APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED PICKING OF ITEMS

1 . An automation apparatus for dispensing groups of individually packaged products, the apparatus comprising:

a storage module including a first storage bin, the first storage bin being defined by a first vertical wall, a second vertical wall opposite the first vertical wall, and a floor, the first storage bin configured to slidably receive a storage tube inserted therein;

a first storage tube including a hollow body configured to store therein a plurality of products each contained in an individual package, the first storage tube including an end cap attached at a dispensing end of the first storage tube, the end cap including a release slot along an upwardly facing side of the storage tube to allow movement of a first individual package along a direction transverse to a longitudinal axis of the first storage tube for removal of the first individual package from the storage tube, the end cap including a retention slot disposed along a floor of the end cap configured to engage with a registration pin disposed along the floor of the first storage bin and prevent the first storage tube from sliding out of the first storage bin; and

a pick device movable vertically and horizontally to traverse the storage module and the first storage bin at the dispensing end of the first storage tube, the pick device configured to retrieve the first individual package from the first storage tube disposed in the end cap, the pick device configured to contact the first individual package and translate the first individual package along the direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of the first storage tube to remove the first individual package from the first storage tube.