Freeze Dryer Vial Loading Mechanism with Wound Chain
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional loading and unloading mechanisms for freeze dryers occupy significant space, increasing the footprint and maintenance costs of pharmaceutical freeze dryers, which are typically housed in clean rooms.
Innovation Solution
A compact assembly for loading and unloading vials, featuring a bar with a mechanism wound around a sprocket, allowing lateral movement, which reduces the overall size by winding a greater proportion of the moving means around the wheel in the retracted position, and utilizing bellows to isolate the sterile environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional loading and unloading mechanisms are used, then the vials can be loaded and unloaded from the chamber, but the footprint of the freeze dryer increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The moving means (chain) is wound around the wheel (sprocket) in a nested configuration, allowing the loading mechanism to be compact in its retracted position. The chain wraps around the sprocket multiple times (at least 180°, preferably 270°), effectively nesting the moving components within a small space while still providing the full range of motion for bar movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The loading mechanism transitions from a static, space-consuming conventional design to a dynamic compact design where the chain is actively wound and unwound around the sprocket. This dynamic winding/unwinding action allows the mechanism to occupy minimal space when retracted while maintaining full functionality during operation.
2Ease of operation
If conventional loading and unloading mechanisms are used, then the vials can be loaded and unloaded, but the cost of maintaining the sterile environment increases
Solution Approach 1:
By nesting the chain around the sprocket in a compact arrangement, the overall size of the loading mechanism is reduced. This smaller footprint directly translates to reduced clean room space requirements, thereby lowering the costs associated with maintaining the sterile environment.
3Area of stationary object
If the moving means is wound around the wheel in the retracted position, then the footprint is reduced, but the mechanism complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sprocket acts as an intermediary component that simplifies the winding mechanism. Instead of requiring a complex reel or spool system, the sprocket's teeth engage with the chain links, providing a straightforward mechanical interface for winding and unwinding the chain around it in a compact manner.
4Reliability
If bellows are used to isolate the sterile environment, then sterility is maintained, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Bellows, which are flexible accordion-like structures, are used to isolate the sterile environment from the non-sterile loading mechanism. These flexible shells allow for the movement and winding of the chain while maintaining the sterile barrier, providing an elegant solution that combines motion capability with environmental isolation.
Data Source
AI summary
A freeze dryer comprises a chamber having a rectangular slot through which vials are inserted into the chamber. An assembly for loading the chamber comprises a bar extending across the slot to engage vials to be inserted into the chamber. The bar is attached to a mechanism for moving the bar laterally into and out from the chamber. In a retracted position of the bar, at least part of the mechanism is wound around a sprocket. Rotation of the sprocket unwinds the mechanism to move the bar into the chamber.