Pharmaceutical Isolator Tray Overturning Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing pharmaceutical isolators with multiple glove flanges for handling trays with vials in aseptic environments have a large footprint, leading to increased electricity consumption and higher risks of contamination and processing time inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A tray overturning device integrated into a pharmaceutical isolator, which allows for the removal of covers and overturning of trays using a single station with a reduced number of glove flanges, thereby minimizing the footprint of the working chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple glove flanges are used for handling trays in different working chambers, then the tray can be processed through multiple stations (cover removal, overturning, storage), but the footprint of the working chamber increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines cover removal, tray overturning, and storage operations into a single integrated working chamber with one glove flange. The multi-functional device includes a support structure that can hold the tray in various positions (upright, inverted, horizontal) and perform multiple operations sequentially within the same chamber, eliminating the need for separate working chambers for each operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The single working chamber is designed to perform multiple functions: receiving the tray, removing covers, overturning the tray 180 degrees, providing storage space for the inverted tray, and enabling vial transfer. The support structure can be positioned and oriented differently to accommodate each operation phase, making the chamber universally applicable for all tray processing steps.
2Use of energy by stationary object
If the working chamber footprint is reduced by using fewer glove flanges, then electricity consumption decreases, but the complexity of handling operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is designed to be dynamic and reconfigurable within the single working chamber. It can rotate and position the tray in different orientations (upright, inverted, horizontal) as needed for each operation phase. This dynamic capability allows the system to perform complex multi-step operations within a compact space without requiring multiple static working chambers.
3Productivity
If multiple glove flanges are used for different working chambers, then tray handling can be performed at multiple stations, but the processing time increases due to operator movements
Solution Approach 1:
By merging cover removal, overturning, and storage operations into a single working chamber, the operator remains at one stationary position throughout the entire tray processing sequence. The single glove flange eliminates the need to move between multiple chambers, significantly reducing non-productive movement time and improving overall processing efficiency.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the number of glove flanges is increased to enable handling at multiple stations, then tray processing is more flexible, but the risk of contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the unnecessary glove flanges from the system by consolidating all tray processing operations into a single working chamber. By removing the extra glove flanges and their associated sealing interfaces, the system reduces the number of potential contamination points while maintaining full tray processing capability through the multi-functional design of the single chamber.
Data Source
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AI summary
An overturning device (16) to overturn, inside a chamber (11) of a pharmaceutical isolator, a tray (1) containing vials with their respective heads facing the bottom of the tray (1), the device (16) having an upright (19) fixable to the floor of the chamber (11), a frame (21) hinged to the upright (19) to rotate about a first axis (22) orthogonal to the upright (19) between a first position and a second position, two guides (23) mounted on the frame (21) to support the tray (1), and a lid (24) mounted on the frame (21) to rotate around a second axis (25) to and from a closed position, wherein the lid (24) is parallel to the guides (23). With the frame (21) in the first position, the guides (23) receive the tray (1) and the lid (24) is above the guides (23). With the frame (21) in the second position, the tray (1) is overturned on the lid (24) that, thus, acts as a support plane for the vials (2) falling from the tray (1). The guides (23) are reciprocally movable between a receiving position, wherein they receive the tray (1) when the frame (21) is in the first position, and a locking position, wherein they clamp the tray (1).