Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B5/00—Packaging individual articles in containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, jars
  • B65B5/10—Filling containers or receptacles progressively or in stages by introducing successive articles, or layers of articles
  • B65B5/101—Filling containers or receptacles progressively or in stages by introducing successive articles, or layers of articles by gravity
  • B65B5/103—Filling containers or receptacles progressively or in stages by introducing successive articles, or layers of articles by gravity for packaging pills or tablets
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B57/00—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices
  • B65B57/02—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of binding or wrapping material, containers, or packages
  • B65B57/06—Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of binding or wrapping material, containers, or packages and operating to control, or to stop, the feed of articles or material to be packaged
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65B—MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGING ARTICLES OR MATERIALS; UNPACKING
  • B65B9/00—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, e.g. liquids or semiliquids, in flat, folded, or tubular webs of flexible sheet material; Subdividing filled flexible tubes to form packages
  • B65B9/02—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs
  • B65B9/04—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs one or both webs being formed with pockets for the reception of the articles, or of the quantities of material
  • B65B9/045—Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material between opposed webs one or both webs being formed with pockets for the reception of the articles, or of the quantities of material for single articles, e.g. tablets

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for transferring products, in particular tablets, capsules, dragees, pills or the like. from a storage vessel into the wells of a film which is transported continuously or in cycles, in which transfer wells are formed in a filling belt in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the wells in the film, in which the filling belt designed as an endless belt is placed on a first and a second
• the guide roller is positioned for the subsequent loading with the products from the storage vessel, their sorting into the transfer bowls and their transfer to a plurality of placers, by means of which the products are specifically removed from the transfer bowls and transferred to the bowls.
• the invention further relates to a device for performing such a method.
• DE 199 26 893 C2 describes a device with which pharmaceutical products can be removed from a storage container and transferred into the wells of a film, this device having a sorting plate arranged in the storage container in a stationary manner, which has the same pattern as the wells in the film has distributed recordings.
• the sorting plate is assigned a transfer plate with a number of suction pads corresponding to the number of receptacles and their position, the transfer plate being adjustable between a loading position located above the sorting plate and a delivery position located above the film.
• This device has proven itself in practice due to its reliable operation in the capacity range assigned to it and due to its flexibility with regard to different formats of the products, which are only required to fit into the receptacle of the sorting plate. Due to the cyclical operation of the device, however, an increase in performance with this concept is not possible in a simple manner.
• the invention is therefore based on the object of providing a method with which the transfer of products can be carried out more easily and flexibly. Another object is to provide a device for performing this method. This object is achieved with the method mentioned at the outset, which is distinguished in particular by the fact that for each product it is possible to provide a filling belt which is specifically adapted to its contour and thickness and has transfer cups into which the products are sorted. The products are removed from these transfer bowls by the placers, transferred and specifically transferred to the bowls, whereby in the case of complicatedly designed products which can only be sorted into the transfer bowls in a certain orientation, only the length of the filling band has to be varied in order to accommodate the placers to be able to provide completely filled transfer bowls each time.
• the filling belt designed as a disposable article is removed from the deflecting rollers and disposed of after an exclusion criterion has been reached, and is replaced by a new filling belt.
• the filling belt designed as a disposable article is removed from the deflecting rollers and disposed of after an exclusion criterion has been reached, and is replaced by a new filling belt.
• the filling belt designed as a disposable article
• there are very high demands on hygiene which often require the method to be carried out in a clean room.
• transfer bowls are again formed in a filling belt and this is positioned on the deflection rollers, and in the same way a change of format can also be carried out quickly and easily, in which the size of the transfer bowls or their relative arrangement to one another changes.
• the filler tape is aligned perpendicular to the running direction of the film, since this provides good accessibility to the filler tape and overall there is only a small space requirement in the running direction of the film. Parallel alignment is of course also possible if necessary.
• Pilgrim step movement takes place, i.e. there is no continuous forward movement, but to generate permanent restlessness of the products lying on the filler belt, the filler belt is braked from its forward movement, possibly even stopped and moved backwards and then accelerated forward again.
• a safe, slip-free drive of the filling belt by the drive roller is achieved by in the
• Drive roller pockets are designed for the positive reception of the transfer cups and drive the filling belt. Since the filling tape is designed as a disposable item, it is important that it can be manufactured quickly and easily. For this purpose, it is provided that to form the filler tape in the circumferential direction for realizing a positive fit, at least two wells are inserted into one another and the free ends of the filler tape are permanently connected, this positive fit achieving a very high load-bearing capacity, which also enables that after the formation the edges of the filler belt are cut to the working width of the transfer cups, since lateral edges are not required to ensure tensile strength in particular.
• a method which is particularly preferred in the context of the invention is characterized in that a plurality of filler belts are formed, arranged adjacent and driven in synchronism, since such a parallel arrangement of the filler belts in the simplest way increases the performance and thus also a targeted adaptation to the requirements placed on the process can be met.
• the filler belts are synchronized in the simplest way by the fact that neighboring filler belts are synchronized via the drive roller.
• transfer cups formed in this area can be impaired when the free ends of the filler tape are connected, it is further provided that the overlap area of the formerly free end of the filler tape is recognized by a sensor assigned to the filler tape and the placer, depending on the sensor signal, the grasping of the products is coordinated with it so that transfer bowls that are partially closed by a band hem are not closed can lead to a production disruption.
• a device which is characterized by a storage vessel designed to hold the products, which is arranged above a filling belt, in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the wells in the film to be loaded has a plurality of transfer cups, is guided around two deflection rollers and is directed towards the film, and also by means of a placer which serves for the targeted transfer by separately gripping the products from the transfer cups and placing them in the cups of the film.
• the placer is designed as a pick-and-place system with a plurality of pickers, in particular suction cups or grippers, with which the products can be removed from the transfer ports, transferred and released into the bowls, and when the pickers are arranged in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the bowls or transfer bowls.
• This device is characterized in that only the filler belt and the placer have to be replaced for a format change, that is to say that it is not necessary to keep a large number of components ready to change the device from a format of the products and their desired arrangement in the film to one change format.
• the deflection roller is designed as a drive roller and is connected to a drive for this purpose and has cup receptacles in its circumferential surface in an arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the transfer cups. It is also expedient if a collecting trough is arranged below the filling belt, since this counteracts a large-scale contamination of the clean room and represents the component that is to be cleaned while the filling belt itself is being disposed of or recycled.
• a conveyor belt is provided parallel to the filling belt for returning the excess products placed on the filling belt.
• An increase in the performance of the device is achieved in that the filler belt is provided several times and the plurality of filler belts are arranged in parallel and synchronized via the drive roller, for which a drive is provided a servomotor.
• a flow obstacle in particular a wiper, is arranged above the filling belt, preferably inclined to its conveying direction, which prevents further transfer of the products in the conveying direction and counteracts the conveying direction of the Throw back the filling belt to offer the possibility of sorting into a transfer bowl again.
• the storage vessel such as the filling belt with the deflection rollers and the drive
• the storage vessel are arranged on a mobile frame, since this creates the possibility of carrying out a format change with minimal production downtime, namely simply by replacing a frame with a other, the previously used rack can be removed from the clean room for thorough cleaning and refitting.
• a satellite station is provided for the formation of the filling tape, the filling tape consisting of a thermoforming film and a molding tool for the formation of the transfer cups being interchangeably arranged in the satellite station. Since the satellite station is not used in continuous operation and therefore no high performance is required, it is possible to keep the satellite station, which is also to be understood as a molding station, simple and to use a simply designed molding tool.
• Transfer bowls for products to be placed the job of placing is facilitated, whereby due to the nature of the filling tape as a disposable item, an adjustment is easily possible.
• a vibrating plate is assigned to the upper run of the filling belt to support the sorting of the products into the transfer bowls.
• a camera for checking the products after removal from the transfer cups is arranged below the placer before the delivery into the cups, since this camera enables the underside of the products to be checked, which would otherwise not be accessible for such an inspection is. Is through the
• the camera detects a defective product, its position is also known, so that it is possible to specifically remove the blister that holds the product.
• the invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawing; show it:
• FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a device according to the invention in a side view
• Fig. 5 is a schematic representation of a side view of the filling belt guided around the drive roller
• Fig. 6 is a plan view of the filler tape after the transfer cups have been formed in sections and the thermoforming film has been trimmed in the satellite station.
• Fig. 1 shows a device which is used to solid products such as tablets, capsules, dragees, pills or the like. to transport from a storage vessel 1 into the wells 2 of a film 3, for which purpose the products are transferred as bulk goods from the storage vessel 1 to a filling belt 4, which is guided around two deflection rollers 5 and runs between the storage vessel 1 and the film 3.
• the Filling belt 4 has transfer bowls 6 which have their own arrangement corresponding to the arrangement of the bowls 2 in the film 3.
• the filling belt 4 is driven by the deflection roller 5 facing the film 3 being designed as a drive roller and by means of a
• Servo motor is driven as a drive.
• the complete filling of the transfer cups 6 in the filling belt 4 is ensured by the regulated drive, which enables a
• a vibrating plate 12 is also provided for this purpose, which, in addition or as an alternative to the conveyor step movement, effects the sorting.
• the upper run of the filling belt 4 is guided upwards over part of its length in the conveying direction, so that the effect of gravity can be exploited.
• a flow obstacle 7, namely a scraper is arranged above the filling belt 4 inclined to its conveying direction, which does not enter the previous conveying path
• Transfer bowls 6 holds sorted products and, under the action of gravity, allows them to slide back to the beginning of the conveying path and enables the possibility of re-sorting into the transfer bowls 6.
• the filler belt 4 is oriented perpendicular to the running direction of the film 3, so it can be brought up to the film 3 from a vertical direction, since the storage vessel 1 and the filler belt 1 with the deflecting rollers 5 and the drive are arranged on a mobile frame 8 and are therefore simple can be replaced.
• the device is also assigned a satellite station, not shown in the drawing itself, which is used to produce the filling tape 4 consisting of a thermoforming film, for which purpose the satellite station has a molding tool for forming the transfer cups 6. The molding tool is exchangeably stored in the satellite station.
• Part of the device are also placers 9, with which the products can be specifically lifted out of the transfer bowls 6, transferred and placed in the bowls of the film 3, a camera 13 for checking the products after removal from the transfer bowls 6 below the placer 9 is arranged in front of the delivery in the bowls 2.
• FIG. 2 shows a top view of the arrangement of a plurality of filling belts 4 parallel to one another, the synchronized drive of these filling belts 4 being ensured via the drive roller, in which pockets 10 are formed for the positive reception of the transfer cups 6 (FIG. 5).
• the method according to the invention can be carried out on such a device, for which the filling tapes 4 are first produced from the thermoforming foils in the satellite station, the free ends of the filling tapes 4 being positively and permanently connected to one another by the transfer cups 6 formed therein.
• the filler belt 4 thus formed is then placed around the two deflection rollers 5 and the placement device 9 which fits the arrangement of the transfer cups 6 is installed. It should be noted that for a format adjustment only the molding tool in the satellite station, the drive roller and the positioner 9 are to be replaced, the preparations for the format change largely being able to take place outside the production area due to the mobile storage of the device in a frame 8.
• the filler belt 4 is poured and conveyed through the filler belt 4 after its sorting into the transfer bowls 6 to the placer 9, which grasps each product individually and transfers it into the bowls 2 of the film 3. If the wear limit or the tolerable degree of contamination of the filler belt 4 has been reached, the method according to the invention is started again and the filler belt 4 produced again in the satellite station is used as a replacement for the old filler belt 4. It should be noted that it is of course also possible to provide intermediate storage of the filling belt 4 for a format change desired within the service life of the filling belt 4 until it is re-introduced into the production process until the exclusion criterion is reached.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Containers And Plastic Fillers For Packaging (AREA)
• Auxiliary Devices For And Details Of Packaging Control (AREA)
• Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
• Container Filling Or Packaging Operations (AREA)
• Basic Packing Technique (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=34832573

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (2)

Families Citing this family (16)

Family Cites Families (18)

• 2004
  • 2004-02-09 DE DE102004006375A patent/DE102004006375A1/de not_active Withdrawn
• 2005
  • 2005-01-25 ES ES05706697T patent/ES2286789T3/es active Active
  • 2005-01-25 EP EP05706697A patent/EP1713693B1/fr not_active Not-in-force
  • 2005-01-25 US US10/588,874 patent/US20080282646A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-01-25 AT AT05706697T patent/ATE364009T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-01-25 JP JP2006552453A patent/JP2007522043A/ja active Pending
  • 2005-01-25 DE DE502005000829T patent/DE502005000829D1/de active Active
  • 2005-01-25 CN CNA2005800044117A patent/CN1918036A/zh active Pending
  • 2005-01-25 WO PCT/DE2005/000101 patent/WO2005075293A1/fr active IP Right Grant

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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