CN111498485A

CN111498485A - Medical fluid product delivery system and method

Info

Publication number: CN111498485A
Application number: CN201910093674.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 漆璐
Original assignee: Baxter Medical Supplies Co ltd; Baxter International Inc
Current assignee: Baxter Medical Supplies Co ltd; Baxter International Inc
Priority date: 2019-01-30
Filing date: 2019-01-30
Publication date: 2020-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 2039-01-30
Also published as: CN111498485B

Abstract

A medical fluid product delivery system, the system comprising a transporter including a plurality of trays, each tray holding a plurality of medical fluid products; a weighing device positioned and arranged to detect that each tray holds a desired amount of medical fluid product prior to transporting the plurality of trays to the transporter; and at least one robot positioned and arranged to: (i) removing the plurality of trays from the transporter and placing the plurality of trays for removal on a medical fluid product conveyor, and (ii) removing each medical fluid product from each tray and placing each removed medical fluid product on a conveyor belt.

Description

Medical fluid product delivery system and method

Technical Field

The present application relates to medical fluid product delivery technology, and more particularly, to medical fluid product delivery systems and methods.

Background

The renal system of a human may fail due to disease or other causes. In renal failure of any cause, there are many physiological disorders. The balance of water, minerals and excreta of the daily metabolic load is no longer possible in renal failure. During kidney failure, toxic end products of nitrogen metabolism (urea, creatinine, uric acid, etc.) may accumulate in blood and tissues.

Renal failure and reduced kidney function are treated by dialysis. Dialysis removes waste, toxins and excess water from the body that should be removed by a properly functioning kidney. Because dialysis treatment to replace kidney function is life-saving, the treatment is vital to many people. A person with a failing kidney is unlikely to survive without at least the filtering function that replaces the kidney.

Peritoneal dialysis is a dialysis therapy commonly used to treat loss of renal function. Peritoneal dialysis uses a dialysis solution that is infused into the patient's peritoneal cavity through a catheter implanted in the patient's peritoneal cavity. The dialysate contacts the patient's peritoneum, which is located in the peritoneal cavity. Waste, toxins and excess water pass from the patient's bloodstream through the peritoneum and into the dialysate. The transport of waste, toxins and water from the blood stream to the dialysate is due to diffusion and osmosis, i.e. an osmotic gradient is created across the peritoneum. The used permeate is drained from the peritoneal cavity of the patient to remove waste, toxins and excess water from the patient. The cycle described above is then repeated.

There are a variety of Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) therapies including Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD), Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD), and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CFPD). CAPD is a manual dialysis treatment in which the patient connects the implanted catheter to a drain and allows the spent dialysate to drain from the peritoneal cavity. The patient then manually allows fresh dialysate to flow from the solution bag, through the patient's indwelling catheter and into the patient's peritoneal cavity. The patient may then disconnect the connection between the catheter and the solution bag to allow the dialysate to reside within the peritoneal cavity, thereby transferring waste, toxins and excess water from the patient's bloodstream into the dialysis solution. After the dwell period, the patient repeats the manual process described above. In CAPD, the patient performs multiple drainage, filling and dwell cycles within a day, for example, about four times per day.

Automated Peritoneal Dialysis (APD) is similar to CAPD in that its dialysis treatment also includes drain, fill and dwell cycles. However, APD instruments automatically perform three to four cycles of peritoneal dialysis treatment, typically overnight while the patient sleeps. APD instruments are typically fluidly connected to an implanted catheter, one or more solution and drain bags.

APD instruments pump fresh dialysate from a dialysate source through a catheter into the peritoneal cavity of a patient and allow the dialysate to reside in the cavity so that transport of waste, toxins, and excess water from the patient's blood stream to the dialysate can occur. The APD instrument then pumps the spent dialysate from the peritoneal cavity through the catheter to a drain. APD instruments are typically computer controlled so that dialysis treatment occurs automatically when a patient is connected to a dialysis instrument (e.g., when the patient sleeps). That is, the APD system automatically and sequentially pumps fluid into the peritoneal cavity, allows it to reside, pumps fluid out of the peritoneal cavity, and repeats the process.

As with manual handling, multiple cycles of liquid discharge, filling and dwell will occur during APD. "Final fill" is typically used at the end of APD, which remains in the peritoneal cavity of the patient when the patient is disconnected from the dialysis machine during the day. APD eliminates the need for the patient to manually perform the drain, dwell and fill steps.

As described above, both CAPD and APD involve the use of solution and drain bags. The preparation of such bags requires a great deal of caution and skill. The bag must not leak and must be within a certain specification. The solution bag must also be sterilized to a level such that the solution can be safely delivered to the patient. The bag must also be correctly labeled so that the user or caregiver can determine that the patient is receiving the correct PD solution.

Historically, PD solution bags were made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). However, in certain jurisdictions, PVC is prohibited for use in manufacturing solution bags or tubing for transporting fluids to and from patients. For this reason, non-PVC films and pipes have been developed. However, the application of these films and tubes in practice has proven difficult. PVC is generally easier to process than non-PVC materials. There are many process variations of non-PVC materials that must be implemented, optimized and validated for regulatory purposes.

Both PVC and non-PVC materials need to be transported and stacked. When a plurality of containers are stacked, the resulting weight may become significant. Loading and unloading these containers is also a cumbersome and cumbersome task if done manually. Furthermore, the stacking of the containers should be done neatly and organized to make further operations easier. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system and method for medical fluid product delivery.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides an improved medical fluid container, system, and method of making the same. In one embodiment, the medical fluid container includes a medical fluid solution bag, such as a peritoneal dialysis solution bag, and a medical fluid discharge bag, the bags being connected by tubing. In one embodiment, the drain bag is made of polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") and the solution bag is made of PVC or a material other than PVC ("non-PVC"). An outer bag is provided to hold the medical fluid or PD fluid set together, including a PVC or non-PVC solution bag, a PVC drain bag, and tubing connecting the two bags.

The outer bag and the fluid set contained therein ("fluid set with outer bag") are then sterilized, for example steam sterilized. To do this effectively, many fluid sets with outer bags are sterilized at the same time. For example, in one embodiment, a transporter is provided having a frame supported by a plurality of casters. The transporter is reinforced to carry a plurality of trays of a plurality of fluid sets having outer bags. The robot is used to load the fluid sets with the outer bags onto the trays and stack the trays onto the transporter. In one embodiment, each filled tray is weighed to ensure that it contains the correct amount of fluid set with outer bags. A plurality of (e.g., four) load cells are provided for output to the control unit. If the control unit reading the output of the cumulative weighing cell detects the absence of one or more fluid sets with external pockets, the control unit causes an alarm to be generated, prompting the operator to check the tray in question.

A plurality of transport carts containing a plurality of fluid sets with outer bags are then advanced to a sterilization area, such as a steam chamber or autoclave. Once the fluid suit with the outer bag is sterilized, the transport vehicle is pushed to the unloading area. In one embodiment, two robots are provided at the unloading area. The first of the two robots is a palletizing robot. The second of the two robots is a bag handling or suction robot. The unloading area also includes two conveyors. The first conveyor is a pallet conveyor that moves loaded and unloaded pallets back and forth under the second conveyor. The second conveyor is a bag conveyor which transports the fluid suit with the overpouch to the packaging line where it is boxed for transport.

In one embodiment, the palletizing robot comprises a swing arm having a plurality of degrees of freedom. The swing arms can be extended to a plurality of pallet loaded transport carts. The swing arm picks up one loaded pallet at a time from the loaded transporter and places the loaded pallet at a designated discharge position of the first conveyor or pallet conveyor. Subsequently, the swing arm of the palletizing robot picks up an empty pallet from the designated pick-up area of the pallet conveyor and transfers the unloaded pallet to the unloaded transport vehicle. While the swing arm is moving the unloaded tray, the bag handling robot moves the fluid suit with the outer bag from the loaded tray that has just been dropped to the bag pick-up location on the bag conveyor. The bag handling or suction robot moves generally perpendicular to the direction of motion of the bag conveyor, that is, vertically past the bag conveyor to suck one, more or a row of fluid suits with outer bags using suction cups that apply negative pressure to the bags to lift the bags from the tray. In one embodiment, multiple rows of multiple fluid sets with outer bags are simultaneously drawn out of the tray, transferred over the bag conveyor, and placed onto the bag conveyor. For example, a plurality of rows of a plurality of fluid packages with outer bags are simultaneously released on the bag conveyor by eliminating the negative pressure.

The tray conveyor interacts with a bag handling or suction robot that moves as the bag handling or suction robot is dropping off a plurality of fluid sets with outer bags. The tray conveyor can translate back and forth below the bag conveyor so that the bag handling or suction robot needs to move as little as possible to suck the next multiple rows of multiple fluid sets with outer bags. In one embodiment, the tray conveyor and bag conveyor translate in opposite directions, with the tray conveyor located below the bag conveyor, minimizing the total distance required to completely unload the trays, improving efficiency and throughput. Also, in one embodiment, the pallet conveyor is a double-deck conveyor that allows loaded pallets to move over unloaded pallets simultaneously with the unloaded pallets in the opposite direction, and vice versa. As described above, once each fluid suit with an outer bag has been sucked out of the pallet, the palletizing robot lifts the unloaded pallet and moves it onto the unloaded transport vehicle.

In view of the disclosure herein and not in any way limiting to the disclosure, any aspect recited in any one of claims 1 to 23 may be combined with any other aspect of any other one or more of claims 1 to 23, unless stated otherwise.

In other aspects of the disclosure, any of the structures and functions disclosed in conjunction with fig. 1-5 may be combined with any of the other structures and functions disclosed in conjunction with fig. 1-5.

In view of the present disclosure, it is therefore an advantage of the present disclosure to provide an improved medical fluid product delivery system and method.

The advantages discussed herein may be found in one, some, but not all embodiments disclosed herein. Additional features and advantages described herein will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings that follow.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a medical fluid container unloading system and associated method of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a first portion of the unloading system of fig. 1 and an associated method.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a second portion of the unloading system of fig. 1 and associated method.

Fig. 4 is a top view of one embodiment of a medical fluid container loading system and associated method of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a front view of one embodiment of the weighing apparatus of the present invention that may be used to ensure that a desired amount of medical fluid container is placed on a tray for transport.

Detailed Description

Unloading

Referring now to fig. 1 and 2, a medical fluid product delivery system 10 is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, system 10 is a medical fluid product unloading system, and loading system 110 is discussed below. In one embodiment, the system 10 unloads medical fluid containers that include a medical fluid solution bag (e.g., a peritoneal dialysis solution bag) and a medical fluid drain bag connected by tubing. In one embodiment, the drain bag is made of polyvinyl chloride ("PVC") and the solution bag is made of PVC or a material other than PVC ("non-PVC"). An outer bag is provided to hold the medical fluid or PD fluid set together, which includes a PVC or non-PVC solution bag, a PVC drain bag, and tubing connecting the two bags. The outer bag and the fluid set contained therein (the fluid set 12 with the outer bag of fig. 2) are then sterilized, for example steam sterilized. To do so effectively, many fluid sets 12 having outer bags are sterilized simultaneously.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is applicable to any type of medical fluid bag or kit that may form the fluid kit 12, such as a saline bag, a medical delivery or intravenous bag, a nutritional fluid bag, a hemodialysis solution bag, a citrate bag, or a continuous renal replacement fluid bag, among others.

In fig. 1 and 2, one or more transport vehicles 20 are provided in one embodiment having a frame 22 supported by a plurality of casters 24. The transporter 20 is reinforced to accommodate a plurality of trays 26a, 26b, 26c … … 26p, etc. (collectively referred to herein as trays 26 or generally individually as a single tray 26) of fluid sets 12 having outer bags. A plurality of transport carts 20 holding a plurality of fluid sets 12 having outer bags are advanced to a sterilization area, such as a steam chamber or autoclave. Once the fluid set 12 with the outer bag is sterilized, the transport cart 20 is pushed to the unloading area. The system 10 in fig. 1 and 2 is used to unload a fluid set 12 with an outer bag after sterilization so that the set 12 can be boxed and shipped.

In fig. 1 and 2, a robot is used to load a fluid set 12 having an outer bag onto a pallet 26 and stack the pallet 26 onto a transporter 20. In the illustrated embodiment, two

robots

30 and 50 are provided at the unloading area. The first of the two robots is a palletizing robot 30. The second of the two robots is a bag handling or suction robot 50. The unloading area also includes two

conveyors

70 and 90. The first conveyor is a pallet conveyor 70 that moves full and empty pallets back and forth under the second conveyor 90. The second conveyor is a medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 that conveys the fluid set 12 with outer bags to a packaging line where the fluid set with outer bags is packed into a box for transport.

In fig. 2, the palletizing robot 30 comprises a swing arm 32 having a plurality of (e.g. five) degrees of freedom. The first degree of freedom 34a is a 360 ° rotation of the first arm 38 about the horizontal base 36. The second degree of freedom 34b is between a first arm 38 extending from the base 36 and a second arm 40 extending from the first arm 38. The degree of freedom 34c is between the second arm 40 and the third arm 42. The fourth degree of freedom 34d is between the third arm 42 and the tray seat 44. The fifth degree of freedom 34e is between the pallet seat 44 and the pallet clamp 46. The pallet clamp 46 includes a plurality of movable jaws 48, the movable jaws 48 moving together outwardly and then inwardly to clamp onto a loaded or unloaded pallet 26.

The movement of the palletization robot 30 may be entirely electromechanical, entirely pneumatic, entirely hydraulic or a combination thereof. For example, all movement of the jaws 48 and degrees of freedom 34 a-34 d of the pallet clamp 46 may be by electromechanical stepper or servo motors. In an alternative example, all movements of the degrees of freedom 34a to 34d are by electromechanical stepper or servo motors, while the movement of the jaws 48 of the pallet clamp 46 is actuated pneumatically or hydraulically. In any case, the palletizing robot 30 may have its own processor and memory control unit that interacts (e.g., bi-directionally) with the overall processor 14 and memory 16 of the control unit 18 of the system 10, wherein the interaction or communication is wired (e.g., via ethernet) or wireless (e.g., via bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or ZigBee, etc.). Alternatively, the overall control unit 18 of the system 10 may directly control the palletizing robot 30.

The length and structure of the swing arm 32 and its degrees of freedom 34a to 34d enable the palletizer robot 30 to extend to a plurality of transport vehicles 20 having loaded or unloaded pallets 26. For example, a worker may bring a loaded pallet 26 cart 20 into the unloading area at a time, which will be placed alongside the empty pallet 26 cart 20 that has just been unloaded. The loaded pallet 26 from the newly moved transport vehicle 20 will be unloaded and then moved to the previously unloaded transport vehicle 20. As described above, the palletizing robot 30 performs the transfer of each pallet just described under the control of the local control unit or the overall control unit 18 of the system 10.

The jaws 48 of the pallet clamp 46 are positioned by the swing arms 32 to pick up one loaded pallet 26 at a time from the loaded transporter 20 and move to a designated discharge location 72 of the first or pallet conveyor 70 and discharge the loaded pallet 26 onto the designated discharge location. Then, the swing arm 32 of the palletizer robot 30 picks up an empty tray 26 from the designated pick-up area 74 of the tray conveyor 70 and conveys the unloaded tray 26 to the unloaded (or partially unloaded) transport vehicle 20. While the swing arms 32 are delivering the unloaded pallet 26, the bag handling or suction robot 50 transfers the fluid set 12 with the outer bag from the just unloaded loaded pallet 26 to a bag suction location on the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90.

Fig. 3 shows the bag handling or suction robot 50 moving generally perpendicular to the direction of movement of the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90, i.e. vertically past the bag conveyor 90 to pick up one or more or a row of fluid sets 12 with outer bags using suction cups 64, the suction cups 64 lifting the fluid sets off the respective tray 26 by applying a negative pressure to the fluid sets with outer bags. In one embodiment, the bag handling or suction robot 50 includes a frame 52 that allows the working portion of the robot 50 to be positioned above the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90. The top of the frame 52 includes a driven belt 54 having two tracks 56. The track 56 is formed with an aperture 58, the aperture 58 capturing a staple or other structure extending downwardly from the suction assembly 60 such that the track 56 pulls the suction assembly 60 in either direction of its movement when driven.

The suction assembly 60 includes at least one vertically oriented linear motion actuator 62 that allows a plurality of suction cups 64 to be lowered onto the fluid set 12 having an outer bag, at which point a negative pressure is applied to the suction cups 64 so that the fluid set 12 having an outer bag can be lifted from the tray 26. In one embodiment, two suction cups 64 are provided for each fluid set 12 having an outer bag. In one embodiment, a row of five fluid sets 12 with outer bags (requiring a total of ten suction cups 64) are simultaneously picked up from the tray 26, moved over the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 and discharged thereon. For example, a row of multiple fluid sets 12 with outer bags is simultaneously released onto the bag conveyor 90 by removing the negative pressure.

The movement of the bag handling or suction robot 50 may be entirely electromechanical, entirely pneumatic, entirely hydraulic, or a combination thereof. For example, all movement of the belt 54, track 56, and linear motion actuator 62 may be through an electromechanical stepper or servo motor. In an alternative example, all movement of the belt 54 and track 56 is by an electromechanical stepper or servo motor, while movement of the linear motion actuator 62 is by pneumatic or hydraulic actuation. In one embodiment, the suction cup 64 is pneumatically operated. In any case, the bag handling or suction robot 50 may have its own processor and memory control unit that interacts (e.g., bi-directionally) with the overall processor 14 and memory 16 of the control unit 18 of the system 10, where the interaction or communication is wired (e.g., through ethernet) or wireless (e.g., through bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or ZigBee, etc.). Alternatively, the overall control unit 18 of the system 10 may directly control the bag handling or suction robot 50.

The control of the bag handling or suction robot 50 allows the suction cups 64 to move laterally and up and down from side to suck the fluid set 12 with the outer bag off the tray, move the fluid set 12 with the outer bag to the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90, and move the suction cups 64 and the fluid set 12 with the outer bag down onto the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 where the negative pressure and the set 12 are released. Thus, the movement and activation of the suction cup 64 is typically (i) a downward motion with suction closed, but with suction open when the suction cup 64 is in contact with the suit 12, (ii) an upward motion with suction open, (iii) a lateral motion in a first direction with suction open, (iv) a downward motion with suction open, but with suction closed when the suit 12 meets the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90, (v) an upward motion with suction closed, and (vi) a lateral motion in a second direction with suction closed to return to (i).

In one embodiment, the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 is a standard type conveyor having a drive roller 92, a driven roller 94 and an endless belt 96 driven by the drive roller 92 and extending around the driven roller 94. In one embodiment, the drive roller 92 is driven by an electromechanical motor (e.g., a brushed or brushless, ac or dc, single or multi-phase motor), which may have a single or variable speed. The medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 may have its own processor and memory control unit that interacts (e.g., bi-directionally) with the integral processor 14 and memory 16 of the control unit 18 of the system 10, where the interaction or communication is wired (e.g., via ethernet) or wireless (e.g., via bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or ZigBee, etc.). Alternatively, the overall control unit 18 of the system 10 may directly control the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90.

Fig. 2 and 3 show the movement of the tray conveyor 70 in coordination with the bag handling or suction robot 50 when the bag handling or suction robot 50 discharges a plurality of fluid sets 12 having outer bags onto the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90. In one embodiment, the tray conveyor 70 is caused to translate back and forth under the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 in a manner such that the bag handling or suction robot 50 requires as little movement as possible to suction the following rows of multiple fluid sets 12 with outer bags. In one embodiment, tray conveyor 70 and medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 translate in opposite directions, with conveyor 70 being located below conveyor 90, such that the total distance required to move to tray 26 and completely unload tray 26 is minimized, thereby improving efficiency and throughput.

As shown in fig. 2, in one embodiment, the tray conveyor 70 is a double-deck conveyor having an upper conveyor 76 and a lower conveyor 78 that allow (i) loaded trays 26 to move simultaneously in the opposite direction as unloaded trays 26 over unloaded trays 26, and (ii) unloaded trays 26 to move simultaneously in the opposite direction as loaded trays 26 over loaded trays 26. Each of the upper conveyor 76 and the lower conveyor 78 includes a driven

belt

80 and 82, respectively, wherein each belt includes two tracks 84. The tracks 84 of the belts 80 of the upper conveyor 76 are spaced wider than the tracks 84 of the belts 82 of the lower conveyor 78. In one embodiment, the tracks 84 of the driven

belts

80 and 82 are each formed with an aperture 86 for grasping a staple or other structure that depends from the tray 26 such that when the tracks 84 are driven, they pull the tray 26 in either direction of movement of the tracks 84 of the driven

belts

80 and 82. When a tray 26 is to be loaded onto the driven belt 82 of the lower conveyor 78, the wider tracks 84 of the belt 80 of the upper conveyor 76 are moved even wider apart and out of the way. When a tray 26 is to be loaded onto the driven belt 80 of the upper conveyor 76, the wider tracks 84 of the belt 80 of the upper conveyor 76 are moved inwardly back to the operating position.

The tracks 84 of the driven

belts

80 and 82 may be moved electromechanically (e.g., by stepper or servo motors), pneumatically, or hydraulically. The pallet conveyor 70 may have its own processor and memory control unit that interacts (e.g., bi-directionally) with the overall processor 14 and memory 16 of the control unit 18 of the system 10, where the interaction or communication is wired (e.g., through ethernet) or wireless (e.g., through bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or ZigBee, etc.). Alternatively, the overall control unit 18 of the system 10 may directly control the tray conveyor 70. In either case, the tracks 84 of the driven

belts

80 and 82 are precisely controlled to position the desired portion of the tray 26 directly adjacent the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90.

In one example, the tray 26 is sized to hold six rows (five in each row) of fluid sets 12 for a total of thirty fluid sets 12 per tray 26. In one embodiment, the tray conveyor 70 moves the tray 26 such that a row of five packaged fluid packages 12 is just exposed outside of the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90. In this manner, the bag handling or suction robot 50 need only move a minimum distance so that its suction cups 64 can be lowered and just clear the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 to access the packaged fluid set 12. One possible sequence for the tray conveyor 70 is (i) moving the tray 26 in a first direction so that the back row of packages 12 is exposed on a first side of the conveyor 90 and carrying the first row of packages 12 to the conveyor 90, (ii) moving the tray 26 in the first direction so that the remaining five rows of packages 12 are exposed on a second side of the conveyor 90 and carrying the second row of packages 12 onto the conveyor 90, (iii) moving the tray 26 in a second direction so that the remaining four rows of packages 12 are exposed on a second side of the conveyor 90 and carrying the third row of packages 12 to the conveyor 90, (iv) moving the tray 26 in the second direction so that the remaining three rows of packages 12 are exposed on a second side of the conveyor 90 and carrying the fourth row of packages 12 to the conveyor 90, (v) moving the tray 26 in the second direction so that the remaining two rows of packages 12 are exposed on a second side of the conveyor 90, and (vi) moving the tray 26 in the second direction such that the remaining row of packages 12 is exposed to the second side of the conveyor 90, and (vi) moving the fifth row of packages 12 onto the conveyor 90.

Tray conveyor 70 moves the just vacated tray 26 away from medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 to a designated pick-up area 74. If the just vacated pallet 26 is on the upper conveyor 76, the newly loaded pallet 26 may be moved in the opposite direction on the lower conveyor 78 from the designated discharge location 72 to perform the discharge sequence just described. If the just vacated pallet 26 is on the lower conveyor 78, a new loaded pallet 26 may be moved in the opposite direction on the upper conveyor 76 from the designated discharge location 72 to perform the discharge sequence just described.

When the unloading sequence just described occurs, the palletizer robot 30 carries out a new unloaded pallet 26 from the designated pick-up area 74 of the pallet conveyor 70, moves the unloaded pallet 26 to the unloaded (or partially unloaded) transport vehicle 20, carries out the loaded pallet 26 from the loaded (or partially loaded) transport vehicle 20, and transfers the loaded pallet 26 to the designated unloading position 72 of the pallet conveyor 70. It should be understood that the designated discharge location 72 may be the same area as the designated pick-up area 74, except that one may be at the upper conveyor 76 and the other at the lower conveyor 78.

Loading

Referring now to fig. 4, a medical fluid product delivery system 110 is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, the system 110 is a medical fluid product loading system. The loading system 110 includes the transport cart 20 and tray 26 discussed above for unloading the fluid set 12 with the outer bag of the system 10. The loading system 110 also comprises the corresponding components of the unloading system 10, including an overall control unit 118 with a processor 114 and a memory 116, which directly controls the palletizing robot 130, the bag handling or suction robot 150, the pallet conveyor 170 and the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 190 or communicates with its local controller.

The loading system 110 works substantially in reverse to the unloading system 10. Here, the fluid set 12 with the outer bag is conveyed along the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 190 such that five fluid sets 12 with the outer bag eventually abut the stopper. The construction and operation of the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 190 (including all alternatives) is the same as the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 90 discussed above.

Likewise, the bag handling or suction robot 150 (including all alternatives) is constructed and operates the same as the bag handling or suction robot 50 discussed above. Thus, the bag handling or suction robot 150 uses negative pressure to pick up the packaged fluid set 12 from the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 190 and place it on the tray conveyor 170.

In one embodiment, the movement and activation of the suction cups of the bag handling or suction robot 150 is generally (i) downward with suction off, but turning suction on when the suction cups are in contact with the suits 12 on the conveyor 190, (ii) upward with suction on, (iii) lateral in a first direction with suction on, (iv) downward with suction on, but turning suction off when the suits 12 meet the pallet conveyor 170, (v) upward with suction off, and (vi) lateral in a second direction with suction off to return to (i).

The pallet conveyor 170 (including all alternatives) is constructed and operates the same as the pallet conveyor 70 discussed above, including having an upper conveyor and a lower conveyor. The tray 26 may likewise contain six rows of five bags. Thus, one possible sequence of tray conveyor 170 is to (i) move tray 26 in a first direction so that the tail space for one row of packages 12 is exposed to the first side of conveyor 190 and robot 150 receives a first row of packages 12, (ii) move tray 26 in a first direction so that the space for the remaining five rows of packages 12 is exposed to the second side of conveyor 190 and receives a second row of packages 12 from robot 150, (iii) move tray 26 in a second direction so that the space for the remaining four rows of packages 12 is exposed to the second side of conveyor 190 and receives a third row of packages 12 from robot 150, (iv) move tray 26 in a second direction so that the space for the remaining three rows of packages 12 is exposed to the second side of conveyor 190 and receives a fourth row of packages 12 from robot 150, (v) move tray 26 in a second direction, (ii) exposing space for the remaining two rows of packages 12 to the second side of the conveyor 190 and receiving a fifth row of packages 12 from the robot 150, and (vi) moving the tray 26 in the second direction such that space for the remaining one row of packages 12 is exposed to the second side of the conveyor 190 and receiving a sixth row of packages 12 from the robot 150.

The tray conveyor 170 then moves the just-loaded trays 26 away from the medical fluid product or bag conveyor 190 to a designated pick-up area. If a just loaded tray 26 is on the upper conveyor of the tray conveyor 170, a new unloaded tray 26 may be moved in the opposite direction on the lower conveyor of the tray conveyor 170 from the designated discharge position to perform the loading sequence just described. If a just loaded pallet 26 is on the lower conveyor, a new unloaded pallet 26 may be moved in the opposite direction on the upper conveyor from the designated discharge position to perform the loading sequence just described.

When the loading sequence just described occurs, the palletizer robot 130 carries out a new loaded pallet 26 from a designated unloading position of the pallet conveyor 170, moves the loaded pallet 26 to the partially loaded transport vehicle 20, carries out an unloaded pallet 26 from the unloaded (or partially unloaded) transport vehicle 20, and transfers the unloaded pallet 26 to a designated pickup position of the pallet conveyor 170. It should be understood that the designated discharge location may be the same area as the designated pickup location, except that one may be at the upper conveyor and the other may be at the lower conveyor of the tray conveyor 170.

The palletizing robot 130 of the system 110 may be a swing arm type robot similar to the robot 30 of the unloading system 10. In an alternative embodiment, the palletizing robot 130 is configured more like the bag handling or

suction robots

50 and 150, which have a frame and a laterally moving linear actuator that lowers and raises to pick up the trays 26 for transport.

Weighing device

Referring now to fig. 5, in one embodiment, a weighing device 210 is provided to weigh each full tray 26 to ensure that the tray contains the correct amount of the fluid set 12 with the outer bag. The weighing device 210 may be provided at one or both of the tray conveyor 170 of the loading system 110 or the tray conveyor 70 of the unloading system 10.

In the illustrated embodiment, the weighing apparatus 210 includes a plurality (e.g., four) of load cells 212 that output to a control unit, which may be a local processor and memory control unit, that interacts (e.g., bi-directionally) with the overall control unit 118 of the system 110 or the control unit 10 of the system 10, where the interaction or communication is wired (e.g., via ethernet) or wireless (e.g., via bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or ZigBee, etc.). Alternatively, the overall control unit 118 of the system 110 or the overall control unit 18 of the system 10 may interact directly with the weighing apparatus 210. In any case, a user interface 220 is provided that operates with the control processor and memory to display the output of the load cell 212 and/or the pass/fail assessment. If a failure assessment is made, the user interface 220 sounds and/or displays an alarm so that the operator can remedy the failure.

In the illustrated embodiment, the load cell 212 is mounted to a mounting plate 214 and supports a support plate 216. A tray having a fluid set 12 with an outer bag on the support plate 216 is loaded. Load cell 212 includes power and signal lines 218 that output to a control processor and memory. The total weight of each load cell 212 minus the weight of the support plate 216 should equal the desired product weight, otherwise the control processor and memory will raise an alarm.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims. For example, although the present systems and methods are described primarily in connection with peritoneal dialysis bags, it should be understood that the present systems and methods are applicable to other types of parenteral fluid bags, such as blood treatment fluid bags, medical fluid delivery bags, saline bags, and the like. Additionally, while the present systems and methods are primarily described in connection with medical fluid bags, it should be understood that the present systems and methods are applicable to other types of medical fluid containers, such as more rigid medical fluid containers.

Component list

10-unloading system

12-fluid set with external pouch

14-processor

16-memory

18-control unit

20-transport vehicle

22-frame

24-foot wheel

26/26a.. 26 p-fluid set tray with outer bag

30-palletizing robot

32-swing arm of palletizing robot

34 a-first degree of freedom of the first arm 38

34 b-second degree of freedom between first arm 38 and second arm 40

34 c-third degree of freedom between second arm 40 and third arm 42

34 d-fourth degree of freedom between third arm 42 and tray seat 44

34 e-fifth degree of freedom between pallet seat 44 and pallet clamp 46

36-horizontal base

38-first arm

40-second arm

42-third arm

44-tray seat

46-tray clamp

48-Movable jaw

50-bag handling or suction robot

52-frame

54-driven belt

56-track

58-hole

60-suction assembly

62-linear motion actuator

64-suction cup

70-tray conveyor

72-designating the discharge position

74-designation of pickup area

76-up conveyor

78-lower conveyer

80-driven belt of upper conveyor

Driven belt of 82-lower conveyor

84-track for Up and Down conveyors

86-hole

90-medical fluid product or bag conveyor

92-drive roller

94-driven roller

96-ring belt

110-loading system

114-processor

116-memory

118-control unit

130-palletizing robot

150-bag handling or suction robot

170-tray conveyor

190-medical fluid product or bag conveyor

210-weighing device

212-load cell

214-mounting plate

216-support plate

218-power and signal lines

220-user interface of weighing apparatus

Claims

1. A medical fluid product delivery system, comprising:

a transporter including a plurality of trays, each tray holding a plurality of medical fluid products;

a weighing device positioned and arranged to detect that each tray holds a desired amount of medical fluid product prior to transporting the plurality of trays to the transporter; and

at least one robot positioned and arranged to:

(i) carrying out the plurality of trays from the transporter and placing the plurality of trays for transfer on a medical fluid product conveyor, an

(ii) Removing each medical fluid product from each tray and placing each removed medical fluid product on the medical fluid product conveyor.

2. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 1, wherein the weighing device comprises at least one load cell configured to provide an output indicative of a total weight of the medical fluid product on one of the plurality of trays.

3. The medical fluid product transfer system of claim 1, wherein the at least one robot comprises a palletizing robot and a medical fluid product handling robot, wherein the palletizing robot removes the plurality of trays from the transport vehicle and places the plurality of trays adjacent to the medical fluid product transfer machine, and wherein the medical fluid product handling robot removes each medical fluid product from each adjacently placed tray and places each removed medical fluid product on the medical fluid product transfer machine.

4. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 3, wherein the palletizing robot comprises a swing arm having a plurality of degrees of freedom, the swing arm being configured to extend to a transport vehicle of the plurality of pallets.

5. The medical fluid product delivery system according to claim 4, wherein the palletizing robot is configured such that the swing arm picks up one tray at a time to be transferred out or to one of the plurality of transport vehicles.

6. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 3, wherein the medical fluid product handling robot is configured to traverse above the medical fluid product conveyor in a direction at least substantially perpendicular to a direction of movement of the medical fluid product conveyor, the medical fluid product handling robot further being configured to descend vertically to draw at least one of the medical fluid products from one of the plurality of trays and to ascend vertically such that the at least one of the medical fluid products is positioned above the medical fluid product conveyor.

7. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 6, wherein the medical fluid product handling robot is configured to traverse above the medical fluid product conveyor and lower vertically to place the aspirated at least one medical fluid product onto the medical fluid product conveyor.

8. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a tray conveyor in addition to the medical fluid product conveyor, the tray conveyor receiving loaded trays from the at least one robot.

9. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 8, wherein the tray conveyor is configured to move back and forth under the medical fluid product conveyor such that the at least one robot can remove each of the medical fluid products from at least one location of the tray conveyor that is directly adjacent to the medical fluid product conveyor.

10. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 8, wherein the tray conveyor is further configured to place unloaded trays for handling to one of the plurality of transport vehicles by the at least one robot.

11. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 8, wherein the tray conveyor is a dual-deck conveyor that allows (i) loaded trays to move simultaneously over unloaded trays in an opposite direction from the unloaded trays, and (ii) unloaded trays to move simultaneously over loaded trays in an opposite direction from the loaded trays.

12. A medical fluid product delivery system for operation with at least one transport vehicle for holding a plurality of trays, each tray for holding a plurality of medical fluid products, the medical fluid product delivery system comprising:

a palletizing robot configured to carry out loaded pallets from the at least one transport vehicle and to transfer unloaded pallets to the at least one transport vehicle;

a pallet conveyor configured to receive loaded pallets from the palletizing robot and to provide unloaded pallets to the palletizing robot;

a medical fluid product conveyor configured to convey a plurality of medical fluid products for shipment; and

a medical fluid product handling robot configured to remove at least one medical fluid product from one of a plurality of loaded trays on the tray conveyor and place the at least one medical fluid product on the medical fluid product conveyor.

13. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 12, wherein the palletizing robot includes a swing arm having multiple degrees of freedom configured to extend to a transport cart of multiple trays and the tray conveyor.

14. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 12, wherein said tray conveyor is configured to translate back and forth below said medical fluid product conveyor such that said medical fluid product handling robot can remove each of said medical fluid products from at least one location of said tray conveyor that is directly adjacent to said medical fluid product conveyor.

15. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 12, wherein the tray conveyor is a dual-deck conveyor that allows (i) loaded trays to move simultaneously over unloaded trays in an opposite direction from the unloaded trays, and (ii) unloaded trays to move simultaneously over loaded trays in an opposite direction from the loaded trays.

16. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 12, wherein the medical fluid product handling robot is configured to traverse above the medical fluid product conveyor in a direction at least substantially perpendicular to a direction of movement of the medical fluid product conveyor, the medical fluid product handling robot further configured to descend vertically to draw at least one of the medical fluid products from one of the plurality of trays and to ascend vertically such that the at least one medical fluid product is above the medical fluid product conveyor.

17. The medical fluid product transfer system of claim 16, wherein the medical fluid product handling robot is configured to traverse above the medical fluid product transfer machine and lower vertically to place the aspirated at least one medical fluid product onto the medical fluid product transfer machine.

18. A medical fluid product delivery system for operation with at least one transport vehicle for holding a plurality of trays, each tray for holding a plurality of medical fluid products, the system comprising:

a medical fluid product conveyor configured to convey a medical fluid product;

a tray conveyor configured to receive unloaded trays;

a medical fluid product handling robot configured to remove at least one medical fluid product from the medical fluid product conveyor and place the at least one medical fluid product on one of a plurality of unloaded trays located on the tray conveyor; and

a palletizing robot configured to transfer unloaded pallets to the pallet conveyor, to carry loaded pallets out of the pallet conveyor and to move the loaded pallets onto the at least one transport vehicle.

19. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 18, wherein the tray conveyor is configured to translate back and forth below the medical fluid product conveyor such that the medical fluid product handling robot can remove the at least one medical fluid product from the medical fluid product conveyor and place the at least one medical fluid product onto a tray located directly adjacent to the medical fluid product conveyor.

20. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 18, wherein the tray conveyor is a dual-deck conveyor that allows (i) loaded trays to move simultaneously over unloaded trays in an opposite direction from the unloaded trays, and (ii) unloaded trays to move simultaneously over loaded trays in an opposite direction from the loaded trays.

21. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 18, wherein the medical fluid product handling robot is configured to traverse above the medical fluid product conveyor in a direction at least substantially perpendicular to a direction of movement of the medical fluid product conveyor, the medical fluid product handling robot further configured to descend vertically to draw at least one of the medical fluid products from the medical fluid product conveyor and to ascend vertically such that the at least one of the medical fluid products is above the medical fluid product conveyor.

22. The medical fluid product transfer system of claim 21, wherein the medical fluid product handling robot is configured to move back and forth above the tray conveyor and lower vertically to place the aspirated at least one medical fluid product onto an unloaded tray.

23. The medical fluid product delivery system of claim 18, wherein the system includes a weighing device positioned and arranged to detect that each tray holds a desired amount of medical fluid product prior to transporting the plurality of trays to the transporter.