System for handling sensitive products, in particular packaging system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12545875-B2
Application number	US-202017612108-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 12, 2020
Priority date	May 18, 2019
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for handling sensitive products, in particular for filling and sealing medicaments in containers, comprising an enclosed space ( 2 ) in which the sensitive products are handled, a device ( 3 ) for monitoring the air in the enclosed space ( 2 ) with a measuring point ( 6 ) and at least one Petri dish ( 30 ), wherein the Petri dish ( 30 ) comprises a lower receptacle ( 31 ) and a removable lid ( 32 ), and an automatic handling device ( 4 ), wherein the automatic handling device ( 4 ) is designed to automatically transport the Petri dish to the measuring point ( 6 ) and back and to remove the lid ( 32 ) from the lower receptacle ( 31 ) of the Petri dish ( 30 ) and put it back on.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for handling sensitive products, the system comprising:
an enclosed space ( 2 ) configured for handling the sensitive products therein, containers for receiving the sensitive products therein, the containers being positioned within the enclosed space ( 2 ), a device ( 3 ) configured to be used for monitoring the air in the enclosed space ( 2 ), the device ( 3 ) including at least one Petri dish ( 30 ) having therein a culture medium, wherein the Petri dish ( 30 ) comprises a lower receptacle ( 31 ) housing the culture medium and a removable lid ( 32 ), a filling station ( 10 ) positioned within the enclosed space ( 2 ) and configured to fill the sensitive products into the containers, a sealing station ( 11 ) positioned within the enclosed space ( 2 ) and configured to seal the filled containers, a control device, and a single robot controlled by the control device, wherein the single robot is configured to:
automatically transport the Petri dish to and from a measuring point ( 6 ) located within the enclosed space ( 2 ),
remove the lid ( 32 ) from the lower receptacle ( 31 ) of the Petri dish ( 30 ),
thereafter, transport the containers from the filling station ( 10 ) to the sealing station ( 11 ), and

thereafter, put the lid ( 32 ) back on the lower receptacle ( 31 ) of the Petri dish ( 30 ).

2 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the device ( 3 ) for monitoring the air comprises an air sampler having a collecting head ( 34 ) and a magazine ( 33 ) for receiving a plurality of Petri dishes ( 30 ).

3 . The system according to claim 2 , wherein the single robot is designed to remove the collecting head ( 34 ) from the air sampler and put the collecting head on the air sampler.

4 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the single robot comprises a gripper ( 40 ) having a first and second gripping jaw ( 41 , 42 ).

5 . The system according to claim 1 , further comprising an identification device ( 9 ) configured to identify Petri dishes ( 30 ) and to assign a predetermined measuring time to an identified Petri dish ( 30 ).

6 . The system according to claim 5 , wherein each Petri dish ( 30 ) has an individual, optical identification mark and the identification device ( 9 ) has an optical recognition device for recognizing the identification mark of the Petri dish.

7 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the sensitive products are medicaments, and wherein the system is configured to fill and seal the medicaments in the containers.

8 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the single robot is a 6-axis robot.

9 . The system according to claim 1 , wherein the device ( 3 ) is positioned between the filling station ( 10 ) and the sealing station ( 11 ).

10 . The system according to claim 9 , wherein the single robot is positioned between the filling station ( 10 ) and the sealing station ( 11 ).

Assignees

• Syntegon Tech Gmbh

Inventors

• Metzger Simon
• Martin David
• Haag Heiko
• Graf Sebastian
• Wood Nigel

Classifications

• B25J15/12

  with flexible finger members · CPC title

• B25J15/10

  with three or more finger members {(B25J15/0009 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• C12M23/50

  Means for positioning or orientating the apparatus (C12M41/08 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C12M23/38

  Caps; Covers; Plugs; Pouring means · CPC title

• B65B5/105

  by grippers (B65B5/12 and B65B5/108 take precedence) · CPC title