Pharmacy Order-Picking Device Incorrect Storage Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Pharmacy order-picking devices face issues with incorrect storage of medication packages during manual retrieval, leading to delays or impossibility of removing packages when the system returns to automatic operation, due to errors such as wrong packages being removed, adjacent packages being shifted, or packages being relocated and forgotten.
Innovation Solution
A method using sensors, such as distance sensors or cameras, to detect and correct incorrect storage by comparing actual and target images of shelf compartments, allowing for the identification and repositioning of medication packages, and updating the theoretical inventory to ensure accurate storage and retrieval.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual retrieval is performed to handle disturbances, then user intervention can remedy issues, but incorrect storage of medication packages occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses sensors to detect the actual positions of medication packages and compares them with the expected positions stored in the control unit. This feedback mechanism identifies deviations caused by manual retrieval operations, enabling the system to recognize and correct incorrect storage automatically.
Solution Approach 2:
The pharmacy order-picking device performs self-checking through automatic detection of package positions using sensors. The system independently identifies storage errors and can autonomously correct them by relocating misplaced packages, reducing reliance on continuous manual verification.
2Measurement precision
If sensors are added to detect incorrect storage, then storage accuracy can be verified, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensors serve multiple functions: they detect the presence of medication packages, determine their positions, and provide data for both verification and correction operations. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate detection and correction systems, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit acts as an intermediary that processes sensor data, compares actual positions with expected positions, and coordinates correction actions. This centralized control logic simplifies the integration of sensors with the existing mechanical retrieval system, avoiding the need for complex distributed control architecture.
3Reliability
If incorrect storage is detected and corrected automatically, then retrieval reliability improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs detection of storage deviations as a preliminary step before retrieval operations commence. By identifying and correcting incorrect storage positions in advance, the system prevents delays during actual retrieval operations, ensuring that packages are readily accessible when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor-based detection process rapidly scans shelf compartments to identify misplaced packages, and the system prioritizes correcting only the detected deviations rather than performing comprehensive verification of all packages. This selective approach minimizes processing time while maintaining retrieval reliability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method effectively identifies and remedies incorrect storage in pharmacy order-picking devices, ensuring that medication packages can be correctly retrieved and stored, even after manual intervention, by using existing components and minimizing additional costs or complexity.
Implementation Method 1
The sensor may be a distance sensor having a unit for emitting measurement beams and for receiving measurement beams
Implementation Method 2
the sensor can detect the direction or runtime of an actively emitted signal which is reflected on a surface (of a medication package or a component of the pharmacy order-picking device)
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for detecting incorrect storage of medicament packages in a pharmacy order-picking device. Such incorrect storage can occur in the event that manual removal of medicament packages becomes necessary due to a malfunction. The pharmacy order-picking device comprises a series of shelves comprising a plurality of shelf compartments and at least one movable operating device in front of the row of shelves, wherein the operating device has a gripping device as well as a sensor. In order to detect incorrect storage, shelf compartments with potential incorrect storage of medicament packages are detected; the operating device is moved to a prescribed shelf position if a shelf compartment is detected; with the sensor switched on, the operating device moves across a detected shelf compartment in a horizontal direction, detects the storage depths at various X positions using the sensor and creates a virtual image of the actual situation on the basis of the detected storage depths; the image of the actual situation is then compared with a target image of the shelf compartment.