Material or article handling – Device for emptying portable receptacle – Nongravity type
Patent
1997-10-06
1999-08-10
Keenan, James W.
Material or article handling
Device for emptying portable receptacle
Nongravity type
294 8152, 294 871, 414736, B65B 300, B65G 4790
Patent
active
059348593
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
PRIOR ART
The invention relates to a device for handling objects disposed in a packaging container as has been disclosed, for example, by EP 0 257 230 A1.
There are mainly two types of packaging containers currently used for the storage and transport of syringe bodies. On the one hand, these are so-called trays that are thermoformed containers in which a large number of ribs with tray nubs formed into them, between which a syringe body is respectively disposed with positive engagement and with frictional, non-positive engagement. To fill the syringe bodies, for example with a medication, the syringe bodies must be removed from the tray, supplied first to a cleansing and sterilizing device and then to a filling and closing device. Then, the filled and closed syringe bodies are inserted back into the tray.
Furthermore, so-called SCF systems are known. An SCF system is understood to be a sterile packaged empty syringe unit. It is comprised of a tub-shaped plastic box, a covering mat, a rectangular tray, and the corresponding number of syringe bodies for this tray. Under sterile conditions, a protective foil is glued in an airtight manner to the plastic box, which is packaged in a plastic protective foil. In contrast to the simple tray mentioned first, with an SCF system, the syringe bodies are already sterilized at the manufacturer. As a result, the above-described cleansing and sterilizing of the syringe bodies is eliminated.
Since syringe bodies are objects that are mechanically sensitive depending on their embodiment, a device is desirable which permits a safe transport of the syringe bodies from their packaging container and into, for example, a cleansing and sterilizing device of a packaging machine and at the same time, puts as little as possible mechanical stress on the syringe bodies. In EP 0 257 230 A1, objects are in fact held in a mechanically gentle manner in the recesses by means of a vacuum, but the recesses must be very precisely adapted to the objects so that a sealed contact is produced between the objects and the suction bores. Moreover, the holding force is defined by the size of the suction bores and the magnitude of the vacuum so that the known device cannot be used with all syringe body formats.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
The device according to the invention for handling objects disposed in a packaging container has the advantage that the syringe bodies are securely and at the same time, very gently transported and that it can be used for a wide range of formats.
Other advantages and advantageous embodiments of the device according to the invention for handling objects disposed in a packaging container ensue from the description set forth herein.
It is particularly advantageous to couple the transfer unit to a matrix. As a result, it is also possible to withdraw the syringe bodies from the tray and reintroduce them into it in a way that is gentle to both the syringe bodies and the tray.
In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the device is connected to an arm of a handling robot. As a result, the trays or the SCF system, before and after being filled with the syringe bodies, can be directly removed from storage or can be stored or stacked. The coupling of the device to a handling robot furthermore has the particular advantage that all of the geometrically dependent guides and drive members, which are necessary in the known devices, can be eliminated and that any arbitrary point within the range of the handling robot can be controlled. As a result, a great flexibility of the device is achieved.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Two exemplary embodiments of the invention are represented in the drawings and are explained in detail in the following description.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tray filled with syringe bodies,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a device for handling objects disposed in a packaging container,
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a part of the device according to FIG. 2,
FIGS. 4 and 5 are side views of the device according to FIG. 2 during two opera
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Greigg Edwin E.
Greigg Ronald E.
Keenan James W.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
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