Typewriting machines – Sheet or web – Including feed of tally strip record-medium
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-29
2001-03-27
Hilten, John S. (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Sheet or web
Including feed of tally strip record-medium
C400S611000, C221S002000, C221S007000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206590
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to label printing assemblies. More particularly, the invention relates to a label printing assembly for use with a medicament dispensing control workstation used for filling and dispensing medicaments such as prescription drugs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Label printers are commonly used in pharmacies for printing prescription labels that are then placed on medicine vials or other medicament packaging to instruct a patient on the proper use of a medicament. In pharmacies where prescriptions are manually filled and dispensed, it is common for pharmacists to pre-print prescription labels for numerous different prescriptions and to later sort through and apply the preprinted labels to the appropriate vials or packages. Unfortunately, this practice often causes pharmacists to place the wrong label on a vial or package and to therefore dispense the wrong medicament to a patient, possibly causing serious illness or even death.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention solves the above-described problems and provides a distinct advance in the art of label printers used for printing prescription labels. More particularly, the present invention provides a label printing assembly that effectively eliminates labeling errors caused by pharmacists placing the wrong prescription labels on medicine vials or packages.
The label printing assembly of the present invention is preferably configured for use with an automated medicament dispensing control workstation and broadly includes a label print head, a label supply assembly, a label peeler assembly, and a control assembly. The label supply assembly transports a supply of blank labels carried on a release layer to the label print head for printing label information on the blank labels. The label peeler assembly partially separates printed labels from their release layer so that a pharmacist or other operator can remove the printed labels from the label printing assembly using one hand and place them directly on medicine vials or packages.
This control assembly eliminates mislabeling errors because it allows the operator to place the label on the medicine vial or package immediately after the label has been printed and without intervening steps such as peeling the label off the release layer or sorting through a pile of labels to retrieve the correct one. Both of the intervening steps mentioned often require the operator to use both hands, therefore they often involve the operating putting the vial or package down on the counter to free both hands to conduct these steps. When the operator must again retrieve the correct medication from the counter to resume labeling, the chances for errors are increased. Therefore, eliminating these intervening steps, as the control assembly does, reduces errors in the pharmacy.
The control assembly eliminates mislabeling errors by preventing a pharmacist or other operator from retrieving printed labels under certain circumstances. For example, the control assembly may be configured to discard or otherwise prevent access to a printed label in the label printing assembly. This prevents an operator from pre-printing numerous prescription labels and then attempting to locate the proper label for a vial or a package from a pile of pre-printed labels. The control assembly may also be configured to discard or otherwise prevent access to a printed label if the operator or someone else attempts to print a new label before removing the existing printed label. Once again, this prevents a pharmacist from pre-printing numerous prescription labels before each label is removed from the label printing assembly and applied to the proper medicine vial or package.
The assembly also prevents an operator from pre-printing numerous labels because the labels are completely removed from the release layer when the operator removes them from the control assembly, and the label will not perform well if applied to an interim location and then removed. Therefore, when the labels are removed from the assembly, they are applied directly to the final location, the vial or package.
These and other important aspects of the present invention are described more fully in the detailed description below.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1128561 (1915-02-01), Webendorfer
patent: 2690856 (1954-10-01), Trondle
patent: 3746211 (1973-07-01), Burgess, Jr.
patent: 4264396 (1981-04-01), Stewart
patent: 4284301 (1981-08-01), Geiger et al.
patent: 4386860 (1983-06-01), Price et al.
patent: 4660824 (1987-04-01), Hermkens et al.
patent: 4753473 (1988-06-01), Arnett
patent: 4810230 (1989-03-01), Shirasawa
patent: 4872803 (1989-10-01), Asakawa
patent: 4902263 (1990-02-01), Ito et al.
patent: 4918604 (1990-04-01), Baum
patent: 5082268 (1992-01-01), Santoro
patent: 5332275 (1994-07-01), Conway et al.
patent: 5337919 (1994-08-01), Spaulding et al.
patent: 5713487 (1998-02-01), Coughlin
patent: 5718525 (1998-02-01), Bruhnke et al.
patent: 5762235 (1998-06-01), Coughlin
patent: 5798020 (1998-08-01), Coughlin et al.
patent: 5860563 (1999-01-01), Guerra et al.
patent: 5873488 (1999-02-01), Guerra
patent: 5897024 (1999-04-01), Coughlin et al.
patent: 53-145260 (1978-12-01), None
patent: 59-43743 (1984-10-01), None
patent: 918086 (1982-04-01), None
Guerp Lawrence E.
Kudera Keith W.
Thomas Tracy I.
Chau Minh H.
Hilten John S.
Hovey Williams Timmons & Collins
Scripto LLC
LandOfFree
Label printing assembly for use with a medicament dispensing... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Label printing assembly for use with a medicament dispensing..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Label printing assembly for use with a medicament dispensing... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2466183