature receiving area that is configured to hold literature in a position above the slot; a robotic arm extending to a distal end that has a literature grabbing mechanism, the literature grabbing mechanism including a plurality of fingers that extend parallel to one another in a first direction, the plurality of fingers including a central finger and a pair of outer fingers that are located on opposite sides of the central finger, the central finger being movable in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction between a disengaged position in which the central finger is spaced from the outer fingers in the second direction to an engaged position in which the central finger at least partially aligns with the outer fingers in the second direction; and a controller configured to activate the robotic arm to engage the literature on the tray at the slot by moving the central finger in the second direction to fold the literature around the central finger and to insert the literature into the bag, the high-volume pharmacy configured to operate by: disposing the literature in the literature receiving area of the tray and across the slot of the tray; bringing the literature grabbing mechanism at the distal end of the robotic arm to the tray, positioning the central finger of the literature grabbing mechanism directly above the literature, and positioning the two outer fingers of the literature grabbing mechanism directly below the literature; and moving at least one of the central and outer fingers towards at least one of the other fingers in the second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction and at least partially through the slot of the tray to cause the literature to fold around the central finger.
20. 20 . The high-volume pharmacy of claim 19 , wherein the controller is further configured to: rotate the literature from a first orientation that the literature has immediately after the fingers engage the literature to a second orientation that is perpendicular to the first orientation prior to inserting the literature into the bag.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/526,565, filed on Jul. 13, 2023, and entitled “LITERATURE PACKAGING SYSTEM FOR A HIGH-VOLUME PHARMACY,” the entire contents of which is herein incorporated by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to the technical field of automated filling centers. In a specific example, the present disclosure can relate to a high-volume fulfillment center (e.g., a high-volume pharmacy, etc.) and to systems and methods for handling packaging medications and documentations associated with the medications. BACKGROUND The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that cannot otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. An automated pharmacy can process and fill a large number of prescriptions and prescription orders. Automated systems can be used by a high-volume pharmacy to process and fulfill prescriptions. Mail order pharmacies provide a convenient and cost-effective option for patients to receive prescription drugs. For example, a mail order pharmacy can be capable of taking advantage of economies of scale, volume dispensing of prescription drugs, and centralized warehousing and shipping to reduce the cost of prescription drugs purchased by patients of the mail order pharmacy. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram view of a high-volume pharmacy system; FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a pharmacy fulfillment device of the high-volume pharmacy system of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bagger mechanism for engaging and opening a top of a bag to be filled with a medication product and corresponding literature; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a bagger mechanism with a funnel disposed in an opened bag; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a packaging device including a tray with literature and a bagger mechanism; FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a robotic arm in a pre-engagement position prior to engaging literature on the tray; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the robotic arm immediately prior to engaging the literature on the tray; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the robotic arm after having engaged the literature on the tray; FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the robotic arm beginning to remove the literature from the tray; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the robotic arm transporting the literature from the tray to the bagger mechanism; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the robotic arm prior to inserting the literature into the bag at the bagger mechanism; FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the robotic arm inserting the literature into the bag; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the robotic arm having just released the literature; FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the robotic arm having been removed from the bag; FIG. 15A is a front view showing a plurality of fingers of the robotic arm in barely engaged positions (close to the disengaged positions); FIG. 15B is a front view showing the plurality of fingers of the robotic arm in the engaged positions; FIG. 16 is a side view showing the bagger mechanism having opened a bag prior to the insertion of the literature into the bag; FIG. 17 is a side view showing the robotic arm having inserted the literature into the bag; FIG. 18 a top view of a bag that new contains literature and a medication product; FIG. 19 is a black box view of the packing device; and FIG. 20 is a flow chart of the steps of filling a medication package according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. In the drawings, reference numbers can be reused to identify similar and/or identical elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The present disclosure is related to a packaging system for a high-volume pharmacy. The packaging system includes a robotic arm with a literature grabbing mechanism that includes a plurality of fingers which extend in parallel with one another in a first direction. One of the fingers is a central finger and two of the fingers are outer fingers. In operation, the central finger is placed above a plurality of sheets of literature and the outer fingers are placed below the sheets of literature. The central finger is then moved downwardly in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction towards the outer fingers to fold the sheets of literature around the central finger. The robotic arm then brings the folded literature to a bagger mechanism, which has opened a top of a bag, and inserts the literature into the bag. The robotic arm urges the literature down into the bag to further