EP0686565B1 - Device for weighing, labelling and automatically sorting bladders containing blood products and container for bladder. - 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 system for automatic weighing, labeling and sorting of bags containing blood products as well as a bag container for use with the system.

The concern to provide patients with blood products of constant and controlled quality, the need to lower costs for better control of health spending, and competition laws are added to bring the transfusion centers and / or blood banks to the most complete automation possible.

In recent years, laboratory analyzes, donor and sample management have been automated. For example, document WO 92/01268 describes an apparatus comprising a device intended for the transfer, one after the other, of containers from a storage store to an exit station, by passing them by means of 'labeling and verification of labels and by an acquisition system so as to carry on each individual container, unequivocally, information concerning a single patient and relating to a single health procedure.

However, as far as the production lines for blood products are concerned, they have so far been unable to be automated.

Such a production line for blood products can be described, succinctly, as follows.

The blood of a donor is taken after a medical examination, generating a suitability file. The identity of the donor is coded according to a number whose representation by bar code appears on the file. The blood donation receives also a number whose representation by bar code is indicated on the donor file, on the sampling bags, and on the analysis tubes.

The blood tubes intended for the analyzes arrive at the laboratory and are distributed in the various automata which read the barcode number, carry out the analyzes, interpret the results, print them and transmit them to the central computer. This checks that all the analyzes have been done and that they are normal. In this case, the computer can edit labels to stick on blood products.

The whole blood bag taken must undergo a certain number of operations. Thus, after putting the tubing in order, centrifugation and pressing, the whole blood is generally separated into three fractions: plasma, platelets ("buffy coat") and red blood cells (erythrocytes), each contained in a particular pocket. In this regard, it will be noted that the conditions of storage and preservation of these different fractions differ significantly. If the platelets can be stored at room temperature, the plasma is stored between -20 and -60 ° C and the red blood cells at around + 4 ° C.

Until now, the following different operations, performed on the bags of previously separated blood products, are carried out manually. These operations essentially consist in weighing the bags, sticking labels to them carrying, in addition to the weight and code of the product, the results of the analyzes relating to the blood product contained in each bag, and sorting the different bags according to different criteria: dangerous product , unidentified product, sorting according to blood group or other parameters.

These manual processes are, of course, labor intensive and, moreover, subject to possible human error.

The present invention aims to avoid these drawbacks, and relates to a system for weighing, labeling and sorting of bags containing blood products, including automation, by reducing the necessary manpower and costs linked to it, also guarantees increased safety in the processing and sorting of products, while ensuring the integrity of the pockets which will be handled without risk of being damaged.

• un conteneur rigide, destiné à recevoir une poche de produit sanguin à traiter, présentant la forme d'une boîte munie, sur sa face avant, d'une fenêtre,
• un réceptacle, destiné à recevoir ledit conteneur, présentant la forme d'un parallélépipède rectangle ouvert à ses deux extrémités, et muni d'une fenêtre correspondant à la fenêtre dudit conteneur,
• des moyens de pesée dudit conteneur,
• des moyens d'étiquetage de ladite poche,
• des moyens de triage de ladite poche, et
• des moyens de commande, qui sont prévus pour faire occuper audit réceptacle une première position au moins sensiblement verticale dans laquelle ledit conteneur repose sur lesdits moyens de pesée, une deuxième position au moins sensiblement horizontale dans laquelle les fenêtres dudit conteneur et dudit réceptacle se trouvent en regard des moyens d'étiquetage, et des troisièmes positions au moins sensiblement verticales de triage et d'évacuation dudit conteneur.

To this end, the system for automatic weighing, labeling and sorting of bags containing blood products is remarkable, according to the invention, in that it comprises:

• a rigid container, intended to receive a pocket of blood product to be treated, having the shape of a box provided, on its front face, with a window,
• a receptacle, intended to receive said container, having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped open at its two ends, and provided with a window corresponding to the window of said container,
• means for weighing said container,
• means for labeling said pocket,
• sorting means for said pocket, and
• control means, which are provided to cause said receptacle to occupy a first at least substantially vertical position in which said container rests on said weighing means, a second at least substantially horizontal position in which the windows of said container and said receptacle are located look at the labeling means, and at least substantially vertical third positions for sorting and discharging said container.

Thus, the system according to the invention makes it possible to associate, automatically, all the weighing, labeling and sorting operations, by treating only one pocket at a time, which guarantees safety, a pocket which, moreover , being received in a rigid container can be easily handled by the system without risk of being damaged.

Advantageously, said receptacle is mounted, by its face opposite to that having said window, on a substantially flat support, provided with two lateral tabs, and cooperating with two arrangements of deformable parallelogram provided on either side of said support, respectively. in the vicinity of the lower end, in a vertical position, of said receptacle, said deformable parallelograms allowing said receptacle to occupy the aforementioned positions under the action of said control means.

Preferably, at least one deformable parallelogram comprises a generally L-shaped tab, a first branch of which is articulated to the corresponding lateral tab of said support, and a jack mounted, on the one hand, on said lateral tab and, on the other hand , on the second branch of said L-shaped tab.

In particular, said control means, in addition to computer control means, comprise mechanical control means comprising a first cylinder or the like acting on said support, by means of two holding plates, arranged on either side of said support respectively, to control the movement of said support parallel to said labeling means, possibly after a 90 ° rotation, in a horizontal position, of said receptacle, and a second jack or the like provided between said retaining plates and said deformable parallelogram arrangements, allowing the rotation of said support about a pivot axis orthogonal to said retaining plates.

According to another characteristic of the invention, said labeling means comprise a bar code reader and a labeling machine proper.

According to yet another characteristic of the invention, said sorting means comprise, on the one hand, means, such as an electromagnet, animating a pawl cooperating with a movable rack and, on the other hand, guides corresponding to the notches of said rack, as well as a pusher actuated by a jack.

Furthermore, advantageously, said rigid container is of the type described in document WO 88/03900 and having the shape of a box, which can be opened by pivoting of its front face having a window and comprising a housing for the pocket. of blood product. According to the present invention, the container is remarkable in that said window is made so as to allow free access of the labeling means to the pocket and in that in its upper part, said container comprises at least one other housing for the pipes connected to said pocket, the two housings being separated by a partition wall having openings corresponding to said pipes.

Preferably, the lower ends of the front and rear faces of said rigid container have a crenellated pattern, and / or said rigid container has, at its upper end, a hook.

The figures of the appended drawing will make it clear how the invention can be implemented.

Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the system according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows, in perspective and in the open position, a rigid container according to the invention, containing a bag of blood product.

Figures 3 to 7 illustrate different stages of the implementation of the system according to the invention.

As already indicated, the system 1, shown in Figure 1, is used for weighing, labeling and sorting of bags 2 containing blood products.

Before its introduction into the system, each pocket 2 is housed in a rigid container 3, having the shape of a box provided, on its front face 4, with a window 5, the size of which corresponds substantially to that of the pocket. The container 3 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

Furthermore, the system 1 comprises a receptacle 6, intended to receive the container 3, having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped open at its two ends, and provided with a window 7 corresponding to the window 5 of the container 3, and d 'a flare 8 at its upper end to facilitate the introduction of the container 3 into the receptacle 6.

In addition, the system 1 comprises weighing means which can be produced, as shown, in the form of a weighing pan 9, labeling means for the bag 2, comprising a bar code reader 10 and a labeling machine proper 11, and sorting means 12 of the pocket, described in more detail below.

In addition, mechanical and computer control means 13 are provided, such as the receptacle 6, as will be seen in more detail below, can occupy, under the action of these control means, a first position at less substantially vertical in which the container 3 rests on the weighing means 9, a second position at least substantially horizontal in which the windows 5 and 7 of the container 3 and of the receptacle 6 are located opposite the labeling means 10, 11, and third at least substantially vertical positions for sorting and evacuating the container 3, and of the pocket 2 which is contained therein.

More precisely, and as best seen in FIG. 4, the receptacle 6 is mounted, by its face 6B opposite that 6A presenting the window 7, on a substantially flat support 15, provided with two lateral tabs 16, 16, and cooperating with two arrangements 17, 17 of deformable parallelogram provided on either side of the support 15, respectively, in the vicinity of the lower end, in vertical position, of the receptacle 6 (Figures 4 and 5), said deformable parallelograms allowing the receptacle 6 to occupy the above positions under the action of the control means 13, 14.

Each deformable parallelogram 17 comprises a lug 18 of generally L-shaped shape, a first branch 18A of which is articulated to the corresponding lateral lug 16 of the support 15, and a jack 19 mounted, in 19a, on said lateral lug 16 and, in 19b, on the second branch 18B of the tab 18 in L, or a linkage 19A ensuring the deformability of the assembly.

Furthermore, the control means, in addition to the computer control means 14, comprise mechanical control means 13 comprising a first jack 20 acting on the support 15, by means of two holding plates 21, 21, arranged on the side and other of the support 15 respectively, to control the movement of the support 15 according to the double arrow F1, and a second jack 22 provided between the retaining plates 21, 21 and the arrangements 17, 17 of deformable parallelogram, allowing rotation, according to arrow F2, of the support 15 around a pivot axis XX orthogonal to said retaining plates 21, 21. Said retaining plates thus allow pivoting and locking of the support 15, as well as its guidance, in particular by virtue of the arcuate lights 23.

In addition, said sorting means 12 comprise, on the one hand, an electromagnet 24 driving a cooperating pawl 25 with a rack 26, integral with a plate 21 and movable in the direction F1 thanks to the jack 20, and, on the other hand, guides 27 corresponding to the notches 28 of the rack 26, as well as a pusher 29 in the form of U actuated by a jack 30.

As shown in FIG. 1, all the elements of the system 1 according to the invention are mounted on a frame 31, the different uprights and branches of which serve as supports for the above-mentioned elements: the branch 31A for the labeling means 10, 11 ; the amount 31B for the jack 20; branch 31C for the weighing means 9; the branch 31D for the jack 30; the amount 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 presenting the window 5, comprises a main housing 32 for the bag 2 of blood product, as well as, in its upper part closed by a part 4A of the front face independent of the latter, another housing 33 for the pipes connected to the bag (of which only the ends 34 are shown in FIG. 2). The two housings 32, 33 are separated by a partition wall 35 having openings 36 corresponding to the tubes 34. As shown, the housing 33 may have other compartments 37, defined by walls 38, intended to contain reagent tubes , especially.

Furthermore, the lower ends of the front 4 and rear 39 faces of the rigid container 3 have a crenellated pattern 40, the slots and slots of which allow, on the one hand, the depositing of the container on the weighing means 9 independently of the receptacle and, then, its drive by corresponding lugs (not shown) provided on said receptacle and, on the other hand, the guide of the container on the guides 27 during the ejection of the latter. A hook 41 provided at the upper end of the container then allows it to be held on rods and easily removed therefrom.

It should be noted that, in FIG. 1, the system of the invention is shown in the position of the deformable parallelograms corresponding to the above-mentioned evacuation position, for reasons of clarity.

The implementation of the system according to the invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 7. It will be noted that, for reasons of clarity of the drawing, these FIGS. 3 to 7 have been simplified, compared with FIG. 1, for show only the essential elements of the system each time. For the same reasons, the location of the guides 27 and of the pusher 29 has been modified with respect to FIG. 1.

After separation of the various blood products, each bag 2 is introduced into the rigid container 3 according to the invention, in the housing 32 provided for this purpose, while the tubes, if not troublesome, naturally find their place in the housing 33. At this In this regard, it should be noted that the storage of the bags is facilitated by the rigid nature of the container receiving them, either vertically or horizontally for frozen products. Furthermore, since the system can only process one pocket at a time, security is reinforced.

First of all, as shown in phantom in FIG. 3, the rigid container 3 is brought automatically, or manually, to the system 1. It then falls into the receptacle 6, in a vertical position directly above the weighing means 9 and comes to rest on these. As already indicated, the crenellated pattern of the lower end of the container makes it possible to avoid contact between the bottom of the receptacle and the weighing pan.

Once the weighing has been recorded, the receptacle 6 swings horizontally on the support 15 (FIG. 4), by means of the previously described means, namely the deformable parallelograms 17 and the jack 22. In this way, the window 5 of the container 3 and the window 7 of the receptacle 6 are facing upwards.

Then, the receptacle 6 performs a rotation of 90 °, as shown in Figure 5, around the axis YY, using means not shown, to present the container 3 and the pocket 2 to the barcode reader 10 and the labeling machine 11. The jack 20 then comes into action to move the receptacle 6 in the direction F1, allowing the bar code of the pocket to be read when it is scrolled under the reader 10. In the event of poor reading, this operation is repeated.

The receptacle is then immobilized under the label maker 11 (FIG. 6). The bar code read is communicated to the data processing unit 14 which, in return, provides all the analysis results. A label is printed and automatically deposited on the pocket 2, through the windows 5 and 7 by the labeling machine 11 (arrow F3). The label carries as information the product code and the measured weight (numeric and barcode), as well as the results of the analysis tests.

In the case of the treatment of a frozen bag, provision may be made, at this level in particular, for a device for vaporizing a solvent on the bag to avoid the formation of frost.

This operation finished, the receptacle returns to the previous position, allowing a new reading of the information present on the label.

In FIG. 7, the evacuation and sorting position of the container 3 has been shown, the bag 2 of which now contains a product perfectly identified. The aforementioned means allow, thanks to the deformable parallelograms, to tilt the receptacle 6 vertically in a position located behind the weighing plate 9. The sorting means 12 will then be actuated, in cooperation with the jack 20, to bring the container 3 directly above the guides 27 in the correct position, corresponding to the "quality" of the blood product: dangerous product, unidentified product, sorting according to blood group or different parameters. The pusher 29 will then grasp the container, falling along arrow F4, to fit it, thanks to its hook 41, onto corresponding support rods.

Once the container has been removed, the receptacle 6 returns to its position in FIG. 3, ready to receive a new container.

Claims (10)

1. System for automatically weighing, labelling and sorting sachets containing blood products, characterised in that it includes:

   - a rigid container (3) adapted to receive a sachet (2) of blood product to be treated, in the form of a box having on its front face (4) a window (5),

   - a receptacle (6) adapted to receive said container (3), in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped open at both ends, and having a window (7) corresponding to the window (5) of said container (3),

   - means (9) for weighing said container (3),

   - means (10, 11) for labelling said sachet (2),

   - means (12) for sorting said sachet (2), and

   - control means (13, 14) adapted to cause said receptacle (6) to occupy an at least substantially vertical first position in which said container (3) rests on said weighing means (9), an at least substantially horizontal second position in which the windows (5, 7) of said container (3) and said receptacle (6) face the labelling means (10, 11), and at least substantially vertical third positions for sorting and removal of said container (3).
2. The system as claimed in claim 1,
   characterised in that the face of said receptacle (6) opposite that including said window (5) is mounted on a substantially plane support (15) having two lateral lugs (16) and cooperating with two deformable parallelogram arrangements (17) on respective opposite sides of said support (15) near the bottom end of said receptacle (6) when in a vertical position, said deformable parallelograms (17) enabling said receptacle (6) to occupy the aforementioned positions under the control of said control means (13, 14).
3. The system claimed in claim 2,
   characterised in that at least one deformable parallelogram (17) includes a generally L-shape lug (18) a first branch (18A) of which is articulated to the corresponding lateral lug (16) of said support and a cylinder (19) mounted on said lateral lug (16) and on the second branch (18B) of said L-shape lug (18).
4. The system claimed in claim 2 or claim 3,
   characterised in that in addition to computerised control means (14), said control means include mechanical control means (13) including a first cylinder (20) or the like operating on said support (15) through the intermediary of holding plates (21) on respective opposite sides of said support (15) to command displacement of said support (15) parallel to said labelling means (10, 11), where applicable after 90° rotation into a horizontal position of said receptacle (6), and a second cylinder (22) or the like between said holding plates (21) and said deformable parallelogram arrangements (17) enabling said support (15) to be rotated about a pivot axis (X-X) orthogonal to said holding plates (21).
5. The system claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4,
   characterised in that said labelling means include a bar code reader (10) and a labelling device (11).
6. The system claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5,
   characterised in that said sorting means (12) include means such as a solenoid (24) driving a pawl (25) cooperating with a mobile rack (26) and guides (27) corresponding to the notches (28) of said rack (26) and a plunger (29) actuated by a cylinder (30).
7. The system claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6,
   characterised in that said box-like rigid container (3), which can be opened by pivoting its front face (4) incorporating a window (5), includes a main housing (32) for the sachet (2) of blood product and, in its top part, at least one other housing (33) for the tubing (34) joined to said sachet (2), said two housings (32, 33) being separated by a separator wall (35) having openings (36) in corresponding relationship to said tubing (34).
8. The system claimed in claim 7,
   characterised in that the bottom ends of the front face (4) and the rear face (39) of said rigid container (3) have a crenellated shape (40).
9. The system claimed in claim 7 or claim 8,
   characterised in that said rigid container (3) has a hook (41) at its top end.
10. Rigid container in the form of a box adapted to receive a sachet of blood product and adapted to be used with the system claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, said container being as specified in any one of claims 7 to 9 above, said window (5) allowing free access of the labelling means (11) to the sachet (2).

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