AU2017275425B2

AU2017275425B2 - Order-picking machine having an apparatus for filling a row of transporting containers each with an order-specific group of medicinal-product packs

Info

Publication number: AU2017275425B2
Application number: AU2017275425A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Christoph Hellenbrand
Original assignee: Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH
Current assignee: Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH
Priority date: 2016-06-02
Filing date: 2017-05-10
Publication date: 2022-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-10
Also published as: KR102332658B1; EP3251980B1; JP2019517969A; JP7036741B2; CA3025565C; KR20190015245A; WO2017207231A1; SG11201809999YA; BR112018072356B1; EP3251980A1; AU2017275425A1; DK3251980T3; CN109219568B; CN109219568A; ES2845696T3; CA3025565A1; BR112018072356A2

Abstract

A machine (1) for order picking medicinal products has at least one storage rack (2A, 2B), at least one storage-and-retrieval unit (4) for storing medicinal-product packs in storage locations of the storage rack (2A, 2B), and for retrieving them therefrom, and a filling apparatus for successively filling transporting containers (14A). The filling apparatus comprises a plurality of collecting containers (10A, 10B), which can each accommodate a group of a plurality of medicinal-product packs and have an unloading apparatus, with the aid of which all the medicinal-product packs collected in the collecting container (10A, 10B) can be unloaded simultaneously, also comprises first transporting apparatuses (17A, 17B) each with a transporting channel which extends into the aisle, into the access region of the storage-and-retrieval unit (4), into which the storage-and-retrieval unit (4) discharges medicinal-product packs and which directs the medicinal-product packs onwards into an associated collecting container (10A, 10B), and further comprises an apparatus for receiving a transporting container (14A) at a filling location of the filling apparatus, wherein the transporting container (14A) which is to be filled is arranged at the filling location such that the medicinal-product packs unloaded by means of the unloading apparatus are directed into the transporting container (14A).

Description

Order-picking machine having an apparatus for filling a row of transporting containers each

with an order-specific group of medicinal-product packs

The present disclosure relates to an automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug

packages, comprising at least one storage rack, at least one storage and retrieval machine for storing pharmaceutical drug packages in storage sites on storage surfaces of the storage rack

and for removing these pharmaceutical drug packages from said storage surfaces, a control apparatus for controlling the storage and retrieval machine and a filling apparatus for filling a

plurality of transport containers in succession, each container holding a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages, corresponding to one order.

Such an automatic picking machine is known from EP 2 719 641 B1, for example. The

known automatic picking machine has four parallel rows of storage racks, for example, each having storage surfaces on storage shelves arranged horizontally, wherein a lane is formed

between the first and second rows of storage racks and the third and fourth rows of storage racks, each lane having a plurality of storage and retrieval machines that can travel in the lanes

for storing pharmaceutical drug packages in storage sites on the storage shelves of the storage rack and for removing these pharmaceutical drug packages from the storage shelves. A plurality

of conveyor belts is arranged one above the other and extending over the entire area of the rows of racks between the second and third rows of storage racks. A plurality of reach-through

windows and chutes are arranged in the second and third rows of storage racks - distributed

over the length of the rows - so that the storage and retrieval machines moving in the lanes can dispense the pharmaceutical drug packages accommodated there through the windows onto

the chutes, so that each of the pharmaceutical drug packages thereby dispensed can reach one of the conveyor belts. The conveyor belts transport the pharmaceutical drug packages thereby

picked up to a front side of the four rows of shelves and further to a dispensing apparatus arranged in front of them and having a plurality of chutes, each of which ensures that the

pharmaceutical drug packages arriving on the conveyor belts drop into a transport container (referred to there as a receptacle) arranged at a filling site. Barrier apparatuses, which prevent

further movement of the pharmaceutical drug packages arriving on the moving conveyor belt, are arranged at predetermined locations along the conveyor belts and before the end of each at the dispensing apparatus, so that groups of pharmaceutical drug packages accumulate after these barrier devices, i.e., pile up there. A control unit releases the barrier apparatus when all the pharmaceutical drug packages in a group of a given order have been collected and a transport container is ready to receive this group at the dispensing apparatus, so that the group is conveyed further at the proper point in time and finally lands in the correct transport container. One disadvantage of these known automatic picking machines is the complex design and complicated control of the conveyance and barrier apparatuses. Barrier apparatuses in particular, which stop a stream of incoming pharmaceutical drug packages on a conveyor belt that continues to run further, require extensive maintenance in order to reliably prevent jamming of piled-up pharmaceutical drug packages.

It would be advantageous to provide a simpler, sturdy possibility for successively filling a plurality of transport containers with a group consisting of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug

packages corresponding to one order in an automatic picking machine of the type defined in the introduction.

Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which has been included in the present specification is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these

matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present disclosure as it existed before the priority date of each of the appended claims.

Throughout this specification the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or

group of elements, integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other element, integer or

step, or group of elements, integers or steps. The present disclosure provides an automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug

packages, comprising at least one storage rack, at least one storage and retrieval machine that moves in a lane in front of the storage rack for storing pharmaceutical drug packages in storage

sites on storage surfaces of the storage rack and for removing the pharmaceutical drug packages from the storage surfaces, a control apparatus for controlling the storage and

retrieval machine and a filling apparatus for successively filling a plurality of transport containers, each with a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages corresponding to one order, wherein the filling apparatus comprises a plurality of collection containers, each being arranged in stationary positions and being able to accommodate a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages corresponding to one order and having an opening on the bottom and an unloading apparatus with the help of which all the pharmaceutical drug packages collected in the collection container can be unloaded at the same time, wherein the unloading apparatuses each have a closure apparatus for closing and releasing the opening on the bottom, first transport apparatuses, each having a transport channel extending into the lane in an access region of the at least one storage and retrieval machine, the storage and retrieval machine being capable of dispensing pharmaceutical drug packages into this transport channel, which then conveys the pharmaceutical drug packages further into the respective collection container, wherein a first transport apparatus is assigned to each collection container, at least one second transport apparatus is provided for receiving the unloaded collected pharmaceutical drug packages of the group from one collection container and for forwarding the unloaded pharmaceutical drug packages of the group into the transport container positioned at the filling location, an apparatus for receiving a transport container to be filled at a filling location of the filing apparatus, wherein the transport container to be filled is arranged at the filling location in such a way that the pharmaceutical drug packages unloaded by means of the unloading apparatus are directed into the transport container, wherein the at least one second transport apparatus has a funnel-shaped guide channel having an upper opening and a lower opening, wherein the upper opening is arranged beneath the openings of all the collection containers on the bottom, and the lower opening is arranged above a transport container that is open at the top and is positioned at the filling location. The present disclosure provides an automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages comprising at least one storage rack and at least one storage and retrieval machine moving in a lane in front of the shelf, for storing pharmaceutical drug packages in storage sites on the storage surfaces of the storage rack and for removing these pharmaceutical drug packages from the storage surfaces. The term "storage rack" as used here should be understood to refer not only to a stationary rack having a plurality of horizontal shelves arranged one above the other, but also, for example, a stationary rack having storage shafts on inclined shelves, a stationary rack having drawers arranged one above the other, so that they can be pulled out of the shelf or a movable sliding rack with storage shafts or individual storage sites. When using portable shelves, the lanes may be of a variable arrangement and dimensions. Two rows of storage shelves may be arranged in parallel, so that a lane is formed between two storage shelves. The storage shelves may have flat horizontal racks on which the pharmaceutical drug packages may be stored in virtual channels, which may be arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the rack. The storage and retrieval machine may have a storage surface for receiving one or more pharmaceutical drug packages and a gripping apparatus for moving the pharmaceutical drug packages from the storage area to a shelf or from a shelf to the storage area. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages also comprises a control apparatus for controlling the storage and retrieval machine and a filling apparatus for filling a plurality of transport containers with a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages in succession, corresponding to one order. The transport containers may be open boxes. The filling apparatus has a plurality of collection containers, each being able to receive a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages, corresponding to one order, and having an unloading apparatus with the help of which all the pharmaceutical drug packages collected in the collection container can be unloaded at the same time. The filling apparatus also has the first transport apparatuses, each having a transport channel, which extends into the lane in the access region of the at least one storage and retrieval machine and into which the storage and retrieval machine can dispense pharmaceutical drug packages, then conveying the pharmaceutical drug packages further to the respective collection container, where a first transport apparatus is assigned to each collection container. The filling apparatus also has an apparatus for receiving a transport container to be filled at a filling location of the filling apparatus, wherein the transport container to be filled is arranged at the filling location, so that the pharmaceutical drug packages unloaded by means of the unloading apparatus are sent to the transport container. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages may make it possible to collect groups of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages corresponding to one order in the collection containers and to rapidly transport said group further into the desired transport container as soon as it is ready at the filling location, and to do so using reliable means of a simple design. In one embodiment, the collection containers can be unloaded by simply tipping them, i.e., they have an unloading device, which may ensure that the collection containers will be tipped. Preferably, however, the collection containers are arranged in stationary positions in one location and each one has an opening on the bottom. Each unloading apparatus has a closure apparatus for closing and releasing the opening at the bottom. In a preferred embodiment, the closing devices each have a sliding roller shutter for closing and releasing the opening at the bottom. These sliding roller shutters can be controlled by an electric drive.

However, pneumatic drives, which permit faster opening of the sliding roller shutter with a

relatively great control distance, may be used. In a preferred embodiment at least one second transport apparatus is provided for

receiving the unloaded and collected pharmaceutical drug packages of the group from a collection container and for further conveyance of the unloaded pharmaceutical drug packages

of the group in the transport container positioned at the filling location. This may permit a greater flexibility in the structural design, in particular in the arrangement of the filling location.

In one embodiment, the second transport apparatus may comprise a separate transport apparatus, for example, a chute and/or a conveyor belt for each of the collection containers.

Preferably, however, the at least one second transport apparatus comprises a single funnel

shaped guide channel with an upper opening and a lower opening, wherein the upper opening is arranged beneath the openings of all collection containers on the bottom side, and the lower

opening is arranged above a transport container that is open at the top and is positioned at a filling location. A single funnel-shaped guide channel may simplify the design for the present

case, so that at a given point in time only one collection container is to be emptied into a transport container arranged at the filling location. In the case of a further embodiment of the

present disclosure, the funnel-shaped guide channel of the second transport apparatus may have a barrier apparatus, such that the pharmaceutical drug packages of one group unloaded

from a collection container into the guide channel may be stored temporarily upstream from the barrier device and can be conveyed further after the barrier device is released. The contents unloaded from the collection container can thus be stored temporarily until the transport container is ready for receiving packages at the filling location. Furthermore, this embodiment may permit intermediate buffer storage of the contents of a collection container, for example, so that it is possible to be reloading the same collection container even before the previously collected contents have been transferred to the transport container. The barrier apparatus may have a sliding shutter or a rolling shutter for closing and releasing the lower opening of the guide channel.

In one embodiment, the collection containers may be hoppers that are open at the top. This may allow the pharmaceutical drug packages that have been collected to be fed via the

conveyor belts and also via simple chutes, whose dispensing ends are arranged above the

hopper that is open at the top, wherein a plurality of belts and/or chutes can be guided to the top side of a hopper. The transport channel of each one of the first transport apparatuses here

may be formed a chute, on which the pharmaceutical drug packages, which are deposited by the storage and retrieval machine at an upper end of the chute, can slide into the respective

collection container. This may permit a simple and reliable design. The chutes, which are used as transport channels, may be arranged in parallel one above the other and/or side by side. In

one embodiment, storage shelves may be arranged parallel to both longitudinal sides of the lane, and the upper ends of the chutes of the first conveyor apparatuses may be arranged on an

end face of the lane. The collection containers may be set up beyond the lane in front of an end

wall arranged on the front side of the lane. In one embodiment at least one conveyor belt that is connected to the control

apparatus may be arranged between the storage surfaces of one or both storage shelves arranged in parallel to the lane and/or beside the storage shelves on the side opposite the lane,

wherein the conveyor belt may convey the pharmaceutical drug packages placed on it beyond the end wall, one or more chutes being provided, each having an upper end and a lower end,

the upper ends extending into the access region of the storage and retrieval machine in such a way that the storage and retrieval machine can deposit the pharmaceutical drug packages in

the chutes, and the lower ends may be arranged above the conveyor belt, and third transport apparatuses coupled to the control apparatus may be provided to receive the pharmaceutical drug packages from the at least one conveyor belt and to convey them into a collection container selected by the control apparatus. This may create one or more additional conveyor pathways in addition to the first transport apparatuses and may permit a reduction in the distance traveled by the storage and retrieval machine - with adapted storage organization and corresponding control of the sequence of removal from storage - and thus may permit faster filling of the collection container. This embodiment may be advantageous in particular with an automatic picking machine, which has two or more storage and retrieval machines capable of moving in a lane. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus for receiving a transport container to be filled at the filling location of the filling apparatus is part of an apparatus for supplying the transport containers to be filled in succession to the filling location of a filling apparatus. This may permit automation of the feed of the transport containers to be filled, in particular control of the feed by the control apparatus of the automatic picking machine. In an embodiment of the automatic picking machine according to the present disclosure for pharmaceutical drug packages, two to six collection containers may be provided and are arranged side by side. This number of collection containers represents an optimum between adequate buffer capacity on the one hand and structural complexity and control complexity on the other hand. Two or four collection containers, which can be arranged side by side with one another in pairs, may be provided.

One or more embodiments of an order picking machine will now be described in greater detail by way of non-limiting example in the following detail description with reference to the

attached drawings which show a preferred exemplary embodiment, in which: Figure 1 shows a schematic side view of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the

automatic picking machine according to the present disclosure for pharmaceutical drug packages,and

Figure 2 shows a schematic front view of the automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages shown in Figure 1.

Figures 1 and 2 show a schematic side view and/or a front view of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the automatic picking machine according to the present disclosure for pharmaceutical drug packages 1, which has two parallel rows of storage shelves 2A, 2B forming a lane 23 in between. In Figure 1, the row of racks 2B is shown in a partially cut-away diagram, to expose a view into the lane 23 and onto the inside of the rear row of racks 2A. The racks of the row of racks 2A and 2B have horizontal flat shelves 3, on which pharmaceutical drug packages of various sizes and with various contents are stored chaotically, the packages being arranged side by side and one after the other in virtual channels with a distance between them.

A storage and retrieval machine 4 moves in the lane 23. In other exemplary embodiments, a plurality of storage and retrieval machines may also be capable of traversing

the lane 23. The storage and retrieval machine 4 is mounted on a vertical rail 5 by a holder 6,

wherein the holder 6 has a drive for vertical movement of the storage and retrieval machine 4. The vertical rail 5 is in turn guided on a lower rail 7A and/or an upper rail 7B by means of a

lower guide 8A and an upper guide 8B. In this way, the storage and retrieval machine 4 can be moved vertically and horizontally in the lane 23 in front of the front sides of the rows of racks

2A and 2B opposite one another. The storage and retrieval machine 4 has a gripper device 25, preferably gripperjaws combined with slide grippers or suction pads, and a support table 26.

With the help of gripping jaws of the gripping apparatus 25 or with the help of the slide grippers or the suction pads and guided by the gripping jaws of the gripping apparatus 25,

pharmaceutical drug packages placed on the support table 26 can be pushed onto one of the

flat shelves 3 if the support table 26 is positioned in front of this shelf 3. Conversely, pharmaceutical drug packages lying on the shelf 3 can be gripped with the help of gripping jaws

or with the help of a suction pad of the gripping apparatus 25 and pulled onto the support table 26 of the storage and retrieval machine 4.

The storage and retrieval machine 4 is designed so that the support table 26 with the gripping jaws of the gripping apparatus 25 arranged above it can be rotated about a vertical axis

in such a way that the gripping apparatus 25 can access both rows of racks 2A and 2B. The support table 26 and the gripping apparatus 25 of the storage and retrieval machine 4 can be

rotated not only by 1800 for accessing the rows of racks 2A and 2B opposite one another but also by 90°, so that the storage and retrieval machine 4 can also access the front sides of the lane 23. On a front face of the lane 23, which forms the front side illustrated in Figure 2, there is a front wall 24, which is shown in a partially cut-away view in Figure 2, to expose the view to the rows of racks 2A, 2B and the lane 23 with the storage and retrieval machine 4 arranged behind the wall. The storage and retrieval machine 4 is coupled to a control unit 9, wherein the control signals and the power supply to the storage and retrieval machine 4 are usually carried to the storage and retrieval machine 4 along the bottom rails 7A and then vertically along the vertical rail 5. The control apparatus 9 may comprise a computer with a processor and memory devices and the usual input and output devices for a user, for example, with a keyboard, a display screen and a barcode scanner.

Also not shown in Figures l and 2 are apparatuses with the help of which new pharmaceutical drug packages to be stored are sent to the automatic picking machine for

pharmaceutical drug packages 1. These devices include, for example, a storage conveyor belt, running between two shelves 3 of one of the two rows of racks 2A or 2B, for example, over the

entire length of the row of racks and emerges to the outside at one of the two end faces. A support station, where an operator scans a pharmaceutical drug package, which is to be

entered into storage, to identify it and then place it in the proper orientation on the storage

conveyor belt is situated on the outgoing section of the storage conveyor belt. In alternative embodiments of the automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages 1,

apparatuses for fully automatic storage of a larger quantity of different pharmaceutical drug packages may be provided. For example, these apparatuses may receive an entire shipment

from a wholesale dealer in a receiving hopper, for example, and then automatically sort the pharmaceutical drug packages and scan (identify) them and send them to be deposited in the

range of access of the storage and retrieval machine 4, so that the storage and retrieval machine 4 can bring the new packages to be stored to a certain storage site on the shelves.

The automatic picking machine 1 diagramed schematically in Figures 1 and 2 serves, among other things, to successively fill transport containers 14A, 14B, 14C. These transport containers receive, for example, a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages corresponding to one order, for example. These orders usually include a large quantity of different pharmaceutical drug packages, such as those for covering the daily needs of a ward in a hospital, for example. The transport containers 14A, 14B, 14C are crates that are open at the top, for example, and can also be closed with a suitable cover after being filled. The transport containers 14A, 14B, 14C are sent, one after the other, by means of a transport apparatus 15 to a filling location, where a filling apparatus of the automatic picking machine 1ensures automatic filling of the transport container 14A. The transport apparatus 15 comprises, for example, conveyor belts and/or rolling conveyors having suitable drives, which are controlled by the control apparatus 9 of the automatic picking machine 1. This is illustrated in Figure 1 by the schematically diagramed control lines 16 between the control apparatus 9 and the transport apparatus 15. Figure 2 shows the transport container labeled with reference numeral

14A, which is then situated at the filling location of the filling apparatus. The transport container 14C has already been filled and is conveyed further in the direction of the arrow

shown. On the other side, transport containers 14B that are yet to be filled are standing ready on the transport apparatus15.

The filing apparatus illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 comprises four collection containers, of which Figure 1 shows the collection containers 10A and 10B and Figure 2 shows the

collection container 10B and 10C. Each collection container 1OA-C can hold a group of a

plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages, corresponding to one order. Each collection container 1OA-C has an unloading apparatus, with the help of which all the pharmaceutical drug

packages collected in the collection container can be unloaded at the same time. Each collection container 1A-C has an opening on the bottom, which is closed by a closure

apparatus 11A-C. Figure 2 shows that each closure apparatus 11A-C comprises a sliding drawer. The sliding drawers are in a curved guide, which is adjacent to the bottom surface, and an outer

side wall of the collection container 1OA-C. A drive 12, represented schematically as a box, for the four sliding drawers is coupled to the control apparatus 9. The drive 12 may comprise four

hydraulic or pneumatic actuating drives with their respective control circuits for coupling to the control apparatus 9. The control apparatus 9 ensures that a collection container 1A-C, which is filled completely with a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages corresponding to one order, is emptied by sliding the sliding drawing and releasing the opening at the bottom, wherein the packages contained in the transport container are deflected with the help of a funnel-shaped guide 13 into a transport container 14A that is open at the bottom and is arranged beneath the guide 13. After a collection container 10A-C has been emptied, the transport container 14A, filled with its contents, is conveyed further and the next transport container 14B to be filled is moved to the filling location.

The collection containers 10A-C represent hoppers, which are open at the top and to which the pharmaceutical drug packages that are to be collected are supplied by means of first

transport apparatuses, wherein these transport apparatuses each have a transport channel

extending into the lane 23, into which the storage and retrieval machine 4 can dispense pharmaceutical drug packages, and which conveys the pharmaceutical drug packages further to

a respective collection container 10A-C. The transport apparatuses of the preferred embodiment illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 are inclined chutes or shafts 17A-C. These inclined

shafts lead from a receiving opening 18A-B, which is open at the top inside the lane 23 in the interior of the automatic picking machine 1 through a front wall 24 to a dispensing site above

the respective collection container 10A-C that is open at the top. The receiving openings 18A-B of the chutes 17A-C are arranged in the lane in such a way that the storage and retrieval

machine 4 can throw one or more packages into these receiving openings 18A-B at the same

time, so that the packages can then slide into the collection container 10A-C. Providing one chute for each collection container makes it possible to control the storage and retrieval

machine in such a way as to supply pharmaceutical drug packages alternately to each one of the collection containers 10A-C. The four collection containers 10A-C need not be filled in

succession, one after the other. The sequence of filling the pharmaceutical drug packages into the collection containers 1OA-C can instead be optimized as a function of the respective storage

site of the pharmaceutical drug packages in the shelves 2A, 2B and the required distance of travel of the storage and retrieval machine 4 so that the conveyance pathways are minimized.

This will ensure rapid filling of the collection containers 1OA-C.

To achieve further optimization of the transport distances, a cantilevered conveyor belt

19 is provided in a preferred embodiment, such as that illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the cantilevered conveyor belt extending next to the row of racks 2A on the side facing away from

the lane 23 in the exemplary embodiment shown here. Furthermore, windows 20, which are provided in the outside wall of the row of racks 2A are connected to a chute leading to the

conveyor belt 19. Storage and retrieval machine 4 can dispense pharmaceutical drug packages it has received into these windows 20, so that the packages go through the chutes onto the

conveyor belt 19. Figure 1 illustrates only one such window 20. Additional windows may be provided in particular at other locations remote from the front wall 24. The windows that may

be provided on the end of the storage rack 2A opposite the front wall 24 make it possible for

the storage and retrieval machine 4 to deposit packages that have been stored in a position remote from the front wall 24 on the conveyor belt 19, so that these packages can already be

conveyed by the conveyor belt 19 to the front side, where the filling apparatus is located, while the storage and retrieval machine 4 is removing additional pharmaceutical drug packages from

the shelves 3 and conveying them to the receiving openings 18A, B, for example. The pharmaceutical drug packages on the conveyor belt 19 go to the front side, where the filling

apparatus is located. The conveyor belt 19 there is guided next to the filling apparatus beyond the front wall 24. Chutes 21A and 21B leading to collection containers 10A-C are located on the

front side of the conveyor belt 19. Furthermore, a sliding apparatus 22, which is provided, is

coupled to the control apparatus 9 and slides the pharmaceutical drug packages arriving on the conveyor belt 19 from the conveyor belt 19 into the chutes 21A and 21B, so that they are

conveyed further into the collection containers 1OA-C. Four chutes may of course also be provided, each chutes being assigned to one of the four collection containers 1A-C.

Numerous alternative embodiments of the order picking machine disclosed herein are conceivable within the scope of the idea of the present disclosure. For example, the automatic

picking machine 1for pharmaceutical drug packages may also have inclined shelves with storage shafts instead of or in addition to flat horizontal shelves 3. The storage and retrieval

machine 4 may also be adapted accordingly to the withdrawal of pharmaceutical drug packages from inclined shafts, for example, even inclined buffer shafts. The storage shelves extending along both sides of a lane need not have a flat front side. They may also be curved in an arc or bent at an angle. In this case, the storage and retrieval machine 4 will also be guided along the curved and/or angled lane 23. Two or more storage and retrieval machines 4 may also be guided in the lane 23, such that they may use either separate orjoint guide rails 7A, 7B. The control apparatus 9 shown outside of the storage rack in Figures 1 and 2 may of course also be integrated into the automatic picking machine at any location.

Claims

Patent Claims

1. An automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages, comprising at least one storage rack,

at least one storage and retrieval machine that moves in a lane in front of the storage

rack for storing pharmaceutical drug packages in storage sites on storage surfaces of the

storage rack and for removing the pharmaceutical drug packages from the storage surfaces, a control apparatus for controlling the storage and retrieval machine and

a filling apparatus for successively filling a plurality of transport containers, each with a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages corresponding to one order,

wherein

the filling apparatus comprises: a plurality of collection containers, each being arranged in stationary positions and

being able to accommodate a group of a plurality of pharmaceutical drug packages corresponding to one order and having an opening on the bottom and an unloading apparatus

with the help of which all the pharmaceutical drug packages collected in the collection container can be unloaded at the same time, wherein the unloading apparatuses each have a

closure apparatus for closing and releasing the opening on the bottom, first transport apparatuses, each having a transport channel extending into the lane in

an access region of the at least one storage and retrieval machine, the storage and retrieval

machine being capable of dispensing pharmaceutical drug packages into this transport channel, which then conveys the pharmaceutical drug packages further into the respective collection

container, wherein a first transport apparatus is assigned to each collection container, at least one second transport apparatus is provided for receiving the unloaded collected

pharmaceutical drug packages of the group from one collection container and for forwarding the unloaded pharmaceutical drug packages of the group into the transport container

positioned at the filling location, an apparatus for receiving a transport container to be filled at a filling location of the

filing apparatus, wherein the transport container to be filled is arranged at the filling location in such a way that the pharmaceutical drug packages unloaded by means of the unloading apparatus are directed into the transport container, wherein the at least one second transport apparatus has a funnel-shaped guide channel having an upper opening and a lower opening, wherein the upper opening is arranged beneath the openings of all the collection containers on the bottom, and the lower opening is arranged above a transport container that is open at the top and is positioned at the filling location.

2. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to

claim 1, wherein the closure apparatuses for closing and releasing the opening at the bottom each have a sliding or rolling drawer.

3. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to

claim 1 or 2, wherein the funnel-shaped guide channel of the second transport apparatus has a barrier apparatus, such that the pharmaceutical drug packages from one group unloaded from

a collection container into the guide channel are stored temporarily upstream from the barrier apparatus and can be sent further after the barrier apparatus is released.

4. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to claim 3, wherein the barrier apparatus has a sliding or rolling drawer for closing and releasing

the lower opening of the guide channel.

5. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to

any one of the preceding claims, wherein the collection containers are open hoppers.

6. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to claim 5, wherein the transport channel of each one of the first transport apparatuses is formed

by a chute, on which the pharmaceutical drug packages deposited by the storage and retrieval machine at an upper end slide by gravity into the respective collection container.

7. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to

claim 6, wherein the storage racks are arranged parallel to both longitudinal sides of the lane,

the upper ends of the chutes of the first transport apparatuses are arranged at a front end of the lane, and

the collection containers are arranged beyond the lane in front of a front wall arranged on the frontend ofthe lane.

8. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to claim 7, wherein

between the storage surfaces of one or both storage racks arranged parallel to the lane

and/or next to the storage racks on their side opposite the lane, at least one conveyor belt coupled to the control apparatus is arranged, wherein the conveyor belt conveys

pharmaceutical drug packages arranged on it beyond the front wall, one or more chutes each having an upper end and a lower end are provided, wherein

the upper ends extend into the access region of the storage and retrieval machine in such a way that the storage and retrieval machine can deposit pharmaceutical drug packages in the chutes

and wherein the lower ends are arranged above the conveyor belt and third transport apparatuses coupled to the control apparatus are provided, receiving

pharmaceutical drug packages from the at least one conveyor belt and conveying them into a

collection container selected by the control apparatus.

9. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to

any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus for receiving a transport container to be filled at the filling location of the filling apparatus is part of an apparatus for successively

feeding the transport containers to be filled in succession to the filling location of the filling apparatus.

10. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to

any one of the preceding claims wherein two to six collection containers are provided and are arranged next to one another.

11. The automatic picking machine for pharmaceutical drug packages according to claim 10, wherein two or four collection containers are provided and are arranged next to one

another in pairs.