Holding Device for Particle-Contaminated Pharmaceutical Containers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pharmaceutical and cosmetic packaging systems face issues with processing failures, discharge failures, and damage to vacuum foil bags during transport and storage, leading to inefficiencies and quality control challenges.
Innovation Solution
A holding device with multiple holding elements and containers, subjected to a transport simulation including a rotational flat drop test and random vibration test, ensures that the number of particles on the exterior surfaces does not exceed a threshold, allowing for safe filling and packaging with a pharmaceutical or cosmetic composition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If containers are transported in nested arrangements, then space utilization is improved, but processing failures and discharge failures increase during automated handling
Solution Approach 1:
The holding device is segmented into multiple holding elements, each designed to individually secure a container. This segmentation allows for stable nested arrangements while enabling automated handling of individual containers without processing failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding device acts as an intermediary between the nested container arrangement and the automated processing system. It provides a standardized interface that enables reliable automated handling while maintaining the space-efficient nested configuration during transport.
2Stability of the object's composition
If containers are held by contact with holding elements, then stability during transport is improved, but particle contamination on exterior surfaces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The holding elements are designed with specific local qualities - smooth contact surfaces and appropriate material properties - that provide stable container holding while minimizing particle generation and transfer to container exterior surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding device and elements are designed as disposable components that can be easily replaced. This allows for cost-effective implementation of high-quality holding surfaces that minimize particle contamination without requiring expensive reusable components with complex cleaning protocols.
3Reliability
If transport simulation is conducted to ensure quality, then reliability is improved, but time and complexity of the process increase
Solution Approach 1:
The holding device is designed based on preliminary analysis of transport conditions and requirements. This preliminary design approach ensures that the structure inherently withstands transport simulations, reducing or eliminating the need for extensive time-consuming testing while maintaining high reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
An arrangement includes: a holding device including holding elements; and containers, each of the containers including a container wall which at least partially surrounds a container interior. The container wall has an exterior surface which faces away from the container interior. Each of the containers is detachably held by at least one of the holding elements by contact of the at least one holding element to the exterior surface of the container wall of the respective container. Directly after the arrangement has been subjected to a transport simulation, a number of particles of a particle size of at least 5 μm on the exterior surfaces of the containers does not exceed 2.7 particles per cm2 of a sum of surface areas of the exterior surfaces of all the containers, the transport simulation consisting of a rotational flat drop test and a random vibration test which are conducted in that order.