Device for dosing fine-grained filler material into packaging containers

Abstract

Device (10; 10a) for dosing fine-grained contents, in particular pharmaceuticals, into packaging containers (1), comprising a storage container (11; 11a) for the contents, a dosing unit (15; 15a) arranged in a plane below the storage container (11; 11a) with at least one dosing chamber (22) for storing a target quantity of the contents, wherein the dosing unit (15; 15a) is adjustable between at least two different positions, a receiving position in which the contents can be introduced from the storage container (11; 11a) into the dosing chamber (22) and a dispensing position in which the contents are dispensed from the dosing chamber (22) into the packaging container (1), and a conveying device (100) for the packaging containers (1) to be filled, which conveys a packaging container (1) below the dosing unit (15; 15a) to the dispensing position of the dosing unit (15; 15a), characterized in that the dosing unit (15;15a) is rotatable stepwise about a vertical axis (12; 12a), and that two metering chambers (22) are provided on a pitch circle diameter of the metering unit (15; 15a) offset from each other by 180°, wherein the distance (A) of the metering chambers (22) on the pitch circle diameter corresponds to 1 / n times the pitch distance (a) of two packaging containers (1) conveyed in the conveying device (100), and wherein n is a natural number.;

Description

State of the art

[0001] The invention relates to a device for dosing fine-grained filling material into packaging containers according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Such a device is known from DE 10 2011 085 283 A1 of the applicant. It comprises a dosing unit rotatably mounted on a horizontal axis, with a plurality of dosing chambers, each for receiving a predetermined fill quantity of pharmaceuticals. In a first position for receiving the pharmaceuticals from a storage container, the respective dosing chamber is arranged below the storage container. The contents (pharmaceuticals) fall into the dosing chamber either by gravity alone or with the aid of negative pressure from the storage container. The dosing unit is then rotated 180° on its axis to dispense the contents into a packaging container. This can optionally be accomplished with the aid of compressed air. The dosing unit has a plurality of dosing chambers, the volume of which is adjusted by an adjustment mechanism in which adjusting elements move radially inwards.The position of the dosing unit, which can be moved outwards (with respect to the axis of rotation of the dosing unit), is adjustable. The known device is particularly suitable for dispensing powdered or free-flowing filling material onto the bases of hard gelatin capsules.

[0003] From the applicant's DE 10 2008 040 595 A1, another device for dosing fine-grained pharmaceuticals into packaging containers is known, which also has a dosing unit rotatably mounted on a horizontally arranged axis. In this device, too, it is provided that the transfer of contents from a container is optionally facilitated by negative pressure, just as the dispensing of contents into packaging containers can be assisted by positive pressure. To facilitate the filling process, the known device additionally has a vibration device or a vibration generator that prevents the contents from adhering, for example, in the dosing chamber. Furthermore, it is known from the latter DE 10 2008 040 595 A1 to provide a dosing unit movable on a vertically arranged axis, in which the contents are introduced from a container into chambers of the dosing unit by means of a tamping plunger.Here too, the known device is primarily used for filling capsule bases of medicinal or hard gelatin capsules.

[0004] In addition to (hard gelatin) capsules, smaller packaging containers, particularly those made of glass or plastic, are increasingly being used to fill pharmaceuticals in the form of microspheres, pellets, or similar products. Due to the significantly larger dimensions of these containers compared to (hard gelatin) capsules, the aforementioned prior art devices are only partially suitable for filling such containers with high throughput and high accuracy.

[0005] FR 2 890 043 A1 describes a device for filling bags. DE 696 03 815 T2 describes a device for manufacturing coffee bags. Disclosure of the invention

[0006] Based on the aforementioned prior art, the invention is based on the objective of further developing a device for dosing fine-grained filling material into packaging containers according to the preamble of claim 1 in such a way that it is suitable, at high performance, for filling packaging containers such as vials or similar packaging containers with high accuracy.This problem is solved according to the invention in a device for dosing fine-grained fill material into packaging containers with the features of claim 1 in that the dosing unit is rotatable incrementally about a vertically arranged axis, and that two dosing chambers, offset from each other by 180°, are provided on a pitch circle diameter of the dosing unit, wherein the distance between the dosing chambers on the pitch circle diameter corresponds to 1 / n times the pitch distance of two packaging containers conveyed in the conveying device, and wherein n is a natural number. Such a design of the dosing unit in conjunction with a correspondingly designed, intermittently operating conveying device has the advantage that two packaging containers can be filled simultaneously during a standstill phase of the dosing unit.This is achieved solely by a corresponding arrangement of the dosing chambers in the dosing unit in conjunction with a correspondingly adapted pitch distance between two packaging containers conveyed in the conveying device, wherein the aforementioned pitch distance of the packaging containers in the conveying device corresponds, for example, to half (1 / 2), one third (1 / 3), one quarter (1 / 4), etc. of the pitch circle diameter of two dosing chambers arranged 180° apart from each other in the dosing unit.

[0007] Advantageous further developments of the device according to the invention for dosing fine-grained filling material into packaging containers are listed in the dependent claims.

[0008] Packaging materials such as pharmaceuticals are subject to certain variations in density depending on the batch. To enable adjustment of the dosing chambers so that the correct quantity of material, relative to a target fill weight, can always be dosed into the packaging containers even with density differences, a preferred embodiment of the invention provides that the dosing chamber consists of at least two sleeve-shaped sub-elements arranged axially adjustable to each other, wherein the target fill quantity can be adjusted by the position of the two sub-elements.

[0009] To enable simple and safe dispensing of the pharmaceutical product from the dosing chamber into a packaging container without additional devices such as tamping plungers, vibration generators, or similar equipment, it is also preferably provided that the dosing chamber has a decreasing cross-section towards the storage container. In other words, this means that the dosing chamber has a larger cross-section towards the packaging container, so that bridging of the contents is reliably prevented and the contents are generally dispensed completely from the dosing chamber into the packaging container by gravity alone.

[0010] Particularly with very fine-grained filling material, it may also be provided that at least one dosing chamber is delimited on the side facing away from the storage container by a sealing element designed as a filter element, which can be alternately connected to a negative pressure source for drawing filling material from the storage container and to a positive pressure source for dispensing the filling material into the packaging container. In other words, this means that the drawing in of the target filling quantities into the dosing chamber is assisted by negative pressure, while the dispensing of the filling material from the dosing chamber is assisted by compressed air.

[0011] In the latter embodiment of the invention, it is particularly preferred if the metering chamber is adjustable to an additional position in which it interacts with at least one source of negative pressure to clean the metering chamber of any adhering material. It is essential that not only are the chamber walls reliably freed from any adhering material by the negative pressure, but also, in particular, the filter element, which may be cleaned by an additional burst of compressed air.

[0012] In a further embodiment of the invention, the dosing unit is designed to rotate in only one direction. Such an arrangement or design is particularly possible when the dosing unit interacts directly with a storage container located above the dosing unit.

[0013] Alternatively, it is also conceivable that a flexible filling hose is arranged between the storage container and at least one dosing chamber, and that the dosing unit is designed to be reversible (oscillating). The reversible arrangement of the dosing unit is necessary because the filling hose can only move with the dosing unit through a certain rotational angle.

[0014] The use of a device according to the invention for dispensing fine-grained pharmaceuticals, in particular pellets or microspheres, is preferred.

[0015] Further advantages, features and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments and from the drawing.

[0016] This shows in: Fig. 1 a cross-section through a device according to the invention for dosing fine-grained filling material into packaging containers, Fig. 2 a simplified longitudinal section through the device according to Fig. 1 along line II-II of the Fig. 1, Fig. 3 a cutaway, perspective view of part of the device according to Fig. 1. To illustrate product dispensing using compressed air, Fig. 4 Another cutaway perspective view of a section of the device to illustrate the cleaning of filter elements, Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 one in the device according to the Fig. 1, Fig. 2 to Fig. 3. Dosing chamber used in different positions to influence the fill quantity, each in longitudinal section. Fig. 7 a perspective view of a filter element as used in a device according to Fig. 1 is used, Fig. 8 a simplified perspective representation of a opposite Fig. 1 modified device, Fig. 9 a partial excerpt from the Fig. 8 in enlarged view, Fig. 10 a partially cutaway perspective view of the device and Fig. 11. A top view of the device in the area of ​​the dosing unit.

[0017] Identical elements or elements with the same function are provided with the same reference numbers in the figures.

[0018] The in the Fig. 1 and Fig. The device 10 shown in Figure 2 for dosing fine-grained pharmaceuticals into packaging container 1 acts with a sole element in the Fig. The two recognizable conveying devices 100 for the packaging containers 1 are arranged together, essentially below the device 10 and having a straight line in the area of ​​the device 10. The pharmaceutical product is preferably, but not exclusively, so-called pellets or microspheres, and the packaging containers 1 are, for example, small glass vials which are hermetically sealed after filling with a closure (not shown).

[0019] The conveying device 100 includes, by way of example and without limitation, a stationary floor rail 101 on which the packaging containers 1 slide along in the direction of arrow 102 during transport. Furthermore, a conveyor belt 104, movable by a drive (not shown), is visible for the intermittent transport of the packaging containers 1, with receptacles 105, 106 between which the packaging containers 1 are held. The longitudinal axes 2 of the packaging containers 1 are arranged at a spacing a between each other.

[0020] The device 10 has a reservoir 11 for the pharmaceutical. Immediately below the reservoir 11 is a dosing unit 15, which is rotatable incrementally in a vertically arranged axis of rotation 12. The dosing unit 15 consists of two support plates 16, 17 that are fixedly connected to each other. Within the support plates are two dosing chambers 22, offset from each other by 180° relative to the axis of rotation 12 on a partial circle diameter, for receiving a target quantity of pharmaceutical. As can be seen in particular from the illustration of the Fig. 5 and Fig. As can be seen from Figure 6, each metering chamber 22 consists of two sleeve-shaped elements 23 and 24, wherein the upper element 23, inserted into the upper support plate 16, immerses with its outer circumference into the inner circumference of the lower element 24, which is arranged on the lower support plate 17. Furthermore, it can be seen from the illustration of the Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, that the distance between the two support plates 16, 17, and thus also the amount by which the upper element 23 is inserted into the lower element 24, is variable. This is also indicated by the double arrow 18 in the Fig. 2 marked.

[0021] Furthermore, one can recognize from the Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, that the inner cross-section of the upper element 23 is conical in the longitudinal direction, such that the cross-section decreases in the direction towards the storage container 11.

[0022] In the base 25 of the storage container 11, two through-openings 26 are also formed on the same partial circle diameter on which the dosing chambers 22 are arranged, offset by 180° to each other, which in a dispensing position of pharmaceuticals from the storage container 11 into the dosing chambers 22 are aligned with the dosing chambers 22.

[0023] It is essential that the distance A of the longitudinal axes 27 of the dosing chambers 22, as shown by the Fig. 2 is recognizable, corresponds to the distance a between the longitudinal axes 2 of the packaging containers 1, wherein the dosing chambers 22 are arranged in a transfer position of the pharmaceutical into the packaging containers 1 with the openings of the packaging containers 1 arranged in a standstill phase of the conveying device 100 aligned below the dosing chambers 22, and wherein the conveying device 100 transports the packaging containers 1 at each conveying cycle by a conveying distance which corresponds to the distance a between two packaging containers 1.

[0024] Below the dosing unit 15, a stationary base plate 30 is arranged. Two filter elements 31, 32, offset from each other by 180° with respect to the axis of rotation 12, are inserted into the base plate 30 on a partial circle diameter corresponding to the distance A between the dosing chambers 22. Fig. 7 On the side facing the dosing chambers 22, a filter element 33 is mounted on a piston-like support element 34. The filter element 33 has a mesh size smaller than the particle size of the pharmaceutical. Furthermore, the support element 34 has two superimposed openings 36, 37, one of which can be connected to an overpressure source, and the other opening 37 to a vacuum source. Additionally, the base plate 30 has two dispensing openings 29, offset from each other by 180° with respect to the axis of rotation 12. These dispensing openings 29 are aligned with the openings of the packaging containers 1 when the packaging containers 1 are stationary, and the pharmaceutical falls from these openings onto the dosing chambers 22 into the packaging containers 1.

[0025] Based on the Fig. 3 and Fig. Figure 4 further shows that a radially oriented bore 38 is formed in the base 25 of the storage container 11, extending to the diameter of the pitch circle on which the metering chambers 22 are also arranged. The bore 38 is connected to a connection nozzle 39, which can be connected to a compressed air source. Furthermore, in the lower support plate 17, on a pitch circle diameter corresponding to the diameter of the pitch circle on which the metering chambers 22 are arranged, elongated openings 41 are formed, which can be connected to a vacuum source via a suction channel 42 and a connection nozzle 43. In the base plate 30, a connection bore 44 communicating with the opening 36 of the filter element 33 and a connection bore 45 communicating with the opening 37 of the filter element 33 are also formed, the connection bore 45 being offset by an angle of rotation relative to the connection bore 44.

[0026] The device 10 described so far operates as follows: To dispense product or pharmaceuticals from the storage container 11 into the dosing chambers 22, the dosing unit 15 is rotated on the axis of rotation 12 into the position aligned with the two through-openings 26 in the base 25 of the storage container 11. In this position, the filter elements 31, 32 are also aligned with the dosing chambers 22 ( Fig. 2) From the storage container 11, a corresponding target fill quantity of pharmaceutical product flows into the dosing chambers 22 according to the mutual distance of the elements 23, 24, with the filter elements 33 forming a base for the pharmaceutical product. The flow of the pharmaceutical product into the respective dosing chamber 22 can be assisted by negative pressure, which acts on the filter element 33 via the opening 37 in the support element 34. Subsequently, the dosing unit 15 with the two dosing chambers 22 is rotated 90° clockwise around the axis of rotation 12, as indicated by arrow 46. Fig. The dosing unit 15 is rotated so that the dosing chambers 22 are aligned with the two dispensing openings 29 in the base plate 30. During the rotation, the base plate 30 forms a sealed lower cover or bottom for the dosing chambers 22, preventing any material from escaping. The dispensing of the material from the dosing chambers 22 into the packaging containers 1 can be assisted, if necessary, by a burst of compressed air through the bore 38. During the rotation of the dosing unit 15 into the dispensing position for the material into the packaging containers 1, the filter elements 31, 32, or the filter attachments 33, also come into contact with the extraction duct 43 via the openings 42, allowing the filter attachments 33 to be cleaned. This cleaning process is further supported by compressed air through the connection bore 44.

[0027] The dosing unit 15 is then rotated 90° counterclockwise incrementally, after which the processes are repeated. Simultaneously, the filled packaging containers 1 are transported from the area of ​​the device 10 by the conveying device 100, and two empty packaging containers 1 are conveyed in alignment below the dispensing openings 29.

[0028] In the Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10 to Fig. 11 is a comparison with the Fig. 1, Fig. 2 to Fig. Figure 3 shows a modified device 10a. The device 10a comprises a dosing unit 15a arranged on a frame 50. The dosing unit 15a is mounted on a vertically arranged rotary axis 12a ( Fig. 11) according to the double arrow 51 in the Fig. 9 are rotatable from a central position by 60° in both directions. By adjusting the upper support plate 16a in the direction of the double arrow 52 relative to the lower support plate 17a, the volume of the dosing chambers 22 can be adjusted, analogous to the dosing unit 15. The upper support plate 16a is connected to a total of six flexible hoses 54 to 56, each offset from one another by 60°. Two hoses 54 are used to supply pharmaceuticals from the storage container 11a, two hoses 55 supply compressed air to assist product dispensing into the packaging containers 1, and two hoses 56 are used to extract pharmaceuticals from the dosing chambers 22 during the cleaning of the filter elements (not shown in the figures). Two hoses 54 to 56 with the same function are each offset from one another by 180°. In the Fig.In the position of the dosing unit 15a shown in Figure 10, the product is dispensed into the packaging containers 1. By means of an oscillating rotation of the dosing unit 15a by 60° in each step, product is alternately drawn in, then the product is dispensed into the packaging containers 1, and after a further rotation step the filter element is cleaned.

[0029] In device 10a, the two dosing chambers 22 in the dosing unit 15a also have a distance A to each other on a pitch circle diameter, which corresponds to the pitch distance a of the packaging containers 1 transported step by step in the conveying device 100.

[0030] The device 10, 10a described so far can be adapted or modified in a variety of ways without deviating from the inventive concept.

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