JP2928107B2 - Method for loading and unloading small chemical containers filled with the solution to be dried in the freeze dryer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to assembling small drug containers such as vials filled with a solution of a drug to be dried on a shelf surface of a drying shelf provided in a freeze-drying chamber of a freeze dryer. The present invention relates to a method for carrying in and out a small drug container filled with a drug solution to be dried in a freeze-drying machine that is loaded in an aligned state and then carried out by aseptic operation after freeze-drying.

[0002] Most of freeze-dried drugs, especially injections, are produced by the following steps. In the aseptic air-conditioning room, the drug solution is fixedly filled in a small drug container such as a vial, and in the case of a vial, a rubber stopper for sealing is half-plugged (half-plugged to a depth to leave a steam escape hole) in the opening at the top. The small chemical container filled with the chemical solution is carried into a freeze-drying room of a freeze dryer having a front door on the side of the aseptic air conditioning room, and is placed on a drying shelf provided in the drying room. After closing the front door, a freeze-drying process of the drug solution filled in the small drug container is performed inside the freeze-drying chamber. After completing this process,
If the small medicine container is a vial, inside the freeze-drying chamber,
The rubber stopper is completely stoppered (completely pushed in until it is sealed) from a half stoppered state. From the freeze-drying chamber, the small drug container after the freeze-drying treatment of the drug solution is carried out to the sterile air-conditioning room. If the transported small chemical container is a vial, the process moves to the process of tightening all stoppered rubber stoppers with aluminum caps (for ampoules, sealing).

[0003] At present, the loading and unloading operations of many small chemical containers such as vials are performed under the intervention of an operator who enters the inside of a sterile room. Fully automatic unmanned operation, at least a remote operation in which a sterile room operator does not access the medicine and its container is required.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art The operation of carrying small chemical containers filled with a chemical solution into and out of a freeze-drying chamber of a freeze-dryer is performed by an operator in a sterile room until almost 1970s. If it is mechanized, after arranging small medicine containers (vials) on a tray, these small medicine containers are stacked on a multi-tiered tray base, and a trolley with lift is used to place the front door of the freeze-drying chamber with the front door open. Move the tray and adjust the height of each stage to the drying shelf in the freeze-drying chamber (usually a shelf thickness of 25 mm).
(Approximately 100 mm shelf effective spacing), and then adjust the height to a position commensurate with the height, and simultaneously push each tray between the shelves, and the operation of the truck with lift was performed by an operator in a sterile room. .

[0005] In 1978, all of the drying shelves provided in the freeze-drying chamber were folded tightly into the bottom of the freeze-drying chamber, and the height of the drying shelf was the same as that of the uppermost drying shelf at that time. A small door for loading and unloading is provided on the front door at the position, and only the small door for loading and unloading is opened and closed while the front door is closed. First, the small medicine container (vial) is carried into the shelf surface of the uppermost drying shelf from the tabletop, and when the small medicine container (vial) is arranged on the shelf surface, the shelf is sequentially lifted. hand,
The shelf surface of the drying shelf below it is stopped at the height of the small door for loading and unloading, and small chemical containers are loaded into it, and by repeating this operation, small chemical containers are sequentially placed from the upper stage to the lower stage. Bring in. In addition, a system has been developed in which small chemical containers are sequentially carried out from the lowest shelf in the reverse order of the process (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-30).
No. 147), various systems based on this system have spread rapidly from the late 1970s to the 1980s.

However, in the prior art, a large number of small drug containers are arranged and gathered in a dense state during the process of carrying the small drug containers and the step of placing the small drug containers on the shelf surface of the drying shelf. In order to keep the small containers in the container, the small medicine containers are stored in trays (rectangular vial storage basins), and those trays are loaded and unloaded. Means for providing a fixed guide member for preventing the small medicine container from diffusing in the left-right direction and dropping from the shelf surface at a position equally divided into two or three or more in the width direction is used.

[0007] For example, in the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-89974, means is used for arranging small chemical containers (vials) inside trays or containers by using trays or containers and carrying them in and out.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-203382 discloses
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-67987, a vial group arranged in the width direction of a shelf surface of a drying shelf is moved on a shelf surface in a row, and the vial moved first at that time. Are sequentially pushed in the depth direction of the shelf surface, but the movement of the vial on the shelf surface is restricted by the fixed guides provided at the left and right ends of the shelf surface. It is.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-41482, no vial storage tray is used. However, it is difficult to smoothly move a small chemical container to be carried on a shelf surface. Assuming that the small medicine container is supported on the mounting plate and inserted into the depth of the shelf surface, the mounting plate is pulled out while restricting the return of the small medicine container by the regulating member. At this time, the diffusion of the small chemical containers transferred from the mounting plate onto the shelf surface in the left-right direction and the prevention of falling from the shelf surface can be prevented by the fixed guide attached to the shelf surface of the drying shelf. This is done by regulating the movement of the container.

[0010] Further, as means for carrying in / out the small chemical containers on the shelf surface of the drying shelf without using the vial accommodating tray,
There is a means using a carriage provided with an automatic transfer device for sliding a small chemical container by a slide mechanism on a horizontal platform. This means also has fixed guides on both sides in the width direction of the horizontal platform surface of the carriage, a portion for collecting and aligning the chemical small containers and a corresponding portion of the shelf surface of the drying shelf where the chemical small containers are arranged. In the state where the movement of the small medicine container in the left and right direction is regulated by this, the press plates that are perpendicular to them in the space between the left and right fixed guides are assembled within the space between the left and right fixed guides on the horizontal base surface・ Put the medicine small container group on the shelf surface and push it in the depth direction of the shelf surface to move the medicine small container group onto the shelf surface and carry in. This is a means in which the push plate is brought into contact with the back side of a group of small medicine containers, and is taken out by pulling it forward along left and right fixed guides.

[0011]

As described in detail above,
Means for loading and unloading the small chemical containers to and from the drying shelf in the freeze-drying chamber of the conventional freeze-drying machine is such that when the small chemical containers are transported to the shelf surface of the drying shelf in a line-up state, Is prevented from moving from side to side and from falling off the shelf surface by using a pial storage tray or by attaching a fixed guide (usually a square bar) to the shelf surface.

In the case of using a vial storage tray, an operation of filling a small liquid container in a half stoppered state by filling a chemical solution into the tray and a process of drying the small container transported to the outside after performing a drying process are performed. In addition to the additional operation of removing the tray, an additional step of cleaning, sterilizing, and storing the tray every time is required. Further, since the entire load of the tray and the small chemical container accommodated in the tray is concentrated on several points on the bottom of the tray, there is a disadvantage in that fine powder of the tray material is generated due to sliding friction.

When attaching a fixed guide to the drying tray,
There is a problem that the presence of the fixed guide makes it difficult to clean the shelf surface of the drying shelf.

Further, sliding friction is generated between the group of medicine small containers to be pushed and the side of the fixed guide provided on the shelf surface of the drying shelf, so that the medicine small containers which are aligned and assembled are located between the small medicine containers. Combined with friction, it sometimes becomes impossible to push the group of medicine containers that are assembled and aligned, or to destroy the medicine containers that are in contact with the fixed guide.

In an external mechanism which is provided with an automatic transport device for transporting small chemical containers by a slide mechanism on a horizontal platform of a truck disposed outside the freeze-drying chamber of the freeze-dryer, a fixing provided on a horizontal plane thereof A low friction material such as Teflon can be used for the sliding surface of the guide, but the fixed guide provided on the shelf surface of the drying shelf inside the freeze-drying chamber has thermal expansion during high-pressure steam sterilization and automatic cleaning. This is because the material and structure are restricted due to the necessity and the like, and a low friction material such as Teflon cannot be used.

Further, one of the important difficulties in attaching the fixed guide to the shelf surface of the drying shelf is that the number of small chemical containers to be freeze-dried is less than the total number of shelves, and that some of the shelves are used. If this is the case, it is necessary to fill empty trays with empty drug containers or to fill them with spacers instead of drug containers. This is because, after drying, the operation of completely capping the half-plugged drug small container is performed by reducing the interval between all the shelf stages by the shelf vertical drive hydraulic mechanism, and compressing the half-plugged drug small container up and down. Depending on the method, only the upper shelf located above the uppermost drying shelf and the ribbed structure below the lowermost shelf for placement of small chemical containers withstand the strong hydraulic pressing force during full tapping This is because the drying shelf for the intermediate small medicine container arrangement has a structure that is strong enough to maintain a flat shape without bending only when the front and back surfaces are evenly pressed. The drying shelf on which the small chemical containers are placed must be cooled and heated by the heat medium / coolant circulating inside, and further strength is not practical in order not to make the heat capacity excessive. . If there is a drying shelf that does not have a small medicine container, the pressing force applied to the whole small container placed on the shelf surface of the drying shelf immediately above or immediately below at the time of stoppering is the shelf. The stoppers are received only by the fixed guides at the left and right ends of the surface or in addition to the middle part, and the bending of the drying shelf due to this causes the entire stoppering of the chemical small container on the drying shelf immediately above (immediately below). And the drying tray is subjected to undue force, causing a risk of damage.

Finally, and most importantly, in the case of using a tray or mounting a fixed guide, in each case, the tray edge or the fixed guide is connected to the heat transfer fin to the medicine container adjacent thereto. Function, and receive significant additional heat input as compared to a small drug container that is not adjacent to the tray edge or the fixed guide, thereby impairing uniformity during the freeze-drying process. Generally, the lyophilized drug is a substance that is highly heat-sensitive, and uneven lyophilization conditions inside the batch may impair product quality equivalence.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems caused by the use of the tray or the fixed guide on the shelf in the conventional means. It is another object of the present invention to provide a new means for ensuring a secure loading / unloading operation.

[0019]

In the present invention, as a means for achieving the above-mentioned object, a small chemical container v such as a vial filled with a solution to be dried is provided by a freeze-drying machine D. Inlet 1 that can be freely opened and closed in freeze-drying room 1
1 are gathered densely on a horizontal platform 30 disposed on the front surface of the drying tray 1, and the horizontal platform 30 and the shelf of the drying shelf 2 provided in the freeze-drying chamber 1 are adjusted to the same height. In the method for loading and unloading small chemical containers in a freeze-dryer, which is loaded on the drying shelf 2 by moving it in the depth direction of the drying shelf 2 and unloaded onto the upper surface of the horizontal platform 30 by moving in the opposite direction, The shelf surface of the drying shelf 2 is not provided with a fixed guide b, and the horizontal table 30 has a predetermined range or a predetermined range in which the small chemical containers v on the shelf of the drying shelf 2 are placed. Is provided with inner dimensions corresponding to the depth L and the left and right width W of the section range in which the front frame 4 is divided into a fixed unit, and the width of the space between the pair of side frames 40
1 and the rear frame 42 are provided with a loading / unloading device a that reciprocates back and forth along the horizontal platform 30 so that the surrounding frame 4 is opened at a height that does not contact the top of the small chemical container v. The small chemical containers v ... which are aligned and assembled on the horizontal platform 30 by the surrounding frame 4 are restrained in a state where they are aligned and gathered, and in this state, the horizontal movement of the surrounding frame 4 is pushed into a predetermined position on the drying shelf 2. In this state, the distance w between the pair of left and right side frames 40 of the surrounding frame 4 is slightly extended to
-Release the restraint due to the contact between the inner surface of 40 and the left and right sides of the small medicine container group V, and open the front frame 41 of the surrounding frame 4 to a height that does not contact the top of the small medicine container v. Is pulled back in parallel to the depth direction to return it to the horizontal platform 30, and the small medicine container group V assembled and aligned on the horizontal platform 30 to be carried in is opened, and the enclosing frame is in a state of being opened right and left and expanded right and left. 4 are accommodated in the surrounding frame 4 from the rear end, and the left and right side frames 40
Is closed, the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42 are closed, and the small chemical container group V is constrained in the surrounding frame 4, and the drying shelf 2 is closed.
Is pushed into the upper predetermined position, and by repeating this operation, the small chemical containers v are carried into the drying shelf 2 and are carried out on the horizontal platform 30 in front of the door 10 in the reverse order as described above. The present invention proposes a method for carrying in and out a small medicine container filled with a medicine solution to be dried in a dryer.

[0020]

According to the means of the present invention, no tray is used, and no fixed guide is provided on the shelf surface of the drying shelf.
Small chemical containers can be carried into the upper surface of the drying shelf in an aligned and assembled state, and can be carried out, eliminating the use of trays to generate tray material fine powder. Malfunction and breakage of the loading / unloading operation due to the frictional sliding contact with the vehicle.

Further, since the fixed guide is not provided on the shelf surface of the drying shelf, even if an empty shelf where no small chemical containers are arranged is formed among the drying shelves provided in multiple stages, even if a small shelf is provided, a small chemical shelf is not provided. In order to insert the rubber stopper plugged in a half stoppered state into the opening of the container in a fully stoppered state, when folding so as to close the shelf spacing of the multi-stage drying shelf, the empty shelf By pressing the entire surface against the lower surface of the shelf just above the shelf, it is transformed into a shelf
It prevents distortion and completes the entire stoppering process of the chemical container.

In addition, since the tray and the fixed guide are not used, the edge of the tray and the fixed guide function as heat transfer fins for the small chemical containers adjacent thereto to provide additional heat input, and to even out the freeze-drying process. The problem of impairing the performance is eliminated.

[0023]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view for explaining the means of the present invention. In FIG.
Is a drying shelf provided in the freeze-drying chamber 1; 11 is a loading port provided on the front side of the freeze-drying chamber 1; 30 is a horizontal platform provided on the front side of the freeze-drying chamber 1; Horizontal platform 30
A loading / unloading device mounted thereon, 4 is an enclosing frame of the loading / unloading device a, v is a small medicine container placed on the horizontal table surface 30, V is a group of small medicine containers arranged and assembled, and E is a small medicine container. Indicates a mounting table on which v ... is mounted and prepared.

The freeze dryer D is a conventionally known freeze dryer. The freeze-drying chamber 1 is also a normal one in which an exhaust system for exhausting to a vacuum is connected, and a charging port 11 that is opened and closed by a door 10 is provided on the front side. The door 10 is pivotally opened and closed by a hinge. However, the door 10 may be opened and closed by sliding.
When the front side of the freeze-drying chamber 1 is closed, the doors 10 are arranged in a predetermined number of small container groups V.
There is a case where a window-hole-shaped entrance for carrying in and out of the vehicle is opened, and an opening / closing door is installed here.

The drying shelf 2 provided in the freeze-drying chamber 1 includes:
By circulating a heat medium or a cooling medium and a heat medium therein, the chemical solution in the small chemical containers v placed on the shelf surface thereof is freeze-dried. Although only one is shown in FIG. 1, it is one of those provided in multiple stages vertically as shown in FIG. Each of the drying shelves 2 is connected to a top shelf 2b that moves up and down by the operation of a hydraulically operated lifting / lowering device 2a via a hanging rod (not shown) having a constant vertical length. As shown by a chain line in FIG. 2, the shelf 2b is raised and vertically arranged while maintaining a predetermined interval, and by lowering the shelf 2b as shown by a solid line in FIG. It is mounted in the freeze-drying chamber 1 so as to be switched to a state where the space between the upper and lower sides is narrowed and stacked at the bottom of the lumen of the freeze-drying chamber 1, but on the shelf surface thereof. Has no fixed guide.

As shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal platform 30
The truck 3 is mounted on the upper surface of the vehicle body 3a which is configured to move freely by the running wheels 31 provided at the bottom so as to slide back and forth.

The carrying-in / out device a mounted on the upper surface of the horizontal platform 30 includes an enclosure 4 surrounding the small medicine containers v arranged and assembled on the upper surface of the horizontal platform 30, and the horizontal frame 30. And a drive mechanism 5 for moving in the front-rear direction along the upper surface of the motor.

The enclosing frame 4 has a shelf surface on which a small chemical container v for one stage of the drying shelf stage 2 is to be placed or an area obtained by dividing the shelf surface into two to three minutes or more in the width direction. It is formed in a rectangular or rectangular frame shape in plan view having a width W and a depth L of the portion. And the left and right side frames 40, 40 are configured such that their interval width w slightly expands and contracts.
Further, the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42 can be rotated outward in the front-rear direction with respect to the left and right side frames 40 at the center of the hinge provided on the upper edge side, or can slide up and down. The enclosed small chemical containers v pass in the front-back direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive mechanism 5 includes a rack provided on the horizontal platform 30 side and a pinion provided on the surrounding frame 4 side so as to mesh with the rack.

The mounting table E includes a small chemical container v to be dried.
Are placed in a sterile room in which the freeze-drying chamber 1 of the freeze-dryer D is installed.

However, the means of the present invention is implemented using the apparatus configured as described above, but when a plurality of freeze-drying chambers 1 are arranged in parallel, Are mounted on the platform 60 on the upper surface of the mounting table E, and the small chemical containers v ... collected on the platform 60 on the horizontal platform 30 of the platform 3 are placed on the drying shelf 2 Are aligned and assembled so as to correspond to the above-mentioned divisional range consisting of the width W and the depth L, which is the range in which the small medicine containers v on the shelf surface are to be placed. With the container group V in a state of being surrounded and restrained by the surrounding frame 4 of the carry-in / out device a mounted on the horizontal platform 30, the carriage 3 moves,
It is moved to the front of a predetermined freeze-drying chamber 1, and the upper surface of the horizontal platform 30 of the carriage 3 and the small chemical containers v in the freeze-drying chamber 1.
Fig. 2 shows the height of the drying shelves 2 on which shelves are to be placed.
In the freeze-drying chamber 1, and the horizontal platform 3
0 is slid forward with respect to the body of the bogie 3 so that the leading edge of the horizontal platform 30 is brought into contact with or sufficiently close to the leading edge of the drying shelf 2, and then, by the operation of the loading / unloading device a, The surrounding frame 4 is pushed into the freeze-drying chamber 1, and the group of small chemical containers V surrounded by the surrounding frame 4 is slid onto the shelf surface of the drying shelf 2.

At this time, since a low friction material such as Teflon can be used on the horizontal platform 30 of the carriage 3 outside the freeze-drying chamber 1 and the platform 60 of the mounting table E, the loading / unloading device a
Are arranged and assembled on the platform 60 of the mounting table E, and the small chemical containers v are transferred to the horizontal platform 3 of the carriage 3.
In the process up to the transfer to the upper stage 0, the width w of the sectional area for placing the small chemical containers v on the shelf of the drying shelf 2 on the platform 60 of the platform E and the horizontal platform 30 of the carriage 3 is set. And a depth L, a fixed guide b for aligning and collecting the small chemical containers v may be used.

Thus, the small chemical containers v to be placed on the table surface 60 of the mounting table E are assembled and aligned by the fixed guides b so that the predetermined width w is obtained. Can be smoothly transferred to the receiving portion on the horizontal platform 30 by sliding.

From this state, four rounds are constrained by the surrounding frame 4 of the carry-in / out device a provided on the horizontal platform 30 of the carriage 3 to maintain the aligned shape, and the shelf of the drying shelf 2 is ,
The small chemical containers v are slid into the area to be arranged.

In this manner, when the small chemical containers v are pushed into a predetermined partitioned area on the shelf surface of the drying shelf 2 in a predetermined aligned / assembled state, in that state, as shown in FIG. , Left and right side frames 40 of the loading / unloading device a
Are slightly displaced outwardly, and their spacing is slightly widened to (w + Δw). At the same time, the front frame 41 on the front end side is rotated forward about the hinge provided at the upper edge of the front frame 41 to open the front surface of the surrounding frame 4 so that the small chemical containers v can pass through and the rear frame. 42
Is pivoted rearward about a hinge provided at the upper edge thereof to open the rear surface of the surrounding frame 4 so that the small chemical containers v can pass through.

In this state, the loading / unloading device a
Is operated to pull back the surrounding frame 4 toward the user. The small chemical containers v transferred to the upper surface of the drying shelf 2 by this means
And the surrounding frame 4 is formed in a tunnel shape in the front-rear direction to allow the passage of the small chemical containers v. Only the surrounding frame 4 is pulled back on the horizontal platform 30 of the carriage 3 as shown in FIG.

Next, in this state, the horizontal platform 30 of the carriage 3 is slid forward (rearward), and its rear end is brought close to the front end of the mounting table E as shown in FIG. And

Next, from this state, the surface 60 of the mounting table E
A small extruding member d is provided in such a manner that a predetermined number of small medicine containers v are mounted and arranged on a table surface 60 by a pair of fixed guides b.
, And is transferred into the surrounding frame 4 on the horizontal platform 30. The pushing member d is controlled so as to automatically stop at a predetermined position.

Next, from this state, the interval between the left and right side frames 40, 40 of the enclosing frame 4 is reduced to the old interval width w, and the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42 are closed and closed around the enclosing frame 4. Back to the state where
The small chemical containers v transferred on the horizontal platform 30 are set in a restrained state.

In this state, the trolley 3 is moved to a position to be loaded next time, and the above-mentioned steps are repeated to transport the small chemical containers v to a predetermined range of the predetermined drying shelf 2.

After the loading of the small chemical containers v is completed, a freeze-drying process is performed. When the freeze-drying process is completed, when the small chemical containers v are vials, the drying rack stages 2 are moved up and down. A process is performed in which the rubber stopper in the half stoppered state is fully stoppered. Thereafter, in the reverse order of the above-described carrying-in step, the rubber stopper is taken out from the shelf surface of the drying shelf 2 to the horizontal platform 30. ,
Then, it is transferred to a conveyor table for an aluminum crown winding step (a step of covering and fixing all stoppered rubber stoppers with an aluminum crown). If the small chemical container is an ampoule or the like that is not suitable for the entire stoppering step in the freeze-drying chamber 1, after the freeze-drying step is completed, it is carried out of the freeze-drying chamber 1 and moved to a step of sealing it.

Next, FIGS. 7 to 15 show an embodiment of the carriage 3 used for implementing the above-mentioned means of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the bogie 3 has a vehicle body 3a assembled into a substantially rectangular basket-like frame by pillars and girder members, and running wheels 31 on the bottom side thereof. Are supported, and run in the left-right direction by driving the running wheels 31.

A motor M1 for driving the running wheels 31 and a battery 32 for operating the motor M1 are mounted on the bottom of the bore of the vehicle body 3a.

A base 33 is fixedly mounted on the vehicle body 3a at a position near the bottom of the lumen of the vehicle body 3a, and a support base 34 is driven by the motor M2 on the base 33. It is supported so as to move up and down by the operation of the screw jack 35.

On the upper surface of the support table 34, a horizontal table surface 30 formed in a table shape is slidably supported back and forth, and a desired amount of front and rear is controlled by the operation of a screw shaft 36 driven by a motor M5. Slide to.

On the left and right sides of the table-like horizontal base surface 30, there are longitudinally long rectangular cylindrical conductive cases 7,7.
However, as shown in FIG. 10, the sliding members 70 are formed so as to be longer than the horizontal platform surface 30 and are arranged on the brackets 340 provided on the left and right ends of the support platform 34. · It is slidably mounted back and forth through 70.

At the rear end (right end in FIG. 10) of the left and right conductive cases 7.7, a transmission shaft 72 is supported by a bridging shaft, and on the outer side of the conductive cases 7.7. Pinions 73 and 73 are respectively attached to the protruding left and right shaft ends.

The pinions 73 are respectively provided on brackets 34 provided at the left and right ends of the support table 34.
0, 340 are engaged with the long racks 74, 74 which are fixed to and attached to the outer ends of the front and rear, respectively.
A bevel gear G1 is provided at an outer end of the conductive shaft 72 protruding from the shaft, and the bevel gear G1 is transmitted to an output shaft of a motor M3 which is supported via a supporter frame 75 outside a rear end of one of the conductive cases 7. By engaging with G2, the motor M3 is rotated by the operation of the motor M3 to roll on the racks 74, and the left and right conductive cases 7.7 are slid forward and backward.

As shown in FIG. 10, the racks 74 are provided outside the left and right conductive cases 7, 7 in plan view so as to be in parallel with the conductive cases 7, 7, respectively.

The enclosing frame 4 is formed in an enclosing frame shape by the left and right side frames 40, 40, the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42, and the left and right side frames 40, 40 are shown in FIG. like,
Each of the small medicine containers v placed on the upper surface of the horizontal platform 30 is formed in a push plate shape facing the lower half of the body, and is provided on the inner surface of the front half of the left and right conduction cases 7. It is mounted and mounted on the conductive case 7.7 so as to move a fixed distance in the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 13, the left and right side frames 40, 40 are supported so that their support rods 400 slide along the left and right directions in the conductive case 7, and are conductive by springs. It is urged to be drawn into the cases 7.7. The protruding end of the support rod 400 has a rotating shaft 76
The outer peripheral surface of the eccentric cam wheel c that rotates about the center is in contact with the cam shaft c. The cam wheel c rotates 180 degrees in FIG. 13 is pushed out to the position shown by the chain line in FIG.
0 is drawn into the position shown by the solid line in FIG.

M4 is a motor for rotating the cam wheel c.
73 is attached to the rear end of the conductive case 7 located on the side opposite to the side on which the drive motor M3 is attached. The motor M4 is an electric cylinder whose cylinder moves in and out when energized, and drives the rotation shaft 76 of the cam wheel c via a transmission mechanism 77 provided in the transmission case 7 by its operation. The transmission mechanism 77 communicates via a transmission shaft 78 with a transmission mechanism provided symmetrically with the transmission mechanism 77 in the transmission case 7 on the side where the motor M3 for driving the pinion is mounted. Is operated in synchronism with the transmission mechanism 77 to drive the cam wheel that operates the side frame 40 provided on the inner surface side of the transmission case 7 on which the motor M3 is mounted.

The front frame 41 and the rear frame 42 of the surrounding frame 4
Are arranged on the front end side and the rear end side of the space formed between the left and right side frames 40, 40, respectively, and assembled to the side frames 40, 40 so as to cover the front and rear of the space. Hinges 410 and 420 protruding in the left-right direction are provided at the left and right ends of the upper edge side of the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42, respectively, and these are pivotally supported on the above-described left and right conductive cases 7.7.
By turning the hinges 410 and 420 around a vertical position, the front and rear sides of the gap between the left and right side frames 40 are closed, and by setting the horizontal position, the left and right sides are closed. The space between the frames 40 is opened before and after the interval between the frames 40 to allow the small chemical containers v to pass.

The front frame 41 and the rear frame 42 are connected to a hinge 41.
14 and FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 5, a bevel gear G3 is attached to the ends of the hinges 410 and 420 provided on the front frame 41 or the rear frame 42, which protrude into the conductive case 7, and the bevel gear G4 meshing with the bevel gear G4 is connected to the conductive case. 7, and the transmission shaft 79 is transmitted to the transmission mechanism 7'7, so that the left and right side frames 40, 4 are actuated by the operation of the motor M3.
When the width is increased or reduced during 0, the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42 open and close in synchronization.

An enclosing frame 4 assembled with the left and right side frames 40, 40, the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42, right and left conductive cases 7.7 for moving the same forward and backward, and the side frames 4
A mechanism such as a cam wheel c for expanding and contracting the interval width of 0.40, and a bevel gear G3 for opening and closing the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42.
A mechanism such as G4 constitutes a loading / unloading device a for loading / unloading small chemical containers v ... mounted on the horizontal platform 30 to / from the shelf surface of the drying shelf 2 in the freeze-drying chamber 1. I have.

[0056]

As described above, according to the means of the present invention, a small drug container v filled with a drug to be lyophilized.
Are loaded onto the shelf surface of the drying shelves 2 in the freeze-drying chamber 1 of the freeze-drying machine D, and the small chemical containers v that have been subjected to the freeze-drying process are placed in the drying shelves 2. Do not use trays when transporting from the shelf surface of
Are not provided with the fixed guides b on the shelf surface of..., And the small chemical containers v... Are arranged and assembled so that they can be carried in and out of the shelf surface of the drying shelf 2. Because of the use of trays, the use of trays eliminates the generation of fine powder from the tray material. Also, malfunctions and breakage of loading / unloading operations due to frictional sliding contact between small chemical containers and fixed guides are prevented. Since the fixed guides b serving as protrusions are not provided on the shelf surface of
Cleaning of the shelf surface becomes easy.
Since the fixed guide b is not provided on the shelf surface of, even if there is an empty drying shelf 2 in which the small chemical containers v are not arranged in the multi-staged drying shelf 2. In order to drive the rubber stopper plugged in a half-plugged state into the opening of v ... in a fully-plugged state, the empty drying racks are folded when the multiple drying racks 2 ... 2 is pressed against the lower surface of the drying shelf 2 immediately above the drying shelf 2 so as not to cause deformation and distortion in the drying shelf 2. The entire stoppering process of the containers v ... can be completely performed. Also, by not using the tray and the fixed guides b ..., the edge of the tray and the fixed guides b ... are adjacent to the small chemical containers v ... However, it has a problem in that it acts as a heat transfer fin and gives additional heat input, thereby impairing the uniformity of the freeze-drying process. This has the effect of being able to be eliminated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an apparatus for loading and unloading small chemical containers used in the means of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken side view of the same device in use.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same device at the time of a loading operation.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same device at the time of carrying out operation.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a state in which heat is transferred to a small chemical container on a drying shelf by conventional means.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a state of heat transfer to a small chemical container on a drying shelf in the means of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a rear view of another embodiment of the small drug carrying-in / out device used in the means of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the device of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway side view of the apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a main part of the same device.

FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway side view of a main part of the device.

FIG. 12 is a rear view of an essential part of the same device, partially broken away.

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal rear view of an expansion / contraction operation mechanism of a side frame of the device.

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional side view of an opening / closing operation mechanism of a front frame and a rear frame of the device.

FIG. 15 is a longitudinal rear view of an opening / closing mechanism of a front frame and a rear frame of the device.

[Explanation of symbols]

D: freeze dryer, V: group of small chemical containers, v: small container of chemicals,
E: mounting table, a: carry-in / out device, b: fixed guide, c: cam ring, d: extrusion member, L: depth, W: left and right width, w: interval, M: motor, G: bevel gear, 1: freezing Drying room,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Door, 11 ... Loading entrance, 2 ... Drying shelf, 2a ... Lifting device, 2b ... Shelf board, 3 ... Truck, 3a ... Body, 30 ... Horizontal platform, 31 ... Running wheel, 32 ... Battery, 33 ... Stand , 3
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 ... Support base, 340 ... Bracket, 35 ... Screw jack, 36 ... Screw shaft, 4 ... Enclosing frame, 40 ... Side frame, 4
00: support rod, 41: front frame, 42: rear frame, 410/42
0: hinge, 5: drive mechanism, 60: table surface, 7: conductive case, 40: sliding member, 72: conductive shaft, 73: pinion,
74 ... rack, 75 ... supporting machine frame, 76 ... rotating shaft, 77 ...
Transmission mechanism, 78, 79 ... conduction axis.

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65G 1/00-1/20 F26B 5 / 06,25 / 00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A horizontal platform 3 on which a small medicine container v such as a vial filled with a solution of a drug to be dried is disposed in front of a loading opening 11 which is freely openable and closable in a freeze-drying chamber 1 of a freeze dryer D.
In a state where the horizontal platform 30 and the shelf of the drying shelf 2 to be installed in the freeze-drying chamber 1 are adjusted to the same height in the depth direction of the drying shelf 2 In the method for loading and unloading small chemical containers in a freeze dryer that is loaded on the drying shelf 2 by moving it, and is unloaded to the upper surface of the horizontal platform 30 by moving in the opposite direction, the shelf surface of the drying shelf 2 is The fixed guide b is not provided, and the small chemical container v on the shelf of the drying shelf 2 is placed on the horizontal platform 30.
.. Are placed in a predetermined range or a range in which the predetermined range is divided into fixed units, and the inner width corresponding to the width L and the left and right width W is provided. And the surrounding frame 4 in which the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42 are opened at a height that does not contact the top of the small chemical container v.
Is provided with a carry-in / out device a which reciprocates back and forth along the horizontal platform 30, and the small chemical containers v... In this state, the enclosing frame 4 is pushed into a predetermined position on the drying shelf 2 by the horizontal movement, and in this state, the distance w between the pair of left and right side frames 40, 40 of the enclosing frame 4 is slightly expanded to the left and right. Side frame 40/40 inner surface and small chemical container group V
Is released, and the front frame 41 of the enclosing frame 4 is opened to a height not in contact with the top of the small chemical container v, and the enclosing frame 4 is pulled forward in the depth direction. The small medicine container group V assembled and aligned on the horizontal platform 30 to be transported next is returned from the rear end of the enclosure 4 in a state where the rear is opened and expanded left and right. The medicine container group V is housed inside, the space w between the left and right side frames 40 is reduced, and the small medicine container group V is enclosed by closing the front frame 41 and the rear frame 42.
, Is pushed into a predetermined position on the drying shelf 2, and by repeating this operation, the small chemical containers v are loaded onto the drying shelf 2, and the horizontal platform 30 in front of the door 10 is reversed in the above-described order. A method for carrying in and out a small medicine container filled with a medicine solution to be dried in a freeze dryer, wherein the medicine container is carried out.