Article processing equipment

Abstract

To form an air flow at a central section of a sterile chamber, in order to maintain the sterile condition.SOLUTION: A pharmaceutical filling device 2 (article processing device) comprises: a sterile chamber 3 whose internal part is maintained in a sterile condition; air supply means for supplying sterile air to the sterile chamber 3; exhaust means for exhausting air from the sterile chamber 3; conveyance means 4 provided inside the sterile chamber 3 in order to move holding means 14 holding a container 1 (article) along an annular movement path; measurement means 6 provided along a conveyance path of an article according to the conveyance means 4; and filling means 7 (article processing means). The conveyance means 4 causes the holding means 14 to move along the annular movement path, and an exhaust port 12 through which the exhaust means exhausts air from the sterile chamber 3 is provided on the inside of the movement path of the holding means 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an article processing apparatus, and more particularly to an article processing apparatus provided with conveying means and article processing means inside a sterile chamber.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known an article processing apparatus provided with conveying means for moving holding means for holding an article and article processing means provided along the conveyance path of the article by the conveying means inside a sterile chamber whose interior is maintained in a sterile state (Patent Document 1). In such an article processing apparatus provided with a sterile chamber, in order to maintain the sterile state inside the sterile chamber, a laminar flow of sterile air is formed from above downward.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, when the conveying means and the article processing means as described above are housed inside the sterile chamber, the internal space of the sterile chamber becomes large, and the air flow in the central portion of the sterile chamber stagnates, so there is a risk that the sterile state cannot be maintained. In view of such problems, the present invention provides an article processing apparatus that forms an air flow also in the central portion of the sterile chamber to maintain a sterile state.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In other words, the present invention relates to an article processing apparatus comprising: a sterile chamber whose interior is maintained in a sterile state; an air supply means for supplying sterile air from above the sterile chamber; an exhaust means for discharging air from below the sterile chamber; a transport means provided inside the sterile chamber for transporting articles; and an article processing means provided along the transport path of articles by the transport means, The above-mentioned transport means includes a holding means for holding the above-mentioned article, and is configured to move the holding means along a circular movement path. The above conveying means is provided with multiple columnar members that support it at the required height, The exhaust means is provided with an exhaust port for discharging air from the sterile chamber, located inside the annular movement path of the holding means. The above-mentioned transport means comprises an endless rail provided along the movement path of the holding means, and a drive means for moving the holding means by linear drive, wherein the rail is arranged in an oval shape consisting of a straight portion and an arc-shaped portion, and the drive means is positioned on the inner circumference side of the movement path of the holding means, relative to the article held by the holding means. The sterile air supplied from the above-mentioned air supply means into the sterile chamber is characterized by passing between adjacent columnar members and flowing toward the exhaust port. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the above invention, by making the movement path of the holding means by the transport means annular and providing the exhaust port inside the movement path, a laminar flow from the top to the bottom of the sterile chamber can be formed in the central part of the sterile chamber where airflow tends to stagnate. Furthermore, sterile air supplied into the sterile chamber can be passed between the columnar members and circulated to the exhaust port. Furthermore, by providing an exhaust port inside the conveying mechanism, dust generated as the holding mechanism moves flows towards the internal exhaust port, preventing the dust from adhering to the items. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] Plan view of the drug filling apparatus according to this embodiment [Figure 2] Side view of the drug filling device [Figure 3] Plan view of the holding means constituting the transport means [Figure 4] Partial cross-sectional view of the conveying mechanism [Figure 5] Plan view of measuring means and filling means [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] The following describes an illustrated embodiment. Figure 1 shows a drug filling device 2, which is an article processing device that fills a container 1, which is an article, with a drug. In this embodiment, the drug filling device 2 can fill two types of containers 1, a syringe 1A and a vial 1B, with a drug. The drug filling device 2 described above comprises a sterile chamber 3 whose interior is kept sterile, a transport means 4 provided inside the sterile chamber 3 for transporting the container 1, a container supply means 5 for supplying an empty container 1 into the sterile chamber 3, a weighing means 6 for weighing the container 1, a filling means 7 for filling the container 1 with drug, a capping means 8 for attaching a cap to the container 1, and a container discharge means 9 for discharging the container 1, all of which are controlled by a control means (not shown).

[0009] Syringe 1A is a cylindrical container made of glass or resin with a tapered needle attachment section at its tip, to which an injection needle can be attached. When filling syringe 1A with medication, it is transported with the needle attachment section, which has a cap attached, facing downwards, and the medication is filled through the opening on the base side where a flange is formed. A rubber cap is then fitted into the opening by the capping means 8. On the other hand, vial 1B is a glass container with a bottomed cylindrical shape, with an opening at the top and a flat bottom. A rubber cap is fitted into the opening by the capping means 8. As described above, syringe 1A and vial 1B have different shapes, and conventionally, separate drug filling devices 2 were used to fill them with drugs. However, in this embodiment, it is possible to process these containers 1 with a single drug filling device 2.

[0010] In order to process two types of containers 1, syringe 1A and vial 1B, the drug filling device 2 of this embodiment is configured such that the transport means 4 transports syringe 1A and vial 1B along an inner transport path CA and an outer transport path CB, which are arranged in parallel. In this embodiment, the syringe 1A is transported by the inner transport path CA, and the vial 1B is transported by the outer transport path CB, which is provided parallel to the inner transport path CA. Furthermore, the container supply means 5, measuring means 6, filling means 7, capping means 8, and container discharge means 9 each constitute article processing means according to the present invention. As will be described in detail later, the control means controls these article processing means to process syringes 1A transported along the inner transport path CA using an inner operation mode, and to process vials 1B transported along the outer transport path CB using an outer operation mode.

[0011] The internal space of the sterile chamber 3 is formed to be large enough to accommodate the transport means 4, weighing means 6, filling means 7, etc., as described above. Outside the sterile chamber 3, there is an air supply means for supplying sterile air (not shown) and an exhaust means for discharging the air inside the sterile chamber 3. As shown in Figure 2, the air supply means supplies sterile air from an air inlet 11 located at the top of the sterile chamber 3. Although not shown in Figure 1, multiple air inlets 11 are provided in various locations on the sterile chamber 3. In contrast, the exhaust means described above is equipped with an exhaust port 12 at the bottom of the sterile chamber 3, and a conventionally known HEPA unit is provided at the exhaust port 12 to purify the exhaust air. With this configuration, sterile air supplied from the air intake port 11 inside the sterile chamber 3 forms a laminar flow from the top to the bottom of the sterile chamber 3 and is discharged from the exhaust port 12.

[0012] The exhaust port 12 of this embodiment is disposed inside the conveying means 4, specifically on the inner circumferential side of the moving path of the holding means 14 that constitutes the conveying means 4, and the exhaust port 12 is provided at a position lower than the conveying height of the container 1 by the conveying means 4. By disposing the exhaust port 12 inside the conveying means 4 in this manner, the exhaust port 12 will be disposed substantially at the center of the aseptic chamber 3. Inside the aseptic chamber 3 having a large internal space capable of accommodating article processing means such as the above-described conveying means 4, metering means 6, and filling means 7, an air flow is formed in the central portion where the air flow is likely to stagnate, so as to maintain the aseptic state. Furthermore, as will be described later, since the driving means of the conveying means 4 of this embodiment is provided on the inner circumferential side of the moving path of the holding means 14, dust generated from the driving means can be sucked through the exhaust port 12 provided inside the conveying means 4, so that dust does not enter the container 1 or the drug. Regarding the above exhaust port 12, it may be provided at a plurality of locations as long as it is inside the conveying means 4.

[0013] The conveying means 4 includes a rail 13 provided in an endless oval shape, a plurality of holding means 14 that move along the rail 13 and hold the container 1, and a driving means 15 that individually moves the holding means 14 along the rail 13. The rail 13 is arranged in a substantially oval shape composed of the straight portion and the arc-shaped portion, and as shown in FIG. 2, the rail 13 is provided at a required height with respect to the floor surface of the aseptic chamber 3 by columnar members 13a provided at a plurality of intervals. By supporting the rail 13 with the plurality of columnar members 13a in this manner, the air flowing in the aseptic chamber 3 flows between the columnar members 13a and flows toward the exhaust port 12 disposed inside the conveying means 4.

[0014] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the holding means 14. In this embodiment, one holding means 14 is configured to hold one container 1, and the control means controls the driving means 15 to enable each holding means 14 to be individually moved. Also, the holding means 14 of this embodiment is adapted to be used by exchanging an inner holding means 14A for holding the syringe 1A and an outer holding means 14B for holding the vial 1B. The inner holding means 14A and the outer holding means 14B have a common configuration, and include a pair of gripping members 16 for gripping the container 1 and an opening / closing means 17 for opening and closing the gripping members 16. The gripping member 16 has a recess 16a for gripping the container 1 formed at opposing positions. When the gripping member 16 is closed by the opening / closing means 17, the container 1 is accommodated between the recesses 16a, and the container 1 is gripped by the holding means 14. The recesses 16a are provided at different positions depending on the container 1 to be gripped. The recess 16a of the inner holding means 14A for holding the syringe 1A is formed at the position of the inner conveyance path CA, and the recess 16a of the outer holding means 14B for holding the vial 1B is formed at the position of the outer conveyance path CB.

[0015] The opening / closing means 17 includes two arms 17b provided so as to be swingable with respect to a swing axis 17a. The gripping member 16 is fixed to one end of each arm 17b, and cams (not shown) are provided on these arms 17b. Thereby, both arms 17b swing in conjunction with each other to open and close the gripping member 16. Springs 17c are provided at the ends of both arms 17b on the side of the gripping member 16, and the springs 17c bias the gripping member 16 in the approaching direction, that is, bias the holding means 14 to the closed state. Furthermore, one of the arms 17b is provided so as to protrude toward the rail 13, and a cam follower 17d is provided at its tip. When the cam follower 17d is pressed, the arm 17b swings about the pivot axis 17a, causing the gripping member 16 to open and close.

[0016] Inside the cam follower 17d, there is an opening / closing bar 18 driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), which is configured to move back and forth in a direction perpendicular to the transport path of the container 1. When the opening / closing bar 18 presses the cam follower 17d from the inside to the outside of the rail 13, the gripping member 16 swings and enters an open state. When the opening / closing bar 18 moves from the outside to the inside from that state, the gripping member 16 enters a closed state due to the biasing force of the spring 17c. As shown in Figure 1, the opening and closing bar 18 is provided adjacent to the container supply means 5, weighing means 6, and container discharge means 9, which are arranged along the conveying means 4, and has a predetermined length in the conveying direction so as to simultaneously press the cam followers 17d of the multiple holding means 14 to open and close them simultaneously.

[0017] The above-mentioned drive means 15 moves the holding means 14 by a conventionally known linear drive, and as shown in Figure 4, it consists of rails 13 arranged parallel to each other vertically, a plurality of electromagnetic coils 19 provided between the rails 13, and a shuttle 20 that holds the holding means 14 and moves by electromagnetic induction generated between it and the electromagnetic coils 19. The shuttle 20 includes a permanent magnet 20a located in close proximity to the electromagnetic coil 19, and rollers 20b located above and below the permanent magnet 20a and engaging with the rail 13. The above-mentioned retaining means 14 is provided on the upper part of the shuttle 20, and when replacing the inner retaining means 14A that holds the syringe 1A and the outer retaining means 14B that holds the vial 1B, the retaining means 14 is either removed from the shuttle 20 or the entire shuttle 20 is replaced. With the above configuration, the control means can move each shuttle 20 by controlling each electromagnetic coil 19, and it is possible to move the holding means 14 provided on each shuttle 20. Furthermore, the control means can recognize the position of each holding means 14 and store the weight of the syringe 1A or vial 1B held by the holding means 14, corresponding to the position of each holding means 14.

[0018] The container supply means 5 contains syringes 1A and vials 1B in a grid called a nest (not shown), and the nests are placed in a transport container 21 and brought in from outside the sterile chamber 3. The means 5 includes a belt conveyor 5a that transports the transport container 21, and a robot 5b that takes the syringes 1A and vials 1B from the transport container 21 on the belt conveyor 5a and hands them over to the holding means 14 of the transport means 4. The belt conveyor 5a transports the transport container 21 containing pre-sterilized syringes 1A and vials 1B from outside to inside the sterile chamber 3, and then stops the transport container 21 at a position adjacent to the transport means 4. On the other hand, the transport means 4 stops the plurality of holding means 14 at a position adjacent to the container supply means 5 by the control means, and the opening / closing bar 18 is provided at the stopping position of the holding means 14. The robot 5b described above is equipped with multiple holding heads at its tip. When it holds the container 1 contained in the transport container 21 with the holding heads, it moves it to the holding means 14, which is opened by the opening / closing bar 18, and hands the container 1 over to the holding means 14. Since the configuration of robot 5b described above is already publicly known, a detailed explanation of its configuration will be omitted.

[0019] In this embodiment, the container supply means 5 is controlled by the control means according to whether the container 1 to be processed is a syringe 1A or a vial 1B, using either the internal operation mode or the external operation mode. In other words, in the container supply means 5, the syringes 1A and vials 1B are supplied in the transport container 21 at different intervals and arrangements, and the holding means 14 of the transport means 4 also has different holding positions for the syringes 1A or vials 1B between the inner holding means 14A and the outer holding means 14B, so it is necessary to control the belt conveyor 5a and the robot 5b differently. In other words, when processing syringe 1A, since the recess 16a of the internal holding means 14A is formed at the position of the internal transport path CA, the robot 5b controls the movement of syringe 1A along this internal transport path CA so that the internal holding means 14A grasps syringe 1A. In contrast, when processing vial 1B, since the recess 16a of the outer holding means 14B is formed at the position of the outer transport path CB, the robot 5b controls the robot to move vial 1B onto this outer transport path CB and to grip vial 1B with the outer holding means 14B.

[0020] Next, the measuring means 6 and the filling means 7 will be described using Figure 5. The weighing means 6 is equipped with two sets of four weighing devices 6a located at separate positions on the upstream and downstream sides along the movement path of the holding means 14 by the transport means 4. A robot 6b is provided adjacent to each set of weighing devices 6a to move the syringe 1A between the holding means 14 and the weighing devices 6a. Furthermore, the transport means 4 is equipped with an opening / closing bar 18 that opens and closes the holding means 14 in accordance with the position where the weighing scale 6a is installed. The weighing device 6a is equipped with a tray 6c that supports the container 1 from below when weighing the container 1, and the tray 6c is positioned along the outer transport path CB. When processing the syringe 1A, the receiving tray 6c is attached to two sets of weighing devices 6a, one upstream and one downstream. The receiving tray 6c attached in this manner has a shape that can accommodate the tip of the syringe 1A. On the other hand, when processing vial 1B, the receiving tray 6c is attached only to the four weighing instruments 6a on the upstream side, and the weighing instruments 6a on the downstream side are not used, as will be described later. The receiving tray 6c that is attached has a flat top surface, and the height of this top surface is set to be approximately the same as the bottom surface of vial 1B being transported by the transport means 4. The robot 6b is equipped with a holding head (not shown) for holding the syringe 1A, and holds the syringe 1A held by the internal holding means 14A and places it on the receiving tray 6c located on the external transport path CB. When the weighing of the syringe 1A is completed, the robot 6b holds the syringe 1A in the receiving tray 6c and passes it to each internal holding means 14A. On the other hand, when processing vial 1B, robot 5b is not used and remains in standby mode.

[0021] The filling means 7 includes four filling nozzles 7aA for filling the syringe 1A with the drug and four filling nozzles 7aB for filling the vial 1B with the drug. Each of these nozzles is raised and lowered by a lifting means (not shown), and the drug is supplied from a drug supply means (not shown). The four filling nozzles 7aA for filling the syringe 1A with the drug are located between the two sets of weighing devices 6a, which are provided on the upstream and downstream sides, and are also located above the inner transport path CA. On the other hand, the four filling nozzles 7aB for filling the vial 1B with the drug are located above the receiving trays 6c of the four upstream weighing devices 6a, and therefore above the outer transport path CB.

[0022] The capping means 8 includes four capping heads 8aA provided for attaching a rubber cap to an opening formed at the base of the syringe 1A, and four capping heads 8aB provided for attaching a rubber cap to an opening of the vial 1B. These capping heads 8aA are supplied with rubber caps that fit the vial 1B or syringe 1A by a cap supply means (not shown). The capping head 8aA for syringe 1A is located above the inner transport path CA, and the capping head 8aA for vial 1B is located above the outer transport path CB, and both are provided to be movable up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown).

[0023] The container discharge means 9 includes a syringe discharge means 9A for discharging the syringe 1A and a vial discharge means 9B for discharging the vial 1B. First, the vial discharge means 9B is composed of a belt conveyor 22 located adjacent to the downstream side of the capping means 8, and a robot 23 located adjacent to the belt conveyor 22. The transport means 4 is provided with an opening / closing bar 18 at the location of the vial discharge means 9B. With this configuration, when the external holding means 14B, which is gripping the vial 1B, stops at a position adjacent to the belt conveyor 22, the robot 23 receives the vial 1B gripped by the external holding means 14B and places it on the belt conveyor 22. The belt conveyor 22 then transports the vial 1B to a subsequent process (not shown) located outside the sterile chamber 3. Next, the syringe dispensing means 9A is provided downstream of the vial dispensing means 9B in the transport means 4, specifically further downstream of the arc portion of the rail 13 adjacent to the downstream side of the vial dispensing means 9B. The syringe discharge means 9A consists of a conveyor belt 24 with multiple skirts on top and a robot 25 provided adjacent to the conveyor belt 24, and the conveying means 4 is provided with an opening / closing bar 18 at the position of the syringe discharge means 9A. With this configuration, when the internal holding means 14A, which is gripping the syringe 1A, stops at a position adjacent to the transport conveyor 24, the robot 25 receives the syringe 1A gripped by the internal holding means 14A and places it in the skirt on the transport conveyor 24. The transport conveyor 24 then transports the syringe 1A to a subsequent process (not shown) located outside the sterile chamber 3.

[0024] The operation of the drug filling device 2 having the above configuration will be described below. First, to explain the operation with respect to syringe 1A, the transport means 4 is equipped with an internal holding means 14A for transporting syringe 1A along the internal transport path CA, the weighing means 6 is equipped with a receiving tray 6c for syringe 1A on the upstream and downstream weighing devices 6a, the filling means 7 is equipped with a filling nozzle 7aA above the internal transport path CA, and the capping means 8 is equipped with a capping head 8aA above the internal transport path CA. In this state, the operator instructs the control means to perform processing in the internal operation mode for processing syringe 1A, and also supplies the transport container 21 containing syringe 1A to the container supply means 5. The control means then controls the container supply means 5, causing the belt conveyor 5a to move the transport container 21 to a position adjacent to the transport means 4. At this time, the transport means 4 keeps the four internal holding means 14A in a waiting position adjacent to the belt conveyor 5a and is kept open by the opening / closing bar 18. Next, the robot 5b of the container supply means 5 holds the syringe 1A contained in the transport container 21 and hands it over to the holding means 14. As a result, the syringe 1A is held in the inner transport path CA by the inner holding means 14A.

[0025] Next, as shown in Figure 5(a), the control means controls the transport means 4 to move the four holding means 14 to a position adjacent to the four weighing instruments 6a on the upstream side of the weighing means 6, and then controls the robot 6b of the weighing means 6 to move the syringe 1A from the holding means 14 to the receiving tray 6c of the weighing instrument 6a. Once the weight of the empty syringe 1A is measured by the four upstream weighing devices 6a, the robot 6b transfers the measured syringe 1A to the internal holding device 14A, and the control device moves the internal holding device 14A between the upstream weighing devices 6a and the downstream weighing devices 6a. At this position, the filling nozzle 7aA of the filling means 7 is located above the inner transport path CA, and the control means controls the filling means 7 to fill a predetermined amount of drug into the syringe 1A held by the inner holding means 14A. Once the drug filling is complete, the transport means 4 moves the internal holding means 14A to the four weighing scales 6a on the downstream side, and the robot 6b of the weighing means 6 moves the syringe 1A from the internal holding means 14A to the receiving tray 6c of the weighing scales 6a, and weighs the drug-filled syringe 1A. The control means calculates the amount of drug filled into the syringe 1A from the weight of the empty syringe 1A weighed by the upstream weighing scale 6a and the weight of the drug-filled syringe 1A weighed by the downstream weighing scale 6a.

[0026] Once the amount of drug filled into syringe 1A has been measured, the control means moves the internal holding means 14A to the capping means 8, and attaches a rubber cap to syringe 1A using the capping head 8aA located above the internal transport path CA. The control means then moves the holding means 14 to the syringe discharge means 9A in the container discharge means 9, where the robot 25 transfers the syringe 1A from the holding means 14 to a skirt provided on the transport conveyor 24, after which the syringe 1A is discharged to the outside of the sterile chamber 3.

[0027] Next, the operation for vial 1B will be explained. In this case as well, the transport means 4 is equipped with an external holding means 14B for transporting vial 1B along the external transport path CB, the weighing means 6 is equipped with a receiving tray 6c for vial 1B on the upstream weighing scale 6a, the filling means 7 is equipped with a filling nozzle 7aB above the external transport path CB, and the capping means 8 is equipped with a capping head 8aB above the external transport path CB. In this state, the operator instructs the control means to process vial 1B in an external operation mode, and supplies the transport container 21 containing vial 1B to the container supply means 5. Then, the control means controls the container supply means 5, and when the belt conveyor 5a moves the transport container 21 to a position adjacent to the transport means 4, the robot 5b hands over the vial 1B contained in the transport container 21 to the outer holding means 14B. As a result, the vial 1B is held by the external holding means 14B in the external transport path CB of the transport means 4.

[0028] As shown in Figure 5(b), the control means controls the transport means 4 to move the four external holding means 14B to the position of the receiving pans 6c of the four weighing devices 6a on the upstream side of the weighing means 6, and then releases the holding means 14. As a result, the weighing device 6a starts weighing the vial 1B, and then the control means controls the filling nozzle 7aB of the filling means 7 located above the outer transport path CB to start filling the vial 1B with the drug. The weighing device 6a measures the amount of drug to be filled, and when a predetermined amount of drug has been filled into vial 1B, the control means stops supplying the drug, retracts the filling nozzle 7B, and the external holding means 14B holds vial 1B again. Subsequently, the transport means 4 moves the outer holding means 14B filled with the drug through the four weighing devices 6a downstream to the capping means 8, and attaches a rubber cap to the vial 1B using the capping head 8aB located above the outer transport path CB. Subsequently, the transport means 4 moves the outer holding means 14B to the vial discharge means 9B in the container discharge means 9, the robot 23 receives the vial 1B from the outer holding means 14B and transfers it to the belt conveyor 22, and the vial 1B is discharged to the outside of the sterile chamber 3.

[0029] While the syringe 1A or vial 1B is being processed, sterile air is supplied from the air intake port 11 located at the top of the sterile chamber 3, and the sterile air forms a laminar flow toward the exhaust port 12 located at the bottom. Furthermore, the exhaust port 12 is positioned inside the movement path of the holding means 14 in the transport means 4, and the drive means 15 of the transport means 4 is positioned inside the transport trajectory of the vial 1B and syringe 1A. This creates an airflow in the central part of the sterile chamber 3 where airflow tends to stagnate, and also prevents dust generated by the movement of the holding means 14 from flowing towards the exhaust port 12 which is inside the transport path of the container 1, thus preventing the dust from mixing with the chemical.

[0030] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, syringes 1A and vials 1B of different shapes are transported using an inner transport path CA and an outer transport path CB, respectively, and the item processing means such as the weighing means 6 and the filling means 7 are controlled using an inner operating mode for syringe 1A and an outer operating mode for vial 1B, respectively. This makes it possible to process the drug filling of syringe 1A and vial 1B using a single drug filling device 2, whereas previously separate drug filling devices 2 were used for each.

[0031] In addition, although the above embodiment describes a drug filling device 2 that fills a syringe 1A or vial 1B with a drug inside a sterile chamber 3, any article processing device equipped with a conveying means 4 that circulates and moves a holding means 14 that holds articles inside the sterile chamber 3 may process other articles. Furthermore, although the conveying means 4 in the above embodiment is configured to move the holding means 14 by linear drive, it may also be a curved conveyor that conveys articles while they are contained in the holding means 14, which is called a "hakama". In this case as well, by making the movement path of the holding means 14 a circulation path and providing the exhaust port 12 of the discharge means inside the circulation path, it is possible to prevent dust from adhering to the articles. Furthermore, when processing vial 1B, weighing may be performed before and after filling. That is, a receiving tray 6c may be installed in the downstream weighing device 6a, and a filling nozzle 7aB may be provided on the outer transport path CB between the weighing devices 6a. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1 container (item) 1A Syringe 1B vial 3 sterile chamber 4. Conveying means 5. Container supply means 6 Measuring means 7 Filling means 8 Capping means 9 Container discharge means 11 Air intake 12 Exhaust vent 13 Rail 14 Holding means 15 Driving means

Claims

[Claim 1] An article processing apparatus comprising: a sterile chamber whose interior is maintained in a sterile state; an air supply means for supplying sterile air from above the sterile chamber; an exhaust means for discharging air from below the sterile chamber; a transport means provided inside the sterile chamber for transporting articles; and an article processing means provided along the transport path of articles by the transport means, The above-mentioned transport means includes a holding means for holding the above-mentioned article, and is configured to move the holding means along a circular movement path. The above conveying means is provided with multiple columnar members that support it at the required height, The exhaust means is provided with an exhaust port for discharging air from the sterile chamber, located inside the annular movement path of the holding means. The above-mentioned transport means comprises an endless rail provided along the movement path of the holding means, and a drive means for moving the holding means by linear drive, wherein the rail is arranged in an oval shape consisting of a straight portion and an arc-shaped portion, and the drive means is positioned on the inner circumference side of the movement path of the holding means, relative to the article held by the holding means. An article processing apparatus characterized in that sterile air supplied from the above-mentioned air supply means into the sterile chamber flows through the space between adjacent columnar members toward the exhaust port.

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