Patent ID: 6922977

Claim:
A blister packaging machine for packing product between a blister and a card to form a blister package, comprising: a rotary turntable having a plurality of nesting trays arranged around the rotary turntable, the nesting trays adapted to receive blisters; a plurality of stations positioned around the turntable including a plurality of product filling stations for placing product into the blister; a card placing mechanism arranged at one of the stations downstream of the product filling stations, the card placing mechanism adapted to place a card on the blister; a fasten mechanism arranged at one of the stations downstream of the product filling stations, the fasten mechanism adapted to fasten the card to the blister to form the blister package; a blister magazine projecting radially outward from a pick end toward a load end, wherein blisters are adapted to be picked from the magazine at the pick end and wherein blisters are adapted to be loaded into the magazine from the outside of the rotary turntable at the load end; a load mechanism arranged at one of the stations, the load mechanism comprising a first pivot body and a first pick head, the first pick head carried upon the first pivot body, the first pivot body moving about a first pivot axis between a first pick position proximate the pick end and a second offload position proximate a proximate one of the nesting trays, wherein movement of the load mechanism is adapted to transfer blisters from the magazine to the nesting trays; and an offload mechanism arranged at the same station as the load mechanism, the offload mechanism including a second pick head carried upon a second pivot body, the second pivot body moving about a second pivot axis between a second pick position proximate the proximate one of the nesting trays and an offload location radially outward of the rotary turntable.