Method for verifying a hardness measurement on small-volume bulk materials

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for verifying a hardness measurement of small-volume bulk materials, wherein the hardness measurement is carried out in a fracture chamber of a testing device. The testing device has a camera with which the hardness measurement process can be recorded. The method comprises the following successive steps: - in a first step, a bulk material of a specific batch is provided in the fracture chamber of the testing device; - in a second step, a hardness measurement is carried out on the bulk material, whereby the bulk material is broken up so that a value for the hardness of at least one bulk material is obtained, whereby the value for the measured hardness is saved, the camera records the process of the hardness measurement and the resulting recording is also saved, - in a third step, it is checked whether the determined value for hardness is an outlier and - in a fourth step, the recording is checked to determine whether the outlier is a faulty hardness measurement.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for verifying a hardness measurement on small-volume bulk materials according to the features of claim 1.

[0002] Hardness measurements of small-volume bulk materials are performed in a fracture chamber of a testing device. A bulk material from a specific production batch, such as a tablet, a dragee, or an oblong (i.e., a specific type of bulk material), is broken in the fracture chamber, and a value for the hardness of the corresponding bulk material is obtained. For this hardness measurement to be successful, it is crucial that the bulk material is correctly positioned in the fracture chamber beforehand. If the bulk material is not correctly aligned in the fracture chamber and is then fractured, the hardness values ​​obtained will be outside the normal range for that particular bulk material.Due to this hardness value, which is outside the tolerances for the corresponding bulk material (outlier), it is not possible to assess whether it is a faulty hardness measurement where the bulk material was simply not correctly aligned before and during the breakage, or whether it is a bulk material whose quality does not meet the requirements.

[0003] To correctly align a bulk material in a fracture chamber, a testing device is known from US 5,555,768. This device includes a fracture chamber with a built-in camera for recording the hardness measurement. The camera allows observation of the bulk material's alignment before fracture. If the bulk material is not optimally or sufficiently well aligned, it can be better aligned within the fracture chamber before fracture is performed. This ensures that the bulk material is always sufficiently well aligned within the fracture chamber before the hardness measurement.

[0004] However, this procedure is quite time-consuming because before each hardness measurement it is checked whether the bulk material is correctly aligned and, if this is not the case, the bulk material is moved into a sufficiently good position.

[0005] It would be desirable to provide a less time-consuming testing procedure that can determine whether faulty hardness measurements are present.

[0006] Such a method is described by the features of claim 1.

[0007] Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims. These can be combined with one another in a technologically meaningful way. The description further characterizes and specifies the invention.

[0008] The invention thus relates to a method for verifying a hardness measurement of small-volume bulk materials, wherein the hardness measurement is carried out in a fracture chamber of a testing device. The fracture chamber comprises a fixed jaw and a pressing jaw, the pressing jaw being movable towards the fixed jaw. If a bulk material is located between the fixed jaw and a pressing jaw, it is fractured when the pressing jaw moves towards the fixed jaw. The force required to fracture the bulk material is measured by means of a force sensor, for example, a load cell. The hardness of the bulk material is then determined from this force.

[0009] The testing device has a camera that records the hardness measurement process – and in particular the moment when the bulk material is broken in a fracture chamber of the testing device, i.e., when the fracture occurs. This camera is located in the fracture chamber.

[0010] In a first step, a bulk material from an initial batch (and thus of a specific bulk material type) is placed in the fracture chamber of a testing device. In a second step, a hardness measurement is performed on this bulk material, yielding a hardness value. This hardness value is then recorded. The camera captures the hardness measurement process, and the resulting image is also saved. Preferably, the recording is a video sequence of the hardness measurement, although it is also conceivable that the recording consists of several images taken sequentially, documenting the fracture process. In a third step, it is then checked whether the determined hardness value is an outlier. A value is considered an outlier if it falls outside the tolerances.These tolerances are defined for each type of bulk material in the form of limit values.

[0011] If no outlier is found, the recordings of the breakage test are deleted, and only the recordings that indicate an outlier are kept in memory.

[0012] The advantage of this method is its speed, as it eliminates the need to check the correct alignment of the bulk material before each hardness measurement. Instead, the hardness value obtained is used to determine whether the sample is an outlier or not.

[0013] If the sample is not an outlier, the first batch can be released. However, if it is an outlier, a fourth step involves recording the fracture process of the corresponding bulk material to determine whether the obtained hardness value was due to poor material quality or simply incorrect alignment within the fracture chamber. If the bulk material was merely misaligned, this batch can still be released. Production of this batch can then continue, and the already produced bulk material does not need to be discarded.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the crushing chamber is cleaned after the second step. This removes residues of the crushed bulk material and dust from the crushing chamber. This prevents the presence of contaminants that could distort the measurement of a bulk material subsequently introduced into the crushing chamber and measured there.

[0015] After the crushing chamber has been cleaned, at least one more bulk material from the same batch, i.e., the first batch, can be introduced into the chamber. The second step is then repeated for this additional bulk material. The hardness measurement is thus performed, and only after this additional bulk material has been measured are steps three and four carried out. This has the advantage that a large number of bulk materials can be measured consecutively (measurement series), and only after these bulk materials have been measured is it checked whether any outliers are present and, if so, whether the outliers can be attributed to a faulty hardness measurement. For those bulk materials where the outlier is due to poor quality, the batch from which they originate is discarded.Ideally, this verification and evaluation is performed by an external computer, such as a PC. However, it is also possible for the verification and evaluation to take place within the testing device itself, particularly if the measured values ​​and recordings are stored exclusively within the testing device and the limit values ​​for the hardness of the corresponding bulk material type (tolerances) are also stored within the testing device. Therefore, the hardness measurements are only considered faulty if the outliers are due to poor quality of the bulk materials, but not if the bulk materials are simply not correctly aligned in the fracture chamber.

[0016] Because several bulk materials can be measured consecutively in a measurement series without these bulk materials having to be correctly aligned in the book chamber, and only after the hardness measurement, i.e. only after all bulk materials have been measured, is it checked whether outliers are present, the test procedure can be carried out without time delay.

[0017] Advantageously, the measured values ​​and the images captured by the camera can be saved in the testing device and / or externally, for example on a computer connected to the testing device. To save storage space, preferably only those images containing an outlier are retained, as only these images are relevant; the other images can be deleted after it has been determined that no outlier exists.

[0018] If an outlier is recorded, the recording is checked to determine whether the measurement was faulty simply because the bulk material was not correctly aligned in the crushing chamber. If no outliers indicating poor quality are found in the measurement series, the batch is not rejected. However, if it is determined that the bulk material was correctly aligned in one of the outliers, this indicates poor quality of the bulk material. In this case, the batch is rejected.

[0019] After at least one bulk material from the first batch has been measured and the hardness measurement has been checked, a bulk material from another batch can be measured and the measured values ​​for hardness can be checked.

[0020] The bulk material can be, for example, a tablet, a dragee or an oblong, which may be a pharmaceutical product or a dietary supplement.

[0021] While at least one exemplary embodiment has been described, it should be understood and noted that a large number of variations and modifications exist. It should also be noted that the exemplary embodiment(s) are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope of protection, applicability, or structure of the device according to the invention in any way. Rather, the description provides the person skilled in the art with sufficient and easily understandable instructions for implementing at least one exemplary embodiment.It should be understood that numerous and diverse modifications of this embodiment with regard to the function and arrangement of the elements described in an exemplary embodiment can be made without deviating from the scope of protection defined by the attached patent claims and their legal equivalents. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] US 5,555,768

[0003]

Claims

[1] Method for verifying a hardness measurement on small-volume bulk materials, wherein the hardness measurement is carried out in a fracture chamber of a testing device, the testing device having a camera with which the process of the hardness measurement can be recorded, wherein a) in a first step a bulk material of a first batch is provided in the fracture chamber of the testing device; b) in a second step a hardness measurement is carried out on the bulk material, whereby the bulk material is broken up so that a value for the hardness of the bulk material is obtained, whereby the value for the measured hardness is saved, wherein the camera records the process of this hardness measurement and the resulting recording is also saved, c) in a third step, it is checked whether the determined value for hardness is an outlier and d) in a fourth step, it is checked using the recording of the outlier whether the outlier is a faulty hardness measurement. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that the first batch will be rejected if the determined value for hardness is due to the poor quality of the corresponding bulk material, and that the first batch will be released if the determined value for hardness is due to an incorrect alignment of the bulk material in the crushing chamber. [3] Method according to claim 1, characterized by , that after step b) the fracture chamber is cleaned. [4] Method according to claim 3, characterized by, that after the crushing chamber has been cleaned, at least one further bulk material of the first batch is provided in the crushing chamber, with step b) being repeated for the at least one further bulk material and only after this at least one further bulk material has been measured, steps c) and d) are carried out. [5] Testing device for carrying out the method according to claims 1 to 4.