Device for handling sterile-material container systems
Patent Information
- Application Number
- EP2023786234
- Authority / Receiving Office
- EP · EP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-10-07
- Filing Date
- 2023-10-06
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-13
AI Technical Summary
Current automated and robotic handling processes for sterile goods container systems are limited in complexity, failing to efficiently manage the diverse components and functional groups with varying handling requirements, leading to potential errors and inefficiencies in medical settings.
A method and device utilizing multiple robotic manipulators and a control unit to systematically remove, disassemble, and reassemble sterile goods containers, with algorithms for prioritization and precise handling, including the use of conveyor belts for transport, to ensure error-free and efficient processing.
Enables fully automated, error-free, and efficient handling of sterile goods container systems, reducing the burden on workers and improving compliance with hygiene standards by allowing for customized handling processes based on component types, enhancing both efficiency and safety.
Smart Images
Figure 1.1
Abstract
Description
[0001] Procedures for handling sterile goods container systems
[0002] Description
[0003] Technical area
[0004] The present disclosure relates to a method for handling sterile goods container systems and a device for carrying out the method for handling sterile goods container systems.
[0005] Background of the Revelation
[0006] In medical care, ever-increasing demands are placed on efficiency, coupled with high quality and hygiene requirements. This particularly applies to processes involved in the handling of medical products. These processes include, for example, cleaning and sterilization, storage and transport processes, as well as processes in the medical device processing unit (RUMP). This is particularly important for the separation (isolation / dismantling) and assembly of components and functional groups of sterile goods container systems, as well as, if necessary,Their content, which is part of the RUMEPS, is essential for preventing handling errors in light of patient safety. In other words, processes are being developed for handling medical products, including their storage / sterilization containers, which must be carried out precisely and error-free in order to demonstrably comply with existing hygiene regulations. However, relieving employees of non-value-added heavy work such as lifting, loading, and unloading sterile goods containers is also becoming increasingly important.
[0007] In order to prevent errors in the handling of medical products and work equipment, such as the separation and / or assembly of components and functional groups of sterile goods container systems, while simultaneously increasing efficiency and relieving the burden on workers, these processes can be automated and carried out robotically.
[0008] State of the art
[0009] Automated / robotic processes are known in the prior art that describe the handling of individual components and functional assemblies of sterile goods container systems. These processes focus on individual logistical tasks such as the transport and loading and / or unloading of sterile goods containers. This reduces automated handling processes to just a few process sequences. However, a significant problem with further process sequences, such as the disassembly of medical systems into their components and / or functional assemblies and the subsequent transfer of components / functional assemblies to downstream cleaning and / or sterilization stations, is that components / assemblies and functional assemblies, for example of a sterile goods container system, are each designed with different electronic or mechanical components, which consequently require different handling.It is also possible that several components and functional groups are similar in terms of their handling and can therefore be subjected to the same handling. Therefore, a type of selection of the respective components / functional groups with regard to their subsequent handling is required, which should generally be carried out as economically and quickly as possible. This, in turn, requires a specific process flow depending on the expected components and / or functional groups.
[0010] Brief description of the revelation
[0011] One object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for handling sterile goods container systems that enables automated, error-free, and more efficient handling, for example, using robotic effectors / manipulators. This object is achieved by a method according to claim 1 of the present disclosure, as well as a system arrangement according to claim 10. Advantageous further developments are part of the associated subclaims, which may also be separately claimable.
[0012] Specifically, the problem is solved by a method for handling sterile goods containers, which comprises at least the following steps:
[0013] - First, a sterile goods container is removed from the container transport trolley with the help of a first manipulator. The container transport trolley is particularly preferably emptied using an algorithm in such a way that the sterile goods container on top is gripped or unloaded first, followed by the sterile goods container below. Alternatively, a user can define a prioritization and / or an emptying sequence via a user interface so that the desired sterile goods container can be detected and gripped using a prior scanning. Based on the algorithm used, the sterile goods container located on the desired sterile container is unloaded first. If the prioritized sterile goods container is, for example, in the second row and may not be directly visible, the first row of sterile goods containers is systematically unloaded until the correspondingly prioritized sterile goods container is detected (clearance mode).After detection, it is unloaded according to its position.
[0014] - In the next step, the removed sterile goods container is opened by moving a second manipulator from the first manipulator to it. Alternatively, both manipulators can move to a suitable point or area within the respective workspace. The second manipulator preferably has an opening and holding mechanism / effector for opening and holding a container lid and opens / removes the container lid through a translational relative movement of the tools / effectors / mechanisms of the first and second manipulator. - In the following step, a filter holder of the
[0015] Sterile goods container, which is usually located on the container lid. The filter holder is emptied by moving a third manipulator from the second manipulator, which holds the container lid, and the third manipulator actuates an opening mechanism of the filter holder. Through a translational relative movement, the filter holder can now be removed from the container lid, for example, using the third manipulator. However, the filter holder is preferably emptied using a further (fourth) manipulator designed for this purpose and / or a blast of compressed air and / or a suction device.
[0016] Used / consumed filters are removed from the filter holder and collected in a container.
[0017] - After the filter holder has been emptied, the next step is to connect the filter holder and the container lid with a translatory
[0018] Relative movement of the second and third manipulators to each other reassembles them so that the filter holder and container lid are again connected to each other to form a functional group.
[0019] - In the next step, the assembled container lid with filter holder is placed into a shelving system or onto a transport device using the second manipulator. The transport device is preferably designed as a conveyor belt, particularly preferably as a FIFO conveyor, which automatically transports the container lid for further handling, such as cleaning.
[0020] - In the next step, the second manipulator moves towards the first manipulator, which continues to hold a container tray of the sterile goods container. The second manipulator moves its tools / effectors / mechanisms accordingly so that it can grip / pick up a sieve basket located within the container tray. The gripping / picking can take place using handles and / or anchor points of the handles of the sieve basket. With a translational relative movement of the first and second manipulators to one another, the sieve basket is removed from the container tray using the second manipulator and transferred to another shelving system or to a means of transport. This additional means of transport is also preferably designed as a conveyor belt, particularly preferably as a FIFO track. Furthermore, the container tray can also be transferred from the first manipulator to yet another shelving system or to yet another means of transport.These additional transport vehicles transfer the functional groups stored on / in them to further handling stations. This completes the removal and separation of an individual sterile goods container into its functional and / or assemblies, as well as their respective transfer to the corresponding subsequent handling stations.
[0021] The described steps are now repeated for each individual sterile goods container in the container transport trolley until it is completely emptied or the predefined desired number of sterile goods containers has been removed.
[0022] According to the invention, the described process steps are fully automated. It should be noted at this point that the assembly of a sterile goods container can be carried out in the same way using the same process steps, but in reverse order and orientation.
[0023] Preferably, the process step of removing the sterile goods container from the container trolley is preceded by the step of transporting the container transport trolley with the sterile goods containers contained therein to a handling station. The container transport trolley can preferably be transported using a conveyor belt, an automated guided vehicle (AGV), or, more preferably, a self-propelled vehicle.
[0024] In a further step, which takes place immediately after the container transport trolley is fed to the handling station, the doors of the container transport trolley are opened by a driver. The doors of the container transport trolley are preferably designed as sliding doors, roller shutters, or as hinged doors. In the following step, tags and / or markers of the opened container transport trolley are tracked. Tracking is preferably carried out using optical sensors and / or ultrasonic sensors and / or radio. Furthermore, the tags and / or markers are assigned to the containers. More precisely, the tracking assigns the position of the sterile goods containers within the container transport trolley.
[0025] In a final step, which takes place immediately after the screen basket and container tray have been transferred to the shelving system or transport vehicle, the emptied container transport trolley is transported to a cleaning facility. The container transport trolley can be transported preferably using a conveyor belt, an automated guided vehicle (AGV), or, even more preferably, a self-propelled vehicle.
[0026] Preferably, the step of removing a sterile goods container from the container transport trolley is controlled using an algorithm.
[0027] The object of the present disclosure is further achieved by a sterile goods container handling device for carrying out a handling method, in particular according to the described method for handling sterile goods container systems.
[0028] The sterile goods container handling device comprises at least one control unit, which is designed to automatically control the handling method and in which a preferably separately claimed machine-readable data carrier is provided or can be provided, on which the above-described method is stored in the form of a corresponding program. Furthermore, the sterile goods container handling device comprises a container transport carriage for transferring sterile goods containers located therein to and / or away from a handling station. Furthermore, the sterile goods container handling device has a robotic system, which comprises at least one or more manipulators. The at least one manipulator is controlled by the control unit such that the following handling steps are carried out: - Individual removal and / or supply of sterile goods containers from and / or into the container transport carriage
[0029] - Disassembly and / or assembly of the sterile goods container into or from individual container components and
[0030] - Removing and / or returning sieve baskets, which preferably contain medical equipment, from or into the sterile goods container.
[0031] Furthermore, the sterile goods container handling device preferably comprises a monitoring device for tracking tags and / or markers in the open container transport trolley and assigning the tags and / or markers to the sterile goods containers and their coordinates. In addition, the sterile goods container handling device preferably comprises a transport means for transporting sieve baskets separately from the container components to or from the handling station.
[0032] Preferably, the at least one manipulator has mechanisms / effectors / tools which are designed to open, hold and close the sterile goods containers, preferably also to remove sterile goods baskets.
[0033] Preferably, the system arrangement can carry out both a separation, according to the method described above, and a joining of sterile goods container systems.
[0034] To assemble sterile goods container systems, i.e., previously cleaned systems, the steps of the sterile goods container system handling process are performed in reverse order, as already indicated above. The components must be defined and fed to the manipulators in the opposite direction to the disassembly described above. This applies in particular to the filters, which must be inserted into the filter holder by another manipulator.
[0035] Brief description of the figure Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of the sequence of method steps according to the present disclosure.
[0036] Fig. 2 shows a representation of the sterile container handling device according to the present disclosure.
[0037] Fig. 1 shows a schematic sequence of the method steps of the method for handling sterile goods container systems according to the present disclosure. The embodiment for unloading a container transport trolley 2 is preferably described. The method is carried out with reference to the sterile goods container handling device 1 shown in Fig. 2. Accordingly, method steps S1 to S11 are processed serially and implemented in practice using the associated manipulators as described below. However, it is also possible for individual method steps to be carried out in parallel, particularly if different manipulators are used for this purpose. This will be explained further below.
[0038] According to Fig. 2, the sterile goods container handling device 1 comprises a container transport carriage 2 in which a plurality of sterile goods containers 3 are arranged. The sterile goods containers 3 are stacked one on top of the other within the container transport carriage 2 and arranged in several rows. Each sterile goods container 3 further comprises a container lid 7 and a container tray 11, which together form the sterile goods container 3.
[0039] Furthermore, the sterile goods container handling device 1 in the present case has at least three manipulators 5, 6, 9 that can be controlled separately by a control unit 13 (in this case, an input / output interface in the form of a monitor or touchscreen with an integrated computing unit is shown). These manipulators are preferably designed as robot arms, but can also take other forms such as conveyor belts, pushers, etc. The manipulators 5, 6, 9 are arranged relative to one another such that their effective ranges of at least two manipulators overlap, thus enabling interaction between the respective manipulators. The position of the manipulators with respect to the container transport carriage 2 shown is also defined such that the latter is also located within the effective range of at least one or two manipulators.The sterile goods container handling device 1 is part of a handling station 4, which also includes two conveyor belts 10 that run separately from one another and are preferably oriented in different directions to each other, leading to different further handling stations. At least one end section of each of the two conveyor belts 10 lies within the effective range of at least one of the manipulators, with each end section serving as a support or removal area for assemblies / functional groups of the respective sterile goods container system currently being handled.
[0040] Overall, the handling station 4 for handling the sterile goods container systems is designed such that the container transport carriage 2 is positioned behind the sterile goods container handling device 1, starting from an operator or service person (who is looking at the touchscreen or monitor 13 of the control unit), and the conveyor belts 10 are positioned in front of the sterile goods container handling device 1. In this way, the container transport carriage 2 and the conveyor belts 10 physically limit the effective ranges of the manipulators 5, 6, 9 and thus serve as protective boundaries for the operator / service person.
[0041] Finally, the manipulators 5, 6, 9 are mounted on at least two columns spaced apart along the conveyor belts 10, at least one of which also serves as a holder for the touch screen or monitor 13 of the control unit, which thus projects above all components of the handling station 4.
[0042] The functionality of handling station 4 can be described as follows:
[0043] In a first step S1, the container transport trolley is fed to a handling station 4, whose sterile goods container handling device 1, in this case, has the three manipulators 5, 6, and 9, as described above. However, more or fewer manipulators can also be provided, depending on the effectors mounted on them and their potentially executable multiple functions.
[0044] In a next step S2, the door of the container transport trolley 2 is opened, which can be done manually or automatically with the help of the (first) manipulator 5. In a subsequent third step S3, tags and / or markers or similar markings are dried using a scanner and / or imaging system (not shown in detail), whereby the arrangement and coordinates of the sterile goods containers 3 within the container transport trolley 2 are determined, so that the unloading of the container transport trolley 2 can be controlled and started with the help of a coordinated algorithm. The algorithm is stored in the control unit 13 and can be changed / adapted if necessary via the input / output interface or the touch screen 13. This makes it possible to unload the containers from the transport trolley in a specific order or to deliberately drive to certain containers, whereby in the latter case,prior clearing / making accessible must be carried out.
[0045] In a fourth step S4, the first manipulator 5 removes a sterile goods container 3, so that in the next step S5, the sterile goods container 3 is opened with the aid of the second manipulator 6, in which the second manipulator 6 removes the container lid 7 with a translational relative movement. In the subsequent step S6, a third manipulator 9 removes a filter holder 8 (not shown) located on the container lid 7 and empties it with the aid of a blast of compressed air or a suction device. Subsequently, in step S7, the filter holder 8 is placed back on the container lid 7 and transferred to the first transport means 10, which is designed as a conveyor belt (corresponds to step S8). In the subsequent step S9, the second manipulator 6 removes a sieve basket 12 located in the sterile goods container 3, in which sieve basket 12 contains medical equipment.In the next step S10, the screen basket 12 is transferred with the help of the second manipulator 6 to the second transport means 10, which is also designed as a conveyor belt. In the same step, the container trough 11 is transferred from the first manipulator 5 to the first transport means 10, which is arranged axially next to the second transport means. Steps S1 - S10 are repeated until the entire container transporter 2 is emptied or the algorithm previously preprogrammed via a user interface 13 has been executed. Subsequently, the final step S11 involves the removal of the container wagon 2. List of reference symbols.
[0046] 1 sterile goods container handling device
[0047] 2 container transport wagons
[0048] 3 sterile goods containers
[0049] 4 Handling station
[0050] 5 Manipulator
[0051] 6 Manipulator
[0052] 7 Container lids
[0053] 8 filter holders
[0054] 9 Manipulator
[0055] 10 means of transport
[0056] 11 Container tub
[0057] 12 strainer basket
[0058] 13 User Interface
Claims
Claims Method for handling sterile goods container systems, in particular for separating sterile goods container systems, comprising at least the following steps: - removing (S4) a sterile goods container (3) from the container transport trolley (2) with the aid of an automatic manipulator (5); - Opening (S5) the sterile goods container (3) by moving the automatic manipulator (5) or another automatic manipulator (6) and by removing a container lid (7) of the sterile goods container (3); - Emptying (S6) a filter holder (8) of the sterile goods container (3) by moving the automatic manipulator (5) or another automatic manipulator (9) and opening the filter holder (8) with the aid of the automatic manipulator (5) or the other automatic manipulator (9); - Bringing together (S7) the filter holder (8) and the container lid (7); - Transferring (S8) the container lid (7) and the filter holder (8) to a shelving system or to a means of transport (10); - removing (S9) a sieve basket (12) located in a container tray (11) of the sterile goods container (3) by moving the automatic manipulator or another automatic manipulator (6); - Transferring (S10) the screen basket (12) and the container tray (11) to the shelving system or to the means of transport (10); - Repeating steps (S4) - (S10) until the container transport trolley (2) is completely emptied; wherein the above steps (S4) - (S10) are carried out completely automatically. Method according to claim 1, characterized by a first method step of automatically feeding (S1) a container transport trolley (2) with the sterile goods containers (3) located therein to a handling station (4). Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by a further step of automatically opening (S2) the door of the container transport trolley (2) immediately after the feeding (S1). Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by an additional method step of automatically tracking (S3) tags and / or markers in the opened container transport trolley (2) and assigning the tags and / or markers to the sterile goods containers (3) and their coordinates immediately before the removal step (S4). Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the automatic tracking (S3) of the tags and / or markers is carried out with the aid of optical sensors and / or ultrasonic sensors and / or radio. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by a final method step of automatically transporting (S11) the container transport trolley (2) away for cleaning.Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the feeding (S1) and transporting (S11) of the container transport trolley (2) takes place with the aid of a conveyor belt or an automated guided vehicle (AGV). Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the removal (S4) of a sterile goods container (3) from the container transport trolley (2) is controlled with the aid of an algorithm. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the emptying (S6) of the filter holder (8) takes place with the aid of a manipulator designed for this purpose and / or a blast of compressed air and / or a suction device. Sterile goods container handling device (1) for carrying out a handling method, preferably according to one of the preceding claims. - at least one control unit for automatically controlling the handling process, - at least one container transport trolley (2) for transferring sterile goods containers (3) to and / or away from a handling station (4), - a robotic system with at least one manipulator, which is controlled by the control unit in such a way as to carry out the following handling steps: opening and / or closing of the container transport trolley (2) and individual removal and / or supply of sterile goods containers (3) from and / or into the container transport trolley (2) and Disassembling and / or assembling the sterile goods container (3) into or from individual container components and removing and / or returning sieve baskets (12), preferably containing medical equipment, from or into the sterile goods container (3) - a monitoring device for tracking tags and / or markers in the open container transport trolley and assigning the tags and / or markers to the sterile goods containers (3) and their coordinates and - a transport means (10) for transporting sieve baskets (12) separately from the container components to or away from the handling station (4). Sterile goods container handling device (1) according to claim 10, characterized by having an opening and holding mechanism of the at least one manipulator. Sterile goods container handling device (1) according to claim 10 or 11, characterized by performing both a separation and a merging of sterile goods containers (3) of the sterile container handling device (1). A machine-readable data carrier of or for a sterile goods container handling device, preferably according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized by a method stored thereon according to one of claims 1 to 9.