Sterile Container Enclosure Lock Chamber Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The production and treatment of sterile plastic containers face challenges in preventing the escape and contamination of sterilization media, leading to potential health risks and system contamination, as existing methods often result in sterilization agents leaking into undesired areas and creating negative pressures that allow external air and microorganisms to enter treatment zones.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the creation of low-germ zones with a permanent introduction of sterile treatment media and a lock space for controlled extraction of treatment media, using a filter device and a suction system that prevents negative pressure and ensures outside air does not contaminate the sterilization zone, with the outer housing designed to surround and protect the low-germ zone and its components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sterilization media are introduced into treatment zones to sterilize containers, then sterilization effectiveness is improved, but sterilization agents may escape and cause health risks and system contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested enclosure structure where an inner housing containing the low-germ zone is positioned inside an outer housing, creating multiple containment barriers. The lock chamber is formed between the inner and outer housings, allowing controlled extraction of treatment media without compromising the sealed environment. This nested configuration ensures sterilization agents remain confined while enabling safe removal of contaminated media.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock chamber serves as an intermediary zone between the sealed low-germ zone and the external environment. Treatment media are extracted through this intermediate space, allowing the system to transition from a closed sterile environment to an open state without direct exposure. The lock chamber acts as a buffer that mediates the extraction process, preventing direct contact between sterilization agents and the external environment.
2Loss of substance
If treatment media are extracted from treatment zones, then media removal is achieved, but negative pressure may form allowing external air and microorganisms to enter
Solution Approach 1:
The lock chamber positioned between the inner and outer housings provides a dedicated extraction pathway that does not compromise the sealed low-germ zone. Media can be removed through this nested structure without creating pressure differentials that would force external air into the sterile environment.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock chamber functions as an intermediary extraction zone that decouples the removal of treatment media from the sealed environment. By extracting media through this intermediate space rather than directly from the low-germ zone, the system avoids creating negative pressure that would draw in contaminated external air.
3Reliability
If continuous flow of sterile treatment media is maintained in low-germ zones, then aseptic conditions are preserved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into distinct functional zones: the low-germ zone for maintaining aseptic conditions, the lock chamber for controlled media extraction, and the outer housing for structural containment. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The continuous flow of sterile treatment media serves multiple functions simultaneously: it maintains positive pressure to prevent contamination, sterilizes surfaces, and creates a self-cleaning effect. The system uses the treatment media itself to maintain aseptic conditions without requiring additional active sterilization mechanisms, reducing overall system complexity.
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
This approach effectively reduces the risk of contamination and reabsorbs any escaped sterilization media, maintaining aseptic conditions and preventing the ingress of microorganisms into treatment stations, thereby ensuring the sterility and safety of the production environment.
Implementation Method 1
a suction system that prevents negative pressure and ensures outside air does not contaminate the sterilization zone
Implementation Method 2
using a filter device and a suction system
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a method and an installation for manufacturing and treating sterile plastic containers, in which method preforms made of a thermoplastic material are heated in the region of a heating section and then formed to produce containers using pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, and wherein the preforms or the containers or both are sterilised and pass through at least one low-germ zone which is surrounded by an enclosure, characterised in that the enclosure (2, 2') has an outer housing (3, 3') and a lock chamber (4, 4') through which treatment medium is extracted from the low-germ zone (1, 1') and at the same time air is extracted from the outer environment of the outer housing (3, 3').