Patent Application
20080302811
The invention relates to an apparatus for automatically mounting substrates with medical and/or pharmaceutical and/or food-supplementing products, comprising at least one magazine for storing blister strips rolled up on rolls or the like, each magazine having at least one holding position for the rolls, and a delivery device for unrolling the blister strips and delivering the unrolled blister strips to a supply position for the products to be mounted being provided for each roll in the magazine, and a mounting head which can be controlled by a control system for transporting the products from the supply position to a dispensing position on the substrate.
Furthermore, the invention concerns a system for automatically manufacturing packaging for medical and/or pharmaceutical and/or food-supplementing products, comprising a transport unit for transporting substrates and the like through the whole system, a gluing station for applying hot-melt adhesive or the like to the substrates as well as an apparatus for mounting the substrates with medical and/or pharmaceutical and/or food-supplementing products.
Apparatuses and systems of this kind are used in the pharmaceutical and/or packaging industry to assemble individual packaging units from products. Such packages are e.g. adapted to certain treatment processes. In other words, each package is assembled individually.
This requires high expenditure on logistics and control. Furthermore, in the manufacture of packages for medical and/or pharmaceutical and/or food-supplementing products there are various, sometimes official requirements and conditions, e.g. of a health, safety or other type, the implementation of which means considerable expenditure (e.g. creating superclean-room conditions, high personnel costs, etc.).
It is quite normal in hospitals, old people's homes and care homes, etc. to manually assemble the packaging units individual to the patient, in which the products, namely drugs etc. lie loosely adjacent to each other. In other words, the products necessary for the respective administration time are then kept together in a shell, a nest or the like. This procedure or this principle of course has the advantage that all products to be taken at the respective administration time are located adjacent to each other, which allows an extremely high packing density and therefore relatively small packaging units, as there is only one shell or one nest for each administration time. Furthermore, with this principle, with just one operation of pressing out the shell or nest, all the products contained therein can be removed. The procedure described also means, however, that the products are released or unpacked from the package. In addition to the problem of cross-contamination, this method of manufacture is not only very time- and personnel-intensive. Manual assembly of the products individual to the patient also increases the risk of mistakes in mounting, which can under certain circumstances lead to unwanted side effects. A further drawback lies in that automatic monitoring can be carried out only with difficulty or not at all.
To automate a mounting operation, from the state of the art are known basically different types of apparatuses for mounting, so-called automatic mounting machines, which however are usually designed for assembling electronic components for printed circuit boards or the like. In the pharmaceutical and/or packaging industry, however, in the manufacture of treatment-specific and/or patient-individual packages it is also desirable and increasingly also necessary for automation to be carried out.
Thus from WO 2005/102841 A1 is known a system for automatically mounting packaging units of drugs. This system is distinguished by the fact that the products (capsules, tablets, dragées, etc.) are deposited specifically for a patient in holding compartments arranged in rows and columns, wherein several products are located directly adjacent and against each other in each compartment. WO 2005/102841 A1 retains the principle described above of manual mounting with a plurality of different products in a single shell or a single nest for each administration time, and increases the efficiency of this principle by carrying it out in automated fashion. The actual apparatus for filling the compartments includes for each product an output station. Between rolls on which the products are rolled up as strip blisters and the output stations is provided a transverse conveyor which ensures transport of the strip blisters into the region of the output station. The output stations are assigned ejector units by means of which the products are pushed out of the strip blisters. In other words, the products are subjected to direct mechanical stress and conveyed unprotected into the holding compartments. The disadvantage of this system is firstly the fact that there is the risk of cross-contamination because several identical or different products are pushed into the holding compartments. Secondly there are basic hygiene problems because the mechanical stresses necessary when pushing out the products lead to abrasion of the products which remain in the apparatus. As a result, the risk of cross-contamination is further increased. A further drawback lies in that this system has very high space requirements, because for each product a pressing-out station with associated ejector unit is necessary, which are all arranged in a row.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to propose a compact apparatus for automatically assembling substrates, which ensures mounting which is careful with the products and can be carried out universally. Further, it is an object to propose a system for automatically manufacturing packaging.
This object is achieved by an apparatus of the kind mentioned hereinbefore by the fact that the apparatus has separating means for separating product-filled blister sections from the blister strip, and the mounting head is designed to receive, rotate and dispense the separated blister sections with the products sealed therein. As a result, the products are handled only indirectly. In other words, the separating means creates the possibility of “apportioning” the products in packaged form in such a way that they do not have to be unpacked to assemble an individual package. Firstly this ensures that there are no risks of (cross-) contamination. Secondly the products are also protected against direct mechanical damage during the process of manufacturing the package. Also, the manufacture of such packages can be carried out in clean-room conditions which have substantially lower requirements than superclean-room conditions, which reduces the expenditure in manufacture and hence the costs.
Preferably, two holding positions of a magazine are arranged one above the other, which leads to the fact that the apparatus can be made even more compact.
In a preferred development of the invention the holding positions of a magazine arranged one above the other are laterally offset from each other. As a result, the two rolls can be used simultaneously, that is, without wasting time.
An appropriate embodiment of the invention provides that the magazines are standardised, such that each magazine can be assembled at any position of the apparatus. Thus the magazines can already be pre-fitted in order to ensure a short changing cycle. Furthermore, the mounting times can be improved due to the possibility of optimum placement of the magazines on the apparatus.
An advantageous embodiment provides that the magazines are of modular construction, such that they can be exchanged on the so-called plug and play principle. Hence rapid elimination of errors or rapid exchange of magazines is ensured.
Advantageously, the rolls are mounted circumferentially in the magazines or holding positions, which ensures easier and quicker changing of rolls.
In an appropriate development of the invention, the mounting head has two belt segment drives for pivoting the mounting head back and forth in two planes. As a result, very short paths of travel of the mounting head can be produced.
The object is also achieved by a system of the kind mentioned hereinbefore by the fact that the or each mounting apparatus is designed according to any of claims 1 to 25. The resulting advantages have already been mentioned above, so that at this point reference is made to the above statements to avoid repetition.
Further preferred and/or advantageous and/or appropriate features and developments of the invention are apparent from the subsidiary claims and the description. Particularly preferred embodiments are described in more detail with the aid of the attached drawings. The drawings show:
The apparatus and system shown in the figures are used for automatically manufacturing patient-individual packages which contain pharmaceutical and/or medical and/or food-supplementing products.
In
Further, the apparatus 10 has a mounting head 20 which is designed as a pendulum arm handling device. The mounting head 20 is designed to collect the products to be mounted from the supply position 19, transport them to the respective mounting position over the substrate 11, and deposit them on the substrate 11. The movements of the mounting head 20 can be controlled and/or regulated using a control system 21 which is shown schematically only. In addition to the control system 21 for the mounting head 20, the apparatus 10 has a further control system 22 for the magazines 14 or, to be more precise, the delivery devices 18, shown schematically only. The control systems 21, 22 can be functionally connected to each other, networked or even designed as a common integral control system.
The apparatus further comprises separating means 23 for separating product-filled blister sections 24 from the blister strip 16. The blister sections 24 can have different lengths. For example, a blister section 24 can have a minimum of one isolated product. In other words, such a blister section 24 is selected such that a single closed nest 25 with an isolated product therein is separated from the blister strip 16. As packages for the medical and/or pharmaceutical and/or food-supplementing products commonly contain at least one week's supply, and larger or smaller packaging units are of course possible, the maximum length of a blister section 24 to be separated is usually aimed at separating a maximum of seven filled nests 25 from the blister strip 16. It is however expressly pointed out that the lengths of the blister sections 24 and hence the number of products to be separated can be freely chosen.
The mounting head 20 is designed for holding, rotating and dispensing the blister sections 24 which have been separated from the blister strip 16 with the products sealed and isolated therein. In other words, the mounting head 20 has several axes of movement which enable the mounting head 20 to reach, apart from each supply position 19 in the apparatus 10, each point or each position on the substrate 11 to be mounted, and to place the blister sections 24 in the plane of the substrate 11 in any orientation. Therefore the mounting head 20 is movable on at least four axes. In the embodiments shown, the mounting head 20 has exactly four axes of movement. In addition to two pivot movements each for pivoting the mounting head 20 back and forth in one plane, namely the XZ plane on the one hand and the YZ plane on the other hand, the mounting head 20 or a suction bar 39 described below is additionally movable up and down in the Z direction perpendicularly to the substrate 11 to be mounted, as well as rotatable about the RZ axis (see in particular
For the pivot movements, the mounting head 20 is assigned two belt segment drives 26, 27. The vertical movement in the Z direction as well as the rotary movement about the RZ axis are achieved by means of suitable drive motors 28, 29. In
With the aid of
Within this differential rod arrangement 42 is arranged an intermediate shaft 43 or the like. The intermediate shaft 43 is rigidly attached by an upwardly directed end to a lifting carriage 44 or the like, the lifting carriage 44 being arranged above the pivot plate 33 and associated with the machine frame. In other words, the lifting carriage 44 is movable up and down in the Z direction along suitable guides 45 vertically to the substrate 11 to be mounted. Alternatively, the frame 36 could be made generally movable up and down and guided to enable the vertical movement of the suction bar 39 in the Z direction. With its other, downwardly directed end, the intermediate shaft 43 is mounted in the region of the head plate 37. The bearing 46 used can be e.g. a combined rotary and linear bearing. In the region of the bearing 46 the intermediate shaft 43 is functionally or directly connected to a shaft 47 by the bearing 46 or within the bearing 46. The shaft 47 is in turn connected to the suction bar 39 already mentioned above or attached thereto. The shaft 47 can also be an extension of the intermediate shaft 43. The suction bar 39 itself has several, preferably seven nozzles or suction cups 48 or the like.
The intermediate shaft 43 in the embodiment shown is composed of three segments, namely a fastening segment 49, a differential segment 50 and a holding segment 51. The fastening segment 49 is preferably directly fastened to the lifting carriage 44 and so serves to transmit the vertical movement in the Z direction to the suction bar. The differential segment 50 serves to equalise the oscillating or pivot movement described by the pendulum arm 30. The holding element 51 makes the connection to the actual suction bar 39 and ensures that the suction bar 39 with its surface 53 facing towards the substrate 11 is oriented parallel to the substrate 11 permanently and independently of the pivot movement in the XZ plane and the YZ plane. In other words, the suction cups 48 are always oriented vertically to the substrate 11. The three segments 49 to 51 are preferably in each case connected to each other by universal joints 52 or the like. Alternatively, rubber joints or the like may be provided.
The mounting head 20 or, to be more precise, the suction bar 39 is connected to a vacuum system of the conventional kind, not shown explicitly. For this purpose the suction bar 39 is connected to at least one, but preferably several vacuum pipes. In the embodiment described, four preferably individually controllable suction pipes are provided, which are introduced into the intermediate shaft 43 in the region of the lifting carriage 44 by a suitable (multiple) rotary inserter 54 or the like. Hence selective control for suction of the blister sections 24 of different length is possible. In other words, individual suction cups 48 or groups of suction cups 48 can be controlled. The intermediate shaft 43 is made hollow, preferably tubular, for holding and guiding the vacuum pipes in all segments 49 to 51. Alternatively the intermediate shaft 43 can also be provided with vacuum bores or the like. In other embodiments the segments 49 to 51 can also be made different in relation to the vacuum pipes. In order to guide the vacuum pipes over the junctions between the individual segments 49 to 51, the universal joints 52 are designed as cardan joints with a hollow cross-piece. In the event that rubber joints are used, these have vacuum bores correspondingly. Further directly associated with the intermediate shaft 43 is the drive 29 which functions as a torque motor for rotating the intermediate shaft 43 about the RZ axis and can be driven in both directions of rotation.
The vertical movement of the suction bar 39 in the Z direction is achieved by the drive 28 which is attached to the machine frame (see in particular
Naturally, the drives 28, 29 are also directly functionally connected by the intermediate shaft 43 to the suction bar 39. Instead of the belt segment drives 26, 27 shown and described, other ordinary types of drive can also be produced, in particular for generating pivot movements. The differential rod assembly 42 can also be replaced by suitable known solutions such as e.g. a handling device with linear drives or a delta robot or the like.
In addition to the mounting head 20, the magazines 14 with their delivery devices 18 are of central importance. In
Each holding position 17 is assigned a delivery device 18 which is essentially composed of a feed motor 55 and a measuring means for controlling the advance of the blister strip 16. The measuring means can include several measuring elements, for example a sensor 56 for the feed rate of the blister strip 16 and/or a sensor 57 for the end of the blister strip 16. Optionally, the delivery device 18 can additionally have an unrolling motor 58 which in particular can be helpful when unrolling heavy rolls 15. Due to a speed difference between the unrolling speed on the one hand and the feed rate speed, a blister loop 59 may be formed. In the region of this blister loop 59 can be arranged a further sensor 60 which picks up information for a control unit for the blister loop 59, not shown explicitly, and passes it on. Each magazine 14 is assigned a separating means 23.
The separating means 23 can be composed of one or more separating elements, for example separating blades 61. In the embodiments shown in
The rolls 15 within the magazines 14 or in the holding positions 17 are mounted for easy changing. Here, circumferential mounting of the rolls 15 e.g. on suitable mounting pins 63 is preferred. Other types of mounting, for example, stub axles on which the rolls 15 are mounted centrally can also be used. Each roll 15 can be mounted in each magazine 14. This means that there is freedom of choice in how the rolls 15 are assigned to the magazines 14. In particular the magazines 14 are also of standardised design so that each magazine 14 can be expanded at any position on the apparatus 10. In addition to the standardised design of the magazines 14, they are also of modular construction. As a result, changing of the magazines 14 can be carried out in a simple manner e.g. on the plug and play principle.
The sequence of steps for separating individual blister sections 24 from a blister strip 16 is described briefly with the aid of
With reference to
Optionally, the system 70 can be supplemented by further components to increase the degree of automation, as is also shown in
Optionally, associated with the system 70 can of course be further components, such as for example a further gluing station in the region of the processing unit 76. Each component can further be assigned a means for discharging the products (e.g. empty substrates 11, glued substrates 11, fitted substrates 11, etc.). Thus in each section of the method, in case of defective or otherwise unwanted products, discharge from the process can take place. Furthermore not shown is a control unit for the system which can be designed as a single overriding unit. However, there is also the possibility of the individual components having separate units which are functionally connected by a common control system.
To sum up, it is once again stated that the mounting head 20 with its suction bar 39 is designed in such a way that the blister sections 24 can be collected from the stationary supply position 19 and delivered to the substrate 11. The advantage lies in that the bridge-like dispensing stations known from the above-mentioned WO document can be avoided, with the result that the time taken for a substrate 11 to pass through the apparatus 10 or the system 70 can be reduced and overall a shorter system 70 can be produced.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05090355.8 | Dec 2005 | EP | regional |
This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/EP2006/012642, filed Dec. 21, 2006, which designates the United States and claims the priority of European Patent Application No. 05090355.8, filed on Dec. 21, 2005.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2006/012642 | 12/21/2006 | WO | 00 | 6/20/2008 |
