DE102010039635A1 - A method for disposing of sterile packaging material and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for disposing of packaging material from a sterile packaging (2), the sterile packaging being opened in a clean room, comprising the steps of: removing packaging material from the sterile packaging and pressing the packaging material into a compact waste in the clean room. The invention also relates to a device for handling packaging waste.

Description

State of the art

The present invention relates to a method for disposing of sterile packaging material in clean rooms and to an apparatus for handling sterile packaging material in clean rooms.

Especially in pharmaceutical / medical applications, sterile articles are needed which are usually packaged in a sterile package. For example, disposable sterile syringes are placed in a sterile transport container sealed with a foil, the transport container itself being surrounded by an outer bag. To fill such disposable syringes they must be removed in a sterile manner from the transport container. From the DE 10 2007 027 878 A1 For example, a device and method for removing a sterile article from a sterile package is known in which a slot is inserted into the sterile package to remove the shipping container. So far, the packaging materials removed from the transport container are each collected separately in corresponding waste containers, which are arranged directly on the removal station. However, this leads to large amounts of waste, which are also still at different positions of the device. Therefore, these packages must each separately, z. B. by means of a garbage truck, from time to time disposed of manually.

Disclosure of the invention

The inventive method for disposing of sterile packaging material having the features of claim 1 has the advantage over that automatic disposal of the packaging material is possible. In addition, the packaging material is compressed according to the invention, so that only a reduced space requirement for the packaging material must be maintained. For this purpose, according to the invention, the sterile packaging is opened in a clean room and the packaging material of the sterile packaging removed and pressed in the clean room to a waste compact. Thus, according to the invention, a central waste disposal can also be made possible in the case of several clean rooms, which, moreover, occupies only a small space requirement since the waste is compressed.

The dependent claims show preferred developments of the invention.

The sterile packaging preferably has an outer bag and a transport container sealed with sealing film. The method then comprises the steps of first opening the outer bag surrounding the sealed transport container such that the sealed transport container can be removed. Subsequently, the sealed transport container is removed from the outer bag and the outer bag is transported to a central waste press in a first clean room. Then the sealing film is removed from the transport container. The removed sealing film is also transported to the central waste press. Subsequently, a common pressing of the outer bag and the sealing film in the central waste press to a Abfallpressling.

The opening of the sealing transport container preferably takes place in a second clean room with a higher clean room class than a first clean room in which the outer bag is opened. This can ensure that there is no contamination of clean rooms of higher class.

Further preferably, the opening of the outer bag takes place such that an end region of the outer bag is completely separated from a main region and the transport container remains only in the main region of the outer bag. The complete separation ensures that a very large opening is created in the outer bag, so that the transport container can be easily removed from the outer bag.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the sterile packaging further comprises a non-woven, which is arranged in the sealed transport container, wherein the non-woven is removed after removing the sealing film of the transport container and is transported to the central waste press. There, the fleece is pressed together with the outer bag and the removed sealing film into a single waste compact.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the waste compact is wrapped after the pressing process with an additional film. In this way it can be ensured that no individual parts can be detached from the waste compact.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to an apparatus for handling packaging material of sterile packaging in clean rooms. The device according to the invention comprises at least a first clean room and a waste press arranged in the first clean room. The packaging material of the sterile packaging is compressed in the waste press into a waste compact.

Preferably, the device comprises a first and a second clean room, wherein the second Clean room has a higher purity class than the first clean room. Furthermore, the device comprises a waste press, which is arranged in the first clean room. A first removal station is provided in the first clean room, wherein the removal station comprises a first cutter for opening the outer bag, a first removal device for removing the sealed transport container from the opened outer bag and a first gripping means to grip the empty outer bag and feed the waste press. Furthermore, a second removal station is provided in the second clean room, which has a second cutting device or a removal device for opening the sealed transport container and a second gripping unit to grasp the removed from the transport container sealing film and feed the waste press. More preferably, a conveying device for conveying the sealed transport container from the first removal station to the second removal station is provided. Thus, a safe and space-saving disposal of sterile packaging material can be done at a central point in the clean room.

The subclaims of the device show preferred developments of the invention.

Preferably, the apparatus further comprises a conveying device for conveying the sealing film removed from the transport container from the second clean room to the waste press in the first clean room. Preferably, the conveyor is a conveyor belt. The conveyor belt is particularly preferably arranged close to the ground in order to allow an optimal arrangement of other devices in the clean room.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the waste press further comprises a film dispenser in order to additionally wrap the pressed packaging materials of the sterile packaging with a film. This prevents the pressed packaging materials from undesirably releasing from the waste compact.

More preferably, the first and / or the second gripper device comprises a suction gripper. As a result, a faster and safer gripping process can be realized.

drawing

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawing is:

1 a schematic representation of an apparatus and a method according to an embodiment of the invention,

2 a perspective view of the device for handling packaging material, and

3 a side view of the device of 2 ,

Preferred embodiment of the invention

The following is with reference to the 1 to 3 a device 1 for handling packaging material of a sterile packaging and a method for disposing of sterile packaging material according to an embodiment of the invention described in detail.

1 schematically shows an overall view of the various process steps and the 2 and 3 show the device according to the invention 1 from different views.

How out 1 can be seen, includes a sterile package 2 which is to be opened, an outer bag 3 in which a sealed transport container 4 is arranged. The transport container 4 is on its top with a sealing foil 5 locked. The transport container 4 thus has a trough shape, in which the sterile objects, eg. B. syringes are arranged. To protect the sterile items is on this still a fleece 6 placed. The sterile items are in a subsequent step, not shown z. B. filled with a drug.

The device 1 includes a first clean room 7 a first clean room class and a second clean room 8th a second clean room class, which is higher than the clean room class of the first clean room 7 , The two cleanrooms 7 . 8th are through a partition 9 separated from each other, wherein in the partition a closable passage 19 is provided.

The device 1 also includes a waste press 10 , which in the first clean room 7 is arranged. Furthermore, in the first clean room 7 a first removal station 11 arranged. The first removal station 11 includes a first cutter 12 , a first withdrawal facility 13 and a first gripping device 14 , The first cutting device 13 serves to open the outer bag 3 , The first withdrawal facility 13 serves to remove the still with the sealing film 5 closed transport container 4 from the opened outer bag 3 , The first gripping device 14 serves to grip the opened outer bag 3 which is part of the packaging material to be disposed of.

Furthermore, the device comprises 1 a second removal station 16 which in the second cleanroom 8th is arranged. The second removal station 16 includes a second cutter 17 and a second gripping device 18 , The second cutting device 17 serves to open the sealed transport container 4 in which the sealing film 5 by cutting and removing completely from transport container 4 is disconnected. Preferably, the cut is made in the sealing film 5 along the edges of the transport container 4 , The second gripping device 18 grabs the severed sealing foil 5 and a nonwoven applied to the sterile articles 6 from the opened transport container 4 ,

A first conveyor 15 is provided to the transport container 4 from the first clean room 7 in the second clean room 8th to transport, with in 2 the first conveyor 15 is not shown for clarity.

Furthermore, a ground-level second conveyor 20 provided, which from the second clean room 8th in the first clean room 7 returns to the sealing film 5 and the fleece 6 the sterile packaging 2 back to the waste press 10 respectively. The waste press 10 further includes a foil dispenser 21 which provides a film to wrap the pressed packaging material so that it remains in the pressed form.

Based on 1 becomes the method according to the invention and the passage through the device according to the invention 1 explained below. First, as in 1 indicated by arrow A, the closed sterile packaging 2 to the first removal station 11 fed. Here is the outer bag 3 the sterile packaging cut open so that an end 30 of the outer bag 3 completely from the remaining main area 31 of the outer bag is separated. This creates a very large opening in the outer bag 3 so that the still sealed transport container 4 easily from the outer bag 3 can be removed. The end area 30 is with a conveyor belt 23 dissipated and the main area 31 is by means of the first gripping device 14 , which preferably comprises a vacuum suction, from the first extraction station 11 to the central waste press 10 fed. This is in

1 shown by the dashed lines with arrows indicating the direction of conveyance of the respective elements.

The still sealed transport container 4 is then through the partition 9 through into the second clean room 8th to the second removal station 16 transported (arrow B). In the second removal station 16 becomes the sealing film 5 by cutting and removing completely from the transport container 4 separated, so that it is open at its top. Then the still inlaid fleece 6 from the transport container 4 taken. This is done by means of the second gripping device 18 , Subsequently, the removed sealing film 5 as well as the fleece 6 by means of the second conveyor 20 back to the first clean room 7 to the waste press 10 supplied (arrow C). The now open transport container 4 can in the second clean room 8th be forwarded for further use and the sterile items contained therein are easily removed from above.

Thus, the packaging materials of the sterile packaging 2 namely, the outer bag 3 which is now in the end area 30 and the main area 31 was separated, the removed sealing film 5 as well as the removed fleece 6 all to the central waste press 10 fed. There, the packaging materials are packed together to form a waste compact and additionally with one from the film dispenser 21 wrapped foil.

In the 2 and 3 is still a slide 22 represented by which the removed sealing film 5 as well as the removed fleece 6 the second conveyor 20 is supplied. The second conveyor 20 is in a lower part of the device 1 arranged to allow other units of the device 1 does not interfere, whereby a particularly compact construction of the device is achieved.

Thus, the device of the invention 1 to provide automatic waste treatment, opening the sterile package 2 Also in different cleanrooms with different cleanroom classes is possible. As a result, in particular, a space requirement for the waste treatment in the clean rooms can be significantly reduced and disposal intervals for the waste can be extended.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102007027878 A1 [0002]

Claims (11)

Method for disposing of packaging material of a sterile packaging ( 2 ), whereby the sterile packaging in a clean room ( 7 ), comprising the steps of: - removing packaging material of the sterile packaging ( 2 ), and - pressing the packaging material into a waste compact in the clean room ( 7 ). The method of claim 1, wherein the sterile package comprises an outer bag and a sealing foil sealed transport container, comprising the steps of: - opening the outer bag ( 3 ) such that the sealed transport container ( 4 ), - removing the sealed transport container ( 4 ) and transporting the outer bag ( 3 ) to a central waste press ( 10 ), - opening the sealed transport container by removing the sealing film ( 5 ) from the transport container ( 4 ) and transporting the sealing film ( 5 ) to the central waste press ( 10 ), and - co-pressing the outer bag ( 3 ) and the sealing film ( 5 ) to a waste compact. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the opening of the sealed transport container ( 4 ) in a clean room ( 8th ) with a higher clean room class, than the opening of the outer bag ( 3 ). Method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the opening of the outer bag ( 3 ) such that an end region ( 30 ) of the outer bag ( 3 ) is completely separated and the transport container in a main area ( 31 ) remains of the outer bag and simply from the main area ( 31 ) can be removed. Method according to one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the sterile packaging ( 2 ) a fleece ( 6 ), which in the sealed transport container ( 4 ), wherein the fleece ( 6 ) after removing the sealing film ( 5 ) and to the central waste press ( 10 ) and with the sealing film ( 5 ) and the outer bag ( 3 ) is pressed into a waste compact. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the waste compact is wrapped after the pressing process with an additional film. Device for handling packaging material of a sterile packaging ( 2 ) comprising at least a first clean room ( 7 ) and a waste press ( 10 ), which in the first clean room ( 7 ) and packaging material is pressed to a waste compact. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the sterile package ( 2 ) an outer bag ( 3 ) and one with a sealing foil ( 5 ) sealed transport containers ( 4 ), comprising: - a second clean room ( 8th ), which has a higher clean room class than the first clean room ( 7 ), - a first removal station ( 11 ) in the first clean room ( 7 ) with a first cutting device ( 12 ) for opening the outer bag ( 3 ) with a first removal device ( 13 ) to the sealed transport container ( 4 ) from the opened outer bag ( 3 ), and with a first gripping device ( 14 ) to the empty outer bag ( 3 ) and the waste press ( 10 ), and - a second removal station ( 16 ) in the second clean room ( 8th ) with a second cutting device ( 17 ) for opening the sealed transport container ( 4 ) and with a second gripping device ( 18 ) from the transport container ( 4 ) removed sealing film ( 5 ) and the waste press ( 10 ). Apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a second conveying device ( 20 ) for conveying the removed sealing film ( 5 ) from the second clean room ( 8th ) to the waste press ( 10 ) in the first clean room ( 7 ). Device according to one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the waste press ( 10 ) a film dispenser ( 21 ) to additionally wrap the waste compact with foil. Device according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that the first gripping device ( 14 ) and / or the second gripping device ( 18 ) is a suction pad.

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