JP4009942B2 - Docking station cleaning method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cleaning method and apparatus in a docking station for preventing scattering of contents to an external area in a docking station mainly used in a pharmaceutical manufacturing factory or the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Pharmaceutical manufacturing plants handle various forms of raw materials such as liquids, powders and granules. In order to prevent raw materials and the like from being released into the atmosphere during the manufacturing process, pharmaceutical products are manufactured in a clean area. However, since a large cost is spent on the clean area equipment, it is difficult to perform all the manufacturing processes in the clean area. Therefore, by providing a transportation route that connects between clean areas provided for each process such as dispensing in the external area, and transporting containers filled with contents such as raw materials on this transportation route, clean area equipment Is made compact.
[0003]
A docking station 1 as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-321360 is provided at the connecting portion between the clean area and the external area so that the contents are not scattered when the contents are transferred between the areas. (See FIG. 2). That is, a connecting portion for connecting the pipe 2 connected to the manufacturing apparatus in the clean area 4 and the container 3 for transporting the external area 5 is provided, and the connecting portion is enclosed by an enclosure 6 that can be sealed. The contents are transferred while preventing the release of objects to the atmosphere. The container 3 and the pipe 2 are provided with covers 7A and 7B, respectively, for preventing external leakage of contents, and these covers 7A and 7B are combined and slid simultaneously when transferring. ing. When the cover 7A, 7B is opened and the flow path connected to the container 3 and the pipe 2 is released, the butterfly valve 8 attached to the container 3 is opened and the contents fall to the pipe 2 side, and the inside of the clean area 4 It is transferred to the processing equipment. Thereafter, the integrated cover 7 is returned to close the flow path, and the container 3 is separated from the coupling portion. In this way, the contents are transferred to the container 3 and transferred to another clean area, whereby transportation between the clean areas is performed. When the cover 7 is slid to open and close the flow path, a slight gap is formed on the wall surface of the flow path, and the contents may leak out from the gap after the contents are transferred. Thus, the contents are prevented from being released into the atmosphere by covering the coupling portion of the flow path with the enclosure 6 to form a sealed space. In addition, after a plurality of nozzle holes 9 are provided on the wall surface of the enclosure 6, the content leaked by blowing compressed air is blown out, and the internal gas in the enclosure 6 is sucked to perform appropriate processing. , Discharged outside the system.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the above-described docking station 1, in particular, when the contents of powder are charged, the contents may adhere to the wall surfaces of the container 3 and the tube 2 after the contents are transferred. When the integrated cover 7 is slid and closed, this may fall onto the upper surface of the cover 7. Moreover, the case where the cover 7 slides while the content adhering to the wall surface is wound is considered. Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (2), the cover 7 is closed with the contents falling from the wall surface of the container 3 attached to the top surface on the front end side when the cover 7 is closed, as shown by the hatched portion. Leak outside the flow path. The enclosure 6 cleans the inside by compressed air injection from the nozzle hole 9. However, since the nozzle holes 9 are all arranged on the wall surface of the enclosure 6, there is a restriction in the blowing direction. It is difficult to remove the contents attached to the upper surface of the cover 7. The contents attached to the cover 7 may be released to the external area when the container 3 is separated from the docking station 1.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning method and apparatus for a docking station that can improve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and prevent the contents from being discharged to the outside area when the container is separated from the docking station. Yes.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the docking station cleaning method according to the present invention connects the lower end of the container moved from the external area to the upper end of the funnel inside the sealable enclosure, and the contents in the container are A method for cleaning a docking station that is dropped by gravity and transported to the funnel side, wherein the contents are transferred by releasing a connecting portion by moving a slide-type container cover provided at the lower end of the container. After that, suction negative pressure is applied to remove dust inside the enclosure, and then the container cover is closed to apply suction negative pressure to the inside of the enclosure while closing the top end of the container cover in a closed state. after dust removal tip upper surface of the container cover by jetting compressed air, and characterized by disconnecting the container from the docking station By that.
[0007]
The cleaning device of the docking station according to the present invention connects the lower end of the container moved from the external area and the upper end of the funnel through a slide-type container cover provided at the lower end of the container inside the sealable enclosure. A cleaning device for a docking station that causes the contents in the container to drop by gravity and transfer the contents to the funnel side, and a suction negative pressure means that applies a suction negative pressure to the inside of the enclosure; and An air nozzle provided at the lower end of the container and capable of injecting compressed air onto the top surface of the front end of the container cover, a container-side coupler provided at one end of an air supply pipe of the air nozzle, and disposed on the docking station side. A coupler on the docking station side leading to the air source, and moving the container into the enclosure to When coupled with An'neru, the container side and the coupler and the docking station side coupler is attached, and wherein the supply path of the air to the air nozzle is adapted to open from the air source.
[0008]
[Action]
With the above configuration, the contents attached to the upper surface of the slide valve can be removed by arranging the air nozzle at an appropriate position inside the enclosure of the docking station and controlling the injection timing of the compressed air from the air nozzle.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Embodiments of a docking station cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a side view of the cleaning device according to the present embodiment.
[0010]
Below, the outline | summary of the container 24 used when transferring the contents is demonstrated with FIG. 1 and FIG. The transfer of the contents between the areas is performed by a funnel 22 (lower part according to FIG. 1) formed at the tip of a pipe arranged in the clean area 4 and a sealable container 24 (upper part) arranged in the outer area 5. ) Are connected vertically and the contents are dropped by gravity. Therefore, the container 24 is formed in a shape with a narrowed mouth so that the contents can easily fall. A butterfly valve 26 is attached to the inside of the mouth of the container 24. Further, a container cover 28 formed larger than the outer peripheral dimension is attached to the mouth end, and the container 24 is double-closed by the butterfly valve 26 and the container cover 28. The butterfly valve 26 is provided with an opening / closing rotating shaft 38 for rotating the butterfly valve 26 and an opening / closing handle 39 at the tip thereof. The opening / closing handle 39 is formed in a rectangular shape, and is attachable to and detachable from a handle guide 41 provided on the docking station 40 side described later.
[0011]
Such a container 24 is connected to a funnel 22 connected to a manufacturing apparatus or the like disposed inside the clean area 4 at a docking station 40. The docking station 40 surrounds the connecting portion with a surrounding body 42 so that the granular material or the like does not leak out from the connecting portion between the funnel 22 and the container 24, and the inside can be sealed. That is, the envelope 42 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped is provided with the funnel 22 on the clean area 4 side, and provided with an opening for inserting the mouth of the container 24 on the outer area 5 side. 44 is mounted. The slide valve 44 is configured to be slidable along the surface of the outer area 5 by two thrust cylinders 46 respectively disposed on both sides of the surface of the outer area 5 of the enclosure 42 and to be opened when the funnel 22 and the container 24 are connected. is there. When the container 24 is connected at the docking station 40 (state shown in FIG. 1), the coupler 34 is connected to an air source (not shown) and the opening is covered with the cover member 30 installed in the container 24. ing.
[0012]
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the coupler 34 and the opening / closing handle 39 of the butterfly valve 26 that are mounted when docking. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of part A in FIG. When the container 24 is lowered and attached to the docking station 40, the coupler 34A on the container 24 side is attached to the coupler 34B provided on the docking station 40 side, and the air supply path is opened. A valve 35 is provided in the air supply path from the air source to the coupler 34 </ b> B, and the opening and closing of the valve 35 is controlled by the control unit 68. On the docking station 40 side, a handle guide 41 that can be connected to the open / close handle 39 of the butterfly valve 26 during docking is provided. The handle guide 41 is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and connects the open / close handle 39 by sliding it up and down. The handle guide 41 receives the driving force of the motor 43 through the shaft, and rotates the butterfly valve 26 connected to rotate the handle guide 41 to open and close the flow path of the container 24.
[0013]
In addition, when a sealing material or the like is fixed to the periphery of the opening, and the slide valve 44 is closed, or when the docking station 40 is connected, the space between the outer area 5 and the inner space of the enclosure 42 is set. Should be completely shielded.
[0014]
The funnel 22 attached to the clean area 4 side of the docking station 40 is provided with a tube cover 50 formed at the mouth end portion that is larger than the outer peripheral dimension. The tube cover 50 is closed except when transferring the contents. A protruding stud 52 is attached to the tube cover 50 on the opposite side of the container cover 28. The stud 52 can be fitted into a housing (not shown) provided on the container cover 28, and the container cover 28 and the tube cover 50 are connected and integrated when the container 24 is attached to the docking station 40. Further, a thrust cylinder 48 is attached to the tube cover 50 so that the tube cover 50 can be moved horizontally. That is, the integrated cover serves as an integrated slide valve 54 that opens and closes the flow path between the funnel 22 and the container 24. The integrated slide valve 54 is sandwiched by a gap between the funnel 22 and the container 24. By configuring the gap slightly larger than the thickness of the integrated slide valve 54, the integrated slide valve 54 is configured. 54 can be smoothly slid by the thrust cylinder 48.
[0015]
Further, an expansion gasket 56 is attached to the funnel 22 along the outer periphery. The expansion gasket 56 is arranged so that the lower part contacts the inner surface of the lower part of the enclosure 42 of the docking station 40 described later, and the upper part contacts the pipe cover 50. Such an expansion gasket 56 is formed so as to be able to expand and contract in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, the expansion gasket 56 is formed of a member having a circular cross section and expandable / contractible, and is expanded by being filled with gas. When the expansion gasket 56 is expanded, the funnel 22 is pressed against and closely contacts the tube cover 50, and conversely, when it is contracted, there is a margin in the gap between the funnel 22 and the tube cover 50. Accordingly, the integrated slide valve 54 slides sideways with the expansion gasket 56 contracted, and the flow path formed by the funnel 22 and the container 24 is released. The movement of the integrated slide valve 54 creates a gap in the flow path, but the expansion of the expansion gasket 56 raises the funnel 22 and closes it. Thereafter, the butterfly valve 26 attached to the container 24 is opened, and the contents are transferred from the container 24 to the funnel 22. After the contents are thus transferred, the butterfly valve 26 is closed and the container 24 is closed. Further, the expansion gasket 56 is contracted, the integrated slide valve 54 is returned to the gap, and the expansion gasket 56 is expanded again. In this way, the contents are transferred from the external area 5 to the clean area 4.
[0016]
By the way, the contents may adhere to the wall surface during the transfer. In particular, when the content is powder, the granular material of the content may be scattered inside the enclosure 42 from the gap in the flow path formed by contracting the expansion gasket 56. In addition, when the integrated slide valve 54 is closed, the granular material may be peeled off from the wall surface and adheres to the surface of the enclosure 42, and leaks out of the flow path. Therefore, the docking station 40 is provided with a cleaning device to remove the granular material. That is, a plurality of nozzle holes 58 are provided on the wall surface of the enclosure 42, and an air supply source (not shown) is connected to the nozzle holes 58 to inject compressed air, thereby scattering the powder material inside the enclosure 42. Further, the enclosure 42 is provided with suction means 60 for discharging the scattered granular material together with the internal gas to the outside. The suction means 60 has an externally installed pump 62 and a pipe 64 that connects the pump 62 to the enclosure 42, and sucks the gas inside the enclosure 42 to generate a negative pressure. An opening / closing valve 66 is attached to the pipe 64, and operation control of the opening / closing valve 66 and the pump 62 is performed by the control unit 68. That is, the timing for sucking the internal gas is controlled. The internal gas sucked by the pump 62 is discharged outside the system after passing through a processing system (not shown), and dust inside the enclosure 42 is removed.
[0017]
However, in the above-described configuration, the granular material adhering to the hatched portion in FIG. 2B on the upper surface of the integrated slide valve 54, that is, the upper surface of the container cover 28 is difficult to remove. The nozzle hole 58 is formed on the wall surface of the enclosure 42, and it is difficult to clean the nozzle cover 58 by spraying the upper surface of the container cover 28 from the four wall surfaces. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, an air nozzle 70 that injects compressed air toward the upper surface of the container cover 28 is provided.
[0018]
The air nozzle 70 is attached to the guide member 36 on the side that becomes the tip when the integrated slide valve 54 is closed. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the container cover 28 is provided so as to be positioned at the upper end of the container cover 28 in a closed state. The air nozzle 70 closes one end of a circular pipe, and an air supply pipe 78 is connected to the other end. On the outer periphery of the air nozzle 70, as shown in FIG. 5A, a plurality of nozzle holes 72 are formed at an equal pitch on the same axis parallel to the axis of the circular tube. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2B, a configuration may be adopted in which a thin straight slit nozzle 74 is formed on the same axis parallel to the axis. The injection direction from the nozzle hole 72 or the slit nozzle 74 is a direction toward the upper surface of the container cover 28. The gap between the nozzle hole 72 or the slit nozzle 74 and the upper surface of the container cover 28 is preferably 0.3 to 2 mm, and the powder can be removed from the upper surface of the container cover 28 with a small amount of air. Further, the direction of the nozzle may be inclined by 30 ° to 60 ° toward the tip of the container cover 28 as shown in FIG.
[0019]
In the present embodiment, the compressed air to the air nozzle 70 is supplied by the supply pipe 32 using the coupler 34 as a supply source. The supply pipe 32 is connected to the air nozzle 70 through the cover member 30. When the container 24 is connected to the docking station 40, the coupler 34 is coupled, and the compressed air supply path is connected. Then, opening and closing of a valve (not shown) is controlled by the control unit 68 to determine the timing for blowing out compressed air from the air nozzle 70.
[0020]
As described above, since the air nozzle 70 is arranged on the guide member 36 of the container cover 28, it adheres to the upper surface of the container cover 28, which has been difficult to remove by compressed air injection from the nozzle hole 58 on the wall surface of the enclosure 42. It is possible to effectively remove the granular material.
[0021]
Hereinafter, the dust collection processing operation of the docking station 40 using the cleaning device according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the cleaning device according to the present embodiment.
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 7 (1), the container 24 containing the contents is transported along the transport route and guided to the docking station 40. When the container 24 comes close to the enclosure 42, the pump 62 operates to generate a negative suction pressure inside the enclosure 42. Then, the slide valve 44 of the enclosure 42 is opened, and the container 24 is connected to the funnel 22. At this time, since the slide valve 44 is opened, the inside of the enclosure 42 and the external area 5 are temporarily in communication with each other, but the internal gas leaks into the external area 5 by making the inside into a negative pressure state. To prevent that.
[0023]
When the container 24 arrives at the connection position with the funnel 22, the tube cover 50 and the container cover 28 are integrated. At the same time, the cover member 30 comes into contact with the surrounding body 42 and the inside of the surrounding body 42 becomes a sealed space by the sealing material provided on the surrounding body 42. Then, a negative pressure state is obtained by the suction means 60, and compressed air is injected from the nozzle hole 58 to clean the inside of the enclosure 42. Thereafter, the expansion gasket 56 is contracted to move the tube cover 50 and the container cover 28 laterally, and the flow path for transferring the contents is opened. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7B, the expansion gasket 56 is expanded again to close the gap formed at the boundary between the funnel 22 and the container 24.
[0024]
The butterfly valve 26 of the container 24 is opened, and the contents are dropped and transferred. After the transfer of the contents, as shown in FIG. 7 (3), while the compressed air is jetted from the nozzle hole 58 provided on the wall surface of the enclosure 42, the suction means 60 sucks the internal gas and removes the dust. Do. By this injection, when the previous granular material (hatched portion) is attached to the wall surface of the funnel 22, the granular material leaks to the outside of the flow path or expands the flow path when the cover is laterally moved. For example, when the gasket 56 is not completely covered with the gasket 56, the particulate material scattered inside the enclosure 42 can be removed.
[0025]
Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (1), the suction means 60 is stopped, the expansion gasket 56 is contracted, and the cover is slid to return to the original position. A phenomenon occurs in which the granular material adhering to or remaining on the wall surface of the funnel 22 or the container 24 falls on the upper surface of the sliding container cover 28 or adheres to the end of the container cover 28 when sliding. . Therefore, after the cover is completely closed and the expansion gasket 56 is expanded to seal the flow path, as shown in FIG. 8 (2), a second compressed air injection is performed from the nozzle hole on the wall surface. Apply negative suction pressure to the inside. Further, compressed air is jetted from an air nozzle 70 installed above the guide member 36 to remove the particulate material adhering to the container cover 28. The timing of the injection is after the movement in which the two covers are moved synchronously in a direction to block the powder passage between the two orifices that are hermetically connected. Compressed air is blown onto the cover from the top in the direction of travel when the cover is shielded. In addition, the timing which injects from the air nozzle 70 may start injection before the container cover 28 is closed, and there exists an effect that it can inject to the wide area of the container cover 28 by this. Even in this case, the injected compressed air is exhausted by the suction means 60.
[0026]
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8 (3), the container 24 is cut away from the docking station 40 while keeping the inside at a negative pressure. At this time, even if a small amount of the granular material remains inside the enclosure 42, it does not leak into the external area 5 because the inside is at a negative pressure. Then, the slide valve 44 is closed to make the inside a sealed space, and suction is continued to completely remove the particulate material.
[0027]
As described above, in the present embodiment, by using the air nozzle 70, it is possible to wipe off the contents such as powder adhering to the surface of the container cover 28. Further, when the container 24 is separated from the funnel 22 and separated from the docking station 40, by continuing the suction until the slide valve 44 of the enclosure 42 is opened and the container 24 is separated and the slide valve 44 is closed again, It is possible to prevent slight residual particles inside the enclosure 42 from scattering to the outer area 5. The internal gas sucked by the suction means 60 is discharged out of the system after appropriate processing is performed. Therefore, the leakage range of the contents can be limited only to the inside of the enclosure 42, and the internal gas in the enclosure 42 is promptly sent to the processing system so that the processing is smoothly performed. Great effect can be expected to prevent material leakage.
[0028]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention relates to the position of the air nozzle for injecting compressed air into the enclosure and the injection operation when the container is separated from the docking station after the contents such as medicine are transferred between the clean area and the external area. We are trying to optimize. The contents remaining inside the enclosure are quickly sucked and processed by jetting from the air nozzle, so that the internal gas containing the granular material remaining in the enclosure flows out to the external area by opening to the atmosphere. Can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a cleaning device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory diagram of a conventional cleaning device.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a container body according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when docking part A in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an air nozzle according to the present embodiment.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are a plan view and a cross-sectional view of a peripheral portion of an air nozzle according to the present embodiment. FIGS.
FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram of the cleaning device according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram of the cleaning device according to the embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 40 ... …… Docking station, 2 ......... Tube, 3, 24 ......... Container, 4 ...... Clean area, 5 ...... External area, 6, 42 ...... Enclosure, 7 ......... Cover, 8, 26 ......... Butterfly valve, 9 ......... Nozzle hole, 22 ......... Funnel, 28 ......... Cover cover, 30 ......... Cover member, 32, 78 ......... Air supply pipe, 34 ... ...... Coupler, 35 ......... Valve, 36 ......... Guide member, 38 ......... Opening / closing rotary shaft, 39 ......... Opening / closing handle, 41 ......... Handle guide, 43 ......... Motor, 44 ... ... Slide valve, 46, 48 ......... Thrust cylinder, 50 ......... Pipe cover, 52 ......... Stud, 54 ......... Integrated slide valve, 56 ......... Expansion gasket, 58, 72 ...... Nozzle hole , 60 ......... suction means, 62 ... ... pump, 64 ... Pipe, 66 ......... off valve 68 ......... controller, 70 ......... air nozzle, 74 ......... slit nozzle.

Claims (2)

A docking station cleaning method in which a lower end of a container moved from an external area is connected to an upper end of a funnel inside a sealable enclosure, and the contents in the container are dropped by gravity and transferred to the funnel side. a is, the after transferring the contents to release the connection portion by the lower end movement of the container cover of the slide type provided in the container, the interior of the enclosure and dust by the action of negative suction pressure, then while applying a suction negative pressure inside the enclosure to close the container cover, after dust removal tip upper surface of the container cover by injecting compressed air to the tip top of the container cover of the closed state, the container A docking station cleaning method , comprising: separating the docking station from the docking station. The lower end of the container moved from the external area and the upper end of the funnel are connected to each other through a slide-type container cover provided at the lower end of the container inside the sealable enclosure, and the contents in the container are separated by gravity. A cleaning device for a docking station that is dropped and transferred to the funnel side ,
Suction negative pressure means for applying a suction negative pressure to the inside of the enclosure;
An air nozzle provided at the lower end of the container and capable of injecting compressed air onto the top end of the container cover;
A container-side coupler equipped at one end of an air supply pipe of the air nozzle;
A docking station side coupler leading to an air source disposed on the docking station side;
When the container is moved into the enclosure and connected to the funnel, the coupler on the container side and the coupler on the docking station side are mounted, and an air supply path from the air source to the air nozzle is opened. A docking station cleaning device characterized by the above-mentioned .

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