Gas-Tight Bulk Material Container Connections for Clean Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Handling pharmaceutical bulk materials poses challenges due to their toxicity, leading to potential contamination risks and the need for costly and time-consuming cleaning processes, especially during transfers between containers.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a base container and a connection body that forms a gas-tight sealing section, along with features like flexible receptacles, wheeled transporters, and inverting frames, ensures safe handling and prevents contamination by allowing for secure, gas-tight connections and easy filling/emptying of bulk materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If bulk materials are transferred between containers by opening both the flexible container and processing chamber, then the transfer process is simple, but the risk of contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
A bridge structure with a gas-tight connection system is introduced as an intermediary between the flexible container and processing chamber. The bridge includes a connection body with a sealing section that forms a gas-tight connection to the container opening, allowing material transfer without direct exposure between the container interior and processing chamber interior, thus preventing contamination while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent maintains an inert or controlled atmosphere within the bridge connection system to prevent contamination. The gas-tight sealing section creates a protected environment during transfer operations, ensuring that bulk materials do not come into contact with external contaminants while allowing the transfer process to proceed
2Object-affected harmful factors
If containers are cleaned after use to remove bulk material traces, then contamination of subsequent bulk materials is prevented, but the cleaning process becomes time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The connection body and sealing section are designed as single-use or limited-use components that can be disposed of after a certain number of uses or when contamination risk arises. This eliminates the need for time-consuming cleaning processes while ensuring that no bulk material traces contaminate subsequent materials, as the connection components are replaced rather than cleaned
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system is segmented into separable components (bridge, connection body, sealing section) that can be independently replaced. This segmentation allows specific components to be discarded after use without requiring cleaning of entire containers or processing chambers, significantly reducing cleaning time and costs while maintaining contamination prevention
3Reliability
If gas-tight sealing is made absolutely perfect, then no gas can pass through, but this is technically impossible to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial sealing action by creating a sealing section that achieves sufficient gas-tightness for the intended application rather than pursuing absolute perfection. The sealing design accepts that some minimal gas passage may occur but ensures it remains within acceptable limits for safe bulk material handling, thereby avoiding the excessive complexity that would be required to achieve absolute gas-tight sealing
Data Source
AI summary
A device for storing and transporting a bulk material, in particular a pharmaceutical bulk material, comprising a base container and at least one connection body detachably connectable with the base container, wherein the base container and the connection body in the connected state form a sealing section with which the base container and the connection body are connectable or are connected gas-tight with one another. A method for filling such device with this bulk material and for emptying a device filled with this bulk material as well as the use of such device for storing and transporting a pharmaceutical bulk material.