EP2078570B1 - Work cabin with an externally attached printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The working cabin (100) has a working chamber (103) for temporary receiving of material to be treated. A transfer opening (104) is provided, through which the working chamber is connected with the environment (120) of the working cabin. A transfer cabin is provided for the placement and the recovery of the material to be treated or for access into the working chamber. A printer transfer opening is provided. The printed material output (108) of a printer (105) is connected with the working chamber. The printer is arranged in the periphery of the working chamber.

Description

The invention relates to a work cabin, which is for example part of a clean room, part of a safety workbench, part of an insulator or part of a smoke cabinet.

Cleanrooms, safety cabinets, insulators, and fume cupboards are used in many areas of industry and education, such as research and development, production, and quality control of products. All of these devices have a work cabin with a working chamber. All facilities also have in common that the person working with it outside the working chamber, therefore, is in the vicinity of the work cabin. Furthermore, the working chamber is connected to a ventilation device and has transfer openings which connect the working chamber with the environment of the work cabin. Through these transfer openings, the material to be treated can be introduced or removed. But they also allow access to the working chamber. Transfer openings can be designed as freely accessible openings, as locks, or as openings provided with protective means, for example with rubber gloves.

Depending on the field of application of these facilities, based on the ambient pressure, by means of the ventilation device in the working chamber, a negative pressure or pressure is generated.

An overpressure is always generated in the working chamber if the material to be treated must under no circumstances be contaminated. However, this presupposes that the material to be treated does not develop a damaging effect in the environment.

A negative pressure is always generated when the person outside the work cabin is to be protected from the substances present in the work chamber. By constantly prevailing in the working chamber vacuum, is continuously through the transfer openings air from the environment in the Suction chamber sucked. This can prevent that toxic substances from the working chamber can get into the environment.

Such a device is used for example in the DE 3617965 A1 described. The device referred to as a deduction cabinet has a work table with a work booth. The working cabin is formed by the worktable surface, the right and left side walls, the rear wall and the cover of the fume cupboard, as well as a transparent front wall. The thus enclosed working chamber is accessible from the front through a transfer opening.

Usually, in these working chambers, the material to be treated is metered, transferred, warmed mixed, cooled and optionally the material to be treated, for example pulverulent substances, dissolved in solvents. It must be ensured that when treating different substances, these are not confused and mislabeled. For the correct labeling of the individual vessels also the exact indication of the metered amount of material to be treated or the substance belongs. Usually, the labeling of the vessels is done by hand.

For years, various metering devices are available by means of which automatically, for example, a powdery substance, can be dosed. The weight of the metered amount is detected by means of a load cell. The weighing result can therefore be printed together with an identification means, for example a barcode or matrix code for labeling the vessel on a printer. This printed product is usually a self-adhesive label, which can be pasted onto the manually labeled vessel.

The procedure described above has the disadvantage that the hand-written vessels despite all due care can be provided with the wrong label. Furthermore, the lettering by hand means a certain amount of time, which unnecessarily lengthens the entire dosing process and thereby exposes the operator, for example in the treatment of toxic or carcinogenic substances, unnecessarily long to a high mental stress. In addition, the procedure described above, the safety regulations corresponding to the operators from time to time disregards the fact that the label is brought into the working chamber from outside the cabin after each dosage, without adhering to the cleaning instructions for the hands.

The object of the present invention is therefore to ensure the rapid and secure labeling of filled in a working chamber with material to be treated with the printed products of a printer. Furthermore, the elaborate labeling should be eliminated by hand.

This object is achieved by a work cabin according to claim 1. Detailed aspects and further developed embodiments of the invention are defined in the further claims dependent on the first claim.

A working cabin according to the invention with a working chamber for temporary accommodation of material to be treated, has at least one transfer opening, through which the working chamber is connected to the environment of the work cabin. Furthermore, the at least one transfer opening serves for the introduction and / or the discharge of the material to be treated and / or the access into the working chamber. In addition, with the working chamber, a, preferably the generation of a negative pressure in the working chamber serving ventilation device is connected. Furthermore, the work booth has at least one printer transfer opening, which printer transfer opening connects the print product output of a printer arranged in the vicinity of the work booth with the work chamber. In this case, it does not matter whether the printed product output extends through the printer transfer opening into the working chamber or whether the printed product output is arranged only after the printer transfer opening. The printed product output preferably has a shaft-shaped housing part.

The inventive arrangement in which the printer is located outside the cabin, but the printed products can pass through the printer transfer port into the working chamber, has many advantages. By this arrangement, firstly, the likelihood of confusion described above can be eliminated because after each dosing process the filled vessel immediately with the printed product, such as a self-adhesive label on which the filling weight, the Substitute name and an identification code is printed, is inscribed. As identification code, a barcode, a matrix code or a number sequence is conceivable. Of course, the printed product can also contain a storage medium, for example an RFID tag, on which these data are stored electronically.

Second, eliminates the unpleasant labeling by hand within the working chamber. Since this takes considerably more time than the simple gluing with a label, the inventive arrangement saves considerable time can be achieved.

Third, entire series of dosings can be performed without having to sort the labels issued by the printer to associate them with the manually labeled containers.

Fourth, since the printer is located in the vicinity of the work booth and not in the work chamber, it is always accessible without risk. For example, it can be safely maintained and refilled with ribbon and labels. Furthermore, printer malfunctions can be remedied at any time, even if an operator is working in the working chamber.

As already described above, the working cabin according to the invention has a ventilation device in order to prevent toxic substances from contaminating the environment of the work cabin. In an advantageous development of the invention, the printed product output therefore has a housing part with defined suction openings, through which suction openings ambient air from the surroundings of the working cabin can be sucked into the working chamber through the printer transfer opening. This prevents that items to be treated can reach the interior of the printer housing via the printer transfer opening. This is important because a dirty printer body could contaminate, for example, the operator and the environment with labels during refilling of the printer. In order to prevent dust and dirt from the environment from entering the printed matter output and the work cabin, the suction openings can be equipped with an air filter.

In order to create order in the working chamber, a collecting tray for printed products of the printer is preferably arranged in the area of the printer transfer opening within the working chamber. As a result, the printed product has a defined place where it can pick up the operator when needed. The drip tray may also include a sensor whose signal, whether a label has been taken or not, for example, is forwarded to a monitoring device. The monitoring device, for example a production planning and control system or a control and regulating device may be programmed so that a next operation in the working chamber is not executable until the printed matter has been removed from the drip tray.

Depending on the printer type, more or less dust and dirt may be generated in the printer housing during the printing process. This dust and dirt can pass from the printer housing through the printed product output in the working chamber, if, for example, no or too small suction in the housing part of the printed product output are formed. Furthermore, especially when using a thermal printer in the printer housing heat can significantly, which can then also get into the working chamber. Depending on the temporary installation of equipment in the working chamber, dirt and dust can spread throughout the working chamber and contaminate the material to be treated. Furthermore, the hot air generated by the printer can affect sensitive measuring devices arranged in the working chamber, such as scales.

In order to avoid the impairments described above, in a further embodiment of the invention, the ventilation device may comprise at least one suction duct, at the end of which at least one suction opening is arranged and which suction opening is arranged within the working chamber and in the region of the printer transfer opening. By virtue of this arrangement, the warm air which is enriched by dust and dirt and which flows through the printer transfer opening can be sucked off directly at the junction of the printer transfer opening with the working chamber.

Another way to protect the printer housing from the material to be treated or the contamination of the material to be treated by dust and dirt to prevent may consist in that the printer transfer port or the printed product output has a lock with at least two rollers pressed against each other. The shaft-shaped cross section of the printed product output is largely closed by the two rollers, wherein the printed products between the two, preferably made of flexible material rolls are conveyed through.

The same goal can also be achieved by having the printer transfer port or the printed product output port a sluice with a rotatably arranged flap.

As mentioned above, the working cabin according to the invention does not necessarily have to be set up alone. The work booth may also be part of a clean room, part of a safety cabinet, part of an insulator or part of a smoke cabinet. The inventive work cabin can also be referred to as a safety cabin or weighing cabin. The transfer openings can of course be provided with closure means, for example with doors, flaps or covers.

If the material to be treated is to be automatically metered into containers in the working chamber, small dosing units are available which have a weighing cell for controlling the discharge capacity. By means of this load cell, the mass of the vessel or the mass of its contents is continuously detected during the dosing and transmitted the weighing signal to a processor unit. In the processor unit, the weighing signal is continuously compared with a previously set by the user setpoint. As soon as the weighing signal corresponds to the setpoint, the dosing process is stopped. The higher the measuring accuracy of the load cell, the more sensitive it is to disturbing influences such as air turbulence within the working chamber. Since the work cabin has a ventilation device for the reasons mentioned above, such air turbulence is unavoidable. Preferably, therefore, a metering device with at least one windscreen is arranged in the working chamber. Windbreak refers to a housing or enclosure suitable for keeping air turbulence away from the sensitive parts of the load cell and, preferably, the vessel placed on a load receptor of the load cell.

This windscreen can also serve as an additional safety barrier against the escape of toxic substances. Of course, any type of gravimetric measuring instruments, with and without windscreen, be arranged and used in the inventive work cabin.

Furthermore, a gas connection may be present in the working chamber with which gas connection the space enclosed by the draft shield of the dosing device can be connected. As a result, the interior of the windshield is flooded, if necessary, for example, with a protective gas. Furthermore, an overpressure can be generated to protect the material to be treated by the gas connection within the windshield. Although, for example, the smallest particles of a pulverulent material to be treated can enter the working chamber through small leaks in the windbreak and when the windbreak is opened. Due to the negative pressure prevailing there, caused by the ventilation device and by the air flowing in from the environment, the particles are continuously sucked off the ventilation device and therefore do not reach the environment.

Figur 1

schematisch und in dreidimensionaler Ansicht eine Arbeitskabine mit einer frontseitig angeordneten Transferöffnung, mit einer seitlich angeordneten Drucker-Transferöffnung und ein in der Umgebung der Arbeitskabine angeordneter Drucker, dessen Druckerzeugnisausgabe mit der Drucker- Transferöffnung verbunden ist;

Figur 2

die in Figur 1 schematisch und in dreidimensionaler Ansicht dargestellte Arbeitskabine, wobei in der Arbeitskammer der Arbeitskabine eine Dosiervorrichtung mit einem Windschutz versehen, angeordnet ist;

Figur 3

schematisch in Aufsicht und im Schnitt ein Ausschnitt der Arbeitskabine im Bereich der Drucker-Transferöffnung mit einer ersten Ausführungsvariante der Druckerzeugnisausgabe;

Figur 4

schematisch in Aufsicht und im Schnitt ein Ausschnitt der Arbeitskabine im Bereich der Drucker-Transferöffnung in einer zweiten Ausführungsvariante der Druckerzeugnisausgabe;

Figur 5

schematisch in Aufsicht und im Schnitt ein Ausschnitt der Arbeitskabine im Bereich der Drucker-Transferöffnung in einer dritten Ausführungsvariante der Druckerzeugnisausgabe.

The work cabin according to the invention with a printer transfer opening will be explained in more detail below with reference to examples and with reference to the drawings. Show it:

FIG. 1

schematically and in three-dimensional view of a work booth with a front arranged transfer opening, with a laterally arranged printer transfer opening and arranged in the vicinity of the work booth printer whose printed matter output is connected to the printer transfer port;

FIG. 2

in the FIG. 1 schematically and in three-dimensional view shown work cabin, wherein in the working chamber of the work booth a metering device provided with a windbreak, is arranged;

FIG. 3

schematically in plan view and in section, a detail of the work cabin in the area of the printer transfer opening with a first embodiment variant of the printed product output;

FIG. 4

schematically in plan view and in section a section of the work booth in the area of the printer transfer opening in a second embodiment of the printed product output;

FIG. 5

schematically in plan view and in section a section of the work cabin in the area of the printer transfer opening in a third embodiment of the printed product output.

In FIG. 1 is shown schematically and in three-dimensional view of a work booth 100. The work cabin 100 has a cabin housing 101 consisting of a front wall, two side walls and a cover, and a cabin floor 102. The cabin housing 101 and the cabin floor 102 enclose a working chamber 103 and thus separate this space from the environment 120 of the work cabin 100. The cabin housing 101 is preferably made of transparent material in order to ensure the best possible view into the working chamber 103. In the front wall of the cabin housing 101, a transfer opening 104 is formed, which allows access from the environment 120 ago to the working chamber 103.

In the vicinity 120 of the work booth 100, a printer 105 is further arranged. The cab housing 101 has a printer transfer opening 106, through which passes a shaft-shaped printed product output 108 of the printer 105 arranged in the surroundings 104 of the work booth 100. By this printer transfer opening 106, the printed product output 108 is thus connected to the working chamber 103. Of course, the printed product output 108 may also be arranged downstream of the printer transfer opening 106, wherein printed products of the printer 105 leave the printed product output 108 at the interface to the printer transfer opening 106 and pass through the printer transfer opening 106 into the working chamber 103.

The work cabin 100 further comprises a ventilation device 107, which in FIG. 1 is shown schematically as the exhaust pipe at the top of the cabin housing 101. Ventilation devices of various designs are known in the art, a detailed description is therefore unnecessary on this Job. The most important aspect of the ventilation device 107 is that in the working chamber 103, a negative pressure can be generated and that due to the prevailing pressure difference to the ambient pressure ambient air from the environment 120 through the transfer port 104 and through the printer transfer port 106 into the working chamber 103 can flow.

Of course, the printed product output 108 may have suction openings, not shown, through which suction openings ambient air from the environment 120 of the work booth 100 through the printer transfer opening 106 into the working chamber 103 is sucked. This prevents that items to be treated can pass through the printer transfer opening 106 into the interior of the printer housing. This is important because contaminated by a dirty printer housing, for example, the operator and the environment. In order to prevent dust and dirt from the environment from entering the printed product output 108 and the work booth 103, the suction openings may be equipped with an air filter.

FIG. 2 shows the in FIG. 1 shown schematically and in three-dimensional view work booth 100, wherein in the working chamber 103 of the work booth 100, a metering device 130 is arranged. Below a dosing head of the metering device 130, a vessel 140 can be seen, in which is to be metered. The metering device 130, in FIG. 2 shown with broken lines, is enclosed with a windshield 131 shown schematically. As the representation of a handle 133 indicates, this windscreen 131 can be opened so that the metering device 130 is freely accessible when the windbreak 131 is open.

Furthermore, a gas connection 132 is shown schematically, which opens into the windbreak 131. This gas connection 132 in conjunction with the windbreak 131 special meanings. If contamination of the material to be treated is to be excluded or if the material to be treated must under no circumstances come into contact with the ambient air, the interior of the windscreen 131 can be flooded with a suitable gaseous medium, for example a protective gas, via the gas connection 132 before the metering process. If that Shielding gas is heavier than air, the vessel 140 remains flooded with inert gas, even if after the dosing of the windshield 131 is opened.

In FIG. 3 a section of the work booth in the area of the printer transfer opening 106 is shown schematically in plan view and in section. The cabin housing 101, the working chamber 103 of the car floor 102 and the first embodiment of the printed matter output 108 correspond to those in the FIGS. 1 and 2 represented units. The printed product output 108 has a collecting tray 206 at its end projecting into the working chamber 103. The printed by a printer 205 printed products 260, such as adhesive labels, slide into the drip tray 206 and can be removed there by the operator. As a result, there is always, for example after each completed dosing process, a label matching the dosed sample, which is adhered immediately after printing. The collecting tray 206 may, for example, contain a sensor whose signal, whether or not the printed product 260 has been taken, can be forwarded, for example, to a control and regulating device of the previously described metering device. The control and regulating device may be programmed so that the next dosing process is not executable until the printed matter 260 has been removed from the drip tray 206.

Unlike in the FIGS. 1 and 2 , is in FIG. 3 a suction duct 207 is arranged in the working chamber 103, which is connected to the ventilation device, not shown. A suction opening 208 of the suction duct 207 is arranged above the drip tray 206. As a result of this arrangement of the suction opening 208, on the one hand air is sucked out of the working chamber 103 through the tubular printed product output 108 and on the other hand air. The air flow in the printed matter output 108 prevents gases and powdery substances from getting from the working chamber 103 into the interior of the printer. Furthermore, this arrangement also prevents dust and dirt, for example toner particles of the printer, from entering the working chamber 103.

In order for a clearly defined air flow to flow through the printed product output at a given suction power of the ventilation device, the printed product output 108 can be provided with suction openings 201 which have a defined cross section be. The air flow can also support the transport of the printed products 260 within the printed product output 108. The suction openings 201 may further be equipped with a filter, not shown.

In order to be able to carry out a fine adjustment of the air flows in the area of the printed product output 108 and the drip tray 206, the suction chute 207 can have an adjustable ventilation flap 210.

Also in FIG. 4 a section of the work booth in the area of the printer transfer opening 106 is shown schematically in plan view and in section. The cabin housing 101, the working chamber 103 and the cabin floor 102 correspond to those in the FIGS. 1 . 2 and 3 represented units. In FIG. 4 but is a second embodiment of the printed product issue 308 shown. Inside the well-shaped printed product issue 308 a lock is arranged. This lock essentially has a first roller 310 and a second roller 311. The axes of rotation of the rollers 310, 311 are arranged in a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the printed matter output 308 and parallel to one another. The diameters of the rollers 310, 311 are selected such that the lateral surfaces of the rollers 310, 311 touch one another at a line. The rollers 310, 311 are made of elastic material, so that a printed product 360 can be conveyed freely between the rollers 310, 311. The rollers 310, 311 are preferably driven by a drive, not shown. The inner contour of the printed product output 308 is configured between the printer and the rollers 310, 311 such that the printed product 360 is compulsorily performed between the two rollers 310, 311.

In order to prevent the rollers 310, 311 from becoming dirty, brushes 301 may be arranged at suitable locations. These brushes 301 are preferably made of conductive materials and grounded so that electrostatic charges on the printed product 360 and / or the rollers 310, 311 can be eliminated.

Also in FIG. 5 a section of the work booth in the area of the printer transfer opening 106 is shown schematically in plan view and in section. The cabin housing 101, the working chamber 103 and the cabin floor 102 correspond in the FIGS. 1 . 2 and 3 represented units. Furthermore, a third embodiment variant of the printed product output 408 is shown. Inside the shaft-shaped printed matter output 408 is as in FIG. 4 a lock arranged. The lock in FIG. 5 is formed by a rotatably arranged flap 401. The flap 401, whose axis of rotation is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the printed matter output 408, has a recess 402. Once the printer outputs a printed product 460, it slides through the manhole of the printed product output 408 into the recess 402. The inclination of the print product output tray 408 to the direction of gravity must be selected so that the printed product 460 slides into the recess by itself through the tray 402 slips. Subsequently, the flap 401 is rotated by about 120 ° in the indicated arrow direction, whereby the printed product 460 is conveyed in a collecting tray 406 on. Even if the passage cross section of the printed matter output 408 is reduced to a few columns by the lock, a small amount of air can still be drawn through these gaps into the working chamber 103. Of course, these columns can also be completely eliminated by a suitable design, for example by labyrinth seals and elastic sealing means.

Although the invention has been described by way of illustrating specific embodiments, it will be apparent that numerous other embodiments can be provided with the knowledge of the present invention, for example by combining the features of the individual embodiments and / or exchanging individual functional units of the embodiments. In particular, further embodiments are conceivable, which include the subject invention, for example, when the work cabin is part of a larger, automated device.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

100

carrel

101

booth housing

102

cabin floor

103

working chamber

104

transfer opening

205, 105

printer

106

Printer transfer opening

107

breather

408, 308, 108

Printed items

120

Surroundings

130

metering

131

windshield

132

gas connection

133

handle

140

Vessel

201

suction

406, 206

drip tray

207

extraction well

208

suction opening

209

printer case

210

ventilation flap

460, 360, 260

Printed Media

301

brush

311.310

role

401

flap

402

recess

Claims (9)

1. Work cabinet (100) with a work chamber (103) serving to temporarily contain treatment material, comprising at least one transfer opening (104) through which the work chamber (103) is connected to the ambient space (120) outside the work cabinet (100), wherein the at least one transfer opening (104) serves to bring in and/or take out the treatment material and/or to give access to the work chamber, and further comprising a ventilating device (107) connected to the work chamber (103) and serving to create a below-ambient pressure in the work chamber (103), characterized in that there is further at least one printer transfer opening (106) through which the delivery outlet (108, 308, 408) for the printed output of a printer (105, 205) that is set up in the ambient space (120) of the work cabinet (100) is connected to the work chamber (103).
2. Work cabinet (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the printer transfer opening (106) includes a housing part with defined intake openings (201) through which ambient air from the ambient space (120) of the work cabinet (100) can be drawn through the printer transfer opening (106) into the work chamber (103).
3. Work cabinet (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a holding tray (206, 406) for printed items (260, 360, 460) of the printer (105, 205) is arranged in the area of the printer transfer opening (106) inside the work chamber (103).
4. Work cabinet (100) according to one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the ventilation device (107) comprises at least one suction duct (207) at whose end at least one intake opening (208) is arranged, wherein the intake opening (208) is arranged inside the work chamber (103) and in the area of the printer transfer opening (106).
5. Work cabinet (100) according to one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the printer transfer opening (106) or the delivery outlet (108, 308, 408) for the printed items comprises an air lock with at least two rollers (310, 311) that are pressed against each other.
6. Work cabinet (100) according to one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the printer transfer opening (106) or the delivery outlet (108, 308, 408) for the printed items comprises an air lock with a revolving gate (401).
7. Work cabinet (100) according to one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the work cabinet (100) is part of a clean room, part of a safety workbench, part of an insulating chamber, or part of a fume hood compartment.
8. Work cabinet (100) according to one of the claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one dosage-dispensing device (130) or a gravimetric measuring instrument with a draft shield (131) is arranged in the work chamber (103).
9. Work cabinet (100) according to claim 8, characterized in that the work chamber (103) comprises a gas connection (132) to which the space enclosed by the draft shield (131) of the dosage-dispensing device (130) can be connected.

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