DESC:FIELD
The present disclosure relates to the field of packing of the pharmaceutical products. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system for packing vials.
BACKGROUND
The background information herein below relates to the present disclosure but is not necessarily prior art.
Vials are small glass or plastic bottles designed for storing medications in liquid or powder form. Traditionally, the pharmaceutical industry has employed blister packs to package the vials. These packs consist of a plastic strip with preformed cavities or pockets for holding the vials. However, blister packs are not environmentally friendly, biodegradable, or sustainable.
In another method of packing vials, the vials are packed in a carton. The vials are manually inserted into the cartons, one by one. This manual process is time-consuming and requires careful supervision. These days automated systems are used to pack vials into carton to minimize human involvement and the risk of contamination. However, this method involves placing vials directly into cartons without any protective sleeves, vial holders, or partitions between them. Consequently, friction or shocks during transportation can damage vial labels, break the vials, and lead to fluid leakage.
Even if vials are placed in vial holders or sleeves, directly inserting these assemblies into cartons may result in missing or adding extra vials. As a result, regular checks of the cartons are necessary to rectify such issues, leading to additional operational costs.
Further, the commonly used vial holders are made of polymeric material which is not an eco-friendly material. These holders are not available in the desired usable shape. The vial holders need to be heated to achieve the desired shape. This heating process increases the packing time and packing cost of vials.
There is therefore felt a need for a system that alleviates the aforementioned drawbacks of the conventional ways and systems of packing the vials.
OBJECTS
Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfies, are as follows:
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for packing vials in an eco-friendly, biodegradable vial holder.
Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for packing vials that facilitates easier transformation of the unformed vial holders into formed vial holders.
Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for packing vials that ensures more numbers of vials are packed for a given footprint of the carton with reduced risk of damage during transportation.
Still another object of the present disclosure is to provide a system for packing vials that reduces packing cost and time.
Other objects and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description, which is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
SUMMARY
The present disclosure envisages a system for packing vials. The system comprises a vial feeder unit, a holder feeder unit, a forming unit, a transport conveyor and a matrix forming unit. The vial feeder unit includes a conveyor belt configured to receive and transport the vials on partitioned tracks. The holder feeder unit is configured to receive and transport unformed vial holders downstream. The forming unit is configured to pick an unformed vial holder from the holder feeder unit and transform the unformed vial holder into a formed vial holder. The transport conveyor is configured to transport the formed vial holder downstream. The matrix forming unit is configured to pick the vials from the vial feeder unit and place the vials in a formed vial holder to form a vial holder assembly.
In an aspect, the unformed vial holder is made of non-polymeric biodegradable material.
In an aspect, the unformed vial holder is a flat cardboard sheet with at least two preformed folding edges and at least two apertures configured for holding vials.
In an aspect, the formed vial holder is a three-dimensional structure obtained by folding the unformed vial holder across preformed folding edges.
In an aspect, the forming unit includes an arm and a suction means configured to apply pressure on the walls of the unformed vial holder to obtain the formed vial holder.
In an aspect, the system comprises a hopper unit configured to align the plurality of vials picked by the matrix forming unit above the corresponding apertures of the formed vial holder and guide the movement of the vials into the apertures of the formed vial holders.
In an aspect, the system comprises a rejection unit configured to reject the vial holder assemblies identified as defective.
In an aspect, the rejection unit comprises a camera, a processor, an arm and a first pusher.
In an aspect, the processor communicates with the camera to receive the images of the vial holder assemblies placed on the conveyor and sends a signal to the arm and the first pusher to reject the defective vial holder assemblies.
In an aspect, a pusher unit is positioned after the rejection unit and configured to transfer the vial holder assemblies from the transport conveyor to a bucket conveyor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING
A system, of the present disclosure, for packing vials will now be described with the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:
Figure 1 illustrates a top view of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 2 illustrates an isometric view of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 3 illustrates another isometric view of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure
Figure 4 illustrates an isometric view of a vial holder assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure
Figure 5 illustrates an isometric view of a turntable of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure
Figure 6 illustrates an isometric view of a vial feeder unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure
Figure 7 illustrates an isometric view of a holder feeder unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 8 illustrates an isometric view a forming unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure
Figure 9A illustrates an isometric view of a transport conveyor of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 9B illustrates an another isometric view of a transport conveyor of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 10 illustrates an isometric view of a matrix forming unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 11 illustrates an isometric view of a hopper unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 12 illustrates an isometric view of a rejection unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
Figure 13 illustrates an isometric view of a camera of the system of in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Figure 14 illustrates an isometric view of a pusher unit of the system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 system
101 base frame
102 control panel
105 turntable
107 track
110 vial feeder unit
111 tracks
112 conveyor
113 drive motor
114 cylinder
116 valve
117 matrix forming unit
118 gripper
122 holder feeder unit
123 emergency switch
124 conveyor
125 cylinder
126 minimum level sensor
128 safety sensor
130 holder magazine
132 magazine adjustment knob
134 transport conveyor
135 width adjuster
136 displaceable shoulder
137 fixed shoulder
138 sensor
139 camera
142 forming unit
144 carton erection unit
146 arm
148 carton forming homing sensor
149 carton forming vacuum sensor
150 rejection unit
152 arm
155 rod less cylinder stroke adjuster
156 rod less cylinder
157 guided pneumatic cylinder
158 first pusher
160 rejection confirmation sensor
162 rejection collection tray
164 rejection tray full sensor
166 rear drive
175 hopper unit
177 pneumatic cylinder
180 pusher unit
181 second pusher
182 servo axis unit
183 homing sensor
184 over load sensor
186 pneumatic cylinder
188 vial holder assembly
190 preformed edges
192 apertures
194 vial
196 formed vial holder
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Embodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth, relating to specific components, and methods, to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “including”, “includes” and “having” are open-ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated features, elements, modules, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The conventionally used vial holders are made of polymeric material. The polymeric material is not biodegradable and eco-friendly. Further. these holders are not available in a desired shape. These vial holders needs to be heated to achieve the desired shape. This heating process increases the packing time and packing cost of vials.
To address the issues of the existing apparatuses of packing vials, the present disclosure envisages a system of packing vials. The system of packing vials 100 hereinafter may be referred to as a system 100, for the sake of brevity.
Figure 1 illustrates the top view of the system. Figure 2-3 illustrates the isometric views of the system. The system 100 comprises various machines coupled to each other for packing vials 194. The machines include a vial feeder unit 110, a holder feeder unit 122, a forming unit 142, a transport conveyor 134, a matrix forming unit 117, a hopper unit 175, a rejection unit 150 and a pusher unit 180.
Figure 4 shows the vial placed in a vial holder. The arrangement of vials 194 in the vial holder 196 is referred to as a vial holder assembly 188. Initially, the vial holder is available in unformed condition. The unformed vial holder is a flat cardboard sheet with at least two preformed folding edges 190 and at least two apertures 192 configured for holding vials 194.
A formed vial holder 196 is a three-dimensional structure obtained by folding the unformed vial holder across preformed folding edges 190. The vial holder shown in Figure 4 is in formed condition. All the apertures of the vial holder receive vials.
In an embodiment, the unformed vial holder is made of corrugated flat cardboard sheet.
Further, the vial holder assembly 188 is again packed in a carton to make the vial assembly portable and stackable in bigger cartons.
The first machine in the system 100 is the turntable 100. Figure 5 illustrates an isometric view of the turntable of the system. The turntable 105 is configured to receive vials filled with medication. The turntable 105 rotates in a predetermined direction to transport vials.
In an embodiment, the vials may be fed to the turntable 105 manually.
In another embodiment, a vial supplying conveyor may be connected to the turntable 105.
In an embodiment, the turntable 105 includes at least one track 107 configured thereon.
In another embodiment, the turntable 105 includes a plurality of tracks 107 configured thereon.
In another embodiment, the single-lane track shuts off in an operative configuration of the multi-lane track, and vice-versa.
In the case of the turntable including multiple tracks, each track 107 is configured to receive a vial so that multiple vials are received in the turntable 105 simultaneously, and further released simultaneously. Further, the turntable 105 is connected to the vial feeder unit 110.
Figure 6 illustrates an isometric view of the vial feeder unit of the system. The vial feeder unit 110 includes a conveyor belt 112 which is in communication with the turntable 105 to receive the vials 194.
In an embodiment, the conveyor belt 112 includes partitioned tracks that continue to segregate the vials 194 received through the multi-lane tracks of the turntable.
In another embodiment, the vial feeder unit 110 is provided with a drive motor 113 configured to drive the conveyor belt 112 and cylinders 114.
The distance between the lanes of the vial feeder unit 110 is configured in such a way that the vials form a matrix arrangement.
In the matrix arrangement, the vials are arranged in such a way that all the vials can be simultaneously picked and placed in the vial holders. Usually, the vials having the same structural features are arranged in the matrix arrangement.
Further, the system comprises the holder feeder unit 122. Figure 7 illustrates an isometric view of the holder feeder unit of the system. The holder feeder unit 122 is configured to receive and transport unformed vial holders in the downstream direction. The holder feeder unit 122 comprises a conveyor 124 and a holder magazine 130. The conveyor 124 releases the unformed vial holders into the holder magazine 130. The holder magazine is configured to hold the stack of unformed vial holders.
In an embodiment, the holder feeder unit 122 includes a minimum level sensor 126 provided thereon for identifying the height of the vial holders stacked in the vial holder magazine 130.
In another embodiment, the holder feeder unit 122 includes a safety sensor 128 configured to sense the allowable quantity of the vial holders that can transported.
Further, the system comprises the forming unit 142 which is configured to pick an unformed vial holder from the holder feeder unit 122 and transform the unformed vial holder into a formed vial holder 196. Figure 8 illustrates an isometric view of the forming unit of the system. The forming unit 142 includes an arm 146 and a suction means configured to apply pressure on the walls of the unformed vial holder to obtain the formed vial holder 196.
In an embodiment, the unformed vial holders are made of non-polymeric biodegradable material.
The forming unit 142 includes a carton erection unit 144, a carton forming homing sensor 148 and a carton forming vacuum sensor 149.
The forming unit 142 is mounted on an operative middle portion of a base frame 101 of the system 100 and between the holder magazine 130 and the transport conveyor 134.
Figure 9A and Figure 9B illustrate isometric views of the transport conveyor. The transport conveyor 134 is configured to transport the formed vial holders from the holder feeder unit 122 to downstream.
In an embodiment, the transport conveyor 134 is a four-fingered chain conveyor The two fingers remain in fixed condition and hold one side of the carton. The other two fingers are configured to adjustably slide to hold the other side of the carton according to the width of the vial-holder 196. The transport conveyor 134 further includes a shoulder 136 having a movable configuration to enable the conveyor 134 to hold the carton.
In an embodiment, the shoulder 136 is adjusted with respect to the length of the vial holder 196.
In an embodiment, the transport conveyor 134 includes a sensor 138 to detect the presence of the vial holder thereon.
In another embodiment, the transport conveyor 134 further includes a camera to detect whether the vial-holder is filled with the required matrix of vials or whether the vials of the matrix are of differently coloured caps or the vials with missing caps.
Further, the system 100 comprises the matrix forming unit 117. Figure 10 illustrates an isometric view of the matrix forming unit of the system. The matrix forming unit 117 is a robotic module equipped with a gripper 118. The vials placed in the matrix arrangement on the vial feeder unit 110 are picked by the gripper 118 and placed on the formed vial-holder 196. The matrix forming unit 117 includes a camera which is configured to check whether all the vials are placed in the holder in the desired manner, and configured to check whether no vial is left behind on the matrix forming unit 117.
Further, the system 100 comprises the hopper unit. Figure 11 illustrates an isometric view of the hopper unit of the system. The hopper unit 175 is mounted on a vertical plate positioned between the forming unit and the rejection unit 150. The hopper unit 175 is configured to align the plurality of vials picked by the matrix forming unit 117 above the corresponding apertures of the formed vial holder 196 and guide the movement of the vials 194 into the apertures 192 of the formed vial holders 196.
The hopper unit 175 is configured with multiple apertures which act as a guideway for the vials.
The hopper unit 175 is provided to prevent damage to vial holders due to inaccurate placement of vials on the walls of the vial holders.
The hopper unit 175 is configured to be displaced in an operative vertical direction by means of a pneumatic cylinder 177 and a pair of reed switches. The reed switches are configured to confirm the position of the cylinder. At this stage, the vials are placed in the vial holder to form a vial holder assembly 188.
Further, the system 100 comprises the rejection unit 150. Figure 12 illustrates an isometric view of the rejection unit of the system. In an embodiment, the rejection unit 150 includes an arm 152 and a first pusher 158 attached to an operative end thereof. Further, the rejection unit comprises a camera 139 (shown in the Figure 13), and a processor. The processor is configured to communicate with the camera. The processor communicates with the camera 139 to receive the images of the vial holder assemblies 188. The processor analyses the images to detect the defective vial holder assemblies. Thereafter, the processor sends a signal to the arm 152 and the first pusher 158 to reject the defective vial-holder assemblies 188.
The defective vial holder assemblies include vials with differently coloured caps or missing caps or missing vials.
In an embodiment, the arm 152 of the rejection unit 150 is configured to be displaced in the operative horizontal axis and the operative vertical axis. The displacement of the arm 152 in the horizontal axis is enabled by a rod less cylinder 156, whereas the displacement of the arm 152 in the vertical axis is enabled by a guided pneumatic cylinder 157. Both the cylinders 156, 157 are equipped with a bottom reed switch and a top reed switch to conform to the position of the cylinders 156, 157.
In an embodiment, the rejection unit 150 includes a rejection confirmation sensor 160, a rejection collection tray 162, a rejection tray full sensor 164, a rear drive 166 for the conveyor and a first pusher width adjuster.
Further, the system comprises the pusher unit 180. Figure 14 illustrates an isometric view of the pusher unit of the system. The pusher unit 180 is mounted after the rejection unit 150. The pusher unit transfers the non-defective vial holder assemblies 188 from the transport conveyor to a car toner conveyor. The pusher unit 180 comprises a second pusher 181, a servo axis unit 182, a homing sensor 183, an overload sensor 184 and cylinder 186. The pusher unit 180 is configured to transfer the vial holder assemblies 188 from the transport conveyor 134 to the car toner bucket conveyor by means of the second pusher 181. The pusher unit 180 is configured to move in two directions, horizontal direction and vertical direction. The horizontal movement is facilitated by the servo axis unit 182 and the vertical movement is facilitated by a pneumatic cylinder 186.
The homing sensor 183 is provided for sensing the zero position of the servo axis unit 182. The overload sensor 184 is provided thereon to detect if the vial-holder assemblies 188 are jammed while being pushed into the car toner bucket conveyor. The servo axis unit 182 and the cylinder 186 have bottom and top reed switches to determine the position thereof to avoid collision between the transport conveyor 134 and the second pusher 181.
The non-defective vial holder assemblies 188 are transported downstream for packing in secondary packaging.
In an embodiment, the user inputs are fed into the system 100 by means of a control panel 102.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS
The present disclosure described hereinabove has several technical advantages including, but not limited to, the realization of a system for packing vials, that:
• facilitates packing of the vials in eco-friendly, biodegradable vial holders;
• facilitates easier transformation of unformed vial holders into formed vial holders;
• facilitates packaging of multiple vials for a given footprint of the carton with reduced risk of damage during transportation; and
• reduces manufacturing cost and time.
The foregoing disclosure has been described with reference to the accompanying embodiments which do not limit the scope and ambit of the disclosure. The description provided is purely by way of example and illustration.
The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
The foregoing description of the specific embodiments so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
Any discussion of materials, devices, articles or the like that has been included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.
The numerical values mentioned for the various physical parameters, dimensions or quantities are only approximations and it is envisaged that the values higher/lower than the numerical values assigned to the parameters, dimensions or quantities fall within the scope of the disclosure, unless there is a statement in the specification specific to the contrary.
While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components and component parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that many embodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation. ,CLAIMS:WE CLAIM:
1. A system for packing vials (100), comprising:
- a vial feeder unit (110) that includes a conveyor belt (122) configured to receive and transport the vials (194) on partitioned tracks (111);
- a holder feeder unit (122) configured to receive and transport unformed vial holders to downstream;
- a forming unit (142) configured to pick an unformed vial holder from said holder feeder unit (122) and transform the unformed vial holder into a formed vial holder (196);
- a transport conveyor (134) configured to transport said formed vial holders (196) to downstream; and
- a matrix forming unit (117) configured to pick the vials (194) from said vial feeder unit (110) and place the vials in said formed vial holder (196) to form a vial holder assembly (188).
2. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said unformed vial holder is made of non polymeric biodegradable material.
3. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said unformed vial holder is a flat cardboard sheet with at least two preformed folding edges (190) and at least two apertures (192) configured for holding vials (194).
4. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 3, wherein said formed vial holder (196) is a three dimensional structure obtained by folding said unformed vial holder across said preformed folding edges (190).
5. The system for packing vials as claimed in claim 1, wherein said forming unit (142) includes an arm (146) and a suction means configured to apply pressure on the walls of the said unformed vial holder to obtain the formed vial holder (196).
6. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system comprises a hopper unit (175) configured to align the plurality of vials picked by said matrix forming unit (117) above corresponding apertures of said formed vial holder (196) and guide movement of said vials (194) into said apertures (192) of said formed vial holders (196);
7. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said system comprises a rejection unit (150) configured to reject the vial holder assemblies (188) identified as defective.
8. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said rejection unit (150) comprises a camera (139), a processor, an arm (152) and a first pusher (158).
9. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 8, wherein said processor communicates with said camera (139) to receive the images of the vial holder assemblies (188) placed on the conveyor (134) and sends a signal to said arm (152) and said first pusher (158) to reject the defective vial holder assemblies (188);
10. The system for packing vials (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pusher unit (180) is positioned after said rejection unit (150) and configured to transfer the vial holder assemblies (188) from said transport conveyor (134) to a bucket conveyor.
Dated this 03rd day of January, 2024

_______________________________
MOHAN RAJKUMAR DEWAN, IN/PA – 25
of R.K.DEWAN & CO.
Authorized Agent of Applicant