CN105564949B

CN105564949B - Testing device for a pharmaceutical closure and pharmaceutical device with a testing device

Info

Publication number: CN105564949B
Application number: CN201510707428.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: B·施庞; T·弗莱肯施泰因
Original assignee: Xingdeke Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Xingdeke Technology Co.,Ltd.
Priority date: 2014-10-29
Filing date: 2015-10-27
Publication date: 2021-04-30
Anticipated expiration: 2035-10-27
Also published as: ITUB20154982A1; CN105564949A; DE102014222127A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a testing device (10) for a pharmaceutical closure (100), wherein the testing device (10) is designed to detect both the presence and the orientation of the closure (100), wherein the testing device (10) has a test beam which is incident on the closure (100) by means of an emission unit (12), the reflection of which can be evaluated by means of a receiving unit (13), wherein the test beam is designed as a laser beam (15).

Description

Testing device for a pharmaceutical closure and pharmaceutical device with a testing device

Technical Field

The invention relates to a checking device for pharmaceutical closures in the region of a delivery device. Furthermore, the invention relates to a medical device in the case of use of a test device according to the invention.

Background

In a pharmaceutical device for filling and packaging containers, such as syringes or vials, with the aid of a closure cap designed as a screw-on plug, the closure cap is placed on a head region of the container after filling the container and is either pressed into the head region or is otherwise connected to the head closure cap. For this purpose, it is known to store the closures in the region of the vibrating transport container and to transport them to the packaging unit.

For this purpose, the oscillating transport cans have a transport device with a trough-shaped transport track, corresponding to the number of packaging positions on the packaging device, along which the closures are transported by means of oscillation in the direction of the packaging device. When the closures are sorted out of the oscillating conveying cans into the individual conveying tracks, it may happen that the closures cannot be supplied to the individual conveying tracks, for example due to a conveying jam, or that, for example, the individual closures within the conveying tracks are not conveyed in the correct position but turned over by 180 ° with respect to their nominal position. In order to identify these two typical error situations, it is known in the prior art to provide two separate checking devices for the closure in the region of the transport device: the first inspection device has an inspection camera, which is designed to detect and analyze shadows cast from the covers. The checking device is used for determining the presence or absence of a cover in the respective conveying track. The second checking device has a beam for each transport path, which is oriented on the respective transport path in such a way that the exact position of the cover in the transport path can be determined from the beam path. The disadvantage here is that the technical complexity of the device is relatively high due to the two individual test devices. In addition, the quality or the test reliability of the test device is dependent in particular on the external environmental conditions, i.e. certain brightness conditions must be present in which the test device can be operated reliably.

Disclosure of Invention

Starting from the prior art described, the object of the invention is to design a testing device for pharmaceutical closures in such a way that it is possible to simplify the design of the testing device while at the same time being particularly reliable in operation. This object is achieved in an inspection device having the features of claim 1, in that the inspection device has an inspection beam which is designed as a laser beam, the reflection of which on the cover can be evaluated by means of the receiving unit.

The use of a laser beam as the test beam has the advantage that it can be used by the auxiliary drive almost independently of external environmental or light conditions and can at the same time be directed at the pharmaceutical closures in such a way that, depending on the reflection of the laser beam, it is possible to deduce not only the presence of the closures but also the correct orientation of the closures in the transport path or transport device.

Advantageous further developments of the checking device for pharmaceutical closures according to the invention are set forth in the dependent claims.

It is entirely preferred that the test beam is designed as a fan beam or line beam for simultaneous detection of a plurality of closures. In this way, for example, all transport paths can be monitored simultaneously at one test position within the transport device, thereby additionally reducing the technical complexity of the device for testing the device.

In particular, it is also provided that the test beam can be oriented at least substantially perpendicularly to the transport path of the transport device for the closures or to the receptacle of the transfer device for the closures. In a preferred manner, the test beam is directed at the position of the cover, in which the position of the cover is determined, and the position of the cover is determined by the position of the cover.

Furthermore, a configuration of the checking device is completely preferred, in which an evaluation and display device is provided, which is designed to distinguish and display an incorrect orientation of the cover from the absence of a cover. The display device can be designed, for example, in the form of a monitor or screen, in which the signals of the test beam for each transport path are displayed, wherein the shape and the signals can be used to draw conclusions about the error situation.

The invention furthermore comprises a medical device, in particular a transfer device between a transport device and a packaging station, using the testing device according to the invention.

Drawings

Further advantages, features and details of the invention emerge from the following description of a preferred embodiment and from the drawings.

In the drawings:

figure 1 shows in perspective view a testing device for pharmaceutical closures according to the invention in the region of a delivery device from a vibrating delivery canister to a transfer device,

FIG. 2 shows in a perspective view the transfer area of the transport device in the transfer device in an enlarged view, and

fig. 3 shows a representation on the output unit of the checking device, in which the pharmaceutical closures are missing or incorrectly oriented on the respective transport path of the transport device corresponding to fig. 2.

In the figures, identical elements or elements having identical functions are provided with the same reference numerals.

Detailed Description

In fig. 1, a testing device 10 for a pharmaceutical closure 100 (fig. 2) according to the present invention is shown. The closure cap 100 for a pharmaceutical product in the form of a screw-on closure is used for sealing a previously filled container, not shown, such as a syringe or vial, for example, by pressing the closure cap 100 into the head region of the pharmaceutical product container.

The closures 100 are stored loosely in a vibration-conveying pot 50, which is only partially shown, and are conveyed by a conveying device 60 to a transfer device 62, which is mounted so as to be pivotable about an axis 61. After the transfer device 62, which is designed in the form of a fork, has been pivoted through 180 ° about the axis 61, the closure cap 100 covers the head region of the medicinal container and is pressed into the head region of the container by a corresponding punch tool or the like, as is known, for example, from the prior art.

The conveying device 60 illustratively has a total of ten conveying tracks 65 arranged next to one another and trough-shaped in cross section, along which the closures 100 from the oscillating conveying cans 50 are conveyed in the direction of the transfer device 62. As can best be seen from fig. 2, the transfer device 62 has, in alignment with the end regions of the delivery track 65, in the transfer region, corresponding receptacles 66 for receiving the pharmaceutical closures 100 out of the delivery track 65, respectively.

This may occur when dispensing or transferring the pharmaceutical closures 100 from the vibrating delivery canister 50 to the delivery track 65 of the delivery device 60, for example, because the individual delivery tracks 65 are blocked from delivery and the pharmaceutical closures 100 are not delivered, or because of their configuration, the pharmaceutical closures 100 have a position in the delivery tracks 65 that is, for example, turned 180 ° relative to their nominal position. In order to detect these two typical error situations, the checking device 10 is provided to check in the region of the receptacles 66 of the transfer device 62 whether a pharmaceutical closure 100 is arranged in each receptacle 66 and whether the pharmaceutical closure 100 is simultaneously positioned in its nominal position in the receptacle 66.

The test device 10 has a test head 11 with a transmitter unit 12 and a receiver unit 13. The transmitting unit 12 is designed to transmit a line or fan beam 14 of a plurality of laser beams 15, which impinges on a receiving section 66 of the transfer device 62. For this purpose, the line or fan beam 14 is oriented substantially perpendicular to the receiving portion 66 of the transfer device 62, or the transmitting unit 12 is located almost perpendicularly above the receiving portion 66. A receiving unit 13 is arranged at a distance from the transmitting unit 12, which serves to detect the radiation beam 16 reflected from the pharmaceutical closure 100 in the region of the receiving portion 66 and to conduct it to an evaluation unit, not shown. The analysis unit has an analysis algorithm for detecting not only the presence of the pharmaceutical closure 100 in the receiving portion 66 but also the position of the pharmaceutical closure in the receiving portion.

The result of this detection is exemplarily shown in fig. 3, where it can be seen in connection with fig. 2 that, for example, in the left part of the third conveying track 65 (refer to the conveying track 65 in fig. 2), the medicinal closure 100 has a position turned over by 180 °, while no medicinal closure 100 is present on the fifth conveying track 65. In contrast, a medicinal closure 100 is present in the correct position on the second, fourth and sixth to tenth transport tracks 65, respectively. According to the illustration in fig. 3, in which the corresponding positions of the transport path 65 are numbered from right to left, it can be seen in particular that the two

signals

17, 18 relating to the third and fifth transport paths 65 are distinguished by their shape and orientation, from which the conclusion can be drawn that the pharmaceutical closure 100 is missing or that it is turned 180 ° relative to the nominal position. In contrast, the signals 19 about the second, fourth and sixth to tenth delivery tracks 65 are provided with a relatively small amplitude, which indicates that the medicinal closure 100 is in its correct position.

Preferably, the presence or location of the medicinal closure 100 is verified once the condition arises that one medicinal closure 100 must be present in each receptacle 66. If, in accordance with fig. 3, it is detected that the pharmaceutical closure 100 is missing or incorrectly positioned, the checking device 10 outputs a corresponding signal, in order in particular to prevent the transfer device 62 with the pharmaceutical closure 100 from operating, i.e. the transfer device 62 from being swung.

The inspection device 10 described herein can be modified or adapted in a number of ways and methods without departing from the inventive concept. It is thus conceivable, for example, to use a separate, i.e. discrete, laser beam 15 instead of the line or fan beam 14 for each receiver 66. It is also conceivable for the checking device 10 to be designed such that, when a single laser beam 15 is used, said laser beam detects the individual receptacles 66 sequentially in time. Finally, the checking device 10 can also be directed to the region of the conveying path 65 and not to the receptacle 66.

Claims

1. An inspection device (10) for pharmaceutical closures (100), having a transfer device (62), which transfer device (62) has receptacles (66) for receiving in each case one pharmaceutical closure (100), the inspection device (10) having an inspection beam which is emitted by means of an emission unit (12) onto the closures (100) in the receptacles (66) of the transfer device (62), the reflection of which can be analyzed by means of a receiving unit (13), wherein both the presence of the closures (100) in the receptacles (66) of the transfer device (62) and the opening orientation of the closures in the receptacles (66) of the transfer device (62) are detected by means of a single inspection device (10), wherein the inspection beam is designed as a laser beam (15).

2. The testing device according to claim 1, characterized in that the testing beam is configured as a fan beam or a line beam (14) for simultaneous testing of a plurality of closures (100).

3. The testing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the testing beam can be oriented at least substantially perpendicularly to the conveying track (65) of the conveying device (60) for the closures or the receptacle (66) of the transfer device (62) for the closures (100).

4. The testing device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that an analysis and display device is provided, which is configured to distinguish and display a wrong orientation of the closure (100) from the absence of a closure (100).

5. The testing device according to claim 3, characterized in that an analysis and display device is provided, which is configured to distinguish and display an incorrect orientation of the closure (100) from the absence of a closure (100).