DE69500255T2 - Device for weighing, labeling and automatically sorting bags filled with blood products and bags for bags. - Google Patents

Abstract

The weighing and sorting system includes a rigid container (3) which receives a pocket (2) containing a blood product to be processed. The container comprises a box with a window (5) in its front surface (4). A receptacle (6) is intended to receive the container, and has a shape and window to match it. A weighing system (9) determines the weight of the container (3) and a labelling device (10, 11) applies a label to the pocket. A sorting device (12) is able to sort the pockets after weighing. A control system (13, 14) determines the position of the receptacle. <IMAGE>

Description

The present invention relates to a device for weighing, labelling and automatically sorting bags filled with blood products, as well as a container for the bag intended to be used with the device.

The desire to provide patients with blood products of consistent and controlled quality, the need to reduce costs in order to better control health care expenditure, and the laws of competition are driving transfusion centers and/or blood banks to achieve the greatest possible level of automation.

In recent years, laboratory analyses, the management of donors and withdrawals have become automated. For example, WO 92/01266 describes an apparatus comprising a device designed to transfer containers one after the other from a storage area to an exit point, passing through labelling and label checking means and a recording system, so that each individual container carries, in an unambiguous manner, the information concerning a single patient and relating to a single medical record.

However, as far as the production chain of blood products is concerned, it has not yet been automated.

Such a production chain of blood products can be described in a few words as follows.

A donor's blood is collected after a medical interview, which creates a documentation of suitability. The donor's identity is coded according to a number, the barcode of which appears on the documentation. The blood donation is also given a number, the barcode of which appears on the donor file, on the collection bags and on the analysis tubes.

The blood tubes intended for analysis arrive at the laboratory and are distributed to the various machines that read the barcode number, carry out the analysis, evaluate the results, print them out and send them to the central computer. This checks that all the analyses have been carried out correctly and that they are normal. In this case, the computer can issue the labels to be stuck on the blood products.

The bag containing all the blood collected must itself undergo a number of operations. Thus, after the placement of the nozzles, centrifugation and pressing, the whole blood is generally separated into three fractions: plasma, platelets (buffy coat) and red blood cells (erythrocytes), each of which is contained in a separate bag. In this regard, it should be noted that the storage and conservation conditions of these different fractions vary considerably. Thus, the platelets can be kept at ambient temperature, the plasma is kept between -20 and -60ºC and the red blood cells at around +4ºC.

To date, the various operations carried out on the bags containing the previously separated blood products are carried out manually. These operations essentially consist of weighing the bags, affixing labels which, in addition to the weight and code of the product, bear the analysis results relating to the blood product contained in each bag, and sorting the various Bags according to different criteria: dangerous product, unidentified product, sorting depending on blood group or other parameters.

The labor costs for these manual processes are of course expensive, and on the other hand they are subject to possible human errors.

The present invention aims to avoid these drawbacks and relates to a device for weighing, labelling and sorting bags filled with blood products, the automation of which, while reducing the necessary labour and the associated costs, also ensures greater safety in the handling and sorting of the products, while ensuring the integrity of the bags, which are handled without any risk of damage.

For this purpose, the device for weighing, labelling and automatically sorting bags filled with blood products is characterized according to the invention in that it comprises;

- a rigid container designed to contain a blood product bag to be treated, having the shape of a box with a window on its front side,

- a holder designed to hold the container, which has the shape of a cuboid open at both ends and is provided with a window corresponding to the window of the container,

- weighing equipment for the container,

- Labelling agent for the bag,

- Sorting device for the bag and

- control means designed to place the housing in a first position which is at least substantially vertical, in which the container rests on the weighing means, in a second position which is at least substantially horizontal, in which the windows of the container and of the housing are opposite the labelling means and to allow them to occupy at least substantially vertical third positions for sorting and emptying the container.

Thus, the device according to the invention allows all weighing, labelling and sorting operations to be combined automatically, treating a single bag at a time, which ensures safety, the bag, which is also housed in a rigid container, can be easily handled by the device without risk of being damaged.

Advantageously, the housing is mounted, with its side opposite to that having the window, on a substantially flat support provided with two lateral lugs and cooperating with two flexible parallelogram-shaped assemblies provided on either side of the support in a vertical position near the lower end of the housing, the flexible parallelograms enabling the housing to assume the above-mentioned positions under the action of the control means.

Preferably, at least one flexible parallelogram comprises a tab with the general shape of an L, the first arm of which is articulated to the corresponding lateral tab of the support, and a cylinder which is attached on the one hand to the lateral tab and on the other hand to the second arm of the L-shaped tab.

In particular, the control means comprise, in addition to the information control means, mechanical control means comprising a first cylinder or the like acting on the support by means of two support plates located on either side of the support to control the displacement of the support, possibly after a rotation of 90º of the housing in the horizontal position, parallel to the labelling means, and a second cylinder or the like provided between the support plates and the flexible parallelogram-shaped arrangements, allowing rotation of the support about a pivot axis orthogonal to the support plates.

According to a further feature of the invention, the labeling means comprise a bar code reader and an actual labeling device.

According to yet another feature of the invention, the sorting means comprise, on the one hand, means such as an electromagnet, which excite a catch cooperating with a movable rack, and, on the other hand, guides corresponding to the notches of the rack, as well as a pusher actuated by a cylinder.

Advantageously, the rigid container is also of the type described in WO 68/03900 and is in the form of a box which can be opened by pivoting its front face which has a window and which has a housing for the blood product bag. According to the present invention, the container is characterized in that the window is designed to allow the labeling means free access to the bag and in that the container has at least one further housing in its upper part for the nozzles connected to the bag, the two housings being separated by a partition having openings corresponding to the nozzles.

Preferably, the lower ends of the front and back of the rigid container have a serrated pattern, and/or the rigid container has a hook at its upper end.

The figures of the accompanying drawings make it easy to understand how the invention can be carried out.

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the device according to the invention.

Fig. 2 shows in perspective and in the open position a rigid container according to the invention which contains a blood product bag.

Fig. 3 to 7 show different steps of the application of the device according to the invention.

As already indicated, the device 1 shown in Fig. 1 serves to weigh, label and sort bags 2 filled with blood products.

Before being introduced into the device, each bag 2 is inserted into a rigid container 3 which has the shape of a box provided on its front face 4 with a window 5 whose size is substantially equal to that of the bag. The container 3 is described in more detail with reference to Fig. 2.

In addition, the device 1 comprises a receptacle 6 intended for receiving the container 3, which has the shape of a cuboid open at both ends and is provided with a window 7 corresponding to the window 5 of the container 3 and with a widening 8 at its upper end in order to facilitate the insertion of the container 3 into the receptacle 6.

In addition, the device 1 comprises weighing means, which as shown can be designed in the form of a weighing pan 9, labeling means for the bag 2, which have a bar code reader 10 and an actual labeling device 11, and sorting means 12 for the bag, which will be described in more detail later.

Furthermore, it is provided with mechanical 13 and information control means 14 such that, as will be seen in more detail below, the housing 6 can, under the action of these control means, assume a first substantially vertical position in which the container 3 rests on the weighing means 9, a second substantially horizontal position in which the windows 5 and 7 of the container 3 and of the housing 6 are located opposite the labelling means 10, 11, and substantially vertical third positions for sorting and emptying the container 3 and the bag 2 contained therein.

More precisely, and as can be seen better in Fig. 4, the housing 6 is mounted, with its side 6B opposite that 6A comprising the window 7, on a substantially flat support 15 provided with two lateral lugs 16, 16 and cooperating with two flexible parallelogram-shaped assemblies 17, 17 provided respectively on either side of the support 15 in a vertical position near the lower end of the housing 6 (Figs. 4 and 5), the flexible parallelograms allowing the housing 6 to assume the above-mentioned positions under the action of the control means 13, 14.

Each flexible parallelogram 17 comprises a bracket 18 with the general shape of an L, the first arm 18A of which is articulated to the corresponding lateral bracket 16 of the beam 15, and a cylinder 19 attached at 19a to the lateral bracket 16 and at 19b to the second arm 18B of the bracket 16 in the shape of an L, where a rod 19A ensures the adjustability of the structure.

Furthermore, the control means comprise, in addition to the information control means 14, mechanical control means 13 which comprise a first cylinder 20 which acts on the carrier 15 by means of two holding plates 21, 21, which are located on either side of the carrier 15, in order to control the displacement of the carrier 15 in accordance with the double arrow F1, and a second cylinder 22 provided between the support plates 21, 21 and the assemblies 17, 17 in the form of a flexible parallelogram, allowing the rotation of the support 15 according to the arrow F2 about a pivot axis XX orthogonal to the support plates 21, 21. The support plates thus allow the pivoting and blocking of the support 15 as well as its guidance, in particular by means of the curved slots 23.

Furthermore, the sorting means 12 comprise, on the one hand, an electromagnet 24 which activates a catch 25 which cooperates with a rack 26 which is formed in one piece with a plate 21 and is displaceable in the direction F1 by means of the cylinder 20, and, on the other hand, guides 27 which correspond to the notches 28 of the rack 26 and a pusher 29 in the shape of a U which is actuated by a cylinder 30.

As shown in Fig. 1, the assembly of the components of the device 1 according to the invention is mounted on a support element 31, whose various supports and arms serve as supports for the above-mentioned elements: the arm 31A for the labeling means 10, 11; the support 31B for the cylinder 20; the arm 31C for the weighing means 9; the arm 31D for the cylinder 30; the support 31E for the electromagnet 24.

As can be seen in Fig. 2, the rigid container 3 in the form of a box, which can be opened by pivoting its front face 4 comprising the window 5, has a main housing 32 for the blood product bag 2 and, in its upper part, which is closed independently of the front face by a part 4A of the front face, another housing 33 for the nozzles connected to the bag (only the ends 34 of which are shown in Fig. 2). The two housings 32, 33 are separated by a partition 35 comprising openings 36 corresponding to the nozzles 34. As shown, the Receptacle 33 may have further compartments defined by walls 38, which are particularly intended to contain test tubes.

In addition, the lower ends of the front 4 and rear 39 of the rigid container 3 have a serrated pattern 40, whose recesses and notches allow, on the one hand, to position the container on the weighing means 9 independently of the housing and then to carry it along by means of corresponding projections (not shown) provided on the housing, and, on the other hand, to guide the container on the guides 27 when it is ejected. A hook 41 provided at the upper end of the container also allows it to be held on rods and easily pulled out by them.

It should be noted that in Fig. 1, for better understanding, the device of the invention is shown in a position of the flexible parallelograms corresponding to the emptying position mentioned above.

The design of the device according to the invention will now be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 7. It is noted that, for a better understanding of the drawing, these Figs. 3 to 7 have been simplified in comparison to Fig. 1, so that only the essential components of the device appear each time. For the same reasons, the arrangement of the guides 27 and the pusher 29 has been modified in comparison to Fig. 1.

After the separation of the various blood products, each bag 2 is placed in the rigid container 3 according to the invention in the housing 32 provided for this purpose, while the otherwise disturbing nozzles naturally find their place in the housing 33. In this respect, it must be noted that the storage of the bags is facilitated by the rigid nature of the container that receives them, whether vertically or horizontally, for the frozen products. In addition, since the device can only treat a single bag at a time, safety is increased.

As shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, first of all the rigid container 3 is automatically or manually fed into the device 1. It then falls into the housing 6 in a vertical position perpendicular to the weighing means 9 and lands on the latter. As already indicated, the bevelled pattern of the lower end of the container makes it possible to avoid contact between the bottom of the housing and the weighing pan.

Once the weight has been recorded, the holder 6 tilts to the horizontal position on the support 15 (Fig. 4) due to the means previously described, namely the flexible parallelograms 17 and the cylinder 22. In this way, the window 5 of the container 3 and the window 7 of the holder 6 point upwards.

Then, by means not shown, as shown in Fig. 5, the housing 6 performs a 90° rotation about the Y-Y axis in order to present the container 3 and the bag 2 to the bar code reader 10 and the labeller 11. The cylinder 20 then comes into action to move the housing 6 in the direction F1, allowing the bar code of the bag to be read as it passes under the reader 10. In the event of a poor reading, this operation is started again.

The recording is then stopped under the labeling device 11 (Fig. 6). The bar code read is transmitted to the data processing unit 14, which provides all the analysis results. A label is printed and automatically placed on the bag 2 by the labeling device 11 via the windows 5 and 7 (arrow F3). The label contains the product code and the measured weight (in numbers and bar code) as well as the results of the analysis samples.

In the case of treatment of a frozen bag, a device for vaporising a solvent onto the bag may be provided, particularly at this height, in order to prevent frost formation.

When this operation is completed, the recording returns to the previous position, allowing a new reading of the information shown on the label.

Fig. 7 shows the emptying and sorting position of the container 3, the bag 2 of which now contains a fully identified product. The aforementioned means, thanks to the flexible parallelograms, allow the housing 6 to be tilted vertically into a position located behind the weighing pan 9. The sorting means 12 are then driven in cooperation with the cylinder 20 to bring the container 3 perpendicular to the guides 27 into the correct position corresponding to the "quality" of the blood product: dangerous product, unidentified product, sorting according to the blood group or various parameters. The pusher 29 then catches the container which falls according to the arrow F4 in order to thread it onto the corresponding support rods thanks to its hook 41.

Once the container has been emptied, the holder 6 returns to its position in Fig. 3, ready to receive a new container.

Claims (10)

1. Device for weighing, labelling and automatically sorting bags filled with blood products, characterized in that it comprises: - a rigid container (3) intended to accommodate a blood product bag (2) to be treated, which has the shape of a box provided with a window (5) on its front side (4), - a holder (6) intended to receive the container (3), which has the shape of a cuboid open at both ends and is provided with a window (7) corresponding to the window (5) of the container (3), - weighing device (9) for the container (3), - labelling means (10, 11) for the bag (2), - Sorting means (12) for the bag (2) and - control means (13, 14) designed to allow the receptacle (6) to assume an at least substantially vertical first position in which the container (3) rests on the weighing means (9), an at least substantially horizontal second position in which the windows (5, 7) of the container (3) and of the receptacle (6) are located opposite the labelling means (10, 11), and an at least substantially vertical third position for sorting and emptying the container (3). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the receptacle (6) with its side opposite to that having the window (5), is mounted on a substantially flat support (15) provided with two lateral lugs (16) and cooperating with two flexible parallelogram-shaped assemblies (17) provided on either side of the support (15) in a vertical position near the lower end of the housing (6), the flexible parallelograms (17) allowing the housing (6) to assume the above-mentioned positions under the action of the control means (13, 14). 3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that at least one flexible parallelogram (17) comprises a flap (18) with the general shape of an L, the first arm (18A) of which is articulated to the corresponding lateral flap (16) of the support, and a cylinder (19) which is attached on the one hand to the lateral flap (16) and on the other hand to the second arm (18B) of the flap (18) in the shape of an L. 4. Device according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that the control means comprise, in addition to the information control means (14), mechanical control means (13) comprising a first cylinder or the like (20) acting on the support (15) by means of two holding plates (21) located on either side of the support (15) to control the displacement of the support (15), possibly after a rotation of 90º of the housing (6) in the horizontal position, parallel to the labeling means (10, 11), and a second cylinder or the like (22) provided between the holding plates (21) and the arrangements (17) in the form of a flexible parallelogram, allowing the rotation of the support (15) about a pivot axis (X-X) orthogonal to the holding plates (21). 5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the labeling means comprise a bar code reader (10) and the actual labeling device (11). 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the sorting means (12) comprise, on the one hand, means such as an electromagnet (24) which excite a catch (25) which cooperates with a movable rack (26), and, on the other hand, guides (27) which correspond to the notches (28) of the rack (26), as well as a pusher (29) which is actuated by a cylinder (30). 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the rigid container in the form of a box (3) which can be opened by pivoting its front side (4) having a window (5), has a main receptacle (32) for the blood product bag (2) and, in its upper part, at least one further receptacle (33) for the nozzles (34) connected to the bag (2), the two receptacles (32, 33) being separated by a partition (35) which has openings (36) corresponding to the nozzles (34). 8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the lower ends of the front (4) and rear (39) of the rigid container (3) have a serrated pattern (40). 9. Device according to claim 7 or claim 8, characterized in that the rigid container (3) has a hook (41) at its upper end. 10. Rigid container in the form of a box designed to receive a blood product bag and intended to be connected to the device according to one of claims 1 to 6, the container being designed as specified in any one of the preceding claims 7 to 9, the window (5) being designed to allow the labelling means (11) free access to the bag (2).