Search

EP-4739983-A1 - CONTAINER CARRIER FOR CARRYING A MULTIPLICITY OF CONTAINERS

EP4739983A1EP 4739983 A1EP4739983 A1EP 4739983A1EP-4739983-A1

Abstract

A container carrier (1) for carrying a multiplicity of containers (2) at associated receiving positions (5) of the container carrier (1) during processing of the containers (2), and/or of a material contained in the containers (2), in a processing installation (3), wherein the container carrier (1) is designed in such a way that each container (2) can be raised by a weighing device (4), acting on the container (2) from an underside of the container carrier (1), in such a way that the container (2) is brought clear of the container carrier (1) and a precise determination of an individual weight of the container (2) is thereby possible.

Inventors

  • SCHWANDT, MATTHIAS
  • GRAN, Sebastian
  • BÄUERLE, Johannes

Assignees

  • Syntegon Technology GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240617

Claims (14)

  1. 1. Container carrier (1) for carrying a plurality of containers (2) at receiving positions (5) of the container carrier (1) provided for this purpose during processing of the containers (2) and/or of a material received in the containers (2) in a processing plant (3), wherein the container carrier (1) is designed such that each container (2) can be lifted by means of a weighing device (4) acting on the container (2) from an underside of the container carrier (1) such that the container (2) is released from the container carrier (1) and thus a precise determination of an individual weight of the container (2) is possible.
  2. 2. Container carrier (1) according to claim 1, wherein the container carrier (1) is designed such that the containers (2) can be lifted by the weighing device (4) in a tilt-proof manner, so that the containers (2) do not tilt when lifted and do not rest against sections of the container carrier (1).
  3. 3. Container carrier (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the container carrier (1) provides at least three attack points (6) for each container (2), which span an attack surface (8) in an attack plane (7) and are designed so that the container (2) can be lifted at these attack points (6) by the weighing device (4) and thus released from the container carrier (1).
  4. 4. Container carrier (1) according to claim 3, wherein the container carrier (1) further comprises, for each container (2), at least in sections, a lateral border (9) which secures the container (2) against tipping within the container carrier (1), wherein the lateral border (9) has a height (10) extending from the attack plane (7) which is smaller than an attack surface extension (11) of the attack surface (8) spanned by the attack points (6).
  5. 5. Container carrier (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the container carrier (1) provides support points (12) for each container (2), which in a support plane (13) span a support surface (14) on which the container (2) carried in the container carrier (1) rests.
  6. 6. Container carrier (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the container carrier (1) has an insert (16) for each container (2), which insert is arranged at the receiving position (5) for receiving the container (2) and can be lifted together with the container (2) from a container carrier frame (17) using a weighing device (4), so that a force-transmitting contact of the container (2) with the container carrier frame (17) is eliminated.
  7. 7. Container carrier (1) according to claim 6, wherein the container carrier frame (17) has an at least partially conical receptacle (18) for each insert (16) and each insert (16) has an at least partially conical support surface (19), wherein when the container (2) is carried in the container carrier (1), the conical receptacles (18) and the conical support surfaces (19) interact in such a way that the inserts (16) with the containers (2) are centered at the intended receiving position (5) in the container carrier (1), wherein when the inserts (16) with the container (2) are lifted by a weighing device (4), the conical receptacles (18) and the conical support surfaces (19) are released from one another in order to release the inserts (16) with the containers (2) from the container carrier frame (17).
  8. 8. Container carrier (1) according to claim 6 or 7, wherein alignment means (20) are provided on the at least one insert (16) and on the container carrier frame (17) at the receiving positions (5), with which an angular alignment of the insert (16) with the container (2) to the container carrier frame (17) is set when the container (2) is placed back into the container carrier (1) from the weighing device (4).
  9. 9. Container carrier (1) according to one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the inserts (16) are connected to the container carrier frame (17) via a flexible material section (21).
  10. 10. Container carrier (1) according to one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the inserts (16) have at least one lateral access area (22) over which containers (2) can be inserted into the inserts (16) with a thickening (23) below a support plane (13) for supporting the containers (2).
  11. 11. Container carrier (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the container carrier (1) has a designated storage position (24) for each receiving position (5), at which a lid (25) of the container (2) carried in the respective receiving position (5) can be deposited.
  12. 12. Weighing device (4) for simultaneously weighing a plurality of containers (2) provided with a container carrier (1) according to one of the preceding claims.
  13. 13. Weighing device (4) according to claim 12, wherein the weighing device (4) has gripping elements (26) which engage the engagement points (12) provided by the container carrier (1) in order to grip and lift containers (2) carried in the container carrier (1).
  14. 14. Weighing device (4) according to claim 12 or 13, wherein the weighing device (4) has centering means (27) with which the containers (2) are simultaneously centered and/or aligned when the containers (2) are lifted out of the container carrier (1).

Description

Container carrier for carrying a variety of containers In the pharmaceutical sector, pre-sterilized containers that can be used as packaging are regularly provided in transport carriers that include, for example, sealed trays in which nests are arranged. The sealed trays are often also referred to as "tubs". Nests are often constructed in a matrix-like manner and provide a large number of receiving positions for the containers or packaging. In this way, vials, syringes or cartridges can be provided as containers or packaging materials (in a transport carrier comprising a tub with a nest arranged in it). Common transport carriers of this type contain, for example, 10 times 16 = 160 receiving positions or 10 times 10 = 100 receiving positions, at each of which a container is provided. At the receiving positions, the nests have defined geometries that are designed depending on the containers being received, with each manufacturer of pre-sterilized containers or packaging materials independently determining the geometry of the nests at the receiving positions. For manufacturers of pre-sterilized containers or packaging materials, transport and storage requirements are usually the main consideration when designing nests and transport carriers. From the manufacturer's point of view, the containers should be held securely in the nests. It is often desired to process such transport carriers, or the containers arranged in nests therein, automatically in pharmaceutical filling plants, without the containers having to be removed for this purpose or without the processing process being complicated by the need for individual treatment of the individual containers. In pharmaceutical filling plants, containers in such transport carriers or nests are regularly filled with a pharmaceutical product and then sealed in the nest using an externally supplied stopper. A requirement that is becoming increasingly important is the ability to carry out 100% filling control of the containers. This means that not only through statistical values and/or through precise process control It is not achieved that all containers are filled to the same level, but rather that an individual measurement value relating to the filling level is determined and monitored for each container. Such a control is usually carried out using a gravimetric measurement. The weight of the container after filling is determined. A (known or previously determined) weight of the (empty) container is deducted and the remainder corresponds to the filling level. This form of 100% filling control is widespread in pharmaceutical filling plants, but the objects are usually weighed outside the nest. Based on this, the object of the present invention is to disclose a further developed container carrier. This object is achieved with the invention according to the features of the independent patent claims. Further advantageous embodiments are specified in the dependently formulated patent claims as well as in the description and in particular in the description of the figures. It should be noted that the person skilled in the art can combine the individual features in a technologically sensible manner and thus arrive at further embodiments of the invention. Described here is a container carrier for carrying a plurality of containers at receiving positions provided for this purpose on the container carrier during processing of the containers and/or of a material received in the containers in a processing plant, wherein the container carrier is designed such that each container can be lifted by means of a weighing device acting on the container from an underside of the container carrier such that the container is released from the container carrier and thus a precise determination of an individual weight of the container is possible. The container carrier described here is designed in such a way that the efficient weighing of a large number of containers arranged in the container carrier is possible with a weighing device. The weighing serves the purpose of determining the amount of a product in the containers. The weight of the container itself can be taken into account for the weighing process and interferes with the result. of the weighing process. However, undefined forces are problematic when weighing, which can occur, for example, due to friction or the containers coming into contact with the container carrier during the weighing process. The container carrier described here is designed in such a way that a weighing device can lift containers in the container carrier from below and the containers are thereby released from the container carrier. The term "released" here means that there is no longer any contact between the container and the container carrier. The container released from the container carrier no longer touches the container carrier. The complete clearance (without contact between the container and the container carrier) enables reproducible, trouble-free w