Force-Controlled Pharmaceutical Container Closure Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for closing pharmaceutical containers often result in glass breakage, damaged closures, or improper sealing due to manufacturing tolerances, leading to unreliable sealing.
Innovation Solution
A force-controlled device with a pressure unit and counter element that aligns and presses closures onto containers based on adjustable maximum contact pressure, independent of the closing path, ensuring consistent sealing without increasing force beyond the specified limit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If path-controlled closing is used with a common plate to press multiple closures onto containers, then the closing process can be performed simultaneously on multiple containers, but manufacturing tolerances in container height or closure dimensions cause glass breakage, damaged closures, or improper sealing
Solution Approach 1:
The common plate is divided into individual pressure application points, with each closure having its own dedicated pressure element that can be independently controlled. This segmentation allows each closure to be pressed onto its container with precise, individual force control, eliminating the problems of path-controlled simultaneous pressing while maintaining efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from static path-controlled movement to dynamic force-controlled pressing. Each pressure element can independently adjust the force applied to its corresponding closure, allowing adaptation to manufacturing tolerances in container height and closure dimensions. This dynamic control ensures reliable sealing while maintaining the ability to process multiple containers simultaneously.
2Reliability
If force is increased to ensure proper sealing of containers with varying heights, then sealing reliability improves, but glass breakage and damaged closures occur due to excessive force
Solution Approach 1:
The system changes the control parameter from displacement (path-controlled) to force (force-controlled). By monitoring and regulating the force applied during closure pressing, the system ensures sufficient force for reliable sealing while preventing excessive force that would cause glass breakage or closure damage. The force can be independently adjusted for each closure-container pair to match actual requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The force-controlled system incorporates feedback mechanisms that monitor the force applied during closure pressing and adjust it in real-time. When the required sealing force is achieved, the system maintains that force level rather than continuing to increase it, thereby preventing harmful effects such as glass breakage or closure damage while ensuring reliable sealing.
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 device ensures reliable and reproducible closure of pharmaceutical containers by maintaining a consistent contact force, compensating for manufacturing tolerances and preventing damage from excessive force, thus ensuring proper sealing.
Implementation Method 1
a maximum contact pressure with which the container and closure are pressed onto/into each other can be preset
Implementation Method 2
The movable mounting is designed in such a way that a maximum contact force on the container and the closure, in particular an adjustable one, is specified by it
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a device (10) for closing pharmaceutical containers (12) by means of closures (14).