Apparatus for manufacturing microneedle laminates and method for manufacturing microneedle laminates

Abstract

The present invention provides a microneedle laminate manufacturing apparatus and a microneedle laminate manufacturing method that can prevent a decrease in processing capacity per unit time. [Solution] The microneedle laminate manufacturing apparatus EA is an apparatus for manufacturing a microneedle laminate UP in which an adhesive sheet AS is attached to a microneedle MN and a protective member PM, with a plurality of protrusions MN1 formed on one side of the microneedle MN, and comprises a support means 10 that supports the protective member PM and the microneedle MN with the protrusions MN1 of the microneedle MN inserted into the opening PM1 of the protective member PM, and a sheet attachment means 20 that attaches an adhesive sheet AS larger than the microneedle MN to the other side of the protective member PM and microneedle MN supported by the support means 10 to form the microneedle laminate UP.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a micro-needle laminate manufacturing apparatus and a micro-needle laminate manufacturing method.

Background Art

[0002] It is known to form a micro-needle laminate by attaching an adhesive sheet to a micro-needle and a protective member (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the micro-needle patch system (micro-needle laminate) described in Patent Document 1, after attaching a backing layer 110 (adhesive sheet) to a micro-needle patch 100 (micro-needle) via an adhesive layer 118, a tray 122 (protective member) is attached to the exposed adhesive layer 118 around the micro-needle. Therefore, the adhesive sheet must be attached in separate steps for the micro-needle and the protective member, resulting in a disadvantage that the manufacturing capacity for producing micro-needle laminates per unit time (hereinafter referred to as the processing capacity per unit time) decreases.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a micro-needle laminate manufacturing apparatus and a micro-needle laminate manufacturing method capable of preventing a decrease in the processing capacity per unit time.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention employs the configurations described in the claims.

Effects of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, since the adhesive sheet is attached to the protective member and the microneedle supported by the support means, it is not necessary to attach the adhesive sheet to the microneedle and the protective member in separate attachment processes, thereby preventing a decrease in processing capacity per unit time. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] An explanatory diagram of a microneedle bond manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the X, Y, and Z axes are orthogonal to each other. The X and Y axes are axes within a predetermined plane, and the Z axis is an axis perpendicular to the predetermined plane. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when directions are indicated based on a view from the front direction of Figure 1, which is parallel to the Y axis, "up" is the direction of the Z-axis arrow and "down" is the opposite direction, "left" is the direction of the X-axis arrow and "right" is the opposite direction, and "front" is the front direction in Figure 1, which is parallel to the Y axis and "back" is the opposite direction.

[0010] The microneedle laminate manufacturing apparatus EA is an apparatus for manufacturing a microneedle laminate UP in which an adhesive sheet AS is attached to a protective member PM and a microneedle MN having a plurality of protrusions MN1 formed on one side. The apparatus comprises a support means 10 that performs a support process of supporting the protective member PM and the microneedle MN with the protrusions MN1 of the microneedle MN inserted into the opening PM1 of the protective member PM, and a sheet attachment means 20 that performs a sheet attachment process of attaching an adhesive sheet AS larger than the outer edge shape of the microneedle MN to the other side of the protective member PM and microneedle MN supported by the support means 10 to form a microneedle laminate UP, and is located near a cutting means 30 that forms a cut of a predetermined shape in the adhesive sheet AS of the microneedle laminate UP. In this embodiment, the microneedle MN has multiple protrusions MN1 formed on one side of a sheet-like base MN2. The protective member PM is formed to be thinner than the height of the protrusions MN1 of the microneedle MN and has multiple openings PM1.

[0011] The support means 10 comprises a linear motor 11 as a driving device and a table 12 supported by a slider 11A of the linear motor 11. In this embodiment, the support means 10 is provided to support a plurality of microneedles MN. The table 12 includes a support surface 12A that can be held by suction using a depressurization means (holding means) not shown, such as a depressurization pump or a vacuum ejector; a plurality of recesses 12B formed in the support surface 12A; and a projection support means 12C which is made of a flexible material such as sponge or rubber housed in the recesses 12B and supports the projection MN1 of the microneedle MN.

[0012] The sheet application means 20 includes a base plate 21 that directly or indirectly supports the components constituting the sheet application means 20, a support roller 22 that supports a raw roll RS on which an adhesive sheet AS is temporarily attached to a strip-shaped release sheet RL, a guide roller 23 that guides the raw roll RS, a release plate 24 as a release means that folds the release sheet RL at the release edge 24A and peels the adhesive sheet AS from the release sheet RL, a pressing roller 25 as a pressing means that presses and applies the adhesive sheet AS to the protective member PM and the microneedle MN, a drive roller 26 supported on the output shaft (not shown) of a rotary motor 26A as a drive device and sandwiches the release sheet RL between itself and a pinch roller 26B, and a recovery roller 27 supported on the output shaft of a drive device (not shown) and constantly applies a predetermined tension to the release sheet RL between itself and the pinch roller 26B while the microneedle bond manufacturing apparatus EA is in automatic operation and recovers the release sheet RL. In this embodiment, the sheet application means 20 is configured to apply one adhesive sheet AS to a plurality of microneedles MN supported by the support means 10.

[0013] The cutting means 30 includes a linear motor 31 as a drive device, a base 32 supported on the output shaft 31A of the linear motor 31, and a cutting blade 33 as a cutting member supported on the base 32.

[0014] The operation of the microneedle bonding device EA described above will now be explained. First, the user of the microneedle bond manufacturing apparatus EA (hereinafter simply referred to as "user") sets the raw material RS as shown in the figure, with the components positioned in the initial positions shown by the solid lines in Figure 1. Then, a signal to start automatic operation is input via an operating means (not shown), such as an operation panel or a personal computer. The sheet bonding means 20 then drives the rotary motor 26A to feed out the raw material RS. As shown in Figure 1, when the leading end of the adhesive sheet AS in the feeding direction is peeled off from the release sheet RL by a predetermined length at the folded portion of the release sheet RL, which is folded back by the release edge 24A of the release plate 24, the driving of the rotary motor 26A is stopped.

[0015] Next, after the user or a transport means (not shown) such as an articulated robot or a belt conveyor places the protective member PM on the support surface 12A, and then places the microneedle MN on the protective member PM with the projection MN1 inserted into the opening PM1, the support means 10 drives a depressurization means (not shown) to start adsorbing and holding the protective member PM on the support surface 12A. Subsequently, the support means 10 drives the linear motor 11 to move the table 12 to the left, and when the protective member PM and microneedle MN reach a predetermined position relative to the sheet application means 20, the sheet application means 20 drives the rotary motor 26A to feed out the raw material RS in accordance with the moving speed of the protective member PM and microneedle MN. As a result, the adhesive sheet AS is peeled off from the release sheet RL at the folded portion of the release sheet RL and pressed onto the protective member PM and microneedle MN by the pressure roller 25, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 1.

[0016] Next, the entire leading adhesive sheet AS is attached to the protective member PM and microneedle MN to form the microneedle bond UP. When the leading edge of the next adhesive sheet AS following the leading adhesive sheet AS is peeled off from the release sheet RL by a predetermined length at the folded portion of the release sheet RL, the sheet attachment means 20 stops driving the rotary motor 26A. Then, when the microneedle bond UP reaches a predetermined position below the cutting blade 33, the support means 10 stops driving the linear motor 11. Subsequently, the cutting means 30 drives the linear motor 31 to raise and lower the cutting blade 33, as shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, to form a closed-loop cut in the adhesive sheet AS that surrounds the microneedle MN. After that, the support means 10 stops driving the depressurization means (not shown), and the suction holding of the protective member PM on the support surface 12A is released. Next, when the user or a transporting means (not shown) transports the microneedle bonded body UP to the next process, the support means 10 drives the linear motor 11 to return the table 12 to its initial position, and the same operation as described above is repeated thereafter.

[0017] According to the above embodiment, since the adhesive sheet AS is attached to the protective member PM and the microneedle MN supported by the support means 10, it is not necessary to attach the adhesive sheet to the microneedle MN and the protective member PM in separate attachment processes, thereby preventing a decrease in processing capacity per unit time.

[0018] As described above, the best configurations, methods, etc., for carrying out the present invention are disclosed in the above description, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, although the present invention is mainly illustrated and described in relation to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art can make various modifications to the embodiments described above in terms of shape, material, quantity, and other detailed configurations without departing from the scope of the technical idea and objectives of the present invention. Furthermore, the descriptions of shapes, materials, etc. disclosed above are illustrative to facilitate understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention, so descriptions of components with some or all of those limitations removed are included in the present invention. Furthermore, the means and processes in the present invention are not limited in any way as long as they can perform the operations, functions, or processes described for those means and processes, and are certainly not limited at all to the components or processes of a single embodiment shown in the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, the support means can be anything that supports the protective member and the microneedle with the projection of the microneedle inserted into the opening of the protective member, and is not limited in any way as long as it is within the scope of the common technical knowledge at the time of filing (the same applies to other means and processes).

[0019] The support means 10 may be provided in a manner that can support a single microneedle MN, or it may not include the projection support means 12C.

[0020] The sheet attaching means 20 may be configured to attach one adhesive sheet AS for each micro needle MN supported by the support means 10. Alternatively, a closed-loop or a cut extending across the entire short-width direction is formed in a strip-shaped release sheet RL to which a strip-shaped adhesive sheet base material (a strip-shaped base material sheet and a strip-shaped adhesive layer) is temporarily attached, and after feeding out a raw sheet RS in which a predetermined region partitioned by the cut serves as the adhesive sheet AS, the adhesive sheet AS may be peeled off and attached. Or, a strip-shaped adhesive sheet raw sheet in which a strip-shaped adhesive sheet base material is temporarily attached to a strip-shaped release sheet RL is adopted, and during the feeding out of the strip-shaped adhesive sheet raw sheet, a closed-loop or a cut extending across the entire short-width direction is formed in the adhesive sheet base material with a cutting blade as a cutting means, and after feeding out a raw sheet RS in which a predetermined region partitioned by the cut serves as the adhesive sheet AS, the adhesive sheet AS may be peeled off and attached. Or, without being wound, for example, the raw sheet RS folded in a fan-fold manner may be fed out and then the adhesive sheet AS may be peeled off and attached. Or, a pressing means may be adopted which is configured to hold the adhesive sheet AS with a holding member supported by an output shaft of a linear motor as a driving device and capable of being sucked and held by a decompression means (not shown) such as a decompression pump or a vacuum ejector, and to press and attach the adhesive sheet AS held by the holding member to the protection member PM and the micro needle MN. Or, without being wound, for example, a recovery means may be adopted which recovers the release sheet RL by folding it in a fan-fold manner, cutting it into pieces with a shredder, or accumulating it randomly. Or, a recovery means may not be adopted. Or, with or without moving the table 12, the release plate 24, the pressing roller 25, the driving roller 26, etc. may be moved to attach the adhesive sheet AS to the protection member PM and the micro needle MN. Or, an adhesive sheet AS not temporarily attached to the release sheet RL may be fed out and attached to the protection member PM and the micro needle MN. Or, a driving device as a pressing member approaching and separating means for separating and approaching the pressing roller 25 from the protection member PM and the micro needle MN may be adopted to prevent stress from being applied to or damage being caused to the protection member PM and the micro needle MN.

[0021] The cutting means 30 may form a cut that penetrates the adhesive sheet AS but does not penetrate the protective member PM, or may form a cut that penetrates both the adhesive sheet AS and the protective member PM. The cutting member may be linearly moved in at least one of the front-back and left-right directions to cut the adhesive sheet AS. It may be provided in the micro-needle laminate manufacturing apparatus EA of the present invention or may not be provided.

[0022] The tip of the protrusion MN1 of the micro-needle MN may be sharp, may not be sharp, may be rounded, may be arrowhead-shaped, may branch into two or three or more branches, or the shape of the protrusion MN1 may be a cone, pyramid, cylinder, prism, or a combination thereof.

[0023] The protective member PM may be formed thicker than the height of the protrusion MN1 of the micro-needle MN. The opening PM1 may be one, may be a through-hole, or may be a recess.

[0024] The materials, types, shapes, etc. of the micro-needle MN, the protective member PM, and the adhesive sheet AS are not particularly limited. For example, the micro-needle MN, the protective member PM, and the adhesive sheet AS may be circular, elliptical, polygonal such as triangular or quadrilateral, or other shapes. The adhesive sheet AS may be of an adhesive form such as pressure-sensitive adhesiveness or heat-sensitive adhesiveness. When a heat-sensitive adhesive adhesive sheet AS is adopted, it may be adhered by an appropriate method such as providing heating means such as an appropriate coil heater or the heating side of a heat pipe for heating the adhesive sheet AS. Also, such an adhesive sheet AS may be, for example, a single-layer one consisting only of an adhesive layer, a two-layer one in which a base material and an adhesive layer are laminated, a three-layer or more-layer one in which one or more intermediate layers are laminated between the base material and the adhesive layer, a three-layer or more-layer one in which one or more cover layers are laminated on the upper surface of the base material, one in which the base material, intermediate layer or cover layer is provided detachably, a single-sided adhesive sheet consisting only of an adhesive layer, a double-sided adhesive sheet in which adhesive layers are laminated on both outermost surfaces of one or more intermediate layers, or any other type.

[0025] The drive equipment in the above embodiment may be electric motors such as rotary motors, linear motors, single-axis robots, and so-called articulated robots with two or three or more joints, or actuators such as air cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, rodless cylinders, and rotary cylinders, either individually or in combination directly or indirectly. Furthermore, the drive equipment may be capable of or incapable of torque control or speed control of the output section of the electric motors or actuators.

[0026] In the above embodiment, an object (hereinafter referred to as "object A") and an object moving relative to object A (hereinafter referred to as "object B"), that is, object A and object B moving relative to object A, object B may move relative to object A which does not move, object A may move relative to object B which does not move, or both object A and object B may move, and either object A or object B may move as long as the result achieved by the movement is the same. If a rotating member such as a roller is used, a drive device for rotating the rotating member may be provided. The surface of the rotating member or the rotating member itself may be made of a deformable material such as rubber or resin, or the surface of the rotating member or the rotating member itself may be made of a non-deformable material. Other members such as rotating or non-rotating shafts or blades may be used instead of rollers. If a means or member for pressing an object to be pressed, such as a pressing roller or pressing head, is used, in addition to rollers, round bars, blade materials, brush-like members, a method of blowing gas such as air or gas may be used instead of or in combination with those exemplified above. The material to be peeled may be made of a deformable material such as rubber, resin, or sponge, or it may be made of a non-deformable material such as metal or glass. If a peeling means or peeling member such as a peeling plate or peeling roller is used to peel off the material to be peeled, a plate-shaped member, round bar, roller, etc. may be used instead of or in combination with the examples given above. The material to be peeled may be made of a deformable material such as rubber or resin, or it may be made of a non-deformable material. A support (holding) means or support (holding) member such as a support (holding) member may be used to support (hold) the supported (held) member. If applicable, a configuration may be adopted in which the member to be supported is supported (held) by gripping means such as mechanical chucks or chuck cylinders, Coulomb force, adhesive (adhesive sheets, adhesive tapes), adhesive agents (adhesive sheets, adhesive tapes), magnetic force, Bernoulli adsorption, suction adsorption, drive equipment, etc. If a cutting means or cutting member is used to cut the member to be cut or to form cuts or cutting lines in the member to be cut, a cutting method using a cutter blade, laser cutter, ion beam, thermal power, heat, water pressure, electric heating wire, spraying of gas or liquid, etc. may be used instead of or in combination with the examples given above.It may also be possible to move the object to be cut by combining it with appropriate drive devices. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0027] EA... Microneedle bonding manufacturing equipment 10...Support means 20...Method of attaching the sheet AS...Adhesive sheet MN... Microneedle MN1…Protrusion PM... Protective material PM1…opening UP... Microneedle bonding

Claims

1. A microneedle bond manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a microneedle bond in which an adhesive sheet is attached to a protective member and a microneedle having multiple protrusions formed on one side, With the projection of the microneedle inserted into the opening of the protective member, the protective member and the microneedle are supported by a support means, A microneedle bond manufacturing apparatus comprising a sheet-applying means for attaching an adhesive sheet larger than the outer edge shape of the microneedle to the other surface of the protective member and the microneedle supported by the support means, thereby forming the microneedle bond.

2. The microneedle bond manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the support means comprises a projection support means for supporting the projection of the microneedle.

3. The support means is provided so as to be able to support a plurality of the microneedles, The microneedle bond manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sheet-attaching means attaches the adhesive sheet 1 to a plurality of microneedles supported by the support means.

4. A method for manufacturing a microneedle laminate, comprising a microneedle having multiple protrusions formed on one side and a protective member to which an adhesive sheet is attached, A support step in which the protective member and the microneedle are supported with the projection of the microneedle inserted into the opening of the protective member, A method for manufacturing a microneedle laminate, characterized by performing a sheet application step in which an adhesive sheet larger than the outer edge shape of the microneedle is applied to the other surface of the protective member and the microneedle supported in the support step, thereby forming the microneedle laminate.

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