Aseptic Wall Feed-Through Sealing for Sterile Container Capping
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing container treatment systems face challenges in maintaining sterile conditions due to contamination risks from drives used in sterile environments, particularly with hydraulic seals that are complex to clean and require careful separation between sterile and non-sterile areas.
Innovation Solution
A device with movable capping heads within the clean room, each equipped with a dedicated sealing device and separate inlets for cleaning and separating media, allowing for efficient cleaning and minimizing the need for drives inside the sterile room, using individual water locks for sealing and a lifting drive positioned outside the clean room.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If drives are arranged inside the sterile room to operate treatment elements, then the treatment elements can be effectively controlled, but contamination risks increase due to bearing sources and complex sealing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The drive mechanisms are extracted from the sterile room and positioned in the non-sterile environment. Only the treatment elements (capping heads) remain inside the sterile room, while the drives operate externally. This separation eliminates the contamination risk associated with drive bearings and complex sealing requirements, as the drives no longer need to penetrate the sterile boundary.
2Ease of operation
If hydraulic seals are used to separate sterile and non-sterile areas, then movement transmission is enabled, but cleaning complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The hydraulic seals are completely removed from the system. Instead of using seals to transmit movement across the sterile boundary, the invention transmits only forces and torques through the wall. The treatment elements are driven externally, eliminating the need for hydraulic seals and their associated cleaning complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydraulic sealing system is replaced with a purely mechanical force transmission system. Forces and torques are transmitted mechanically through the wall structure without requiring fluid seals. This substitution eliminates the cleaning complexity associated with hydraulic seals while maintaining the ability to transmit movement.
3Device complexity
If multiple treatment elements share a common sealing system, then device complexity is reduced, but cleaning efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Each treatment element is equipped with its own dedicated sealing device rather than sharing a common sealing system. This segmentation allows each seal to be independently cleaned and maintained, improving cleaning efficiency. Although this increases the number of sealing devices, each individual seal is simpler and more accessible for cleaning operations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures safe and complete separation of the clean room, allowing for efficient cleaning and reducing the complexity of maintaining sterile conditions, eliminating the need for hermetic sealing and minimizing contamination risks.
Implementation Method 1
a hydraulic seal being provided in order to seal off corresponding lifting movements
Implementation Method 2
an inlet via which a cleaning medium can be supplied to the sealing device
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2
AI summary
A device (1) for treating containers and, in particular, for closing containers (10) with closures, comprising a transport device (2) which transports the containers (10) through a cleanroom (12), wherein the cleanroom (12) is separated from an environment (U) by a plurality of walls (22, 24, 26), comprising a plurality of treatment elements (8) which are arranged within the cleanroom (12) and which are movable and, in particular, are rotatable with respect to a predetermined axis (D) and are also movable in the direction of this axis (D), in particular for applying closures to the containers (10), wherein each treatment element (8) is arranged on a carrier (18) which extends through a wall (22) of the cleanroom (12) and wherein each treatment element (8) is associated with a sealing device (20) to seal at least one movement of the carrier (18),and the sealing device (20) comprises a receiving container (34) for receiving a liquid separation medium (55) and a wall element (54) movably arranged within the separation medium (55). According to the invention, at least one sealing device (20) has an inlet (40) through which a cleaning medium can be supplied to the sealing device (20).