Abstract:
A packaging apparatus is provided that sequentially advances rows of pockets formed in plastic sheet to a drop system where preselected medications or small articles are dropped into pockets and sealed to form an easily managed packet array.

Description:
[0001]    The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/262,411, filed Nov. 18, 2009, which is incorporated herein. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to custom packaging, and in particular the operation of custom packaging apparatus to provide a series of daily medication packages in a convenient form. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    With the rapid pharmacological advances over the past half century, more and more medical conditions can be treated with medicines. In addition, medical advances have led to longer life spans and longer survivability for individuals who have been diagnosed with illness, disease, or treatable conditions such as high cholesterol or elevated blood pressure. 
         [0004]    Obviously, in supplying medication to patients, or when patients are self administering medication, it is important that the patient be supplied and take the correct medications. It is important to the patient&#39;s treatment that proper medications be taken, and it is important to hospital and assisted living facilities that proper medications be supplied to patients for liability reasons. It is also important to pharmacies to maintain control over the medicines being supplied so that opportunities for pilferage by facility employees is minimized and patients are discouraged from borrowing medications from other time periods. 
         [0005]    Problems that have arisen include difficulty of patients, due to reduced mental or physical agility, in being able to manipulate multiple pill bottles and remember the schedule for each of the 2 to 12 medicines that many patients take on a regular basis. Many devices and systems have been devised to attempt to address this including programmable electronic reminder devices, daily and weekly compartmentalized containers holding medications, and even strips of labeled packaging that can be provided by the $90,000 Parata fill machine. 
         [0006]    It is desirable that the grouping of medications for each time of administration be sorted in the pharmacy by trained personnel who can manipulate a patient&#39;s medication schedule in an electronic computer system. In order to facilitate the patient&#39;s recognition and use of medications, it is preferable that the medications be preloaded into packets, typically holding a day or week&#39;s medications on a single strip of packaging. Similarly, in an assisted living facility, a nurse may supply a resident with an entire day&#39;s worth of medications and the patient can self-administer at appropriate times during the day. This eliminates the risk of hospital staff pilfering valuable or controlled medications and also prevents the patient from “borrowing” medications from the following day&#39;s supply and then claiming those medications were not provided. 
       A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention is directed to a packet array and an apparatus that is designed to fill pockets with medications and seal those pockets into convenient packets in a nearly continuous operation. For instance, for most patients who take medications four times a day, an array of packaging would consist of seven rows (one for each day of the week) and four columns (one for each time of day in which medications are taken). The 4×7 array of packaging may be perforated so that the patient may tear off a day&#39;s medications and carry it in a pocket or purse for convenience. The apparatus utilizes servo motor to drive a sheet of plastic pockets sequentially beneath a plurality of those compartments. Vacuum or other opening device insures pockets are opened and doses are dropped into each row of pockets. In one embodiment, a printer labels the plastic prior to filling with doses of medication. In another embodiment, the plastic is preprinted. 
         [0008]    The inputs for the method are medications, packaging machine, and packaging with the array of unsealed pockets, typically fed from a roll to the packaging apparatus. In a manual embodiment, the pharmacy sorts the appropriate medications for a patient for a day and places those medications into a tray. While the tray may be a simple “daily” tray, it is generally preferred that the tray be designed to correspond to the pockets on the bag stock, so that a 4×7 tray is contemplated to be preloaded at the pharmacy. The 4×7 tray is then placed on the packaging apparatus. The plastic stock is fed and a row of pockets is opened by insertion or by vacuum, a row of four holders of daily medication is opened to drop the medications down through guides into appropriate separate pockets. The pockets are heat sealed and advanced. The tray and plastic stock are advanced and the next day&#39;s medications are dropped through the guides for packaging and the process repeated. The bags can advantageously be preprinted with dates and times, or the bags may be passed through a custom printing apparatus that corresponds to the medications being packaged. 
         [0009]    It is desirable that the apparatus have a manual mode so that medications that are not easily dispensed through the guides into the pockets may be added manually. These would most typically include foil sealed medication. In a more advanced form, the trays can be filled by robotic apparatus. 
         [0010]    While the usage of the method and apparatus is for the packaging and distribution medications, it is also possible to utilize the method for packaging parts, especially parts used in assembly kits, including bolts, nuts, washers, plugs, screws and similar small items. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    The present invention may be more easily understood with reference to the following figures that are presented for the purposes of illustration and not limitation, wherein: 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the principal components of the packaging apparatus; 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a side plan view of the packaging apparatus; 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the apparatus; 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a front plan view of the packaging apparatus with seven rows of medication containing packets having been processed; 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top perspective view of a 4×7 tray into which daily medication doses for an entire week may be placed; 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is a tray to hold medication doses for a single day; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is a top plan view of a portion of plastic packaging stock. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    An examination of  FIG. 1  is helpful to explain the basic operation of the packaging apparatus  10 . The principal components of the apparatus  10  include the master controller  22 , the servo motor drive system  23 , a roll  20  containing a sheet  21 , preferably of a thermoplastic packaging stock, with four columns of unsealed pockets, and a pill drop system  30 . In operation, a roll  20  of plastic packaging  21  is mounted on the machine and fed across alignment shelf  26 . In an enhanced version of the apparatus, a printer may be mounted above the printing area  27  and the packaging custom printed as it advances across the alignment shelf  26 . Alternatively, the packaging material may be preprinted, typically in a generic fashion with color coding and/or indications for morning, noon, dinner, and night across the four columns, and possibly with days of the week assigned to each row. The packaging material may also be used without printing when appropriate, and if needed, adhesive labels may be affixed. 
         [0020]    From the alignment shelf  26 , the packaging proceeds to rollers  29 , that are preferably driven in communication with a servo motor and have high friction surfaces that engage the packaging  21  to precisely advance the packaging  21  precisely as needed. The packaging  21  is advanced to location beneath the pill drop system  30 . The pill drop system  30  has a plurality of dose compartments  31  with pneumatically or electronically controlled bottom openings that allow the dose compartments  31  to communicate with pill drop funnels  38 , best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . The pill drop system  30  may also include labels  32  to designate the time of day for each group of medications, typically corresponding approximately to 7:00 a.m., noon, 5:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. in a general fashion which could as easily be denominated breakfast, lunch, dinner and bed time, if desired. A machine operator fills each of the four dose compartments  31  with the desired assortment of medication and the machine is ready for operation. 
         [0021]    In typical operation, a first section of the packaging material  21  will be advanced as a header  42  and then the following row of unsealed pockets  39  will be aligned below pill drop funnels  38 . In order to ensure that pockets  39  (best seen in  FIG. 3 ) are open, one or more techniques may be employed. One technique is the application of compressed air via tube  28  through pill drop funnels  38  or other downward directed openings within the pill drop system  30 . The air will tend to open the pockets  39 . In addition, a vacuum system  36 , such as vacuum tube  34  and vacuum cups  35  (best seen in  FIGS. 2 and 4 ) may be employed to pull the top sheet of pockets  39  outward to create an opening. Finally, the plastic packaging material  21  may be moved in reverse and a lower lip  38   a  of pill drop funnels  38  may by insertion action urge the pockets  39  into open position. Preferably, the packaging material  21  is marked or scored in a fashion that is read by an optical or physical detector to ensure that the material is accurately indexed for reverse movement. The combination of compressed air flow and insertion action even allows the pill drop funnels  38  to enter the pockets  39 . When the pockets are open, the pill drop system is activated to allow the contents of dose compartments  31  to drop through pill drop funnels  38  and into the pockets  39 . When the pill drop funnels  38  are positioned so that the contents are delivered to the interior of the pockets  39 , the chances of any delivery failure due to a miss or bounce-out are virtually eliminated. As the packaging is advanced, the now filled pockets  39  move below the heat seal bar  37  which is activated to seal the filled pockets  39  and thereby form a row of packets  40 . In a typical case, the process is repeated seven times to form seven daily rows of packets  40  and then an empty footer section  41  is processed. 
         [0022]    To avoid the necessity of filling dose compartments  31  during the operation of packaging apparatus  10  the use of a daily tray  55  as shown in  FIGS. 6  or a weekly tray  50  as shown in  FIG. 5  is preferred. In a suitable tray,  50 ,  55 , there are a plurality of dosage openings  51  that can be filled according to the patient&#39;s medication schedule. These openings  51  communicate through their depth  52  to the bottom of tray, however, a closure device such as a sliding member  57  in slot  56  is kept in place until the tray  55  is positioned over the appropriate dose compartments  31  of the pill drop system. Then the sliding member may be removed to allow the contents of the openings  51  to drop into compartments  31 . The weekly tray  50  easily accommodates a similar mechanism in the form of a sliding tray  54  that fits beneath the tray  50  and is held in position by J-shaped edges that ride in slots  53  along the sides of the tray  50 . The weekly tray  50  may even be advanced automatically by an additional drive system associated with the servo motor drive system  23 . After a week&#39;s medications have been loaded into packets, and the last row has been heat sealed, the footer  41  is advanced and preferably cut, whether by a physical cutting device or application of the heat sealing apparatus at a higher temperature setting. 
         [0023]    In operation, the machine operator may manually halt the indexing of packaging material  21  to the next row of pockets and manually insert medications that do not fit easily through the pill drop system  30 . Typically, these would be individual blister wrapped medications that are more common in over the counter medication packaging. 
         [0024]    While the invention has been explained with respect to medications, it is contemplated that the apparatus may be utilized for packaging of other small articles such as fastening devices utilized within due it yourself building kits, or other small parts that need to be more readily packaged and handled. 
         [0025]    The result is that small articles are prepackaged in transparent, flexible, and optionally color coded or labeled plastic bags that are easily accessible to the end user. The transparency of the packaging enables the contents to be inspected for accuracy. In the event that an error is detected in the packaging of parts or medication, the packages may be slit open, the contents corrected, and resealed with a small heat seal device. The result is easier management of small articles in an easy form of distribution. 
         [0026]    While the packaging material  21  has been described as being manufactured as four columns that are intended to be filled in increments of seven rows and separated by footer and header sections, the packaging may be manufactured in many different configurations and is advantageously manufactured with perforations to allow the finished packages to be easily separated. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the plastic packaging material  21  has a back sheet  61  on which pockets  39  are formed by the sealing of leading edges  62  and side edges  63  to the back sheet  61 . The trailing edges  65  of pockets  39  are left open so that the pockets  39  can be filled. Thus, the preferred packaging material is a four column array of pockets that are perforated  66 , although unperforated material may be used and a perforating apparatus may be added to the packaging apparatus  10 , if desired. In a further enhancement, the apparatus may be utilized in connection with a robot that fills the loading tray  50  with the desired medications. 
         [0027]    All publications, patent, and patent documents mentioned herein are incorporated by reference herein as though individually incorporated by reference. Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in detail herein, it will be understood that various substitutions and modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiment described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as recited in the appended claims.