Filling Mandrel Nested Channel Oxygen Displacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices fail to adequately minimize oxygen content in containers, such as ampules, to the required levels of 0.2 to 0.5% residual oxygen in the head space, which is crucial for preserving oxygen-sensitive products like high-quality pharmaceuticals, as they are prone to oxidation and reduced storage life.
Innovation Solution
A device with a filling mandrel featuring a ring channel region where the filling channel, medium supply channel, and medium transport channel are separated and arranged in a space-efficient manner, allowing for the efficient displacement of oxygen with inert gases like argon or nitrogen, minimizing 'dead space' and ensuring low residual oxygen levels by using these channels to supply and remove the displacement medium effectively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional medium supply channels are used, then oxygen displacement is achieved, but residual oxygen content remains above 0.5% due to dead space
Solution Approach 1:
The medium supply channel is integrated within the filling mandrel structure, with the filling channel nested inside the medium supply channel. This nested arrangement eliminates dead space by ensuring that the medium supply channel volume is fully utilized for its intended purpose, with no residual volume remaining after operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The filling channel and medium supply channel are merged into a single integrated filling mandrel structure. Both channels share the same physical space and are medium-tight separated within the mandrel, eliminating the need for separate external supply channels and reducing overall dead space volume.
2Ease of manufacture
If separate filling channel and medium supply channel are used, then functional separation is achieved, but device volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The filling channel is positioned inside the medium supply channel, creating a concentric arrangement where both channels are medium-tight separated. This nested configuration achieves complete functional separation while utilizing the same physical space, thereby minimizing the overall volume of the filling mandrel.
3Productivity
If larger medium supply channel is used, then oxygen displacement efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The medium supply channel is arranged concentrically around the filling channel within the filling mandrel. This nested configuration provides an effectively large medium supply channel volume for efficient oxygen displacement, while the integrated concentric design maintains structural simplicity and ease of manufacturing.
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
The solution effectively reduces residual oxygen content in the container head space to below 0.5%, preventing oxidation and extending the storage life of sensitive products by ensuring nearly complete displacement of oxygen before sealing, thus maintaining product integrity.
Implementation Method 1
a supply device with a displacement medium supplied by a supply device to displace the oxygen from the container before it is sealed
Data Source
AI summary
A device minimizes the oxygen content in containers provided with a displacement medium or fluid by a feed unit (20). The displacement medium displaces oxygen from the container before closing. The food device (20) has one medium feed channel to introduce the displacement medium into the container and being at least partially a component of a filling device (26) for filling the container. The filling device (26) has a filling mandrel (17) with a filling channel (28), from which the media feed channel extends in a separated manner. The filling mandrel (17) has at least one further medium transport channel. The filling channel (28) is guided at its free cross-section in a ring channel region of the filling mandrel (17) having a larger cross-section. The filling channel (28) separates the medium feed channel from the medium transport channel within the ring channel region in a fluid-tight manner.