Abstract:
A label printing assembly ( 10 ) that effectively eliminates labeling errors caused by pharmacists placing the wrong prescription labels on medicine vials or packages. The label printing assembly is preferably configured for use with an automated medicament dispensing control workstation ( 11 ) and broadly includes a label print head ( 12 ), a label supply assembly ( 14 ), a label peeler assembly ( 16 ), and a control assembly ( 18 ).

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the priority benefit of provisional application entitled Medicament Dispensing Control Workstation, Ser. No. 60/128,429, filed Apr. 5, 1999, incorporated into the present application by reference. The application also relates to co-pending patent application entitled Automatic Dispensing System for Unit Medicament Packages, Ser. No. 09/457,286, filed Dec. 8, 1999, and co-pending patent application entitled Medicament Dispensing Control Workstation, Ser. No. 09/538,442, filed Mar. 29, 2000, both hereby incorporated into the present application by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to label printing assemblies. More particularly, the invention relates to a label printing assembly for use with a medicament dispensing control workstation used for filling and dispensing medicaments such as prescription drugs. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Label printers are commonly used in pharmacies for printing prescription labels that are then placed on medicine vials or other medicament packaging to instruct a patient on the proper use of a medicament. In pharmacies where prescriptions are manually filled and dispensed, it is common for pharmacists to pre-print prescription labels for numerous different prescriptions and to later sort through and apply the preprinted labels to the appropriate vials or packages. Unfortunately, this practice often causes pharmacists to place the wrong label on a vial or package and to therefore dispense the wrong medicament to a patient, possibly causing serious illness or even death. 
     OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides a distinct advance in the art of label printers used for printing prescription labels. More particularly, the present invention provides a label printing assembly that effectively eliminates labeling errors caused by pharmacists placing the wrong prescription labels on medicine vials or packages. 
     The label printing assembly of the present invention is preferably configured for use with an automated medicament dispensing control workstation and broadly includes a label print head, a label supply assembly, a label peeler assembly, and a control assembly. The label supply assembly transports a supply of blank labels carried on a release layer to the label print head for printing label information on the blank labels. The label peeler assembly partially separates printed labels from their release layer so that a pharmacist or other operator can remove the printed labels from the label printing assembly using one hand and place them directly on medicine vials or packages. 
     This control assembly eliminates mislabeling errors because it allows the operator to place the label on the medicine vial or package immediately after the label has been printed and without intervening steps such as peeling the label off the release layer or sorting through a pile of labels to retrieve the correct one. Both of the intervening steps mentioned often require the operator to use both hands, therefore they often involve the operating putting the vial or package down on the counter to free both hands to conduct these steps. When the operator must again retrieve the correct medication from the counter to resume labeling, the chances for errors are increased. Therefore, eliminating these intervening steps, as the control assembly does, reduces errors in the pharmacy. 
     The control assembly eliminates mislabeling errors by preventing a pharmacist or other operator from retrieving printed labels under certain circumstances. For example, the control assembly may be configured to discard or otherwise prevent access to a printed label in the label printing assembly. This prevents an operator from pre-printing numerous prescription labels and then attempting to locate the proper label for a vial or a package from a pile of pre-printed labels. The control assembly may also be configured to discard or otherwise prevent access to a printed label if the operator or someone else attempts to print a new label before removing the existing printed label. Once again, this prevents a pharmacist from pre-printing numerous prescription labels before each label is removed from the label printing assembly and applied to the proper medicine vial or package. 
     The assembly also prevents an operator from pre-printing numerous labels because the labels are completely removed from the release layer when the operator removes them from the control assembly, and the label will not perform well if applied to an interim location and then removed. Therefore, when the labels are removed from the assembly, they are applied directly to the final location, the vial or package. 
     These and other important aspects of the present invention are described more fully in the detailed description below. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES 
     A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a label printing assembly constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention and shown in use with a medicament dispensing workstation. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view of the label printing assembly shown removed from the workstation. 
     FIG. 3 is a plan view with parts broken away of the label peeler assembly portion of the label printing assembly showing the label peeler assembly in its engaged, operating position. 
     FIG. 4 is a plan view with parts broken away of the label peeler assembly shown in its released, nonoperating position. 
     FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view with parts broken away of the label peeler assembly shown in its engaged, operating position. 
     FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view with parts broken away of the label peeler assembly shown in its released, nonoperating position. 
     FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating certain components of the control assembly portion of the label printing assembly. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Turning now to the drawing figures, and particularly FIG. 2, a label printing assembly  10  constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The label printing assembly is preferably configured for use in a medicament dispensing control workstation  11  as illustrated in FIG.  1 . The workstation is described in more detail in co-pending patent application entitled Medicament Dispensing Control Workstation, Ser. No. 09/538,442, filed Mar. 29, 2000, hereby incorporated into the present application by reference. The workstation and the label printing assembly of the present invention may be used together as a stand-alone device or may be used in conjunction with an automatic medicament dispensing system such as the SP 200 manufactured and sold by ScriptPro LLC of Mission, Kans. or the automatic medicament storing and dispensing apparatus described in co-pending patent application entitled Automatic Dispensing System for Unit Medicament Packages, Ser. No. 09/457,286, filed Dec. 8, 1999, also incorporated into the present application by reference. 
     Returning to FIG. 2, the label printing assembly  10  broadly includes a label printer  12 , a label supply assembly  14 , a label peeler assembly  16 , and a control assembly  18 . Each of these assemblies, except for certain components of the control assembly, are preferably mounted to a support plate  19  that can be easily placed in and removed from the workstation housing. 
     In more detail, the label printer  12  is mostly conventional and is preferably a model number M8485 printer manufactured by SATO Corporation of Japan. The printer includes a print head  20 , a ribbon feed spool  22  for holding a supply of printer ribbon  23 , and a ribbon take-up spool  24  for advancing the ribbon from the ribbon feed spool through the print head and for then holding the used printing ribbon after it passes out of the print head. The printer also includes a number of rollers  26 ,  28 ,  30  that direct the printer ribbon through the print head and back to the take-up spool and an elongated, vertically extending stripper bar  32  that cooperates with the label peeler assembly  16  for partially separating printed labels from their release backing layer as described in more detail below. 
     The label supply assembly  14  holds and transports a supply of blank labels carried on a release layer to the label printer for printing label information thereon. The label supply assembly includes a label feed spool  34  for holding a roll  36  of blank labels and a take-up spool  38  for holding the release layer after the labels have been removed therefrom. The label take-up spool is driven by a motor controlled by the control assembly  18  as described below. A sensor  40  may be positioned adjacent the label take-up spool for sensing when the roll of release layer carried thereon is of a predetermined diameter so as to alert an operator that a new supply of labels is needed. 
     The label peeler assembly  16  partially separates printed labels from their release layer after the labels exit the label printer  12 . The label peeler assembly also cooperates with the control assembly  18  for eliminating mislabeling errors as described in more detail below. As best illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the label peeler assembly includes a base  42  or mounting plate that is mounted on the support plate  19  between the label printer  12  and the label supply assembly  14 . A plurality of vertically extending guide rollers  44 ,  46 ,  48 ,  50 ,  52  are rotatably mounted to the base for directing the printed labels and release layer out of the label printer and for directing the release layer and any wasted labels to the label take-up spool  38 . 
     The roller  44  cooperates with the stripper bar  32  to at least partially separate printed labels from their release layer as best depicted in FIG.  3 . Roller  44  is contacting and driven by roller  28  with release layer in between the rollers. Specifically, as a label and its portion of the release layer exit the print head  20 , they both are traveling forward relative to the front of the workstation  11 . The roller and stripper bar are positioned to redirect the release layer in nearly the opposite direction back toward the label printer at an angle that causes the printed label to separate from its release layer. The roller  44  and the roller  46  then redirect the release layer back toward the front of the label peeler assembly. 
     A guide arm  54  is attached to the base  42  near the front of the label peeler assembly  16  for guiding the printed labels after they have been partially removed from their release layer. A Teflon label guide  56  is attached to the top of the guide arm so that it is positioned just in front of the roller  46 . The surface of the Teflon label guide adjacent the roller is concave shaped. The roller  46  and the concave-shaped surface of the label guide form a nip therebetween that serves to reattach the leading edge of printed labels to their release layer after they have been detached therefrom by the stripper bar  32 . The trailing edge of each printed label temporarily remains detached from its release layer so that a pharmacist can easily remove the printed labels from the label printing assembly as described below. An inwardly curved spring guide  58  extends from the end of the guide arm so that it abuts a portion of the roller  48 . The spring guide serves to reattach printed labels to their release layer after the labels have been advanced so that the labels can no longer be retrieved as discussed in more detail below. 
     The guide arm  54  as well as the roller  44  can be selectively shifted between engaged, operating positions illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5 and released, non-operating positions illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6. When in their engaged, operating positions, the guide arm and roller tension the release label and the labels carried thereon so that the label printing assembly can be used to print labels. When in their released, non-operating positions, the guide arm and roller introduce slack into the release layer and labels for maintenance or label reloading purposes. 
     To accomplish the above-described shifting, one end of the guide arm  54  is pivotally mounted to the base  42  by a pivot mount  60  as best illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The opposite end of the guide arm  54  has a finger tab portion  62  that can be gripped by an operator. The roller  44  is attached to a carrier  64  that is moveable within a channel formed in the base. 
     A lever  66  illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6 is provided for shifting the guide arm  54  and the roller carrier  64  between their engaged and released positions. The lever is pivotally mounted to the bottom of the base by a pivot mount  68 . One end of the lever includes a tab  70  that can be gripped to operate the lever and a notch  72  that cooperates with a locking pin  74  positioned on the under side of the guide arm as described below. The opposite end of the lever is attached to the underside of the roller carrier. 
     The guide arm  54  and roller carrier  64  are shifted to their released, non-operating positions by gripping the lever tab  70  and pivoting the lever  66  clockwise as viewed from the orientation of FIGS. 5 and 6. As the lever is shifted clockwise, it pushes the locking pin  74  and the guide arm  54  outward and shifts the roller carrier rightward. When the lever is shifted clockwise to the position illustrated in FIG. 6, the locking pin seats in the notch on the lever for locking the guide arm and the roller carrier in their released positions. 
     The guide arm  54  and the roller carrier  64  are shifted back to their engaged, operating position by pulling the finger tab  62  on the end of the guide arm outward until the locking pin  74  on the under side of the guide arm is unseated from the notch  72  in the end of the lever. A compression spring  76  positioned between the roller carrier  64  and the base  42  shifts the roller carrier leftward as viewed in FIG. 5, which causes the lever to pivot in a counter clockwise direction once the locking pin  74  unseats from the notch  72 . A spring  78  attached between a pin  80  on the under side of the arm and a pin  82  on the under side of the base then biases the guide arm back toward the base into its engaged, operating position. 
     The control assembly  18  controls operation of the other components of the label printing assembly and prevents mislabeling errors as described below. As best illustrated in FIG. 7, the control assembly broadly includes a sensor  84  and a computer  86 . 
     The sensor  84  is mounted to the fixed end of the guide arm  54  just forward of the stripper bar  32  as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The sensor is operable for detecting the presence of a printed label that has been at least partially removed from its release layer and for sending an associated signal to the computer. The sensor may be any type of proximity sensor such as an optical sensor. 
     The computer  86  monitors the sensor  84  and controls operation of the label printer  12  and the label supply assembly  14 . The computer also communicates with a pharmacy host computer  88  (FIG. 7) for retrieving prescription data therefrom as discussed in more detail in the co-pending application entitled Medicament Dispensing Control Workstation referenced above. The computer may be any computing device such as a central processing unit (CPU) of a conventional personal computer or a custom programmed PLC or processor. The pharmacy host computer may be any computer running a pharmacy automation program such as those provided by Zadall Computer Systems. 
     When the workstation  11  is used as a stand-alone device, it includes its own separate computer that communicates with the pharmacy host computer  88 . When the workstation is coupled with an automatic medicament storing and dispensing system, it may not include its own separate computer, but may instead be coupled with the computer running the medicament storing and dispensing system. Such an automatic storing and dispensing system is described in the co-pending patent application entitled Automatic Dispensing System for Unit Medicament Packages referenced above. 
     In operation, the computer  86  retrieves or is sent data relating to a prescription from the pharmacy host computer  88 . A pharmacist or other operator of the workstation  11  then fills and dispenses medicaments in response to the prescription as described in more detail in the co-pending application entitled Medicament Dispensing Control Workstation referenced above. As a part of the prescription filling process, the computer  86  directs the label supply assembly  14  and the label printer  12  to print a prescription label that is to be placed on a vial or package containing the dispensed medicament. As the label is advanced out of the label printer, the label peeler assembly  16  and the stripper bar  32  partially separate the printed label from its release backing layer as depicted in FIG.  3 . The label peeler assembly then partially reattaches the leading edge of the printed label to the release layer but allows the trailing edge of the printed label to temporarily remain detached from its release layer so that a pharmacist can easily remove the label from the label printing assembly. 
     The control assembly  18  also cooperates with the label supply assembly  14  and label peeler assembly  16  to prevent mislabeling errors. Specifically, after a prescription label has been printed and has been at least partially removed from its release layer as illustrated in FIG. 3, the sensor  84  senses the presence of the partially detached printed label and sends a corresponding signal to the computer  86 . The computer then begins a countdown and, if the printed label is not removed from the label peeler assembly within a predetermined amount of time after it has been printed, directs the label supply assembly to advance the printed label to the left as viewed in FIG. 3 so that it can no longer be removed from the label printing assembly. This time period may be selected by the operator but is preferably approximately  30  seconds. The computer may display on its monitor a countdown of the time remaining before a label is advanced to alert the pharmacist or operator that a label is about to be wasted. 
     Similarly, if a pharmacist attempts to fill a new prescription with the workstation  11  before the sensor  84  senses that a printed prescription label for a previous prescription has been retrieved from the label printing assembly, the computer  86  will direct the label supply assembly to advance the older prescription label so that it cannot be retrieved. After a pharmacist attempts to fill a new prescription, the computer may warn the pharmacist to retrieve and apply the label for the previous prescription before the printer advances the old label. 
     Although the invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.