Storage containers for storage and dispensing stations

Abstract

The present invention relates to a storage container for a storage and dispensing station for small-piece products, particularly for drugs or dietary supplements. In known storage containers, small pieces of product to be separated regularly get stuck in the channels of a separation device. To solve this problem, the storage container includes a housing including an inner cylindrical portion, a separation device located in the inner cylindrical portion, the separation device having a base body and a plurality of channels, the channels opening to the outer periphery of the separation device, each channel having a peripheral wall and two radial walls, and a retaining means. According to the present invention, at least one radial wall and / or the peripheral wall has depressions and / or protrusions for reducing the contact area between the small pieces of product and the channel walls, the shape and size of which are selected to reduce the electrostatic attraction force between the small pieces of product and the channel walls.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a storage container for a storage and dispensing station for small items, particularly for medications or dietary supplements. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, a conventional blister packaging machine, such as that disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,999,623, may include hundreds of storage and dispensing stations depending on the level of expansion. Multiple drug portions of a particular drug are stored in each of these, and individual drug portions can be dispensed on demand. The drugs stored in the storage and dispensing stations are then packaged by the blister packaging machine into patient-specific blister packages according to medically prescribed administration times.

[0003] A corresponding storage and dispensing station for dispensing one or more drug portions is activated to aggregate the drug portions. Upon activation of the storage and dispensing station, a separation device located in a storage container of the storage and dispensing station is used to separate a single drug portion and transfer it through a separation opening in the storage container to a guide device of a blister packaging machine. With the aid of the guide device, and optionally with an intervening collection device, the dispensed drug portion is provided to a packaging device that blisters individual or multiple drug portions according to the medical prescription.

[0004] To separate the drug portions stored in the storage containers of the storage and dispensing station, the separation device typically comprises a plurality of channels arranged around the periphery of the base body of the separation device. The dimensions of the channels must be adapted to the drug portions to be separated so that only one drug portion can be placed on top of the other within a channel, but not adjacent to each other. The channels can, for example, be dimensioned in such a way that only one drug portion can be accommodated in one channel.

[0005] To dispense a drug portion from a channel, the channel is moved over a dispensing opening on the bottom surface of the storage container housing, and the drug portion located in the channel (at its lowest point) slides or falls into the dispensing opening by gravity. To prevent additional drug portions stored in or on the channel from being dispensed, i.e., to prevent an unknown number of drug portions from being dispensed, a retaining portion of a retaining means or separator is guided or positioned within or above the channel in alignment with the dispensing opening in the region above the dispensing opening. The retaining portion is positioned within or above the channel relative to its height such that only one drug portion can be positioned below it. When a retaining portion is guided into a channel to separate the bottom drug portion from the drug portion located above it, each channel separation protrusion has a slot to accommodate the retaining portion. When a retaining portion is positioned or guided above a channel, it is usually guided slightly above the top end of the protrusion to prevent additional drug portions from entering the channel when a drug portion is dispensed.

[0006] As described above, the drug portion is separated by rotating the channel over the dispensing opening. The drug portion (usually one) located in the channel (or lower channel portion) falls due to gravitational force from the channel (channel portion). However, in some cases, especially when a light and / or drug portion having an outer surface that abuts extensively against the channel wall is separated, gravity is not sufficient to initiate dispensing through the dispensing opening, and the drug portion remains trapped in the channel due to electrostatic attraction between the drug portion and the channel wall, and during the intended dispensing, the channel is rotated over the dispensing opening and separated without the drug portion being dispensed. This results in incorrect drug mass accumulation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] International Application Publication No. 2013 / 034504 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage container for a storage and dispensing station for small piece goods, in which erroneous drug dispensing resulting from drug portions remaining trapped in the channels of a separation device is avoided. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] This object is achieved by a storage container according to claim 1. The storage container according to the invention for a storage and dispensing station for small piece goods comprises a housing enclosing a receiving space for small piece goods having an inner cylindrical portion, a housing bottom having a dispensing opening, and a separating device located in the inner cylindrical portion of the housing having a base body and a plurality of channels for receiving at least one small piece good, the channels being open to the outer periphery of the separating device and defined therebetween by webs formed on the base body, each channel having a peripheral wall and two radial walls and including a base area facing the housing bottom, the base area having a separating opening for the channel. The storage container further comprises holding means including positioning means and a holding portion, the positioning means holding the holding portion above the dispensing opening.

[0010] According to the present invention, the radial walls and / or peripheral walls have depressions and / or protrusions to reduce the contact area between the small particle products and the channel walls, the shape and size of which are selected so as to reduce the electrostatic attraction force between the small particle products and the channel walls.

[0011] According to the present invention, the terms "dimples" and / or "ridges" are used because, in the case of a flat base area, one always determines the other. When dimples predominate, the ridges are the "predominant" feature, and when ridges predominate, the dimples are the predominate feature. It is essential that a reduction in the contact area leads to a reduction in the electrostatic attraction to prevent the drug moieties from being drawn into or adhering to the base area. The design of the dimples / ridges also depends on the shape of the drug moieties to be separated. For example, when a flat, circular drug moiety is to be separated, the dimples should not be selected so that the flat drug moiety with a flat portion fits more or less precisely into the dimple. For those skilled in the art, the selection of the appropriate dimples / ridges immediately follows from the exact shape and further features of the drug moieties to be separated. It is also obvious that the dimples / ridges should be selected so that their shape does not cause any damage when the drug moieties move through the channel; therefore, protruding tips and sharp edges, in particular, should be avoided.

[0012] The reduced contact area reduces the potential electrostatic attraction between the channel wall and the drug moiety, so trapping does not occur within the channel and, if the channel is properly aligned, the drug moiety falls through the dispensing opening by gravity, avoiding mis-dispensing of the drug moiety.

[0013] Additionally, it has been found that the depressions and / or protuberances not only reduce the electrostatic interaction between the channel walls and the drug moieties, but also reduce the electrostatic charge of the drug moieties themselves. This has a positive effect on the further movement of the drug moieties through the blister packaging machine. When using conventional storage containers, electrostatic charging of the drug moieties can occur not within the channel but within components of the blister packaging machine, such as a guide device for guiding the drug moieties to a collection device located downstream. This can also result in incorrect drug clumping. The reduction in the electrostatic charge of the drug moieties also reduces the risk of adhesion to downstream components, further reducing the risk of incorrect dispensing.

[0014] In one particularly easy to produce preferred embodiment, it is provided that the recesses are (at least partially) designed as horizontal grooves. Alternatively or additionally, it is provided in further preferred embodiments that the recesses are designed as vertical grooves.

[0015] Because drug debris is generated during separation, periodic cleaning of the separation device is necessary. Regardless of contamination by drug debris, if a different type of drug is to be separated from the storage container, cleaning is also necessary, as already mentioned, because the channel must be adapted to the form and shape of the drug portion to accommodate the drug portion being separated. In one preferred embodiment that is particularly easy to thoroughly clean, the vertical groove is designed to open into the dispensing opening of the channel. This open-bottom design also has the advantage that drug debris does not accumulate in the recesses or grooves. This prevents greater accumulation of drug debris from the groove that is dispensed through the dispensing opening when the channel is aligned with the dispensing opening.

[0016] As mentioned above, the web may have a slot dividing the web and channel into lower and upper portions. The retaining portion of the retaining means is then guided into the slot. Whether a "two-part" or one-part web / channel design is selected depends, inter alia, on the shape of the drug type. The use of a two-part (and therefore longer) channel is particularly useful for non-spherically symmetric drug moieties, for example, in capsule form, because a longer channel provides more time for the drug moiety to align itself within the channel, which in turn reduces the error rate during dispensing.

[0017] Since the upper channel portion is open to the receiving space of the drug portion, the drug portion is periodically pressed from above. However, when the receiving space of the drug portion is almost empty, this pressure from the additional drug portion is absent. The same is true when rotating above the dispensing opening. The retaining portion separates the drug portion, and no pressure from above is applied at the moment of dispensing, so catching cannot be eliminated.

[0018] In order to prevent entrapment or adhesion in the lower and upper channel portions in a separation device having divided webs or channels, even when the receiving space is substantially empty, in one preferred embodiment it is provided that the web has horizontal slots dividing the web into upper and lower web portions and the channel into upper and lower channel portions, and that depressions and / or ridges are arranged on at least one radial wall and / or one peripheral wall of the lower and upper channel portions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] One preferred embodiment of a storage container according to the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1a] 1A-1C illustrate different perspective views of the first preferred embodiment; [Figure 1b] 1A-1C illustrate different perspective views of the first preferred embodiment; [Figure 1c] 1A-1C illustrate different perspective views of the first preferred embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 shows a top view of a first embodiment. [Figure 3a] 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment. [Figure 3b] 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a preferred embodiment, showing the interior of a separation device. [Figure 4a] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a combined separation device / holding means in a second embodiment. [Figure 4b] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a combined separation device / holding means in a second embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a combined separation device / holding means in a third embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 shows a perspective view of a combined separation device / holding means in a fourth embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a combined separation device / retaining means of a first embodiment. [Figure 8]A partial detail view from FIG. 7 is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] 1a-1c show different perspective views of a first preferred embodiment of a storage container 1 according to the present invention. The storage container 1 according to the present invention comprises a housing 10 enclosing a receiving space 2 for drug portions and including an inner cylindrical portion 11 at its lower part. The storage container 1 further comprises a base plate 12 and a cover 14 which is located on the housing 10 during operation of the storage and dispensing station and which can be removed for refilling. For better handling, the storage container 1 comprises a handle 13 in the "front" area. As can be seen in particular in FIG. 1c, a separation device 30 having a base body 31 is located on the inner cylindrical portion 11.

[0021] 2, it can be seen that in the embodiment shown, three protrusions 34 are arranged on the base body 31, which ensure the movement of the drug portion within the receiving space and thus facilitate the drug portion's sliding into the channel 32. The channel 32 is open to the periphery of the separation device and is defined by a plurality of webs 33 arranged on the base body of the separation device. The webs themselves may be attached, but may also be formed by milling out the channel 32. As can be seen in the following figures, both the channel and the web in the first embodiment are divided into lower and upper parts by slots.

[0022] 3a and 3b show cross-sectional views of a preferred embodiment of a storage container according to the present invention, with the interior of the separation device visible in FIG. 3b. As seen in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the separation device 30 is held in the cylindrical portion 11 via a connecting means 70. As already mentioned above, the web 33 is divided into a lower portion and an upper portion by a slot 35, which will be explained in more detail in subsequent figures. Also shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b is that the retaining portion 61 of the retaining means is guided to the slot 35 through the slot in the cylindrical portion 11 of the housing and remains consistently aligned with the dispensing opening 16 within this slot. This ensures that the retaining portion in the illustrated embodiment is consistently held above the dispensing opening of the channel portion rotated above the dispensing opening. Even if a drug portion is no longer present in the lower portion of the aligned channel, it is not possible for additional drug portions to enter the lower channel portion. As a result of this alignment of the retaining portion, while many drug portions can pass from the lower portion of the aligned channel into the dispensing opening to be located within the channel, the channels are typically adapted to accommodate drug portions such that only one drug portion is located within each channel. The retaining portion 61 of the retaining means 60 is retained in the embodiment shown via positioning means 62 which is fixed to the outside of the housing, however how the retaining means is exactly constructed and positioned is irrelevant to the present invention.

[0023] 3b already shows that three vertical depressions or grooves 50 are disposed on the peripheral walls 36 of the lower and upper channel portions, and in embodiments are open at the bottom of the lower channel portion, simplifying cleaning and loading of the grooves. By introducing the grooves, the contact area between drug moieties potentially located in the channel portion and the channel wall is reduced, thereby reducing electrostatic attraction between the channel portion wall and the drug moiety, thereby avoiding trapping within the channel section (when the channel portion is rotated over the dispensing opening 16). As already explained above, the electrostatic charge of drug moieties sliding through the channel is also reduced, which also reduces the risk of trapping on downstream components.

[0024] As already explained above, different types of drugs are separated using storage containers, which makes it practical to adapt the method of reducing the contact area between the drug portion and the channel wall to the type of drug product. In the embodiment shown in Figure 3b, three grooves are arranged on the peripheral wall 36 of the channel section, i.e., the "wide" wall of the channel section (see Figure 2 in this regard). A corresponding configuration is particularly useful for round, flat drug portions, which may have a large potential contact area between the drug portion and the peripheral wall. For drug portions of other shapes, such as elongated and narrow shapes, it may be practical to select other configurations. Before the separation device of the first embodiment is discussed again, three further embodiments are briefly described below.

[0025] Figures 4a and 4b show a second embodiment of a separation device / retaining means combination. It can be clearly seen in the figure that the channel 32 and web 33 are divided into upper and lower channel portions 32a and 32b and upper and lower web portions 33a and 33b by slots 35. Retaining portion 61 of retaining means 60 is located in the slot. As explained in the previous figures, retaining portion 61 is retained above the dispensing opening (not shown), thereby preventing drug moieties in the channel aligned with the dispensing opening from dropping from the upper channel portion 32a to the lower channel portion 32b. In the embodiment according to Figures 4a and 4b, two depressions 50 are located in the peripheral wall 36 of the channel (in this case, the lower channel portion). It can also be seen in Figure 4b that multiple horizontal radial grooves 38 are located on the base surface of the separation device and remain open toward the periphery of the separation device. These horizontal radial grooves prevent drug moieties from adhering to the base area. Again, the reduced contact area reduces the electrostatic attraction force. For example, if the drug portion to be separated is heavier than in embodiment 1, a configuration having only two depressions can be selected, but without the depressions there would still be such a strong electrostatic attraction that the drug portion would not be dispensed due to gravity.

[0026] 5 shows a third embodiment in which no depressions are located on the peripheral wall of the channel portion. In this embodiment, three depressions 51 are located on the radial wall 37 of the lower channel portion 32b to conform to the shape of the drug moiety to be separated. Such a configuration makes sense when the contact area between the drug moiety and the radial wall is larger than that of the peripheral wall of the channel portion.

[0027] FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment in which recesses 50 are arranged in the peripheral wall 36 and recesses 51 are arranged in the radial wall 37 .

[0028] As already mentioned, in the above embodiments, depressions in the upper channel portion 32a are not necessary, since in these embodiments the overlying drug portions provide sufficient pressure, thus ensuring that they slide into the free channel portion (when the drug portions are dispensed and the separation device is further rotated). Based on the above-described embodiments, it can be seen that the depressions / ridges can be precisely adapted to the drug portions to be separated. For example, if only one or two depressions are required, their introduction is of course more advantageous, for example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6. Thus, there is the possibility to "tailor" the separation device.

[0029] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a separation device according to a first embodiment. In this first embodiment, the channel is separated into a lower channel portion and an upper channel portion, and recesses are provided in both channel portions. As can be clearly seen in this enlarged view, the recesses 50 in the lower channel portion open toward the base area of ​​the separation or distribution openings 40 of the channel or channel portion; i.e., they have outlet openings 52, a detailed view of which is shown in FIG. 8. These outlet openings prevent drug debris from accumulating in the recesses. Drug debris continuously falls out of the recesses, preventing large amounts of drug debris from being released through the outlet openings. Additionally, the outlet openings simplify cleaning and loading of the channel.

[0030] In Figure 7, radial grooves 55 in the base area 39 of the separating device are also clearly visible. These are also designed with outlet openings 56, which however open onto the periphery of the separating device. The function of these grooves has already been explained above. Finally, Figure 7 shows coupling means 70 by which the separating device 30 can be coupled to a motor unit (not shown) of a storage and dispensing station. The storage and dispensing station can be removably fastened to the blister packaging machine via the motor unit.

Claims

1. A storage container (1) for a storage and distribution station for small items of merchandise, comprising: a housing (10) enclosing a receiving space (2) for receiving small-item goods, the housing (10) including an inner cylindrical portion (11) and a housing bottom (15) having a dispensing opening (16); a separating device (30) located in the inner cylindrical portion (11) of the housing (10), the separating device (30) having a base body (31) for receiving at least one small commodity and a plurality of channels (32), the channels (32) being open to the outer periphery of the separating device and being defined therebetween by webs formed on the base body, each channel (32) having a peripheral wall (36) and two radial walls (37), and including a base area (39) facing the housing bottom surface (15), the base area (39) having dispensing openings (40) for the channels (32); a holding means (60) including a positioning means (62) and a holding portion (61), said positioning means (62) holding said holding portion (61) above said dispensing opening (16); Equipped with A storage container (1) for a storage and dispensing station for small pieces of goods, characterized in that at least one radial wall (37) and / or the peripheral wall (36) has depressions and / or protuberances (50, 51) for reducing the contact area between the small pieces of goods and the channel walls (36, 37), the shape and size of which are selected so as to reduce the electrostatic attraction force between the small pieces of goods and the channel walls (36, 37).

2. 2. A storage container (1) for a storage and distribution station for small goods according to claim 1, characterized in that the recesses (50, 51) are designed as horizontal grooves.

3. 3. A storage container (1) for a storage and distribution station for small goods according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the recesses (50, 51) are designed as vertical grooves.

4. 4. A storage container (1) for a storage and dispensing station for small pieces of goods according to claim 3, characterized in that said vertical grooves are designed to open into said dispensing openings (40) of said channels (32).

5. 5. A storage container (1) for a storage and dispensing station for small piece goods according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the web (33) has horizontal slots (35) dividing the web into upper and lower web portions (33a, 33b) and the channel into upper and lower channel portions (32a, 32b), and the depressions and / or ridges (50, 51) are arranged on at least one radial wall (37) and / or one peripheral wall (36) of the lower and upper channel portions (32b, 32a).

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