EP3081927A1 - Device for packaging loose medicament portions and method for the operation thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a device for packaging individual portions of medication in blisters. In known devices, the number of defective Blisterbeutels is still too high. The device according to the invention comprises a plurality of storage and dispensing stations (2), at least one guiding and collecting arrangement (7, 17) for receiving and forwarding the medicament portions to a packaging station (3), which consists of packaging material (34) a strand (50). connected blister bag (51) forms a labeling or printing station (40) for applying data (52) to the packaging material (34), an optical detection device (40) which optically detects features of the individual blister bags of the strand, an evaluation device ( 90), which compares the features detected in a single blister pack with target features, and a storage station (60) in which the strand (50) of the blister packs (51) is stored in an ordered manner, the optical detecting means (40) between the wrapping station (3) and the storage station (60) is arranged.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for packaging individual medication portions.

Corresponding devices are also referred to as blister machines and are known from the prior art. For example, this describes WO 2013/034504 A1 one in pharmacies and hospitals or, with appropriate dimensioning, even in blister centers usable Blisterautomaten, the drug compilations of several drug portions patient-individually according to the medically prescribed intake times compiles. The device packs order data corresponding drug compilations (which may comprise only a single portion of medication or a plurality of individual portions of medication) in bags formed of a packaging material sheet, so-called blister bags, these bags being a strand of blister bags (also referred to as "blister tubing") for further packaging Leave use. A blister bag regularly corresponds to a time of administration of a patient, ie contains all portions of medication that a patient must take at a given time of day. The order data itself may be, for example, data derived from recipes or the like.

The known device for packaging individual medication portions comprises a plurality of storage and dispensing stations for medication portions, which cooperate with a plurality of circulating guide means which supply the medication portions also circulating collection means which supply the drug compositions to a packaging station in which the blister packs are formed and the each Medication portions when forming the blister pack are introduced into this. Due to the special construction of the device described above, a plurality of blister bags per hour is produced, and a corresponding identification of the blister bag is therefore of crucial importance.

Labeling the blister pack after inserting the individual portions of medication is not practical, since the application of u.a. the contents of the blister bag characterizing data the medication portions are damaged. The application of the corresponding data is therefore carried out before the actual blistering, d. H. the formation of the blister bag and the introduction of the drug portions during molding. For this purpose, a labeling or printing device is arranged in front of the actual packaging site, which applies the data corresponding to the order data on the packaging material, which data uniquely identify the subsequently produced blister bag and reflect the content of each blister bag.

If a (systematic) error occurs during the application of the data to the packaging material (print image blurred or unreadable, offset, partially applied), this can not be done by a user due to the working speed and the type of data applied (barcode or similar) are found to be very difficult, so that if necessary, a large number of defective blister bag is made before the error is noticed by a user. Furthermore, it may happen that there is a (systematic) error with regard to the production of the blister pouches, for example if a frequently requested medication portion is no longer available and this is not detected by an associated storage and dispensing station.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for packaging individual medication portions, with which the number of incorrectly produced blister pack is reduced. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a corresponding method.

The object is achieved by a device for packaging individual medication portions according to claim 1. The device according to the invention comprises a plurality of storage and dispensing stations for dispensing individual medication portions, at least one guiding and collecting arrangement for receiving the dispensed from the storage and dispensing stations medication portions and Forwarding said medication portions to a packaging station coupled to a controller which forms a string of connected blister bags from supplied packaging material and introduces the dispensed medication portions into the blister bags as the blister bags are formed. Depending on the exact configuration of the device, one or a plurality of guiding and collecting arrangements may be used. This may or may be made in one piece, but it is also envisaged that the guiding and collecting arrangements comprise separate guiding and collecting devices.

The device further comprises a labeling or printing station coupled to the control device for applying data predetermined by the control device in a predetermined arrangement to the packaging material of each blister bag to be formed in the packaging station. The data to be applied are applied in a predetermined arrangement, ie on a predetermined section of the packaging material (and thus the subsequent blister bag), and may include, among other things, the date of manufacture of the blister bag, the exact content and possibly information on the deterioration of the contents of the blister bag. The manner of applying the data is not essential to the present invention. For example, the data can be printed on the packaging material, but it is also conceivable that previously printed labels are adhered to the packaging material at the predetermined location. Furthermore, it is not essential what type of data is applied. Thus, it is possible for the data to be "readably" applied to a user, ie, for example, the name of the patient and the contents of the blister pack, ie the nature of the individual Medication portions, next to possibly other data, printed or glued. However, it is also conceivable that only a barcode is applied, which at a later date may be supplemented or replaced by further data. Depending on the particular embodiment, the labeling or printing station may be part of the packaging station, ie both stations are combined in a component group. Alternatively, the labeling or printing station can be a separate component, which possibly improves the accessibility in the presence of a fault. Regardless of the nature of the application of the data and the nature of the data itself, it is essential that the data applied be readable by a user or machine at a later time.

The device according to the invention further comprises an optical detection device coupled to the control device, which optically detects features of the individual blister bags of the strand, and an evaluation device coupled to the control device, which compares the features detected with a setpoint characteristic to a single blister bag. The evaluation device can be integrated in the control device. It is also conceivable that the function of both devices is performed by a common component, for example a computer.

The detected features may, for example, merely be the location of the application of the data on the blister bag. If comparison with target features reveals that the data is applied in a location that is unsuitable for later machine acquisition of the data, this may indicate a bias in the application of the data (for example, if there are five or more blister bags in succession) have the same error), and the device is possibly stopped, the exact responses to the determination of a deviation between detected features and desired features depending on the nature and frequency of the deviations. So in the simplest case only determines whether the application of the data as such works properly.

However, the optical detection means may also comprise such detection means which detect the number and size of the individual portions of medication placed in a blister bag. If the desired characteristics are derived from the order data to a blister bag, d. H. is held in the desired characteristics, how many portions of medication to be contained in a blister bag, a bag-specific deviation can be determined in this way, for example, if it is determined that the data are correctly applied to the blister bag, but due to a malfunction of the Device is not the correct number of individual medication portions is placed in a blister bag.

For storing the manufactured strand of connected blister bags, the device according to the invention further comprises a storage station, in which the strand is stored in an orderly manner. By "ordered" storage is meant that the strand of linked blister pack is rolled up, for example, or unfolded to a specific specification. The storage station can be arranged within the device, but it is also possible to improve the accessibility, an arrangement outside the actual device.

In order that the occurrence of a possibly systematic error can be detected, it is essential to the invention that the optical detection device is arranged between the packaging station and the storage station.

As already stated, blistering of blistered bags during blistering or production may result in systematic errors (misplacing the data, "unreadable" application of the data) and bag-related errors (incorrect number of medication portions, damaged portions of medication). If a systematic error occurs, it may be appropriate to stop the device so as to avoid producing a large number of defective blister bags. If there is only one bag-related error, however, it is regularly not indicated to stop the device. In order to make it easier for a user to recognize a faulty blister bag, in a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention it is provided that it comprises a marking device arranged between the optical detection device and the storage station and coupled to the control device, with which individual, identified as faulty Blister bag can be marked. For example, it is conceivable to simply provide a faulty blister bag with a striking color marking.

The object is further achieved by a method according to claim 3. In the method for operating the device for packaging individual medicament portions, the control device is first provided with order data, wherein these order data relate to medicament compilations, each with at least one medication portion. From the storage and dispensing stations, based on the order data, medication portions of a drug composition are dispensed and fed to the packaging station via at least one guiding and collecting arrangement. Data is applied to the packaging material from the labeling or printing station at predetermined application locations, and then a strand of connected blister packs is formed by the packaging station from the packaging material provided with the applied data, data being assigned to each blister bag, i. H. the blister bags are shaped so that are arranged on each previously applied data. During the molding of the blister bag, the dispensed drug compositions are introduced into the blister bag.

The strand of blister packs produced in this way is fed to an optical detection device, and with this, features of the blister packs are optically detected and the detected characteristics for a blister pack are compared with desired features. When determining a deviation between the detected characteristics and the target characteristics of a deviation associated reaction is triggered.

Finally, the strand of blister packs leaving the optical detection means is stored, d. H. ordered stored (for example, on a roll).

With the aid of the method according to the invention, it is possible to detect (systematic) errors when applying the data to the packaging material. The optical detection device, which may for example comprise a camera, detects predetermined features of the applied data. In the simplest case, for example, this may merely be the point of application of the data. If the data is correctly centered on the blister pouches (and thus on a corresponding location of the packaging material), the data will be determined with the optical detection device that the data is positioned too far "outwards" on the blister pouches Thus, in response to, for example, five consecutive defective blister bags, the device may be stopped. In this way, it is avoided that a large number of defective blister bag is generated.

Which reaction is triggered depends on the type and frequency of the deviations determined. If, after a misprint of data on each other, for example, more than five blister packs printed without error occur, the operation of the device can be maintained despite the misprint. With the method according to the invention in its above-mentioned form, systematic errors in the application of the data can be detected and the device can be stopped if necessary, so that the production of a large number of defective blister bags, which could possibly be re-manufactured, can be avoided.

In order to be able to react to errors in the drug composition in a blister bag, it is provided in a preferred embodiment of the method that the desired characteristics are derived from the order data, whereby the target characteristics and information about, for example Include number of individual portions of medication in a blister bag.

In the optical detection of the characteristics of a blister bag, not only is the location of the data on the blister bag determined, for example, but also, for example, the number of individual medication portions is determined. If it is determined that although the application of the data on the blister bag is error-free, but a number of drug portions has been introduced into the blister, which does not match the desired characteristics, the blister bag can be marked as defective in such a bag-related deviation.

In a preferred embodiment, furthermore, the order data associated with the defective blister bag is marked as defective so as to facilitate, for example, later finding of the defective blister bag in the strand of the associated blister bag. Alternatively or additionally, the order data of a faulty blister bag for re-processing, so that it is possible without the intervention of a user, despite a first erroneous compilation to produce a blister bag whose drug composition corresponds to the order data.

• Figur 1 eine schematische perspektivische Ansicht einer ersten Ausführungsform der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung zeigt;
• Figur 2 eine schematische Seitenansicht einer zweiten Ausführungsform des erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens zeigt; und
• Figur 3 eine Detailansicht des Abschnittes der Vorrichtung vor der eigentlichen Herstellung der Blisterbeutel zeigt.

In the following, two preferred embodiments of the device according to the invention and a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

• FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a first embodiment of the device according to the invention;
• FIG. 2 a schematic side view of a second embodiment of the method according to the invention; and
• FIG. 3 a detail view of the portion of the device before the actual production of the blister bag shows.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the device 1 according to the invention, wherein in this illustration only essential features are shown for the invention. Insignificant structural features, such as the outer wall, display and input means, etc. are omitted for the sake of simplicity.

The device according to the invention comprises a support structure or frame 4 on which (m) a plurality of storage and dispensing stations 2 are detachably fastened, wherein a specific type of medicament portions can be arranged in each storage and dispensing station 2. Usually, two different portions of medication are arranged in each storage and dispensing station. In the case of such medication portions, which are frequently requested, however, it is also possible for the same portions of medication to be stored in several storage and dispensing stations 2.

The storage and dispensing stations 2 are arranged in the embodiment shown in two opposite matrix structures 5 (of which only a matrix structure is shown), wherein the matrix structures 5 include two first horizontal conveyor belts 6a, 6b, to which guide means 7 are attached. The guide means are releasably secured by fasteners 8 which are part of the first two conveyor belts 6a, 6b. In the embodiment shown, only a few guide devices 7 are shown; in practice, a guide device 7 is regularly fastened to each fastening element 8, so that the two first conveyor belts 6a, 6b are completely provided with conveying devices.

In the embodiment shown, the guide means are movable over the first conveyor belts along the storage and dispensing stations 2. As a result, a parallel processing of order data is made possible, since a guide device moves past each available portion of medication and thus with each guide device a medicament composition can be processed. However, a corresponding embodiment of the guide means is not essential to the present invention. It may, for example, only a single guide device be provided that can receive medication portions from all available storage and dispensing stations.

The conveyor belts 6a, 6b are driven by drive rollers 12, which are coupled via a vertical shaft 10 with a motor 11. To prevent slippage of the first conveyor belts 6a, 6b in the drive rollers 12, these are advantageously provided with a surface contouring.

In order to be able to receive medication portions from all the storage and dispensing stations 2, the guide means 7 have a plurality of openings (not shown). In order to reduce the height of fall of the individual portions of medication in the guide means 7, they have in the embodiment shown a plurality of undercuts 14, which are each associated with a horizontal row of storage and dispensing stations.

The device further comprises a second conveyor belt 15, which is arranged below the two first conveyor belts, and which likewise has a plurality of fastening elements 16. In each case a collecting device 17 is fastened to the fastening elements, in which medicament compositions are temporarily stored intermediately prior to transfer to a packaging station 3. The second conveyor 15 is also coupled via a gear and the vertical shaft 10 to the motor 11, so that the guide means 7 and the collecting means 17 are moved at the same rotational speed. As this particular at FIG. 1 can be seen, however, does not extend the matrix of the storage and dispensing stations and the two first conveyor belts 6a, 6b over the entire length of the conveyor belt 15, but are, in view of the "length" of the device, kept shorter, so that at At a certain point within the device there is a separation between the guide means and the collecting means. The guiding and collecting devices (which together form the guiding and collecting arrangement) move in the area of the storage and storage devices in the embodiment shown Dispensing stations synchronously together, a separation takes place at the end of the matrix structure of the storage and dispensing stations. However, such an embodiment is not essential to the invention. In another, significantly simpler embodiment of the device according to the invention, it is conceivable that the device has several (or even only one) combined guiding and collecting arrangement, by means of which or which medicament compositions are guided to the packaging station 3.

In the in the FIGS. 1 and 2 In the embodiments shown, the collected drug compositions are supplied to the packaging station 3 by means of the plurality of movable collecting devices 17. With reference to FIG. 3 In the following, the packaging station and the packaging station upstream components of the two embodiments of the device according to the invention will be described.

The packaging station 3 is associated with a supply roll 32 with packaging material 34. The supply roll 32 itself is moved by a drive 33. The packaging material 34 is supplied to one by one with a (in FIG. 3 not visible) control device 80 coupled labeling or printing station 40 for applying predetermined by the controller data in a predetermined arrangement on the packaging material 34 out. How exactly the given data is applied to the packaging material depends on the particular embodiment. For example, it is conceivable that the data is printed on the packaging material 34, or that a label with the predetermined data is glued to the packaging material.

The packaging material 34 leaves the labeling or printing station 40 with applied data 52, the data being applied to the packaging material 34 in such a way that the data are arranged at a likewise predetermined position on the blister bag for each blister bag to be subsequently formed. By means of two guide rollers 35, the packaging material provided with the data is supplied to a forming area of the packaging station 3, in which the Packaging material is folded centrally into a V-shape, in which the drug compositions can be introduced when opening the collection devices 17.

The packaging material 34 is provided with a longitudinal and two transversely extending to the transport direction seals, which are formed by these seals self-contained blister. These are not separated after completion, but it forms a strand 50 with associated blister bags 51st

For producing the longitudinal seal two heating means 37 are provided, of which in FIG. 3 only one is shown. These two heating means press the two upper ends of the V-shaped folded packaging material together and weld them together. The transverse seals of the blister bag are made by two rotating heating means 39, the rotation of which is coordinated with each other. On the basis of the speed of movement of the packaging material 34 and the rotational speed of the heating means 39 can be precisely the length, and thus the capacity, control the blister bag.

In a sealing or production of the blister bag with heating means, a corresponding packaging material 34 is to be selected. In alternative embodiments, it is possible to make the individual blister bags in other ways, in which case the packaging material must be adapted accordingly. Thus, for example, it is also possible to apply a sealing or adhesive material during the production of the blister pack, via the adhesive effect of which the blister bag is produced.

Like this in the FIGS. 1 and 2 can be seen, the strand 50 is connected to the blister bags 51 from the packaging station 3 to a downstream of the packaging station 3 and guided to the control device 80 coupled optical detection device 40. This optical detection device comprises at least one detection means 41, which may be, for example, a camera. With the help of this detection means 41 features of the Capture device passing through blister bag detected. In the simplest case, for example, it is merely detected at which point of application of the blister bag the data previously applied with the labeling or printing device are arranged or whether (readable) data at all is arranged on the blister bags.

These "features" of a blister bag passing through the optical detection device are detected by an evaluation device 90 coupled to the control device 80 (the two aforementioned devices are only in FIG FIG. 1 shown, but also in the embodiment according to FIG. 2 available) compared with desired characteristics of the respective blister bag. For example, referring to the simplest embodiment described above, it is compared whether the applied data is applied to the blisters at the right place.

Since the data is usually applied in a machine-readable form (for example, in the form of a bar code), it is essential that these are applied so that they are readable by a machine. For this purpose, it is necessary for the data to be arranged on the blister bag in a specific detection range of a machine reading out this data. If it is determined in the aforementioned comparison that this is not the case, the first blister bag in which this error was determined initially has a bag-specific error. To make this visually apparent in the blister bag, includes in FIG. 2 shown embodiment of the device according to the invention a marking device 70, by means of which the blister bag recognized as defective is optically marked by means of at least one marking means 71, 72, for example by the bag is marked with a visually salient color.

If the same or similar errors are detected in the blister bag or blisters following the first defective blister bag, the operation of the device is stopped in response to the determined deviations in order to keep the number of defective blister bags low. After how many Deviations and what deviations exactly a stop of the device is initiated, depends on parameters that can be specified to the controller or the evaluation.

In the case that the desired characteristics are derived from the order data, these also include "features" with regard to the drug composition contained in a blister bag. For example, the target features include information about how many portions of medication comprises a drug compilation. In such a case, the optical detection device, optionally with an additional detection means 42, can determine how many portions of medicament are arranged in a blister bag, and this number is compared with the corresponding desired characteristic. If it is determined that there is a difference in the number of portions of medication, this blister pack is marked as defective. As already stated, the blister bag can be optically marked for this, but it is also possible (additionally) to mark the order data as defective or to provide this order data for reworking, so as to ensure that the order data has also been processed after all order data have been processed whose first compilation may have failed.

After the strand 50 has passed through the optical detection device, this is on a roller 62, which is driven by a motor 61, magazined. In alternative embodiments, the strand may also be stored in an orderly folded manner, for example.

Claims (8)

Device (1) for packaging individual portions of medicament, comprising
a plurality of storage and dispensing stations (2) for dispensing individual portions of medication,
at least one guiding and collecting arrangement (7, 17) for receiving the portions of medication dispensed by the storage and dispensing stations (2) and forwarding these portions of medication
a packaging station (3) coupled to a control device (80) which forms a strand (50) of connected blister bags (51) from supplied packaging material (34) and inserts the dispensed medication portions into the blisters when the blister bags are formed,
a labeling or printing station (40) coupled to the control device (80) for applying data (52) provided by the control device (80) in a predetermined arrangement to the packaging material (34),
an optical detection device (40) coupled to the control device (80) which optically detects features of the individual blister bags of the strand,
an evaluation device (90) which is coupled to the control device (80) and which compares the features acquired with a setpoint characteristic to a single blister bag, and
a storage station (60) in which the strand (50) of the blister bag (51) is stored in an ordered manner,
wherein the optical detection means (40) is disposed between the packaging station (3) and the storage station (60). Device (1) for packaging single portions of medicament according to claim 1, characterized in that the device is one between the optical Detection device (40) and the storage station (60) arranged and with the control device (80) coupled marking device (70), with which individual blister bags are markable. A method of operating the device for packaging individual medication portions according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein
order data are provided to the control device (80), the order data relating to drug compilations each comprising at least one portion of medication,
from the storage and dispensing stations (2), drug portions of a drug composition are dispensed based on the order data;
the drug compositions are supplied to the packaging station (3),
from the labeling or printing station (70) data (52) are applied to the packaging material (34) at predetermined application locations,
from the packaging station (3) from the provided packaging material (34) with the data applied, a strand (50) of blister packs (51) is formed, each data being associated with each blister pack, and the dispensed drug compilations are introduced into the blister packs during blister bag forming become,
the strand (50) is fed to an optical detection device (40) and features of a blister bag are optically detected,
the detected characteristics for a blister bag are compared with desired characteristics and, when a deviation between the detected characteristics and the desired characteristics is determined, a response associated with the deviation is triggered, and
the strand of blister bag is magaziniert. A method of operating the device for packaging individual medication portions according to claim 3, characterized in that the target characteristics are derived from the order data. Method for operating the device for packaging individual medication portions according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the operation of the device is stopped upon determination of a systematic deviation between desired features and detected features. Method for operating the device for packaging individual medication portions according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that a blister bag is identified as defective when determining a bag-related deviation between desired characteristics and detected features. Method for operating the device for packaging individual medication portions according to one of claims 3 - 6, characterized in that the order data associated with a blister bag are identified as faulty when determining a deviation between desired characteristics and detected characteristics. Method for operating the device for packaging individual medication portions according to any one of claims 3-7, characterized in that when determining a deviation between desired characteristics and detected characteristics, the order data are provided for re-processing.

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