CN105268709B

CN105268709B - Gripping device and cleaning device for medicament containers with a closure

Info

Publication number: CN105268709B
Application number: CN201510314018.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: F·施特勒贝; M·弗里德里克
Original assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
Current assignee: Xingdeke Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2014-06-10
Filing date: 2015-06-09
Publication date: 2020-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 2035-06-09
Also published as: DE102014211007A1; CN105268709A

Abstract

The invention relates to a gripping device (10) for a medicament container (1) having a closure cap (2), having a gripping head (15) which has a receptacle (25) in the region of which the medicament container (1) is held at the closure cap (2) in such a way that a base body (5) closed by the closure cap (2) is exposed at least substantially outside the receptacle (25). According to the invention, the gripping head (15) is designed to guide a gaseous medium, in particular air, under high pressure at the transition region between the cover (2) and the base body (5) in such a way that the transition region is flowed through by the medium. The invention also relates to a cleaning device (100) for a medicament container (1) having a closure cap (2), comprising the above-described gripping device (10) and a cleaning assembly for guiding a liquid cleaning medium onto the outer side of the base body (5).

Description

Gripping device and cleaning device for medicament containers with a closure

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a gripping device for medicament containers with a closure. The invention also relates to a cleaning device having at least one gripping device according to the invention.

Background

Known from the prior art are gripping devices for medicament containers with a closure cap, which have a gripping head with a receptacle in the region of which the medicament container is held at the closure cap in such a way that a base body closed by the closure cap is exposed at least substantially outside the receptacle, such gripping devices being known from practice as a component part, in particular, for container cleaning devices. The gripping device serves to hold the medicament container after it has been filled with a product, in particular a liquid, and subsequently closed with a closure cap, in order to be able to clean the container on the outside by means of the cleaning device. For this purpose, known gripping devices have a gripping head which holds the medicament container in the region of the closure cap. The outer surface of the container base body provided with the closure, which is usually made of glass, can thus be cleaned by means of a cleaning medium. In particular, water, optionally provided with a cleaning additive, is used as the cleaning medium, and the water is guided onto the substrate. It is important here that the cleaning medium at least substantially without pressure impinges on the base body, since moisture must be prevented from penetrating into the transition region between the base body and the cover. The efficiency of the cleaning medium is thus limited or not optimal.

Disclosure of Invention

Starting from the described prior art, the object of the invention is to develop a gripping device for medicament containers with a closure cap in such a way that it is suitable for better cleaning of the outer side of a base body in cooperation with a cleaning medium.

According to the invention, this object is achieved for the inventive gripping device by: the gripper head of the gripper device is designed to guide a gaseous medium, in particular air, under high pressure onto the transition region between the cover and the base body in such a way that the transition region between the cover and the base body is flowed around by the medium. The configuration of the gripper head is such that the transition region between the base body and the cover is protected by the medium flowing around the transition region under high pressure, preventing the cleaning medium or cleaning liquid from entering. The cleaning liquid can thereby be guided or directed to the base body with an increased pressure compared to the prior art. In this way, depending on the pressure of the gaseous medium, the pressurized cleaning medium is prevented from reaching the transition region between the base body and the cover. Thus, the transition region is dry or free of cleaning medium during the entire substrate cleaning period.

The invention also provides an advantageous development of the gripping device according to the invention.

In order to be able to guide the gaseous medium in the gripper head receptacle to the transition region in a targeted manner, it is particularly preferred if the gripper head has a flow-guiding element which guides the medium flowing into the receptacle through the at least one outlet opening to the transition region between the cover and the base body. Such a flow-guiding element enables the medium to be guided past the transition region between the cover and the base body.

In a structurally preferred embodiment of the flow-guiding element, the flow-guiding element has at least one clamping surface for holding the closure. In particular, a defined positioning between the flow-guiding element and the cover can thereby be achieved, so that by means of the precise positioning, at the same time, a precise air guidance is also specified or determined.

In a further embodiment of the flow-guiding element, it is provided that the flow-guiding element has a plurality of longitudinal ribs which, on the one hand, form at least one clamping surface and, on the other hand, delimit a guide channel for the medium. Thus, the longitudinal ribs have this function: the cover is positioned relative to the flow-guiding element by holding the clamping closure, and the longitudinal ribs also serve to guide the gas medium between the longitudinal ribs in a targeted manner.

In order to be able to use the same gripper head for different sizes of medicament containers, it can be provided in a configuration of the invention that the flow-directing element is designed as a separate component which can be inserted into the gripper head. The entire gripper head with the flow guide elements located therein is usually replaced or exchanged during a change of format.

In particular, it can be provided that the flow-guiding element is made of a material that is softer than the material of the gripping head, in particular silicone rubber, in order to avoid damage to the closure cap.

Particularly good results for a gas blanket flowing around the transition region between the cover and the base body can be achieved if the flow-guiding element has an annular region with a through-opening, wherein an annular gap is formed between the through-opening and the container, and the region ends at least approximately flush with the lower end face of the gripper head. By means of the preferably relatively small annular gap, the flow speed of the medium in the transition region between the cover and the base body is increased, so that an effective protection of the transition region against the (liquid) medium can be achieved even in the case of a relatively low supply pressure of the gaseous medium.

In order to be able to hold or grip the medicament container as easily as possible without having to raise or lower the gripping head for this purpose, for example, it can be provided that the gripping head has two gripping head halves which are arranged so as to be pivotable relative to one another on at least one axis and which have sealing surfaces which are sealed relative to one another. The seal is in particular such that no cleaning medium enters the receptacle of the gripper head and the gaseous medium under high pressure does not escape from the receptacle, so that it is completely available for flowing around the transition region between the cover and the base body.

The invention also relates to a cleaning device for medicament containers having a closure cap, using at least one gripping device according to the invention, in which cleaning device a cleaning assembly is provided for guiding a liquid cleaning medium onto an outer side of a base body of the medicament container. According to the invention, the cleaning device is characterized in that the cleaning assembly is designed to apply the cleaning medium to the substrate with a high pressure. Such a cleaning device has the advantage that the outer side of the medicament container can be cleaned particularly thoroughly or effectively in the base region of the medicament container with a relatively low consumption of liquid cleaning medium.

Drawings

Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the following description of a preferred embodiment and with the aid of the drawings. Shown in the attached drawings:

figure 1 is a perspective view of a gripping device for medicament containers with both gripping head halves in an open position,

FIG. 2 is a side view in partial section of the cleaning device with the use of the gripping device according to FIG. 1 and

fig. 3 is a cross section of the gripper head half in plane III-III of fig. 2.

The same elements or elements having the same function are provided with the same reference numerals in the drawings.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1, a gripping device 10 is shown for holding a medicament container 1 with a closure cap 2, which can be seen in fig. 2. The container 1 is in particular, but not exclusively, a container 1 containing a liquid drug, such as a vial, a vial or the like, having a base 5 made of glass. The cover 2 may be configured as a crimp cap cover, a rotary cover or the like.

The gripper device 10 has a gripper head 15 with two

gripper head halves

16, 17 which are configured as mirror images with respect to a plane of symmetry. The two

gripper head halves

16, 17 are each mounted on an axis 18, 19 so as to be pivotable relative to one another in the direction of the double arrows 21, 22, the two axes 18, 19 being arranged parallel to one another. In the position of the two

gripper head halves

16, 17 shown in fig. 1, the two gripper head halves are arranged at a distance from one another in such a way that the closure cap 2 can be inserted into the receptacle 25 formed in the interior of the two

gripper head halves

16, 17. In order to hold the container 1 in the region of the closure cap 2, the two

gripper head halves

16, 17 are pivoted about their respective axes 18, 19 in such a way that the two

gripper head halves

16, 17 lie against one another in a contact-bearing manner in the region of their two separating

surfaces

26, 27, the planes of the two separating

surfaces

26, 27 intersecting the longitudinal axis 3 of the container 1 or of the closure cap 2 (in the closed condition of the gripper head halves 16, 17). The receptacle 25 is sealed to the outside with the

gripper head halves

16, 17 closed by a sealing device 20 arranged in at least one of the

faces

26, 27 and is designed as a blind-hole-shaped receptacle 25. On the inner circumferential wall of the receptacle 25, preferably a plurality of outlets 28 open into an air channel, not shown, formed in the respective

gripper head halves

16, 17. The air duct is connected to a high-pressure source 35, which is shown symbolically in fig. 2, via

inflow openings

31, 32 formed in the respective axes 18, 19. The high-pressure source 35 serves to supply a gaseous medium, in particular air, which is under high pressure.

In the opening of the receptacle 25, a flow-guiding element 40 can be inserted which is adapted to the corresponding closure 2 of the container 1. The flow-guiding element 40 is preferably made of a softer material than the material of the gripping head 15, in particular silicone rubber. The lower side of the flow-guiding element 40 ends approximately flush with the lower end face 41 of the gripper head 15. Corresponding to the design of the two

gripper head halves

16, 17, the flow-guiding element 40 is also of two-part design and terminates flush with the separating

surfaces

26, 27 of the

gripper head halves

16, 17. The flow-guiding element 40 has a disk-shaped or annular region 42 for forming a through-opening 43 (circular in cross section), which is arranged at a slight inclination to the horizontal. The diameter of the through-opening 43 with the

gripping head halves

16, 17 closed is designed such that a relatively small, radially encircling annular gap 45 is formed between the base body 5 and the closure cap 2 in the transition region between said base body and said container 1, corresponding to the description of fig. 2.

On the side of the region 42 facing the inside of the receptacle 25, a plurality of longitudinal ribs 46 extending in the longitudinal direction, i.e. parallel to the longitudinal axis 3 of the container 1, preferably arranged at equal angular intervals to one another, are connected to the region 42, which longitudinal ribs each form (elastically deformable) clamping surfaces 47 on the side facing the closure 2 for holding the closure 2 or the container 1 in a clamping-locking manner when the

gripper head halves

16, 17 are closed. Between the longitudinal ribs 46, flow-guiding channels 48 are formed, through which the air flowing into the receptacle 25 via the air channels and the outlet 28 is guided into the region of the through-opening 43. The flow-guiding element 40 reaches the interior of the

gripper head halves

16, 17 only over a partial region of the height or depth of the receptacle 25, so that the outlet 28 is exposed. The region 42 terminates immediately below the closure 2 in the radially constricted neck region 4 of the container 1.

Fig. 2 shows a cleaning device 100, which has, for example, an annular nozzle 101 next to the gripping device 10 for spraying or applying a cleaning medium, in particular water, under high pressure. The annular nozzle 101 is arranged so as to be vertically movable up and down or so as to be pivotable and sprays a cleaning medium in the form of a jet 103 with high pressure onto the outer side of the base body 5 over the entire height of the base body 5 for cleaning the container 1 after it has been filled and subsequently closed by means of the closure 2. Furthermore, it can be seen from fig. 2 that, in the region of the through-opening 43 of the flow-guiding element 40, around the transition region between the cover 2 and the base body 5, an air curtain 50 is formed from the medium (air) flowing through the through-opening 43 with high pressure, which prevents the cleaning medium from penetrating into the transition region between the base body 5 and the cover 2.

The gripping device 10 and the cleaning device 100 described above may be varied or modified in many ways and types without departing from the inventive concept.

Claims

1. Gripping device (10) for a medicament container (1) having a closure cap (2), having a gripping head (15) which has a receptacle (25) in the region of which the medicament container (1) is held at the closure cap (2) in such a way that a base body (5) closed by the closure cap (2) is exposed at least substantially outside the receptacle (25), characterized in that the gripping head (15) is designed to guide a gaseous medium under high pressure at a transition region between the closure cap (2) and the base body (5) in such a way that the medium flows through it, the gripping head (15) having a flow-guiding element (40) which guides the medium flowing into the receptacle (25) via at least one outlet (28) to the transition region between the closure cap (2) and the base body (5), the flow-guiding element (40) has an annular region (42) having a through-opening (43), an annular gap (45) being formed between the through-opening (43) and the container (1), and the region (42) ends at least approximately flush with the lower end face (41) of the gripper head (15).

2. The gripping device according to claim 1, characterized in that the flow-guiding element (40) has at least one clamping surface (47) for holding the closure (2).

3. The gripping device according to claim 2, characterized in that the flow-guiding element (40) has a plurality of longitudinal ribs (46) which on the one hand form at least one clamping surface (47) and on the other hand delimit a guide channel (48) for the medium.

4. The gripping device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the flow-guiding element (40) is constructed as a separate component that can be placed into the gripping head (15).

5. The gripping device according to claim 4, characterized in that the flow-guiding element (40) is made of a material which is softer than the material of the gripping head (15).

6. The gripper device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least one through-flow opening (31, 32) which can be connected to a high-pressure source (35) and which opens at least indirectly into the receptacle (25) is provided in the gripper head (15).

7. The gripper device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the gripper head (15) has two gripper head halves (16, 17) which are arranged so as to be pivotable relative to one another on at least one axis (18, 19), the two gripper head halves (16, 17) having interacting separating surfaces (26, 27), which are sealed relative to one another by means of a sealing device (20).

8. The grip apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the medium is air.

9. The grip device according to claim 5, wherein the deflector element (40) is made of silicone.

10. Cleaning device (100) for medicament containers (1) having a closure cap (2), comprising at least one gripping device (10) according to one of claims 1 to 9 and a cleaning assembly for guiding a liquid cleaning medium onto the outer side of the base body (5), characterized in that the cleaning assembly is designed for applying a cleaning medium to the base body (5) with high pressure.

11. The cleaning apparatus as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that the cleaning assembly is configured in the form of at least one nozzle (101).