ES2663811T3 - Storage container for a medication storage and unloading station - Google Patents

Abstract

Storage container for a medicine storage and unloading station (1), presenting: a casing (10) containing a housing (2) for housing portions of medicines, with a section (11), in the shape of a circular cylinder, and a floor surface (20), the floor surface presenting a discharge opening (21) and an individualization installation (30), placed in the circular cylinder-shaped section (11) of the casing (10), with at least one channel (31) for accommodating at least a portion of medicine, characterized in that the storage container has a retention means (40) with a holding section (41) and a holding section (42), completely arranged inside the casing (10, 11) that contains the housing enclosure (2), the retaining section (42) being supported above the discharge opening (21), preventing entry of other portions of medications in a channel (31 ') aline ado with the discharge opening (21), and the clamping section (41) acting together with at least one clamping housing (15a, 15b), within the casing (10), in order to clamp the retaining means ( 40) in the housing (10, 11).

Description

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DESCRIPTION

Storage container for a medication storage and unloading station

The present invention relates to a storage container for medications, and especially a storage container for a storage and discharge station for medications.

Modern automatic blister machines, as published for example in WO 2013/034504 A1, comprise, depending on the degree of expansion, several hundred storage and unloading stations. Numerous portions of the medication of a given medication are stored respectively, and upon request individual portions of the medication can be delivered. With automatic blister machines, the portions stored in the storage and unloading stations are selected and conditioned in an individual blister for each patient, according to the entry times prescribed by the doctor.

For the selection of the medicine portions, the corresponding storage and unloading stations are contacted for the discharge of one or several individual portions of a medicine. Upon contact with a storage and unloading station, a single portion of the drug is separated by an individualization device, and delivered to a guiding device of the automatic blister machine, through a discharge opening. By means of the guiding device, a discharged portion of the medication, if necessary through a collecting device, is fed to a packaging facility, which blister one or more portions of medications, according to the medical prescription.

For the individualization of the portions of medicaments that are stored in a storage container of a storage and discharge station, the individualization device comprises a rotor with several channels, which are normally located on the outer perimeter of the rotor. The channels are adapted in such a way, from the point of view of their size, to the respective portions of the medicine to be separated, that the portions of the medicine may be placed in a channel only one above the other, but not one next to the other.

For the discharge of a portion of medicine from a channel, a channel travels over a discharge opening in the housing of the storage container, and the portion of medicine located in the lowest position in the channel slides, or falls into The discharge opening. In order to prevent other portions of the medication stored in the canal from being discharged, or on it, in the area above the discharge opening, at least in the channel or on it, a retention section of a retention means, which is aligned with the discharge opening. This retention section is placed in the channel, or on it and with reference to the height of the channel, so that only a portion of the medication can be placed under the retention section. Whenever the retention section is guided within the channel, in order to separate the lower portion of the medication from those located above, the projections that separate the different channels have a notch that houses the retention section when the rotor is rotated. As long as the retention section is guided on the channels, it is regularly guided only slightly over the upper ends of the projections, so that, in the discharge of the medication portion, other portions of the medication do not penetrate the canal. .

The retention section of the retention means is guided from the outside in the storage container, in the known storage and discharge stations, through a slot in the housing. A drawback of this execution is that the dust generated in the operation of a storage and discharge station can leave the storage container through the slot, and make the automatic blister machine dirty. Correspondingly constructed storage containers are known, by way of example, of US 2003/0057231 A1, and WO 2013/034504 A1 cited above.

Hence, the objective of the present invention is to make available a storage container for a storage and discharge station, with which the fouling of the automatic blister machine in which it is used is avoided.

The objective is achieved through a storage container according to claim 1. The storage container for a medication storage and discharge station comprises a housing containing a housing for drug portions, with a cylinder-shaped section circular and a floor surface, that floor surface presenting a discharge opening for housing individual portions of medications.

An individualization device with at least one channel for accommodating at least a portion of medicine is provided in the circular cylinder-shaped housing section. The channel can accommodate only a portion of medication, or several portions of medications, depending on the exact configuration of the individualization device, the same can then be arranged only one above the other in the channel.

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The storage container further comprises a retention means, located completely inside the housing containing the housing enclosure, with a holding section and a retention section, the retention section being held above the discharge opening, and preventing the entry of more portions of medicaments into a channel that is aligned with the discharge opening, and the clamping section acting in conjunction with at least one clamping housing inside the housing, in order to fix the retention means in the housing . The holding housing can have any configuration, provided that it is guaranteed that the retention means is stationary. The configuration of the retention section of the retention means is also any, provided that the stationary securing of the retention section in the housing itself is guaranteed. As an example, the clamping section and the retention section can be related to the same "component" of the retention device, and nevertheless perform other functions.

Through the configuration and arrangement of the retention means according to the invention, the introduction of a groove can be dispensed with, through which the retention section is guided within the housing. The dust generated in the operation of the storage and unloading station cannot go out, and the dust remains mostly in the interior of the storage and unloading station, and can be accumulated there before an eventual exit outward.

Depending on the exact channel configuration, at least one, for the accommodation of the medicine portions, the retention section may be placed on an upper opening of the channel, oriented towards the accommodation enclosure. In that case, the channel is spatially configured such that only a portion of medication can be placed therein. In the event that the channel is configured in such a way that several overlapping medicament portions may be placed therein, the retention section of the retention means is inserted into the channel, oriented towards the discharge opening, such that the portions of medications arranged in the channel are separated, namely, with at least one portion of medication above the retention section, and exactly one portion of medication below the retention section. The portion of medication located below the retention section is discharged through the discharge opening. However, the entry of other portions of medications into the channel is prevented, since only the lower portion of the medication is discharged, and the retention means prevents the slipping of other portions of medications, and thereby the entry of other portions of medications. In such a configuration, projections of the individualization device, which define the channels, have a groove in which the retention section is guided.

Regardless of the type of channel used, it is always necessary that the positioning of the retention section on the channel, or in the same, and the configuration of the channel itself adapt to the dimensions of the medicine portions. This is achieved, in the known storage and unloading stations, by using individualization devices (channel configuration) and housings (slot positioning, or retention section) adapted to the medicine portions. But this also has the disadvantage that numerous different means of retention, individualization devices and housings have to be provided. In the storage and unloading station according to the invention it is no longer necessary, advantageously, to provide numerous housings, due to the complete arrangement of the retaining means in the housing.

In order to also avoid the use of different retention means, adapted to the configuration of the channel, at least one, it is provided, in a preferred embodiment, that the retention section, at least one, of the retention means act together with the clamping housing inside the housing, so that the retention section of the retention means can be fixed in an adjustable way in height.

For fixing the retention means, the retention section of the retention means acts together with at least one holding housing inside the housing. The holding housing may be located in any suitable place within the housing, the exact configuration of the retention means, and especially of the holding section of the retention means, being conditioned by the location of the holding housing. In a preferred embodiment, in which the retaining means is executed in a particularly simple manner, it is provided that the holding housing, at least one, is placed in the circular cylinder-shaped housing section. The individualization device is also arranged in the section of the circular cylinder-shaped housing, in whose channels, or on whose channels the retention section of the clamping means is secured, so that this spatial arrangement of the clamping housing allows a particularly simple means of retention constructively.

As already stated above, in a preferred exemplary embodiment it is provided that the retention section of the retention means can be fixed in height-adjustable manner. In order to achieve this, it is conceivable, by way of example, to provide different holding positions in the holding housing, with which the holding section of the retaining means with the holding housing can act together. The different clamping positions can be made, for example, by means of an insert or similar, which positions the retention section depending on the exact configuration of the channels.

In a preferred embodiment, especially constructively simple, it is provided that the clamping housing, at least one, has a hollow cylinder-shaped enclosure, and the clamping section at least one guiding section in the form of a cylinder, being arranged the cylinder-shaped guide section inside the

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hollow enclosure of the clamping housing, and the hollow cylinder-shaped enclosure being preferably as deep or deeper than the length of the cylinder-shaped guide section. This preferred form of execution guarantees maximum flexibility from the point of view of the height adjustment of the retention means.

In order to place, or to hold the retention means in the housing in a particularly safe manner, it is provided, in a preferred embodiment, that the clamping section is configured in two parts, and that each part acts together with a clamping housing. In this context, it is especially advantageous that the two parts of the clamping section are placed in outer end sections of the retaining means. The resulting retaining means, U-shaped in a broad sense, can be held in the housing in a particularly stable and safe manner.

As noted above, the retention section of the retention means may cover "from above" to a channel aligned with the discharge opening, or fit into it, in order to prevent more than one portion of medication from being transferred in the discharge opening In the first alternative it is preferred that, in the holding housing, at least one, a repositioning means is arranged, which depresses, or pulls the retention means in the direction to the discharge opening , that is, pull from above on the upper side of the projections placed between the channels.While a pressure is exerted, or a traction on the repositioning means can ensure, in a height-adjustable retention means, that the section Retention is not "lifted" from the projections that separate the channels, which would lead to a slip of the medicine portions.

Two preferred embodiments of the storage container for storage and discharge stations according to the invention are described below, with reference to the attached drawing, in which:

Figures 1a-1d show different views of a first embodiment of the storage container;

Figures 2a - 2c show different views of cuts of the first embodiment;

Figure 3 shows another view of a cut of the first embodiment;

Figure 4 shows a view of a section, with the individualization device removed;

Figure 5 shows a view of a detail of the individualization device, in combination with the medium

retention;

Figure 6 shows a view of a detail of the retention device; Y

Figures 7a and 7b two views of a cut of a second embodiment;

Figures 1a and 1b show two inclined views of a storage and discharge container 1 with a first embodiment of the storage container according to the invention. Figures 1c and 1d show plan views from above on the storage and unloading station, an individualization device 30 having been omitted in Figure 1d, which is indicated at least in Figures 1a-1c. In all representations of the storage and unloading station, a cover has been dispensed with, for a better overview. The cover is normally a part of the housing. However, it is also imaginable that a storage container is used without a cover.

The storage container according to the first embodiment comprises a housing 10 containing an enclosure 2 for accommodating portions of medicaments, which has in its lower section a section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder. The storage container (and the housing 10) is limited downwards by a floor surface 20, which has a discharge opening 21 (see Figure 1d for this). The floor surface 20 has another central housing 22, which acts together with an individualization device 30. As can be seen from Figure 1c, the individualization device 30 is arranged in section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder of the housing 10 , and comprises several channels 31 for housing at least a portion of medications. The channels 31 are configured through several projections 32, which form a rotor together with an intermediate piece 34, which is moved by a drive (not shown) placed in a section 12 of the housing. The projections 32 may be executed in one piece with the intermediate piece 34, but it is also imaginable that the projections 32 are placed on the outer perimeter of the intermediate piece 34, and thus the channels are generated on the outer perimeter of the intermediate piece 34 As seen especially in Figure 1b, the circular cylinder-shaped section 11 of the housing 10 comprises two protrusions 14a, 14b, in which clamping housings 15a, 15b have been configured, which are described in more detail in the figures following.

In the housing 12, placed under the storage container, the motor for the movement of the individualization device 30, as well as other construction parts of the storage and discharge station, for example, a sensor for checking the discharge of the a portion of medications The storage container can be released from the lower section of the storage and unloading station, in order to refill, for example, new portions of medicaments in the storage container. For the purpose of

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to be able to better handle the storage and discharge station (or, where appropriate, only the storage container), a handle 13 is provided in the front area.

As can be seen in Figure 1d, in the section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder of the housing 10, in the area of the protrusions 14a, 14b, two clamping housings 15a, 15b are provided, which extend perpendicularly, in the form of cylinders, in the protuberances. In the embodiment shown, the outer surface of the cylinder-shaped clamping housings is configured as a blind hole that expands, there being an opening towards the section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder of the housing. In these clamping housings 15a, 15b, a clamping section 41 of a retaining means is fixed, which can only be seen in Figure 1c.

In alternative embodiments, it may be provided that the clamping housings are arranged in other sections of the housing, for example in the upper opening of the housing 10, or in a cover (not shown in the figures).

In Figure 1b it is already observed that the retention means, only indicated in Figure 1c, do not protrude from the housing 10 with its section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder, that is to say, that it is disposed entirely within the housing 10 , eleven.

Figure 2a shows a partial side view of the storage and unloading station, with a storage container according to the first embodiment, the housing 10 being partially cut with its section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder, and thus enabled the view on central individualization device 30.

The individualization device 30 comprises a central part 34, in whose perimeter several projections 32 are provided, by means of whose arrangement and configuration several channels 31 have been defined in the perimeter of the central part 34. As already seen in Figure 2a, the projections 32 are subdivided respectively, at the same height, by a groove 33, in which a retention section 42 of the retention means is guided. In the protuberance 14a, in the section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder of the housing 10, the clamping housing 15a is configured, in which a section 43a, in the form of a circular cylinder, is guided by a partial clamping section 41a of the retention medium Through the special configuration of the clamping housing 15a, as well as the guiding section 43a, in the form of a circular cylinder, of the clamping section, and with the corresponding choice of the depth of the clamping housing and the length of the guide section in the form of a circular cylinder, it is ensured that the retention means is movable in height, so that the retention section 42 of the retention means can be adapted to the height of the groove 33 in the projections 32 This allows the same retention means to be used for many different individualization devices. In addition, due to the special arrangement and fixation of the retention means, it is not necessary to provide different storage containers for medicines with different dimensions, since it is no longer necessary to

realization of a groove in the housing of the storage vessel (the location of the groove realization

it depends, in the case of known storage containers, on the size of the portions of medicaments to be stored).

Figure 2b shows another view of a cut, namely a cut through section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder of the housing 10, as well as through the individualization device placed in section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder. In that representation it is well distinguished that the projections 32 are configured such that they rest on the inner perimeter of the section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder, so that a defined channel 31 has been configured between two projections. In this representation, two clamping housings 15a, 15b are also distinguished, which are arranged in protrusions 14a, 14b of the circular cylinder-shaped section.

Figure 2c shows another view of a cut, having only the housing 10 and a part of the section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder having been cut, so that the exact execution of the individualization device 30 is distinguished, as well as its arrangement in the Section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder housing. How has it

previously described in Figure 2a, the projections 32 respectively comprise a groove 33 for the

housing of a retaining section 42 of the retaining means 40. The retaining means 40 is movably guided in height in the two clamping housings 15a, 15b, through two guiding sections 43a, 43b, in the form of a cylinder circular, which are arranged in two partial clamping sections 41a, 41b.

Figure 3 shows another view of the storage and discharge station 1, with a first embodiment of the storage container according to the invention. In this embodiment, the rear section of the housing 10 has been cut, with the section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder, as well as the lower section 12 of the housing, which does not belong to the storage container according to the invention. In this representation the two guiding sections 43a, 43b, in the form of a circular cylinder, of the two partial clamping sections 41a, 41b of the guiding means have been represented again. In that figure it is distinguished that under the discharge opening 21, in which a portion of the medicine is discharged, a channeling device 50 is arranged, through which the discharged portion of the medicine is fed, by way of example, to a device Guided In figure 3 it is further distinguished that the retention section 42 of the retention means is positioned on the channel 31 ', aligned (in

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occasions) with the discharge opening 21.

Figure 4 shows another view of a cut, the individualization device in section 11 in the form of a circular cylinder of the housing 10 having been cut in this representation, so as to present the spatial arrangement of the retention section 42 of the means of retention in the circular cylinder shaped section. It is especially distinguished that the retention section 42 is placed on the discharge opening 21, and thus covers, or always separates the channels, which are rotated on the discharge opening 21 in a rotation of the individualization device. In the center of the floor surface 20 there is shown a housing 22 for the individualization device 30, which is shaped such that, on that housing 22, the individualization device 30 can be rotated by means of a motor (not shown) .

Figure 5 shows a detailed view of the reciprocal action of the retaining means 40 with the individualization device 30. As can be seen, the retention section 42 of the retention means 40 is guided in a groove 33 of the projections 32, and prevents the two channels, which are positioned in the representation shown between the two guide sections 43a, 43b , that a portion of medication, placed in the housing space on the individualization device 30, penetrates the area of the channel located below the retention section 42. Through this, a slippage of other portions of medication is prevented.

Figure 6 shows a detailed view of the retaining means 40, with a central retention section 42, at whose outer end two partial clamping sections 41a, 41b have been placed, which in turn respectively have a section 43a, 43b of guidance, which can be guided in the corresponding clamping housings 15a, 15b in section 11 of the housing, in the form of a circular cylinder.

Figures 7a and 7b show two views of a section of a storage and discharge station, with a second embodiment of the storage container according to the invention. The second form of execution corresponds essentially to the first form of execution, with the difference that the projections 32 do not have any groove for guiding the retention section 42 of the retention means 40, but that the means 42 of retention is guided on the upper part of the projections 42, and thus the entry of a second portion of medicine at least in the channel 31 ', which is aligned with the discharge opening 21, has been prevented. The remaining details regarding the determination, or the disposition of the retention means, correspond to those of the first form of execution, so that the repetition of a detailed description is omitted here.

Claims (7)

5 10 fifteen twenty 25 30 35 1. Storage container for a storage and unloading station (1) for medicaments, presenting: a housing (10) containing a housing (2) for medicine portions, with a cylinder-shaped section (11) circular, and a floor surface (20), the floor surface presenting a discharge opening (21) and an individualization installation (30), placed in the circular cylinder-shaped section (11) of the housing (10) , with at least one channel (31) for accommodating at least a portion of medicament, characterized in that the storage container has a retention means (40) with a holding section (41) and a holding section (42 ), arranged completely inside the housing (10, 11) containing the housing (2), the retention section (42) being held above the discharge opening (21), preventing the entry of another portions of medications in a c anal (31 ') aligned with the discharge opening (21), and the clamping section (41) acting together with at least one clamping housing (15a, 15b), inside the housing (10), in order to hold to the retaining means (40) in the housing (10, 11). 2. Storage container for a medication storage and discharge station (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the clamping section (41), at least one, of the retention means (40) acts together with housing ( 15a, 15b) of attachment within the housing (10, 11), such that the retention section (42) of the retention means (40) is movable in height. 3. Storage container for a storage and discharge station (1) for medicaments, according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the holding housing (15a, 15b), at least one, is arranged in section (11) shaped like a circular cylinder housing (10). 4. Storage container for a storage and discharge station (1) for medicaments, according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that the holding housing (15a, 15b), at least one, has a hollow shaped space of cylinder, and the clamping section (41) has at least one guiding section (43a, 43b) in the form of a cylinder, which is disposed within the hollow cylinder-shaped space of the clamping housing (15a, 15b), the hollow cylinder-shaped space being preferably deeper than the guiding section (43a, 43b) in the form of a cylinder. 5. Storage container for a medication storage and discharge station (1) according to one of claims 1-4, characterized in that the clamping section (41) is configured in two parts, and each partial clamping section ( 41a, 41b) acts together with a holding housing (15a, 15b). 6. Storage container for a medication storage and discharge station (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the two partial clamping sections (41a, 41b) of the clamping section (41) are arranged in final sections exterior of the retention section (42). 7. Storage container for a storage and unloading station (1) for medicaments, according to claim 6, characterized in that a repositioning means has been placed in the holding housing (15a, 15b), which oppresses the storage medium. retention (40) in the direction towards the discharge opening (21).