Patent ID: 8406916

Claim:
A method of filling blister packs each having a plurality of pockets with individualized assortments of small objects, the method comprising the steps of: fitting to each of a plurality of shuttles a respective blister pack; circulating the shuttles around an annular track through a plurality of filling machines each having a plurality of supplies each holding a bulk quantity of small objects of a respective type, respective feeders each receiving the objects of a respective supply and advancing same to a respective picking location, and respective pickers; programming a memory of each shuttle with data regarding the intended contents of the pockets of the respective blister pack; in each of the machines, reading the memories of the shuttles as they pass through the respective filling machine, stopping each of the shuttles with the respective blister pack in the filling machine, and operating the respective pickers to pick, lift, and move the small objects from the feeders to the pockets of the stopped blister packs in accordance with the data for the respective blister pack; and removing blister packs from the shuttles downstream of the filling machines and erasing the respective memories.