The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 13, 2018
Filed:
Mar. 10, 2017
Applicant:
Humana Inc., Louisville, KY (US);
Inventor:
Michael Mahar, Phoenix, AZ (US);
Assignee:
Humana Inc., Louisville, KY (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B65G 47/68 (2006.01); B65G 47/51 (2006.01); B65G 47/52 (2006.01); B65G 43/00 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B65G 47/52 (2013.01); B65G 43/00 (2013.01); B65G 47/5145 (2013.01); B65G 47/682 (2013.01); B65G 47/684 (2013.01); B65G 2201/0244 (2013.01);
Abstract
An automated method and system for distributing vials to downstream locations in an automated pharmacy. More specifically, the present invention is a conveyor table having two U-shaped configurations for moving vials in a loop until the vials enter an open outbound lane. A barrier portion on the table guides vials from the conveyor table on an outbound lane for transport to a downstream location, such as a packing station. The outbound lane is operationally connected to a lane of stations, and the system is adapted to guide the vials to the first station that is open.