Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
APPARATUS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF TUBE BLISTER PACKAGES
The invention relates to an apparatus for the production of tube blister
packages, having a
plurality of supply containers for making medication doses available, having
dispensing apparatuses
for selective dispensing of medication doses from the supply containers, and
having a collection
apparatus for picking up the medication doses dispensed by the dispensing
apparatuses and passing
the medication doses on to a blister packaging apparatus, wherein the blister
packaging apparatus fills
the received medication doses, by groups, into pockets of a tube blister
package, wherein a group
filled into a pocket comprises a medication dose or multiple similar or
different medication doses.
The apparatuses of the type stated initially are used for packaging
medications in blister
packages, particularly for packaging medications in blister packages in a
patient-individual manner.
In this connection, the medications of a patient are packaged in correctly
dispensed doses. A tube
blister package is usually a chain of connected tube bags or pockets, wherein
each bag or each pocket
contains those medication doses (in other words film tablets, capsules or
coated tablets) that a patient
is supposed to take at a predetermined administration time. The tube blister
packages are usually
labeled with the name of the patient, the respective administration times, the
medications contained
in them, as well as with expiration dates and lot numbers.
For example, a tube blister package for a patient who is supposed to take a
predetermined
number and type of medications in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, in
each instance, contains
three tube bags or pockets for every day, so that a tube blister package
intended for a week has 21
pockets, for example.
These tube blister packages are usually produced using automated equipment, as
shown
schematically in Figure 4. Such automated equipment contains a plurality of
supply containers 21,
where in this example, a plurality of medication doses of a predetermined type
of medication is
contained in each supply container 21. Each supply container 21 is coupled
with a dispensing
apparatus 22 for selective dispensing of individual medication doses and forms
a dispensing station 2
with it. The medication doses 6A, 6B, 6C exiting from the dispensing
apparatuses 22 are caught by a
catch funnel 3, for example, and dispensed to a blister packaging apparatus 4
at an exit opening of the
catch funnel 3. A control apparatus of the automated equipment ensures that
the medication doses 6
intended for being filled into a tube bag or a pocket 47 are dispensed from
the corresponding
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dispensing stations 2 at approximately the same time, by means of controlling
the related dispensing
apparatuses 22, fall into the catch funnel 3, and are dispensed to the blister
packaging apparatus 4
together. The blister packaging apparatus 4 forms a tube blister package from
the packaging material
41 that is made available, where every time when a new pocket 47 is formed,
the group of medication
doses to be introduced into the pocket is introduced from the catch funnel 3
into the pocket 45, which
is still open at the top, whereupon the pocket 45 is immediately sealed. This
process is repeated for
each pocket 45, 47, produced one after the other. The tube blister package
produced in this manner is
rolled up into a roll 48, for example.
It is clear that in this method of filling the bags of the tube blister
package, various defects can
occur. For example, medication doses to be filled in can be destroyed, for
example film tablets can
break or capsules can burst. Medication doses can be missing, or incorrect or
superfluous medication
doses can get into a pocket by mistake.
For this reason it is usual to subject the produced tube blister packages to a
thorough inspection
after their production. In this connection, the content of each individual
pocket of a tube blister
package is successively checked, in that¨ as shown schematically in Figure 4 ¨
the roll of the wound-
up tube blister packages is removed and passed to an inspection station 100,
as a roll 101 to be
inspected, and is unwound there, so that the individual blister pockets lie
next to one another and can
be guided past an optical inspection apparatus having a camera 103. If a
defect is found during this
process, usually not only the pocket in question, with its contents, must be
discarded, but rather the
entire tube blister package must be discarded. The affected tube blister
package is then produced once
again. Alternatively, the content of the affected pocket could be repaired
manually, which would lead
to great effort and expenditure. If no defect is found in the inspection
station 100, the properly filled
tube blister package can be wound back up into a roll 102.
It is the task of the invention to avoid the aforementioned effort and
expenditure of the new
production or repair of a tube blister package if defective pocket filling is
determined.
This task is accomplished, according to the invention, by means of an
apparatus for the
production of tube blister packages having a plurality of supply containers
for making available
medication doses (in other words, for example, film tablets, capsules or
coated tablets), and dispensing
apparatuses for selective dispensing of medication doses from the supply
containers. The supply
containers can be, for example, of a first supply container type, which
contains a plurality of similar
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medication doses of a predetermined type of medication and is coupled with a
dispensing apparatus
for selective dispensing of individual medication doses. In this connection,
the dispensing apparatus
can be part of a dispensing station that contains the supply container, for
example. Alternatively or
additionally, multiple supply containers of a second type can be provided,
which each contain a
medication dose or a few similar or different medication doses. Such supply
containers are formed,
for example, by small holding compartments of a supply magazine that can be
filled manually and are
disposed, in matrix-like manner, in horizontal rows and/or columns. The
apparatus for the production
of tube blister packages furthermore has a collection apparatus for picking up
the medication doses
dispensed by the dispensing apparatuses and for passing the medication doses
on to a blister packaging
apparatus. The blister packaging apparatus fills the received medication
doses, by groups, into pockets
of a tube blister package, where a group filled into a pocket comprises one
medication dose or also
multiple similar or different medication doses. According to the invention, an
inspection buffer
apparatus is disposed between the collection apparatus and the blister
packaging apparatus. The
inspection buffer apparatus contains a buffer apparatus for picking up the
medication doses passed on
by the collection apparatus and for temporary storage of at least one group of
medication doses
intended for being filled into a pocket, a sensor apparatus for detecting an
image and/or predetermined
properties of the temporarily stored group of medication doses, and an
evaluation and control device
that determines, using the image detected by the sensor apparatus and/or the
predetermined properties
detected by the sensor apparatus, whether the temporarily stored group of
medication doses
corresponds to a predetermined group of medication doses to be filled in, and
controls the buffer
apparatus in such a manner that the latter passes the temporarily stored group
on to the blister
packaging apparatus only if the temporarily stored group corresponds to the
predetermined group.
The evaluation and control apparatus therefore determines whether the
temporarily stored group, as
the "actual group," corresponds to a predetermined group, as the "reference
group."
Interposition of an inspection buffer apparatus, according to the invention,
i.e. of an apparatus
for buffering and checking a group of medication doses, makes it possible to
check the correctness of
the group of medication doses intended to be filled into a pocket even before
it is filled in, and, if a
defect is found, to prevent filling. The defective group can then be
discarded, for example, and newly
compiled in a subsequent step of repeated activation of the dispensing
apparatuses. In this manner, it
is prevented that an entire tube blister package must be newly produced or
repaired because of a
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defectively filled pocket. It is true that the method of procedure according
to the invention reduces
the speed of production of the tube blister packages; however, it also permits
the production of tube
blister packages that do not have to be inspected again subsequently.
An advantageous further development of the apparatus according to the
invention for the
production of tube blister packages is characterized in that the buffer
apparatus has a transport
apparatus that picks up the medication doses passed on by the collection
apparatus at a first location,
and transports them to a second location, at which the sensor apparatus
detects the image and/or the
predetermined properties of the temporarily stored group of medication doses.
Provision of the
transport apparatus allows spatial separation of catch location (first
location) and inspection location
(second location), and permits simplification of the design. For this purpose,
the transport apparatus
can comprise suitable holding containers and means for moving the holding
containers, which pick
up the medication doses at the first location, until a respective group is
complete, and then are
transported to the second location, at which the sensor apparatus detects the
image and/or the
predetermined properties. The transport apparatus can, on the other hand, do
without movement of
containers, and instead comprise mechanical steering and or guide apparatuses,
so that the arriving
medication doses are caught at one location and steered to the second location
by means of the steering
apparatuses.
In the embodiment of the apparatus for the production of tube blister
packages, in which the
buffer apparatus has a transport apparatus, the transport apparatus passes the
temporarily stored group
on to the blister packaging apparatus if the temporarily stored group of
medication doses corresponds
to the predetermined group of medication doses to be filled in (in other words
the actual group
corresponds to the reference group).
In a further development of this embodiment, the transport apparatus
transports the temporarily
stored group back to the first location, in order to be able to supply the
missing medication dose or the
missing medication doses to the group there, if the temporarily stored group
of medication doses does
not correspond to the predetermined group of medication doses to be filled in,
because the temporarily
stored group is missing one or more medication doses. This allows immediate
correction of such a
group before it is filled into the pocket of the tube blister package.
In a preferred further development, the transport apparatus discards the
temporarily stored group
if the temporarily stored group of medication doses does not correspond to the
predetermined group
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of medication doses to be filled in, because the temporarily stored group
contains incorrect, defective
and/or superfluous medication doses. For example, the group is discarded in
that it is transported to
a waste container.
Preferably, the method of procedure of the return transport of the group to
the first location if it
is determined that medication doses are missing can be combined with the
method of procedure of
discarding the group if incorrect, defective or superfluous medication doses
are found.
In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus for the production of tube blister
packages, in which
the buffer apparatus has a transport apparatus, is characterized in that the
transport apparatus
comprises a horizontal conveyor that has at least one holding compartment that
can be moved to the
first location for picking up medication doses and to the second location for
detecting an image and/or
predetermined properties of the group, by means of the sensor apparatus. For
example, the horizontal
conveyor, which comprises a circulating conveyor belt, for example, can be
moved in such a manner
that a holding compartment is at first situated at a first location, at which
it catches the medication
doses. Afterward, the holding compaiunent is moved horizontally, in a first
transport direction, to the
second location, at which the sensor apparatus detects the image and/or the
predetermined properties.
If it is then found, for example, that the temporarily stored group ("actual
group") corresponds to the
predetermined group of medication doses to be filled in ("reference group"),
then in this exemplary
embodiment, the horizontal conveyor could be moved further in the first
direction, to a third location,
at which the holding compaitment is emptied (for example tipped out), where
the exiting medication
doses are filled into a pocket of the tube blister package that is still open.
If, on the contrary, it is
determined that the temporarily stored group of medication doses does not
correspond to the
predetermined group of medication doses to be filled in, because a medication
dose or multiple
medication doses are missing, the horizontal conveyor could move the holding
compartment back in
the opposite direction, to the first location. Here, missing medication doses
could be added.
Alternatively, it would also be conceivable that fundamentally, all defective
temporarily stored groups
of medication doses are transported back in the opposite direction, beyond the
first location, to a fourth
location, at which the defective groups are emptied into a waste container.
The preferred use of the
horizontal conveyor, particularly of a circulating conveyor belt, simplifies
the design structure and
control of the movement of the temporarily stored group from the first
location to the second location
and then to the blister packaging apparatus or to a waste container.
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In an alternative apparatus for the production of tube blister packages, in
which the buffer
apparatus has a transport apparatus, the transport apparatus comprises a
chute, the upper end of which
is situated at the first location (at which the medication doses are taken
over from the collection
apparatus) and which has a catch apparatus for catching the medication doses
that are sliding down at
the second location. The caught medication doses can then be subjected to
inspection (while they are
sliding down or afterward). The catch apparatus is controlled by the
evaluation and control device, in
such a manner it releases the temporarily stored group to the blister
packaging apparatus only if the
temporarily stored group formed by catching the medication doses that are
sliding down corresponds
to the predetermined group. Provision of the chute also permits a simple
design structure. The catch
apparatus can comprise a releasable barrier, for example, which is disposed
crosswise above the chute.
The barrier can be configured in such a manner that it either guides the
caught group of medication
doses onto a first descending path that leads to the blister packaging
apparatus, or to a second
descending path that leads to a waste container.
In an advantageous further development of the apparatus for the production of
tube blister
packages, the sensor apparatus comprises a camera that produces an electronic
image of the
temporarily stored group of medication doses. The camera can be an optical
camera, which produces
an image of the emissions in the range of visible light and/or in the range of
infrared light, for example.
In addition, an apparatus can be provided, which irradiates the group of
medication doses with visible
light and/or with infrared light at predetermined frequencies. It is also
conceivable that multiple
images are produced successively at different lighting frequencies and/or at
different viewing angles.
In a preferred further development of this apparatus, in which the sensor
apparatus comprises a
camera, the buffer apparatus has a mechanical separation apparatus that
separates the medication
doses of the temporarily stored group from one another before detection of the
image (or the images),
in such a manner that the medication doses do not reciprocally cover one
another in the image (or in
the images). This mechanical separation apparatus can comprise a shaker
apparatus, for example.
In a further embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention for the
production of tube
blister packages, the sensor apparatus comprises a scale. The scale determines
the total weight of the
medication doses of a group. In this case, the evaluation and control device
contains a memory that
contains the individual weights of all the medication doses kept on hand in
the apparatus. On the basis
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of the reference composition of the group, the evaluation and control device
determines a reference
total weight. This is then compared with the actual total weight detected by
the scale.
In an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention for the
production of tube blister
packages, the collection apparatus comprises a collection or catch funnel
disposed below the
medication supply container. In this connection, the exit openings of the
dispensing apparatuses are
disposed in such a manner that all the dispensed medication doses enter into
the collection ft noel and
reach its bottom within a predetermined time interval.
In an alternative embodiment, multiple supply containers of the first type,
disposed one on top
of the other, which contain a plurality of the same type of medication doses,
in each instance, together
with a related dispensing apparatus, in each instance, form a vertical column
of dispensing stations,
and multiple dispensing station columns are disposed next to one another in a
plane (and thereby form
a vertical matrix of dispensing stations). Here, the collection apparatus has
a plurality of vertical guide
shafts that can be moved horizontally past the dispensing station columns,
which shafts have pickup
openings at the levels corresponding to the vertical positions of the
dispensing apparatuses, into which
openings the dispensing apparatuses can dispense medication doses as a guide
shaft moves past them,
so that the medication doses move downward in the guide shafts and exit from a
dispensing opening
at their lower ends. In this connection, a collection container is disposed
below the dispensing opening
of each guide shaft, which container, together with the guide shaft, is moved
horizontally, catches the
medication doses of a group, in each instance, and then dispenses them to the
inspection buffer
apparatus, after the related guide shaft has been moved past the dispensing
station columns.
In this last embodiment of an apparatus for the production of tube blister
packages that has been
mentioned, it is advantageous that the collection containers are additionally
moved past below
dispensing apparatuses of a plurality of supply containers of a second type,
which each contain only
one medication dose or a few similar or different medication doses, so that
the individual medication
dose or the few medication doses of one or more types of medication contained
in the supply
containers of the second type can be dispensed into a collection container
that is moving past them.
This increases the flexibility and the spectrum of the types of medications
that can be filled into the
pockets of the tube blister packages.
In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail using the
preferred
embodiments shown in the drawings. The drawings show:
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Figure 1, a schematic representation of a first embodiment of the apparatus
according to the
invention for the production of tube blister packages, in which the dispensing
apparatuses of the
supply containers dispense the medication doses into a common collection
funnel, and in which the
buffer apparatus has a horizontal conveyor;
Figure 2, a schematic representation of a second embodiment of the apparatus
according to the
invention for the production of tube blister packages, in which the collection
apparatus is formed by
a plurality of horizontally moving guide shafts with collection containers
moved along with them and
below them, and in which the buffer apparatus comprises a horizontal conveyor;
and
Figure 3, a schematic representation of an alternative buffer apparatus, in
which the medication
doses are moved on chutes.
Figure 4 shows a schematic representation of a known apparatus for the
production of tube
blister packages, in which the dispensing apparatuses of the supply containers
dispense the medication
doses into a common catch funnel, with a downstream inspection station for the
wound-up tube blister
packages that are produced.
Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a first preferred embodiment of
an apparatus for
the production of tube blister packages. The apparatus comprises a medication
supply storage unit 1,
which comprises a plurality of supply containers 21 for different medications.
Each supply container
21 can hold a plurality of similar medication doses of a predetermined type of
medication. Each
supply container 21 has a dispensing apparatus 22 assigned to it, with which
individual medication
doses can be selectively removed from the supply container 21 and dispensed.
The supply container
21 (also called a canister) forms a dispensing station 2, together with the
dispensing apparatus 22. In
some embodiments, the dispensing station 2 comprises a dispensing apparatus
22, fixed in place on
an assembly frame, which apparatus has a holder for a supply container 21 that
can be set on. The
supply container 21 can be manually removed from the dispensing station 2, in
order to be refilled,
for example. In the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1, the dispensing
stations 2 are disposed
on a front side of a wall, for example, and this wall has openings through
which the dispensing
apparatuses 22 allow the medication doses to pass, so that the medication
doses move downward into
a catch funnel 3 behind the wall. In Figure 1, a medication dose 6A is shown
schematically, which
dose is falling downward behind the wall that holds the dispensing stations 2,
into the catch funnel 3.
A further medication dose 6B that has already fallen into the catch funnel 3
is sliding along the side
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-08-03
wall of the funnel 3 to an exit opening. A third medication dose 6C, which has
been dispensed by one
of the dispensing apparatuses 22 at approximately the same time as the two
other medication doses
6A and 6B, is shown in a position in which it is passing through the exit
opening of the catch funnel
3.
The dispensing apparatuses 22 of all the dispensing stations 2 are controlled
by a control
computer of the apparatus for the production of tube blister packages, in such
a manner that the
medication doses of a group that is to be filled into a pocket of a tube
blister package fall into the catch
funnel 3 at approximately the same time, and leave the funnel through its exit
opening.
At the exit opening of the catch funnel 3, the exiting medication doses are
caught by a buffer
apparatus 5. The buffer apparatus 5 comprises a horizontal conveyor belt 50,
which runs over
deflection rollers 52, and on the outside of which holding compartments are
formed, using delimitation
walls 51. The medication doses 6C, 6D exiting from the catch funnel 3 fall
into a holding compartment
formed on the conveyor belt 50 by the delimitation walls 51. As soon as a
group of medication doses
to be filled into a pocket of the tube blister package has collected in the
holding compai intent of the
conveyor belt 50, the conveyor belt 50 is moved further (to the right in
Figure 1), so that the medication
doses 6E contained in the holding compaitment get into the detection range of
a sensor apparatus 7,
which comprises a camera in the exemplary embodiment shown in Figure 1. Here,
the camera 7 of
the sensor apparatus detects an image of the group of medication doses 6E and
passes the image on to
an evaluation and control device, which can be an integral part of the control
computer of the apparatus
for the production of tube blister packages. Further sensors can be disposed
on the conveyor belt 50,
for example photo eyes or other radiation detectors, which detect the other
predetermined properties
of the group of medication doses 6E and pass them on to the evaluation and
control device. The
evaluation and control device determines, using an image detected by the
sensor apparatus or the
predetermined properties detected by the sensor apparatus, whether the
temporarily stored group of
medication doses 6E on the conveyor belt 50 corresponds to a group of
medication doses to be filled
in, the properties of which are stored in a memory of the evaluation and
control device. For example,
the shape, the color, and the shine of all the medication doses stored in the
supply containers 21 are
stored in memory. At the same time, the evaluation and control device knows
what groups of
medication doses are successively supposed to be filled into the pockets of
the tube blister package.
From this information concerning the groups and the stored properties of the
medication doses, the
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evaluation and control device can determine a reference image, which can be
compared with
properties of the image detected by the camera 7. For example, the evaluation
and control device
contains object recognition software that evaluates the image detected by the
camera 7. As soon as
the evaluation and control device has determined that the temporarily stored
group of medication
doses 6E corresponds to the predetermined group of medication doses to be
filled in, the conveyor
belt 50 is moved further, so that the group of medication doses can be passed
on to a blister packaging
apparatus 4. For example, the conveyor belt 50 is guided over a deflection
roller 52, below which a
catch funnel 40 of the blister packaging apparatus 4 is disposed. When the
conveyor belt 50 runs over
the deflection roller 52, the medication doses 6F fall into the catch funnel
40 and thereby get to the
blister packaging apparatus 4.
Below the dispensing opening of the catch fi nnel 40, a pocket of a tube
blister package, which
pocket is open at the top, is formed by the blister packaging apparatus 4.
This is done in that a strip
of plastic film made available on a supply roller 41 is deflected by way of
deflection rollers 42 and
thereby folded to form a pocket that is open at the top, in the interior of a
housing 43 of the blister
packaging apparatus 4, where the two halves of the thermoplastic strip of
film, which then lie against
one another, are welded transverse to the transport direction, in order to
thereby form the delimitations
of the consecutive pockets. As soon as a pocket of the tube blister package
that is still open at the top
has been formed by means of the transverse welding, the group of medication
doses 6F to be contained
in the pocket is filled in. Subsequently, the pocket is welded at its top, in
the longitudinal direction,
so that the group of medication doses that has been filled in is enclosed.
Figure 1 schematically shows individual pockets 47 of the tube blister
package, which are filled
with groups of medication doses 6G. A group of medication doses 6G filled into
a pocket 47 of a tube
blister package can comprise, for example, an individual medication dose, i.e.
a tablet, a capsule, or a
coated tablet; it can also comprise multiple similar or different medication
doses. The tube blister
package produced in this manner is in turn deflected over guide rollers 42 and
wound up into a roll
48.
If, however, the evaluation and control device determines, using the image
detected by the
camera 7 of the sensor apparatus, and, if applicable, using other
predetermined properties determined
by the sensor apparatus, that the group of medication doses 6E temporarily
stored by the buffer
apparatus 5 on the conveyor belt 50 does not correspond to the related
predetermined group of
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-08-03
medication doses to be filled in, then this group of medication doses 6E is
not transported further in
the direction of the blister packaging apparatus 4. Instead, the group of
medication doses is either
corrected, if it is found that medication doses are missing, i.e. it is filled
up, or it is discarded,
particularly if it is found that medication doses are incorrect, missing, or
superfluous. If the evaluation
and control device can clearly determine, on the basis of the information from
the sensor apparatus,
whether and what medication doses in the group are missing, then the conveyor
belt 50 is moved in
the opposite direction (i.e. to the left in Figure 1), so that the holding
compartment containing the
incomplete group gets back below the exit opening of the catch funnel 3.
Subsequently, corresponding
dispensing apparatuses 22 are controlled in such a manner that the missing
medication doses fall into
the catch funnel 3, and from there get into the holding compartment on the
conveyor belt 50 that is to
be completed. Subsequently, the conveyor belt is moved to the right again, so
that the camera 7 can
once again detect an image of the supplemented group of medication doses 6E.
If, however, it is found that the group of medication doses 6E contains
incorrect, defective (e.g.
broken) and/or superfluous medication doses, the conveyor belt 50 is moved
back so far to the left
that the holding compartment on the conveyor belt is moved over the left
deflection roller 52, so that
the defective group of medication doses fall into a catch funnel 81 of a
discarding apparatus 8. From
there, the medication doses get into a waste container 82. The waste container
thereby collects
medication doses 6H and parts of medication doses 61 of the defective groups,
which were discarded.
After discarding of the defective group of medication doses, subsequently a
new group of medication
doses can be compiled for the same pocket of the tube blister package, and
subjected to an inspection
using the camera 7.
These procedures are repeated until a tube blister package having correctly
filled pockets has
been produced. A tube blister package produced in this manner subsequently
does not need to be
subjected to an inspection with regard to defective filling.
Figure 2 shows an alternative embodiment of the apparatus according to the
invention for the
production of tube blister packages. This embodiment contains dispensing
stations 2, a buffer
apparatus 5, a blister packaging apparatus 4, and a discarding apparatus 8,
which do not differ from
the corresponding apparatuses of the exemplary embodiment according to Figure
1, so that these do
not need to be described in any detail here. The apparatus according to Figure
2 differs from the
apparatus according to Figure 1 only with regard to the method of how the
medication doses dispensed
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-08-03
by the dispensing apparatuses 22 of the dispensing stations 2 are passed on to
the buffer apparatus.
As in the exemplary embodiment according to Figure 1, in the embodiment
according to Figure 2 the
medication doses are also stored in supply containers 21. The dispensing
stations 2, which consist of
supply containers 21 and dispensing apparatuses 22, are controlled by the
control computer of the
apparatus for the production of tube blister packages, in the same manner, so
that the medication doses
to be filled in are dispensed. In this connection, however, the medication
doses do not fall into a large,
common collection funnel; instead, a guide shaft 90 is positioned adjacent to
a vertical column of
dispensing stations 2 disposed one on top of the other. The guide shaft 90 is
a vertical guide shaft that
is hollow on the inside and has a number of entry openings 93 disposed one on
top of the other. When
such a guide shaft 90 is positioned directly behind and adjacent to a vertical
column of dispensing
stations, the entry openings 93 are situated adjacent to the exit openings of
the dispensing apparatuses
22 of the dispensing station column. The medication doses exiting out of the
dispensing apparatuses
22 thereby enter into the vertical guide shaft 90 through the entry openings
93, and fall downward in
the shaft. The guide shafts 90 are moved further, in the horizontal direction,
from one vertical column
to the adjacent column, in each instance, so that they are moved past all the
columns of dispensing
stations 2 during every cycle. With appropriate cycling of the dispensing of
medication doses by the
dispensing apparatuses 22, each dispensing station 2 can thereby dispense its
medication doses into a
specific guide shaft 90. Furthermore, it is possible that when a column of
dispensing stations 2
dispenses its medication doses into a first guide shaft 90, an adjacent column
of dispensing stations 2
can dispense its medication doses into an adjacent guide shaft 90. This allows
collecting groups of
medication doses in parallel, in terms of time, in different guide shafts 90.
There are small collection containers 95 below the lower ends of the guide
shafts 90, which are
moved together with the guide shafts 90. The medication doses that fall down
in the guide shafts 90
fall into these collection containers, so that the individual groups of
medication doses can be
successively collected in the chain of collection containers 95.
The dispensing stations 2 are disposed, for example, in a matrix of columns
and rows, in a
horizontal plane, where the guide shafts 90 move adjacent to this vertical
plane of dispensing stations
2. In this connection, the guide shafts 90 are connected with transport belts
92, for example, which
guide the guide shafts 90 in a plane behind the dispensing stations 2, at
first, and then deflect them, so
that the guide shafts 90 are brought back again and can be moved past the
dispensing stations 2 once
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-08-03
again. Deflection of the guide shafts 90, which are coupled with one another,
is illustrated by an arrow
94. The collection containers 95 are also connected with one another to form a
chain, and are moved
in the horizontal direction at the same speed as the guide shafts 90. Here,
too, deflection of the chain
of collection containers 95 is illustrated with an arrow 96. In this
connection, the collection containers
.. 95 are preferably guided past the deflection point of the guide shafts 90
(farther to the right in Figure
2), where they can be emptied into holding compartments of the transport
apparatus 50 of the buffer
device 5.
Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment of a buffer apparatus 5', which does
not use a
conveyor belt, but rather a chute 55 for transporting the medication doses.
The chute 55 is inclined in
such a manner that the medication doses 6C exiting from the dispensing opening
of the collection
funnel 3 impact the highest point of the chute and from there slide downward,
at first to a catch region,
at which a barrier 56 prevents further sliding of the medication doses. The
medication doses 6E that
are sliding downward therefore collect above the barrier 56 and are then
situated in a detection region
71 of the camera 7. The camera 7 in turn detects an image of the medication
doses 6E temporarily
stored there, which image is passed on to the evaluation and control device.
The evaluation and
control device determines, using the image detected by the camera 7, whether
the group of medication
doses 6E temporarily stored in the catch region corresponds to a predetermined
group of medication
doses to be filled in. If this is the case, the barrier 56 is released in such
a manner that the medication
doses 6E move further on a subsequent chute 57, where the medication doses 6F
then fall into a catch
funnel 40 of the blister packaging apparatus 4 that has already been described
in connection with
Figure 1.
If, however, the evaluation and control device determines that the temporarily
stored group of
medication doses 6E does not correspond to the predetermined group of
medication doses to be filled
in, then the barrier 56 is released in a different manner, so that the
medication doses 6E now get onto
a different chute 58, from which they fall into a catch funnel 81 of a waste
container 82.
Within the scope of the idea of the invention, numerous alternative
embodiments are
conceivable. Combinations of conveyor belts and chutes or alternative
transport apparatuses can be
used. The buffer apparatus 5 should preferably be configured in such a manner
that the transport path
between the first location, at which the medication doses are caught, and the
second location, at which
the sensor apparatus detects an image or predetermined properties of the
medication doses, are as short
13
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-08-03
as possible. The transport apparatus can also be structured so that if a
defective group of medication
doses is determined at the location of the sensor device, collection of a
corrected replacement group
of medication doses is immediately started at the first location, and that the
defective group is
discarded while the replacement group is being moved to the sensor apparatus.
If, in the case of such
an embodiment, the conveyor belt shown in Figures 1 and 2 is used, then a
deflection device for the
medication doses 6F that fall down there could be situated at the right end of
the conveyor belt 50, i.e.
at the right deflection roller 52, where this deflection apparatus either
guides the falling medication
doses into the catch funnel 40 of the blister packaging apparatus 4 (if the
group is correct) or into a
catch funnel of a waste container (if the group is defective).
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-08-03
