| CPC G16H 20/13 (2018.01) [G07F 9/006 (2013.01); G07F 11/165 (2013.01); G07F 11/42 (2013.01); G07F 11/44 (2013.01); G07F 17/0092 (2013.01); G16H 40/67 (2018.01); G16H 40/40 (2018.01)] | 20 Claims |
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1. A system comprising:
a conveyor configured to move a plurality of bottles along a path;
a robot, wherein the robot comprises:
a robotic arm that is rotatable about a vertical axis; and
an end effector coupled to the robotic arm,
wherein the robot is configured to reposition the end effector and at least one bottle of the plurality of bottles held thereby through a bottle reposition cycle during each of which the end effector moves a different bottle of the plurality of bottles to at least one of an empty bottle pick-up site, a bottle fill site, or a filled bottle placement site;
a plurality of pill counters, wherein each pill counter of the plurality of pill counters is configured to count pills of a particular medication, wherein the plurality of pill counters are arranged to define an interior space, wherein the robot is received within the interior space;
a plurality of counted pill reserve containers, wherein each counted pill reserve container of the plurality of counted pill reserve containers is configured to receive at least one pill from a pill counter of the plurality of pill containers, and dispense the at least one pill in a bottle at the bottle fill site; and
one or more computing devices, in communication with the robot, the plurality of pill counters, and the plurality of counted pill reserve containers, wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to:
receive a plurality of orders for a number of pills of a plurality of medications;
determine, based on the plurality of orders, an order cluster, wherein the order cluster indicates a sequence of a plurality of bottle reposition cycles associated with the plurality of orders that decreases a time to complete the plurality of bottle reposition cycles compared to a time to complete the plurality of bottle reposition cycles without the order cluster, wherein, during the sequence of the plurality of bottle reposition cycles of the order cluster:
the robot moves, by the end effector, filled bottles of the plurality of bottles from the bottle fill site to the filled bottle placement site; and
after each filled bottle of the plurality of bottles is moved from the bottle fill site to the filled bottle placement site, the robot moves, by the end effector, an immediately subsequently processed bottle of the plurality of bottles from the empty bottle pick-up site to the bottle fill site so that each empty bottle is positioned at the bottle fill site only after the respective counted pill reserve container has therein a respective quantity of pills associated with an order of the plurality of orders;
cause, based on the order cluster, the plurality of pill counters to count a respective quantity of pills of a medication of the plurality of medications and dispense the respective quantity of pills into respective counted pill reserve containers of the plurality of counted pill reserve containers; and
cause, based on the order cluster, the robot to continuously move, by the end effector, each bottle of the plurality of bottles through a respective bottle reposition cycle of the plurality of bottle reposition cycles to receive the respective quantity of pills from the respective counted pill reserve containers of the plurality of counted pill reserve containers.
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