Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Storage container for a storage and dispensing station for
pharmaceuticals
The present invention relates to a storage container for
drugs and in particular a storage container for a storage and
delivery station for drugs.
Modern automatic blister packaging machines, such as are
disclosed for example in WO 2013/034504 Al comprise, depending
upon the configuration, several hundred storage and delivery
stations. In each of these a plurality of drug portions of a
specific drug are stored, and individual drug portions can be
delivered on demand. By means of the blister packaging machine
the drug portions stored in the storage and delivery station are
assembled and blister-packed for an individual patient according
to the administration times prescribed by a doctor.
Corresponding storage and delivery stations for delivering
one or more individual drug portions are controlled for
assembling the drug portions. During control of a storage and
delivery station an individual drug portion is separated out by
a separating device and is transferred via a delivery opening to
a guiding device of the automatic blister packaging machine. By
means of the guiding device a delivered drug portion is fed,
optionally via a collecting device, to a packaging device, which
blister-packs individual or a plurality of drug portions
according to the doctor's prescription.
For separating out the drug portions which are stored in a
storage container of a storage and delivery station, the
separating device comprises a rotor with a plurality of channels
which are usually disposed on the external circumference of the
rotor. The channels are usually adapted in terms of their
dimensions to the drug portions to be separated out in each case
in such a way that in a channel the drug portions can be
disposed only one above the other, but not adjacent to one
another. As a rule the channels are designed so that only one
drug portion is located in this space.
For delivering a drug portion from a channel, a channel is
moved over a delivery opening in the housing of the storage
container, and the drug portion disposed in the channel slides
or falls into the delivery opening. In order to prevent further
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drug portions resting above the channel from also being
delivered, in the region above the delivery opening a retaining
section of a retaining means is guided at least over the channel
which is aligned with the delivery opening. In order to ensure
that, during delivery of the drug portions, no further drug
portions enter the channel, the retaining section is guided only
slightly above the plane which is formed by the upper faces of
the projections separating the channels.
In storage containers according to the prior art the
retaining section of the retaining means is planar, so that,
depending upon the form of the drug portions, it is possible
that one or more drug portions remain lying on the retaining
section and cannot be delivered. If a number of X drug portions
are stored in a storage container, in the storage containers
according to the prior art it may happen that only X-Y (Y =
number of drug portions lying on the retaining means) can be
delivered if care is not taken to ensure that the drug portions
resting on the retaining section are removed therefrom.
When refilling drug portions it should be ensured that the
storage container no longer contains drug portions, since even
mixing different batches of the same type of drug must be
avoided. Purely practically, the procedure is such that the
storage container is taken off, shaken for removal of drug
portions from the retaining section, and then finally it is
replaced. Only in this way can it be ensured that all the drug
portions from the storage container can be delivered.
The objective of the present invention is to provide a
storage container, wherein it is ensured that all the drug
portions stored in the storage container can be delivered.
This object is achieved by a storage container according to
claim 1. The storage container according to the invention for a
storage and delivery station comprises a housing surrounding a
receiving chamber for drug portions with a circular cylindrical
section and a base surface, wherein the base surface has a
delivery opening through which separated drug portions are
delivered for example to a guiding device, wherein a delivery
channel can be disposed between the delivery opening and the
guiding device.
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A separating device, which has a plurality of spaced
projections and channels formed between said projections to
receive drug portions, is disposed rotatably in the circular
cylindrical section of the housing. The orientation or
arrangement and the width of the projections define the
dimensions of the channels between the projections. In order
that a defined number of drug portions is received per channel,
the dimensions of the channels are adapted (by the arrangement
and configuration of the channels) to the dimensions of the drug
portions to be separated.
Each projection has a surface adjacent to the receiving
chamber for drug portions, the uppermost points of the surfaces
of the projections define an upper receiving means boundary
plane. The receiving chamber for storing the drug portions is
located above this receiving means boundary plane, and the
channels of the separating device open below the receiving means
boundary plane.
The storage container further comprises a retaining means
with a fastening section and a retaining section, wherein the
retaining section is held above the delivery opening and above
the receiving means boundary plane and entry of the drug
portions into a channel aligned with the delivery opening is
prevented. In other words, the retaining section of the
retaining means is always disposed above the projections between
which the channels extend. According to the invention the
storage container further comprises a cam for removing drug
portions from the retaining section, wherein this cam is movable
above the receiving means boundary plane over the retaining
section. With the aid of this cam which is movable over the
retaining section drug portions lying on the retaining section
are removed. Thus the at least one cam ensures that all the drug
portions introduced into the storage container can be delivered,
and a situation is reliably avoided in which an unknown number
of drug portions remains on the retaining section and thus
delivery of a drug portion is no longer possible, although not
all of the drug portions in the storage container have been
delivered. The "shaking" which is necessary according to the
prior art is no longer necessary in the storage container
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according to the invention, which considerably reduces the cost
of operating an automatic blister packaging machine for a user.
The cam is moved over the retaining section by a rotary
movement of the separating device in the circular cylindrical
section of the housing above the receiving means boundary plane.
In a preferred embodiment it is provided that the at least one
cam is disposed on the external circumference of a central part
of the separating device, i.e. the cam moves simultaneously with
the channels and projections and, if only one cam is provided,
is guided or moved with each revolution the separating device in
one pass over the retaining section for removal of any drug
portions lying thereon. Thus in this embodiment the at least one
cam is a component of the separating device, wherein the at
least a cam can be designed in one piece with the separating
device or can be attached thereto.
In order to prevent drug portions from remaining on the cam
itself, and in order additionally to ensure a "smooth" removal
of the drug portions from the retaining section of the retaining
means, in a preferred embodiment it is provided that the at
least one cam has a non-planar surface and/or angled radial end
faces, wherein these end faces converge conically upwards.
In one embodiment the cam may be a component of the
separating device. In an alternative embodiment the at least one
cam is not directly connected to the separating device. In this
embodiment it is provided that above the channels the separating
device has a coaxial recess and the at least one cam is designed
as a rolling element which is disposed in the recess. This
rolling element is also guided by the rotary movement of the
separating device and during this guiding it removes, in the
recess, drug portions located on the retaining section, since
the rotary movement of the separating device moves the rolling
element over the stationary retaining section itself. Although
in this second embodiment the cam is no longer connected to the
separating device, it fulfils the same function, namely removing
("entraining") drug portions from the upper face of the
retaining section.
The rolling element may advantageously be spherical, barrel-
shaped or roller-shaped, wherein the recess can optionally be
adapted to the precise configuration of the rolling element. If
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the rolling element is configured for example as a roller, the
recess can be designed as a coaxial annular gap in which the
rolling element formed as a roller is guided. The annular gap
may be delimited towards the exterior for example by the
circular cylindrical section of the housing. The internal
delimitation is provided by a likewise circular cylindrical
section of the separating device.
In order to simplify the movement of the cam over the
retaining section of the retaining means, in a preferred
embodiment it is provided that the retaining means is flattened
on its radial end faces. This flattening also protects the drug
portions in the housing, since during a rotary movement the drug
portions may be pressed against the end faces of the cam. In
particular, smaller drug portions can be damaged in this
situation. The flattening ensures that the drug portions can be
moved more simply by means of the cam.
Several preferred embodiments of the storage container
according to the invention are described below with reference to
the drawings, in which
Figures la - ld show different views of a first embodiment
of the storage container;
Figures 2a - 2c show different sectional views of the first
embodiment;
Figures 3a - 3c show different views of the separating
device and the retaining means of the first embodiment;
Figure 4 shows a view of the separating device of a second
embodiment;
Figures 5a - 5d show different views of the separating
device as well as the retaining means according to the third
embodiment; and
Figures 6a - 6c show cams according to a fourth and fifth
embodiment.
Figures la and lb show two oblique views of a storage and
delivery station with a first embodiment of the storage
container 1 according to the invention. Figures lc and ld show
plan views of the storage container, wherein in Figure ld a
separating device 30, which is indicated in drawings la - lc, is
omitted. In all the representations of the storage container a
cover is omitted for a better overall view.
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The storage container 1 according to the first embodiment
comprises a housing 10 which surrounds a receiving chamber 2 for
drug portions and which has a circular cylindrical section 11 in
the lower section. The housing 10 is delimited towards the
bottom by a base surface 20 which has a delivery opening 21 (in
this connection see Figure 1d). The base surface 20 has a
further central receptacle 22 which co-operates with a
separating device 30. As can be seen from Figure lc, the
separating device 30 is disposed in the circular cylindrical
section 11 of the housing 10 and comprises a plurality of
channels 33 to receive a drug portion. The channels 33 are
formed by a plurality of projections 32 each having a surface
32a.
The orientation or arrangement and the width of the
projections 32 define the dimensions of the channels 33 between
the projections. In order to achieve the objective of
"separation", care must be taken to ensure that a defined number
of drug portions (regularly one) is delivered. For this it is
necessary for the dimensions of the channels to be adapted to
the dimensions of the drug portions to be separated. Thus with a
separating device it is not possible for arbitrarily all types
of drug portions to be separated, but only those which "match"
the dimensions of the channels.
The projections 32 form together with a central part 31 a
rotor which is moved by a drive (not shown). The projections 32
may be designed in one piece with the central part 31, but it is
also conceivable that the projections 32 are attached to the
external circumference of the central part 31 and thus the
channels are produced on the external circumference of the
central part 31. As can be seen in particular in Figure lb, the
circular cylindrical section 11 of the housing 10 comprises a
projection 14, to which a retaining means 40 is fixed by means
of a fastening portion 41. The retaining means further comprises
a retaining section 42 which is guided via a slot in the
circular cylindrical section 11 into the region of the
separating device (see in this connection more precisely the
following drawings).
The storage and delivery station comprise the storage
container 1 according to the invention and usually components
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which adjust or control the delivery or separation of the drug
portions. These are usually a motor for moving the separating
device 30 as well as a sensor for verifying the delivery of a
drug portion. The aforementioned further components can be
disposed in the housing 12. However, the storage and dispensing
station is regularly constructed from two main components, a
storage container and a delivery device (not shown), wherein the
storage container can be fitted detachably onto the delivery
device. The storage container is only removed for filling or
cleaning.
However, the precise design of the storage and delivery
station as well as the arrangement of the components necessary
for controlling and monitoring the storage container are not
significant for the present application; the invention relates
to the precise configuration of the storage container of the
storage and delivery station.
In order to be able to manipulate the storage and delivery
station (or optionally only the storage container) better, a
handle 13 is provided in the front region.
Figure 2a shows a lateral partial sectional view of the
first embodiment of the storage container of the storage and
dispensing station, wherein the housing 10 as well as part of
the circular cylindrical section 11 are cut away, so that the
view of the central separating device 30 is freed. The
separating device 30 comprises a central part 31, on the outer
circumference or generated surface of which a plurality of
projections 32 in each case with a surface 32a are provided, and
by the arrangement and configuration of these projections on the
circumference of the central part 31 a plurality of channels 33
are defined, wherein in this embodiment each channel is designed
so that only one drug portion can be received from a channel.
The surfaces 32a of the projections 32 define an upper receiving
means boundary plane (which is indicated graphically in Figure
3c and Figure 4), via which a retaining section 42 of the
retaining means 40 is guided. The retaining section 42 is
introduced via a slot in the circular cylindrical section 11,
namely in such a way that the retaining section 42 is disposed
above the receiving means boundary plane.
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Furthermore, a cam 35 is disposed on the external
circumference of the central part 31 of the separating device 30
in such a way that a horizontal slot or gap is formed between
the underside of the cam 35 and the receiving means boundary
plane. The retaining section 42 of the retaining means is
designed in such a way that it can be guided in and through the
slot.
Figures 2b and 2c show different views of a partial
sectional view, in which the housing 10 and a part of the
circular cylindrical section 11 are cut away, so that the
precise design of the separating device 30 as well as the
arrangement thereof in the circular cylindrical section 11 of
the housing can be seen. As already described with reference to
Figure 2a, the projections 32 comprise a surface 32a, wherein
the surfaces define a receiving means boundary plane (see
Figures 3c, 4). The projections 32 define the channels 33,
wherein the channel 33' illustrated "at the front" in the
drawings is aligned with the delivery opening 21 (not shown
here). The retaining section 42 of the retaining means 40 covers
the channel 33' from above, so that no further drug portions can
enter the channel 33' aligned with the delivery opening. During
rotation of the separating device the cam 35 moves as a function
of the direction of rotation of the separating device over the
retaining section 42, and optionally drug portions lying thereon
are removed by the movement of the cam.
Figures 3a and 3b show details of the separating device 30
as well as the retaining means 40, wherein in Figure 3b the two
aforementioned parts are shown separately from one another. As
can be seen, the retaining section 42 of the retaining means 40
is disposed above the receiving means boundary plane formed by
the surfaces 32a of the projections 30. The cam 35, which in
this embodiment is disposed on the external circumference of the
central part 31 of the separating device, is disposed in such a
way that during a movement of the separating device it is moved
over the upper surface of the retaining section for removal of
drug portions lying thereon.
Figure 3c shows a front view of the separating device, in
which the receiving means boundary plane AE is indicated by two
broken lines. As can be seen in Figure 3d, the receiving means
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boundary plane AE is defined by the surfaces 32a of the
projections 32. In the illustrated embodiment the surfaces 32a
of the projections are planar. In an alternative embodiment it
is also conceivable that the surfaces 32a are for example
spherical or conical, and in this case the uppermost points of
the surfaces would define the receiving means boundary plane.
The retaining section (not shown in Figure 3c) of the
retaining means is always guided over the receiving means
boundary plane AE, so that rotation of the separating device is
possible. Above the surface of the retaining section, and thus
also above the receiving means boundary plane, the cam 35 is
disposed at the external circumference of the central part of
the separating device. The intermediate space 36 which can be
seen in Figure 3c serves to receive the retaining section of the
retaining means. The separating device 30 further comprises a
lower axial projection 38 which co-operates with the receptacle
22 in the base surface of the storage container for rotating the
separating device.
Figure 4 shows a second embodiment of the storage container,
which differs from the first embodiment only in a detail, namely
in the configuration of the cam 35. For better illustration of
the cam 35 and the arrangement thereof the fastening section 41
of the fastening means 40 is omitted, only the retaining section
42 being shown in the gap between the cam 35 and the receiving
means boundary plane AE.
As can be seen in Figure 4, the surface of the cam is
conical, so that drug portions are prevented from remaining on
the surface of the cam. Because of the rotary movements of the
separating device the probability that a drug portion remains
lying on the surface of the cam is in fact limited, but in the
case of a slowly rotating separating device the configuration of
the upper face of the cam illustrated in Figure 4 may be
advantageous. Furthermore, the radial end faces of the cam shown
in Figure 4 are not vertical, but protrude obliquely downwards,
in order to ensure a smooth moving away of the drug portions
from the surface of the retaining section. However, in
alternative embodiments only one design variant can be selected,
i.e. a conical upper face or chamfered end faces.
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Figures 5a - 5d show a third embodiment of the storage
container according to the invention, wherein Figures 5a and 5b
show oblique views and Figures 5c and 5d show front views of the
separating device together with the retaining section 42. In
Figures 5a, 5b and 5d for the sake of clarity the fastening
section of the retaining means is again omitted.
As can be seen in these drawings, in this embodiment the cam
35 is not an integral part of the separating device 30 itself,
but is configured as a spherical rolling element which is
disposed in a recess 37 (see in particular Figures 5c, 5d) above
the receiving means boundary plane, wherein in the illustrated
embodiment the recess is configured as an annular channel. Thus
when the separating device 30 is disposed in the circular
cylindrical portion 11 of the housing 10 an annular gap is
formed in which the cam 35 is disposed and in which it is moved
by movements of the separating device.
A cam configured as a rolling element should be adapted,
like the channels 33 of the separating device, to the dimensions
of the channels and drug portions and, if applicable, the weight
of the drug portions so that it does not penetrate too deep into
the channels and thereby hinder raising of the rolling element
by the retaining section.
In the views illustrated in Figures 5a - 5d the cam 35 is
shown in different positions inside the annular groove 37. In
Figure 5c for example the spherical cam is disposed in part in
an upper channel opening of the channel 33'. In a rotary
movement of the separating device the cam 35 is moved with the
channel in the direction of the retaining means. The retaining
means lifts the cam from the channel opening and after the cam
has been lifted out of the channel opening it is moved over the
surface of the retaining section 42, so that any drug portions
lying on the surface of the retaining section are removed.
Figures 6a, 6b and 6c show two further embodiments of a cam
configured as a rolling element, wherein the cam is designed in
one case as a roller 35" and in one case conically 35'. In
Figure 6a the arrangement of the rolling elements in the recess
is indicated, and Figures 6b, 6c show respectively a side view
and a front view of the rolling element.
