EP1902958A2 - Application de couvercles sur les ouvertures de plusieurs conteneurs - Google Patents

Application de couvercles sur les ouvertures de plusieurs conteneurs Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1902958A2
EP1902958A2 EP07017939A EP07017939A EP1902958A2 EP 1902958 A2 EP1902958 A2 EP 1902958A2 EP 07017939 A EP07017939 A EP 07017939A EP 07017939 A EP07017939 A EP 07017939A EP 1902958 A2 EP1902958 A2 EP 1902958A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
container
cover members
cover
arrangement
force
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP07017939A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP1902958A3 (fr
Inventor
Samuel Joseph Vaughan
John Alan Chesters
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB0618799A external-priority patent/GB0618799D0/en
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of EP1902958A2 publication Critical patent/EP1902958A2/fr
Publication of EP1902958A3 publication Critical patent/EP1902958A3/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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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
    • B65B7/00—Closing containers or receptacles after filling
    • B65B7/16—Closing semi-rigid or rigid containers or receptacles not deformed by, or not taking-up shape of, contents, e.g. boxes or cartons
    • B65B7/28—Closing semi-rigid or rigid containers or receptacles not deformed by, or not taking-up shape of, contents, e.g. boxes or cartons by applying separate preformed closures, e.g. lids, covers
    • B65B7/2842—Securing closures on containers
    • B65B7/2871—Securing closures on containers by gluing
    • 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
    • B65B7/00—Closing containers or receptacles after filling
    • B65B7/16—Closing semi-rigid or rigid containers or receptacles not deformed by, or not taking-up shape of, contents, e.g. boxes or cartons
    • B65B7/28—Closing semi-rigid or rigid containers or receptacles not deformed by, or not taking-up shape of, contents, e.g. boxes or cartons by applying separate preformed closures, e.g. lids, covers
    • B65B7/2807—Feeding closures
    • B65B7/2814—Feeding closures the closures being interconnected

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to applying covers to openings of a plurality of containers.
  • Containers such as sample tubes are widely used in laboratory environments.
  • the caps are removed from the sample tubes manually or, more frequently, using automated systems in order to access their contents. Afterwards, the replacement of the cap has to be performed manually in the majority of laboratories, and the original cap, or a new one, is often not replaced, or put on, immediately. This means that after a series of laboratory operations, e.g. diagnostic tests, there can be several hundred sample tubes left without caps.
  • Preformed plastic covers, trays or other similar sized racks may be used to cover these racks temporarily until recapping, but these can easily be displaced accidentally, e.g. if the tubes or the racks are knocked over, thus causing a spillage risk of contaminated biological material.
  • the samples have to be recapped individually as 10 to 15% will require retesting or further tests due to the results produced.
  • the tubes may then be stored for 3 to 14 days in refrigerators before disposal, which again requires individual capping to stop one tube ripping the top off another and causing a biological spillage hazard. After use, the tubes are tipped into large waste containers for incineration as biological waste.
  • the sample tubes caps are replaced manually. This can be very time consuming when there are many opened sample tubes. Further, the process can be relatively costly because it takes up a large amount of unskilled staff time during normal hours and even more costly during out of hours shift periods because it takes up a large amount of the time of skilled laboratory staff. Additional health and safety issues can arise due to the continuous recapping of large numbers of samples as this has caused an increase in repetitive strain injuries in laboratory staff. Also, according to health and safety rules, the operation should be performed whilst wearing disposable gloves, but this makes it difficult due to the screw or push top type sample tubes rubbing or chaffing fingers, meaning that gloves are sometimes not used.
  • Robotic equipment has been developed to automate the process of individually recapping the samples using heat sealed plastic or foil.
  • Such equipment is only financially viable in extremely large laboratories as it expensive in terms of purchase cost, maintenance and the consumable running costs.
  • Such equipment also rarely has a backup system for downtime periods.
  • the equipment may require processing time that will impede and reduce the throughput of other, more urgent processing functions and is, at the moment, a most mechanically difficult and fragile process.
  • Embodiments of the present invention are intended to address at least some of the problems associated with the conventional methods discussed above. Some embodiments provide a cost effective, robust semi-automated procedure that is fast and maintains the quality of the sample. Embodiments can remove the need for a human operator to directly touch samples, thereby reducing the health and safety risks and can increase the efficiency of staff by freeing them for other work.
  • a system adapted to apply covers to openings of a plurality of containers including:
  • the cover members may be deformable.
  • the force exerted on the cover members may be such that the cover member becomes deformed around the opening of the container. This deformation may at least partially attach the cover member to the container.
  • the deformable cover member may be substantially flat.
  • the deformable member may be formed of an at least semi-resilient material such as medical devices approved (ISO 10993) PVC standard inert and non-absorbent foam, or a specialised antibacterial foam in circumstances that require it.
  • cover members may be provided with an adhesive suitable for adhering to at least a portion of the container.
  • the plurality of cover members may be initially provided connected together (e.g. in a form of a sheet), with the cover members being configured to separate from each other upon the application of force.
  • the sheet may include a plurality of cuts /tear lines such that at least an adjacent pair of the cover members are initially held together at least one point before the application of force.
  • the sheet may divide the cover members into a formation that generally corresponds to an arrangement of the openings of the containers in a rack.
  • the cover members may be in a grid (e.g. square or rectangular) formation.
  • the sheet may be formed of an open cell foam that has no memory.
  • the arrangement for positioning the cover members may include a surface including a plurality of bores or apertures.
  • the cover members may be (temporarily) connected to the surface before the means for exerting a force is activated.
  • Each of the bores/apertures may be dimensioned (e.g. be of sufficient diameter) so as to accommodate at least a portion of one of the plurality of containers that includes its opening.
  • the area of one of the cover members may be substantially equal to or greater than the area of the opening of the container (and the area of the bore/aperture).
  • At least one edge of the deformable cover member can deform towards an outer surface of the container (and may bring the at least one edge into contact with the outer surface).
  • the arrangement for exerting a force may force an inner/central portion of the deformable cover member into contact with a lip around the opening of the container (and/or an inner surface of the container).
  • the arrangement for exerting a force may further include a plurality of members moveable relative to the arrangement for positioning the cover members, e.g. by means of a cam arrangement.
  • a cam arrangement there are a pair of cams.
  • One of the cams may be located at a point about one third along a length of the surface from one end and the other cam being located at a point about one third along the length of the surface from the other end. Smaller units may require a single cam in a central position.
  • the members may be movable relative to the surface such that a portion of a said projection maintains contact with the applied cover member whilst the surface is moved away, thereby assisting with preventing the cover member from being accidentally removed from the container.
  • the containers may be generally cylindrical in shape.
  • the opening of a said container may be located at an end of the container.
  • the containers may comprise sample tubes, which may be screw top (for receiving a threaded closing member) or an open top (for receiving a plug type closing member) type of tube.
  • the containers may be held in position by a rack, such as a precision/archive rack.
  • the arrangement for positioning the plurality of cover members and the arrangement for exerting a force can be part of a portable device that, in use, is positioned above the rack.
  • the portable device can include a set of legs that position the arrangement for positioning the plurality of cover members above the rack. The legs may be formed so as to engage with edges of the rack, thereby assisting with alignment of the portable device with the rack.
  • the means for exerting a force comprises a pair of handles disposed adjacent opposite ends of the surface.
  • apparatus adapted to apply covers to openings of a plurality of containers, the apparatus including:
  • a method of applying covers to openings of a plurality of containers including:
  • a sheet including a plurality of container cover members substantially as described herein, wherein the container cover members of the sheet are configured to separate from each other upon application of force.
  • a container cover including a deformable member that, in use, is deformed by force around an opening of a container such that the deformed member acts as a cover for the container.
  • a kit including a rack for holding a plurality of containers and a system for applying covers to openings of a plurality of containers substantially as described herein.
  • the kit may further include a plurality of the containers.
  • a precision/archive rack 10 for sample tubes Such racks are widely available commercially and in the example the rack comprises a rectangular block having an array of blind bores 11 arranged in a grid-like formation. The diameter of each bore 11 is such that a sample tube 12 can be securely held within it without significant lateral movement. In the example there are 3 x 17 bores, but it will be appreciated that other configurations are possible. Further, racks having other arrangements (possibly non-regular) of formations (not necessarily bores/recesses) for securely holding sample tubes in position could be used.
  • Figure 1 also shows a cover-applying apparatus 100.
  • the apparatus includes four legs/supports 102, each leg being located adjacent a corner of a generally rectangular lower member 104. Each leg 102 is L-shaped in cross section.
  • the material used for the majority of the components of the apparatus 100 is toughened PVC, but it will be understood that any other material (e.g. plastic or metal) could be used.
  • the apparatus 100 is relatively lightweight and can be easily positioned precisely by a human user.
  • the lower surface of the member 102 is recessed 105 with low sidewalls 201 extending along its side edges, but not across its ends.
  • the end portions 107A, 107B of the lower member 104 extend beyond the adjacent pairs of legs.
  • Arranged over the lower surface of the member 104 is an array of apertures 202 of circular cross-section that lead from the lower surface through to the upper surface of the member 104.
  • the diameter of each aperture is normally set slightly larger than that of the tube.
  • the apertures 202 are arranged in a 3 x 17 grid formation that corresponds with the grid of bores 11 in the sample tube rack 10, but, again, it will be understood that this arrangement is exemplary only and that other arrangements of apertures could be provided (e.g.
  • the apparatus 100 may be varied in size and configuration for use with a bespoke archive precision rack, e.g. ones configured to hold anywhere between around 50 to 150 sample tubes, or for use in conjunction with alternative types of racks produced by alternative manufacturers.
  • the apparatus 100 may be designed to ensure there is sufficient room for the tube to be placed in the rack easily (either manually or mechanically) such that the tube can be fully sealed without aerosol or leakage afterwards.
  • the apparatus 100 may also be designed with the intention of maximising the rack and number of samples for optimum yield from the foam covers (described below) by minimising the spaces between the tube, thereby maximising storage refrigerated archive storage areas and increasing energy efficiency.
  • a pair of the legs 102 disposed at each end of the apparatus 100 extend above the lower member 104 to form a handle portion 106.
  • the member 104, handles 106 and legs 102 are integral, but it will be appreciated that these parts could be separate components that are fitted together.
  • a first rectangular vertical bar 108A is connected to a first side surface of the lower member 104, at a point around one third of the way along from the nearest end (the left hand end in the Figure).
  • a second bar 108B is also connected to a corresponding location on the opposite side surface.
  • a third bar 108C is connected to the first side surface, at a point around one third of the way along from the opposite end.
  • a fourth bar 108D is connected to a corresponding location on the opposite side surface (right hand in the Figure).
  • a rectangular plate 114 Located on top of the upper surface of the lower member 104 is a rectangular plate 114. Lateral movement of the plate 114 is limited by contact with portions of the two handles and the four bars 108A - 108D.
  • the lower surface of the plate 114 is provided with a plurality of depending cylindrical projections (not visible in Figure 1, but shown as 203 in Figure 2 and 4A - 4C). These projections are arranged in a 3 x 17 grid formation so as to correspond with the array of apertures 202 in the lower member 104.
  • the diameters of the cylindrical projections 203 are normally at least slightly less than the diameters of the apertures 202 to allow the projections to move inside the apertures. Contact between the projections 203 and the apertures 202 also limits lateral movement of the plate 114.
  • first cylinder 110A Extending between the corresponding pair of vertical bars 108A, 108B is a first cylinder 110A.
  • the cylinder 110A is pivotally connected to each of the bars by means of an off-centre pivot pin 112.
  • a rectangular handle portion 113A extends outwardly from the radial surface of the cylinder, the handle being located about halfway across the cylinder.
  • a similar second cylinder 110B is rotatably connected between the other pair 108C, 108D of vertical bars by means of off-centre pivot pins 112.
  • the second cylinder 110B also includes a similar handle portion. There may be projections (not shown) on the upper surface of plate 114 to limit rotational movement of the handles 113A, 113B.
  • the thickness of the plate 114 is such that it has some freedom to move in the vertical plane between the upper surface of the member 104 and the two cylinders 110A, 110B.
  • a set of biasing devices such as springs (not visible), bias the plate 114 upwards and away from the upper surface of member 104, unless sufficient downward force is exerted to overcome the bias.
  • the freedom of movement of the plate 114 is such that the projections 401 will not normally be able to move entirely out of the apertures 202 without at least some of the other components of the apparatus being removed.
  • first and second cylinders 110A, 110B connected to the other components of the apparatus 100 by means of off-centre pivot pins means that the cylinders can act as cams that, when rotated, apply pressure to (or remove pressure from) the upper surface of the moveable plate 114, as will be described below.
  • Figure 1 also shows a sheet 50 of deformable material.
  • the deformable material is medical standard inert foam, although it will be understood that other suitable materials, such as or an antibacterial foam could be used.
  • the sheet in the example has a uniform thickness of around 3.5 mm, but it will be understood that material of different thickness (e.g. between 2 and 5 mm) could be used.
  • the material used will normally be approved for use in medical devices, e.g. comply with ISO 10993.
  • the thickness of the foam is chosen such that when the covers it forms are pressed around the outer surfaces of the tubes, as will be described below, it is not too thick so as to cause jamming of the tubes within the apertures 202 when they are ejected.
  • the sheet may be formed of a non-woven, open cell foam, which has no memory. It has been found that the use of this type of foam assists with sealing the sample tubes, as will be described below.
  • An alternative would be to use an adhesive foil (e.g. tin).
  • a die-cast machine is used to form cuts/lines/perforations in the sheet so as to define a plurality of deformable cover members 52.
  • the deformable members are all generally square shaped and have the same dimensions. In the example, each square is about 20 mm x 18 mm, which is suitable for use with the widely used standard primary sample tubes having a diameter of between 13mm and 16.5mm, but it will be understood that the shape and size of the members could be selected to correspond to any set of sample tubes or other type of container that is to be used with the apparatus.
  • FIG. 3 A portion of the sheet 50 is detailed in Figure 3.
  • Each square 52 is partially defined by four lines 301 around its perimeter. At each of the four corners of the square the line is interrupted by a small portion 302 of the sheet material so that the squares are all connected together. However, the amount of material in each portion 302 is such that each square can be readily removed from its neighbour(s) upon the application of force. It will be understood that the arrangement of Figure 3 is only one example of how the sheet can be configured to free/separate the deformable members upon the application of force, e.g. connecting portions could be provided at other locations around the perimeter of each square.
  • the sheet illustrated is divided into a grid of 3 x 17 squares to correspond with the sample tubes 12 in the rack 10 and the apertures 202/projections 203 of the apparatus, but it will be appreciated that variations are possible.
  • all the deformable members defined by a single sheet need not be of the same size and shape if the apparatus is to be used in conjunction with a rack that is configured to hold containers of different sizes/shapes.
  • An adhesive can be provided on at least one surface of the sheet 50.
  • a protective sheet/liner e.g. white siliconised paper
  • the adhesive may be provided on the protective sheet initially.
  • a synthetic, non-animal based adhesive is preferred because this is less likely to interfere with the contents of the sample tube because in the event that it does come into contact with the tube content.
  • Animal based products may add to or interfere with the constituents under analysis such as hormonal or enzyme analysis.
  • the adhesive comprises modified acrylic.
  • the design of the apparatus is normally determined by the dimension(s) of the sample tubes (which will usually all be of substantially uniform height) and the number of tubes that are to be used in conjunction with it. This number will usually be between 50 (the number at which recapping manually is considered to become excessive) and 150 (the number of tubes that is thought to be the maximum that can easily be handled by the example apparatus being described).
  • a reverse engineering process may be used to design the apparatus where a sample tube rack is designed first with the intention of maximising and optimising its area to include the greatest number of tubes possible without compromising the following criteria:
  • a die cast cutter can then be used to produce sheet 50/cover members 52 of appropriate dimensions and the apparatus 100 can again be reverse engineered to ensure that its application is successful.
  • the design process can also accommodate proprietary or ready-made racks already used in laboratories (although such racks may require larger areas of refrigerator space and therefore be more costly/inefficient).
  • the racks will normally be ones that are able to hold the tubes steady vertically and have sufficient clearance for the foam to seal around the opening of the sample tube as will be described below. Such racks may require larger amounts of foam to be used.
  • Figure 4A is a cross-sectional drawing through portions of the rack 10, sample tubes 12, sheet 50 and apparatus 100.
  • the sheet 50 has been located on the lower surface of the lower member 104. This is typically achieved by turning the apparatus 100 upside down and placing the sheet onto the surface. At this point, any protective sheet can be removed to expose the adhesive on the sheet 50.
  • a temporary fixing means such as clips attached to the ends of the sheet 50 and member 104, may be used to keep the sheet in place whilst the apparatus is turned back upright.
  • the handles 113A, 113B are positioned so that the biasing devices (not shown) can push the moveable plate 114 upwards, leaving a gap between the lower surface of the plate 114 and the upper surface of the member 104.
  • the bottom surfaces of the projections 203 are substantially aligned with the tops of the apertures 202.
  • the apparatus 100 with the attached sheet 50 is then positioned over the rack 10 containing the sample tubes 12.
  • the L-shaped legs 102 of the apparatus can help with aligning the apparatus with the rack as they are designed to slidably engage with the corners of the rack.
  • the apparatus is then lowered so that the upper, open ends of the sample tubes can come into contact with the exposed surface of the sheet 50. This position is illustrated in Figure 4B.
  • Pressing the apparatus down by applying pressure to handles 106 leads to the upper portions of the sample tubes becoming accommodated within the apertures 202 of the lower member 104. This insertion of a sample tube can cause the corresponding foam square 52 to be pushed upwards towards the lower surfaces of the projection 203.
  • the projections 203 can continue to maintain contact with the tubes 12 in the rack 10 whilst the member 104 moves upwards to help prevent upward travel of the tubes (which could happen due to adherence between the foam and the inner surfaces of member 104 that form apertures 202), thereby reducing or eliminating spillage.
  • the apparatus 100 can then be raised fully away from the sample tubes/rack, as shown in Figure 4D.
  • Most laboratories will utilise every space in the rack, especially if it is robotically loaded, but any squares that were located above a position in the rack not containing a sample tube may either be still attached to the apparatus (if contact with the portions of the sheet connected to the edges of the lower member 104 is maintained), or may have simply fallen onto the side of one of the adjacent sample tubes and can be easily removed.
  • the tubes in the rack to which foam squares have been applied by the apparatus are effectively stopped and can be safely removed for further use, storage or disposal.
  • the apparatus described herein allows covers to be rapidly applied to several sample tubes substantially simultaneously using a simple series of operations and is much quicker than the conventional method of manually capping one sample tube at a time.
  • the apparatus can be formed of inexpensive and widely available materials and does not require complex mechanical components that are liable to break down. It will be understood that the apparatus could be adapted for use with containers other than sample tubes. Although several circular components (e.g. the cylindrical projections 203) are shown in the example, it will be understood that the shapes of such components need not necessarily correspond to the shape of the openings of the containers to be stopped. It is also possible that a single component could be forced down onto a plurality of containers instead of having one projection 203 per container 12 as in the illustrated example.
  • mechanisms other than a cam can be used to force a component of the apparatus onto the deformable members, e.g. a spring-bound mechanism that is activated by hand-pressure.
  • a component of the apparatus onto the deformable members e.g. a spring-bound mechanism that is activated by hand-pressure.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Automatic Analysis And Handling Materials Therefor (AREA)
  • Packages (AREA)
EP07017939A 2006-09-22 2007-09-13 Application de couvercles sur les ouvertures de plusieurs conteneurs Withdrawn EP1902958A3 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US84633406P 2006-09-22 2006-09-22
GB0618799A GB0618799D0 (en) 2006-09-23 2006-09-23 Applying covers to openings of a plurality of containers

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1902958A2 true EP1902958A2 (fr) 2008-03-26
EP1902958A3 EP1902958A3 (fr) 2008-09-10

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP07017939A Withdrawn EP1902958A3 (fr) 2006-09-22 2007-09-13 Application de couvercles sur les ouvertures de plusieurs conteneurs

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Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4819413A (en) * 1980-01-23 1989-04-11 Consumers Glass Company Limited Precision lid fit filling machine
US5937616A (en) * 1998-04-22 1999-08-17 Ray; John D. Vial capping machine
WO2005102842A1 (fr) * 2004-04-20 2005-11-03 Henriksen Joergen Systeme et methode d'application de fermeture de contenant

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4819413A (en) * 1980-01-23 1989-04-11 Consumers Glass Company Limited Precision lid fit filling machine
US5937616A (en) * 1998-04-22 1999-08-17 Ray; John D. Vial capping machine
WO2005102842A1 (fr) * 2004-04-20 2005-11-03 Henriksen Joergen Systeme et methode d'application de fermeture de contenant

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP1902958A3 (fr) 2008-09-10

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