Patent ID: 7194333

Claim:
A merchandise dispensing arrangement in which customer items can be stored for customer pickup and from which the filled customer orders can later be removed, comprising a plurality of pharmacy bags into which the customer items are placed for storage; and an automated storage and dispensing apparatus for storing said items in said pharmacy bags, the automated storage dispensing apparatus including a cabinet having an access opening extending laterally across one wall of the cabinet; a conveyor within said cabinet defining a continuous closed loop, a portion of which loop extends vertically past said access opening; a plurality of hanger bars that extend horizontally at spaced positions on said conveyor such that the conveyor controllably moves said bars in sequence to a position at said access opening, each said bar having a plurality of spaced annular recesses thereon defining bag positions along said bar; automated means for storing the identity of each pharmacy bag and the location of the respective bar on said conveyor and the bag position along said bar at which said each said pharmacy bag has been placed; means for entering a customer order identification corresponding to one of said pharmacy bags in which a filled customer order has been stored; means for automatically operating said conveyor to position a respective bar at said access opening; and means identifying the respective bag position along said bar to locate such pharmacy bag so that the customer order can be delivered to a customer.