Importance

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Abstract

An automated packaging line has capability of filling large and small orders, of one or more bottles, each bottle filled with a respective one of a plurality of different pharmaceutical tablets, in a single run. Structure is provided for filling orders for an individual consumer, for a pharmacist, and for a wholesaler, simultaneously, using differently sized bottles, and providing customized labels for each bottle. A flexible filler station simultaneously fills plural bottles with respective tablets. An intelligent data carrying puck carries each bottle, including therein information describing, among others, the bottle, the customer, the order, the pharmaceutical, the bottle size and label information. Puck handling stations (PHS) are dispersed throughout the line, to verify a number of operations implemented on the line and to reject a puck at the earliest opportunity, while permitting subsequent rejection by a subsequent PHS. The PHS units are substantially identical, with DIP switch modifying operation of the controlling software thereof to implement different features at different points on the line. The pucks are recycled after each pass along the line. An initializing PHS wipes clean the puck data storage and, in a fail safe operation, marks it as a reject. The flexible filler station must mark the puck acceptable. Each subsequent PHS, following the flexible filler station, following a capper and following a label printer, may reject the puck if marked as a reject or if failing to meet various criteria

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First Claim