Apparatus and method for aseptically filling pharmaceutical containers with a pharmaceutical fluid using rotary stage

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10524980-B2
Application number	US-201715465516-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 21, 2017
Priority date	Sep 13, 2016
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

A reconfigurable nest handling system for handling nests of objects arranged in a predetermined pattern is presented and applied to a system for filling nested pharmaceutical containers with a pharmaceutical fluid. In one general aspect, the system comprises a sterilizable chamber containing a planar rotary stage with tub and nest positioning systems that may be reconfigurable for holding differently sized pharmaceutical container tubs and nests and pharmaceutical closure tubs and nests. The chamber has a rotatable cover removal station, a rotatable filling station with a dispenser head, and camera guided vacuum pickup facilities for handling container and closure nests. The vacuum pickup facilities may be reconfigurable for handling differently sized nests. An associated method for filling the containers comprises establishing an aseptic condition within the chamber; removing covers from a container tub and a container closure tub by operating both the rotary stage and the cover removal station. The vacuum pickup facility transfers into the fiducial locating structure a container nest bearing pharmaceutical containers. The fluid is dispensed into the containers by operating both the rotary stage and the filling station. A container closure nest is placed on the container nest in the fiducial locating structure with closures in correspondence with containers. A ram in the chamber forces the closures into the containers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for filling nested pharmaceutical containers with a pharmaceutical fluid substance, the system comprising a sterilizable chamber capable of maintaining an aseptic condition, the chamber comprising:
a planar rotary stage having a rotary stage rotation axis,
a plurality of locating structures positioned with respect to the rotary stage at different positions around the rotary stage rotation axis, for holding nests of pharmaceutical container parts at the different positions around the rotary stage rotation axis, the locating structures include surfaces associated with a first tub-holding opening in the rotary stage for holding a first tub containing at least one nest of containers, surfaces associated with a second tub-holding opening in the rotary stage for holding a second tub containing at least one nest of closures, and surfaces associated with a destination nest-holding opening in the rotary stage for holding at least one nest, and
a container filling station having a dispensing head for filling the containers while they are held in a nest at one of the locating structures.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the chamber further comprises at least one vacuum pickup system comprising suction cups disposed to engage with the container nest and container closure nest held on the rotary stage, the at least one vacuum pickup system being configured in combination with rotation of the rotary stage to lift a pharmaceutical container nest from a pharmaceutical container tub and to deposit the pharmaceutical container nest in the destination opening in combination with rotation of the rotary stage and to lift a pharmaceutical container closure nest from a pharmaceutical container closure tub and to deposit the container closure nest on top of the pharmaceutical container nest.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the locating structures includes a reconfigurable locating structure with one or more adjustable positioning surfaces to position a tub with respect to the rotary stage.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the reconfigurable locating structure includes at least one pair of a reconfigurable stopping member and a restraining member disposed opposite each other across an opening in the rotary stage to precisely position at a first predetermined position a tub that contains at least one nest.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the stopping member is adjustable to stop the tub at the first predetermined position by a rotary adjustment and the restraining member is disposed to restrain the tub in the first predetermined position.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein at least a first of the reconfigurable locating structures includes a rotary positioning element having an axis of rotation parallel to a plane of the rotary stage and includes a plurality of different positioning surfaces that are selectable by rotating the rotary positioning element.

7. The system of claim 3 wherein at least one of the reconfigurable locating structures includes at least a first pair of opposing positioning elements that define positioning surfaces that oppose each other along a first positioning axis that is at least generally parallel to a plane of the rotary stage and at least a second pair of opposing positioning elements that define positioning surfaces that oppose each other along a second positioning axis that is at least generally parallel to a plane of the rotary stage and at least generally perpendicular to the first positioning axis.

8. The system of claim 1 further including at least one cover removal station positioned to remove covers from tubs containing at least one nest of pharmaceutical packaging materials held in one of the locating structures.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one cover removal station is rotatable about a cover removal station rotation axis parallel to the rotary stage rotation axis to remove the tub covers in combination with rotation of the rotary stage.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one cover removal station comprises an engagement tool disposed and configured to engage with a cover removal fixture on the tub cover.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the filling station is configured to be rotatable about a filling station rotation axis parallel to the rotary stage rotation axis to position in combination with rotation of the rotary stage the dispenser head over any one of the plurality of pharmaceutical containers held by one of the one of the locating structures.

12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one camera disposed to obtain image information about at least one of the nests of pharmaceutical container parts.

13. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a ram system configured for forcing nested closures into corresponding nested containers.

14. A system for filling nested pharmaceutical containers with a pharmaceutical fluid substance, the system comprising a sterilizable chamber capable of maintaining an aseptic condition, the chamber comprising:
a planar rotary stage having a rotary stage rotation axis,
a plurality of locating structures positioned with respect to the rotary stage at different positions around the rotary stage rotation axis, for holding nests of pharmaceutical container parts at the different positions around the rotary stage rotation axis, at least one of the locating structures includes a reconfigurable locating structure with one or more adjustable positioning surfaces to position a tub with respect to the rotary stage, at least a first of the reconfigurable locating structures includes a rotary positioning element having an axis of rotation parallel to a plane of the rotary stage and includes a plurality of different positioning surfaces that are selectable by rotating the rotary positioning element, and
a container filling station having a dispensing head for filling the containers while they are held in a nest at one of the locating structures;
wherein at least one of the reconfigurable locating structures includes a pair of opposing rotary positioning elements each having an axis of rotation parallel to a plane of the rotary stage and each including a plurality of different positioning surfaces that are selectable by rotating that rotary positioning elements, to accommodate different nest widths.

15. A system for filling nested pharmaceutical containers with a pharmaceutical fluid substance, the system comprising a sterilizable chamber capable of maintaining an aseptic condition, the chamber comprising:
a planar rotary stage having a rotary stage rotation axis,
a plurality of locating structures positioned with respect to the rotary stage at different positions around the rotary stage rotation axis, for holding nests of pharmaceutical container parts at the different positions around the rotary stage rotation axis, at least one of the locating structures includes a reconfigurable locating structure with one or more adjustable positioning surfaces to position a tub with respect to the rotary stage, at least one of the reconfigurable locating structures includes at least a first pair of opposing positioning elements that define positioning surfaces that oppose each other along a first positioning axis that is at least generally parallel to a plane of the rotary stage and at least a second pair of opposing positioning elements that define positioning surfaces that oppose each other along a second positioning axis that is at least generally parallel to a plane of the rotary stage and at least generally perpendicular to the first positioning axis, and
a container filling station having a disp

Assignees

• Varnx Pharmasystems Inc
• Vanrx Pharmasystems Inc

Inventors

• Naing Juvenal
• Gofman Yakov
• Cichy Marcin
• Senger John
• Rathe Craig

Classifications

• B65B3/003 Primary

  Filling medical containers such as ampoules, vials, syringes or the like · CPC title

• A61J1/2003 Primary

  Accessories used in combination with means for transfer or mixing of fluids, e.g. for activating fluid flow, separating fluids, filtering fluid or venting · CPC title

• B65B43/60

  rotatable · CPC title

• B65B55/027

  Packaging in aseptic chambers · CPC title

• B65B7/28

  by applying separate preformed closures, e.g. lids, covers · CPC title