JP6086794B2 - Product container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a product container in which components of medical supplies such as a syringe stopper and a rubber stopper for sealing a pharmaceutical container such as a vial can be easily and efficiently charged and discharged.

  As is well known, in the production process of components of medical supplies, such as rubber seals for sealing pharmaceutical containers such as syringe seals and vials, bacteria and viruses adhere to these components. In order to prevent contamination, it is common to assemble or mount as a medical article after washing or sterilization.

  When cleaning and sterilizing these syringe seals and rubber stoppers of pharmaceutical containers, for example, a connected body consisting of a tank for sterilization and a product container connected to the opening of the sterilization tank via a valve. Use the sterilization tank to place the sterilization process downward, sterilization process, etc. After the sterilization process is finished, the connected body is inverted and the product container is positioned downward, and the sterilized product is placed in the sterilization tank. A sterilizer is disclosed for transfer from a product container to a product container. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  However, the sterilization apparatus has a large structure and requires a large space, and when transferring the product to the product container, it is necessary to invert the sterilization tank together with the product container. .

JP 2000-288071 A

  Therefore, as a technique that enables the product to be smoothly transferred to the product container in a small space without inverting the cleaning device or the sterilization device, for example, considering the transfer to the product assembly device, An inclined part that makes the movement of the product smooth is formed, an opening for discharge is provided at the upper end through this inclined part, and an inlet for smoothly introducing the product from a cleaning device, a sterilizer, or the like is provided in the inclined part during transfer. By securing a head, we have developed a technology that makes it efficient to transfer products from cleaning and sterilization equipment to product containers.

  However, when the product is introduced into the product container from the inlet opening in the inclined portion, the product is likely to be biased in a limited space at the bottom of the container body, and is accumulated at the bottom of the container body while suppressing the bias. However, if it is attempted to discharge the product with the product container in a predetermined tilted posture, backflow to the input port or catching in the container body occurs, and it is not easy to move and discharge smoothly to the upper discharge port. If the product remains in the product container, manual discharge becomes necessary, which increases production costs and makes it difficult to ensure a level of quality assurance from the hygiene and product mix equivalents. There is a strong technical demand for product containers that can be discharged.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and it is possible to clean the components of medical supplies such as a syringe stopper and a rubber stopper for sealing a pharmaceutical container such as a vial with a cleaning device or a sterilizer. It is an object of the present invention to provide a product container that can be stably charged and discharged stably from an apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention proposes the following means.
The invention according to claim 1 is a product container into which a component of a medical article as an object is input, and the input object can be discharged, and is a first container when the object is input. A container body having an inclined portion that swells upward, a discharge port that is formed at an upper end portion of the inclined portion and opens upward, and a charging port that is formed in the inclined portion and opens upward. A cylindrical wall portion and a guide member formed in the container main body, the cylindrical wall portion extending from the charging port toward the bottom of the container main body in the first posture. An injection object outlet is opened below, and the guide member is formed to cover the injection object outlet in a plan view in the second posture when discharging the object from the discharge port. Features.

According to the product container according to the present invention, since the cylindrical wall portion is formed from the charging port toward the bottom, the object charged from the charging port is stably moved to the charging object outlet. It is stably discharged from the outlet to the bottom of the container body.
In addition, since the inclined portion that is recessed upward is formed in the first posture, the object is discharged along the inclined portion in the container main body in the second posture in which the container main body is inverted or inclined. Since it is easy to move to the outlet and the guide member is formed so as to cover the outlet in the plan view, the object W deposited on the bottom of the container body is prevented from flowing back to the outlet of the object to be injected. The object is smoothly discharged from the outlet while suppressing the residue and backflow of the object.

  Invention of Claim 2 is a product container of Claim 1, Comprising: In the said 1st attitude | position, the flow path which penetrates in the said container main body is formed in the said container main body, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. And

  According to the product container of the present invention, in the first posture, the container main body is formed with the cleaning liquid circulation port for supplying the cleaning liquid into the container main body and discharging it from the container main body, so that the cleaning liquid is washed through the container main body. It can be easily supplied to the apparatus, and the cleaning liquid from the cleaning apparatus can be discharged through the container body. As a result, the object can be cleaned hygienically.

  According to the product container according to the present invention, it is possible to stably supply the components of the medical supplies that have been subjected to processing such as cleaning, sterilization, and drying, and to smoothly discharge the object from the discharge port. Can do.

It is a figure which shows the principal part structure seen from the side view and side surface of the product container which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which shows the principal part structure seen from the front view and front view of the product container which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the principal part structure inside the top view of the product container which concerns on one Embodiment, and planar view . It is a perspective view which shows the principal part structure of the product container which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the state which installed the product container which concerns on one Embodiment in the sterilizer . It is a figure explaining the effect | action of the product container which concerns on one Embodiment, (A) is an external view in a 1st attitude | position, (B) is a figure which shows the state into which a target object is thrown. It is a figure explaining the effect | action of the product container which concerns on one Embodiment, (A) is an external view in a 2nd attitude | position, (B) is a figure which shows the state from which a target object is discharged | emitted.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1-4 is a figure which shows schematic structure of the product container which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and the code | symbol 1 has shown the product container.
FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the product container according to the embodiment of the present invention is installed in the sterilization apparatus, and reference numeral 50 indicates the sterilization apparatus. In this embodiment, the object W is, for example, a rubber plug for sealing a pharmaceutical container such as a syringe sealing material or a vial.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the product container 1 includes a container body 10, a cylindrical wall portion 20, and a guide member 30, and is formed of, for example, SUS316L.
The container main body 10 is formed above the base end 10A and the base end 10A formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, for example, in an upright posture (first posture) when the object is charged. A sloping inclined portion 10B, a cylindrical discharge port 12 formed at the upper end portion of the inclined portion 10B and opened upward, a valve unit 13 for opening and closing the discharge port 12, and formed at the inclined portion 10B and opened upward. An inlet 14, a valve unit 15 that opens and closes the inlet 14, a flow passage 16 formed in the lower portion of the container body 10, a valve unit 17 that opens and closes the flow passage 16, and a lift receiver 18 are provided. .

The inclined portion 10B is formed at a position offset with respect to the central axis of the base end portion 10A in plan view, and has a drain formed by a cylinder whose inner peripheral surface is inscribed with the inner peripheral surface of the base end portion 10A. It is comprised from the substantially conical curved surface formed by connecting the lower end of the exit 12, and the upper end of 10 A of base end parts.
A valve unit 13 having a drive source and a ball valve element driven by the drive source is mounted on the discharge port 12, and the discharge port 12 can be opened and closed by driving the drive source.

  The input port 14 is formed in the inclined portion 10B, and includes a rising cylinder portion orthogonal to the inclined portion 10B and a vertical cylinder portion connected to the distal end side of the rising tube portion and arranged vertically. Is equipped with a valve unit 15 having a drive source and a ball valve element driven by the drive source, and the input port 14 can be opened and closed by driving the drive source.

  The flow path 16 is formed in the lower part of the container main body 10, and is formed so as to penetrate from the outside to the center of the bottom of the container main body 10. A valve unit 17 having a drive source and a ball valve element driven by this drive source is mounted on the flow passage 16, and the flow passage 16 can be opened and closed by driving the drive source.

  The lift receiving portion 18 is formed of a cylindrical body arranged so as to be in the horizontal direction in an upright state with an interval of 90 ° in the circumferential direction on the outer periphery in the vicinity of the center in the height direction of the container body 10. When transporting, tilting, or reversing, a lift or an arm of a driving device can be inserted.

  The cylindrical wall portion 20 is formed in the container main body 10 and extends from the insertion port 14 toward the bottom in an upright posture, and a charging object inlet 25 corresponding to the charging port 14 is formed at the top. In addition, an input object outlet 26 is opened at the lower part to constitute a cylindrical space through which the object W passes.

  Further, in this embodiment, the cylindrical wall portion 20 extends from the inclined portion 10B of the container body 10 to the middle of the base end portion 10A, and the outer peripheral side wall portion of the cylindrical wall portion 20 is the inner peripheral surface of the container main body 10. Are provided with two side wall portions 21 erected from the inner peripheral surface of the container body 10 from the inclined portion 10 </ b> B, and a main wall portion 22 that connects the two side wall portions 21.

  In addition, the main wall portion 22 has an edge on the inner periphery side of the container body of the loading object outlet 26 in the container body of the loading object inlet 25 in a plan view when the container body 10 is in an upright state. It forms so that it may be located in the outer peripheral side of the container main body 10 rather than a peripheral edge part. That is, the main wall portion 22 of the cylindrical wall portion 20 is formed to be inclined from the inner peripheral side of the container body 10 to the outer peripheral side in the upright state.

  As a result, the object W introduced from the inlet 14 collides with the main wall portion 22 and is decelerated and guided to the guide member 30, and the product container 1 is discharged when the object W is discharged from the outlet 12. When the inclined posture (second posture) is substantially reversed, the object W comes into contact with the main wall portion 22 and moves from the input object outlet 26 to the inner peripheral side of the bottom of the container body. ing.

The guide member 30 is formed so as to cover the throwing object outlet 26 in a plan view in the inverted posture (second posture) when the object W is discharged from the discharge port 12.
In addition, the surface of the guide member 30 on the bottom side of the container body 10 (the lower surface in the upright state) is a gently inclined surface (or curved surface) formed so that the inner peripheral side of the container body is positioned lower in the inverted state. The upper surface (upper surface) is formed so that the edge (the container body inner peripheral side and both sides) is positioned lower in the upright state, and a curved surface whose inclination gradually decreases toward the edge is formed. Yes.

Next, a method for using the product container 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the product container 1 according to an embodiment is used by being installed in a sterilizer 50, for example.
The sterilizer 50 includes, for example, a sterilizer main body 51, an apparatus mount 52, a cleaning water supply path 53, a drainage path 54, an air supply path 55, and a switching valve 56. The product container 1 is connected to the inlet 14 via a pipe 57. The transfer pipe 57 passes the cleaning liquid and air used in the sterilizer 50, the drainage of the cleaning water used in the sterilizer 50, and the sterilized product (object W) between the product container 1 and the sterilizer 50. For distribution in

  The washing water supply path 53, the drainage path 54, and the air supply path 55 are connected to the flow path 16 at the lower part of the product container 1 via a switching valve 56, and supply the washing water and air supplied from the washing water supply path 53. The air supplied from the passage 55 is supplied from the product container 1 to the sterilizer main body 51 via the transfer pipe 57.

In addition, the treated cleaning water or the like discharged from the sterilizer main body 51 is discharged from the sterilizer main body 51 through the discharge port (not shown) to the product container 1 through the transfer pipe 57. The drainage passage 54 can be discharged from the flow passage 16.
Further, the sterilized target object W discharged from the sterilizer main body 51 can be transferred to the product container 1 via the transfer pipe 57.

  Moreover, the sterilizer main body 51 is connected to an overflow discharge path (not shown), and can wash the object W by discharging the treated water overflowed while supplying the wash water.

  The cleaning water supply path 53 is connected to a cleaning water supply source on the upstream side, and supplies cleaning water to the sterilization apparatus main body 51 via the product container 1, and is supplied to the cleaning water supply path 53. The supply of cleaning water can be controlled by opening and closing the valve V53.

  The drainage channel 54 is connected to the flow path 16 of the product container 1 on the upstream side and connected to a drainage facility or the like (not shown) on the downstream side, and drains the product container 1 (if necessary, treated water of the sterilizer main body 51) to the drainage facility. The discharge of drainage and the like can be controlled by opening and closing the drain valve V54 disposed in the drain channel 54.

  The air supply path 55 is connected to an air supply source on the upstream side so as to supply air to the sterilizer main body 51 via the product container 1, and opens and closes an air supply valve V55 disposed in the air supply path 55. Thus, the supply of air can be controlled.

  The switching valve 56 is provided between the cleaning water supply path 53, the drainage path 54, the air supply path 55, and the flow path 16, and the cleaning water supply path 53 and the drainage path are provided in the first flow path of the switching valve 56. 54, the air supply path 55 is connected to the second flow path of the switching valve 56, and the flow path 16 is connected to the third flow path of the switching valve 56.

  As a result, (i) when the first flow path and the third flow path of the switching valve 56 are in a flow state, the water supply valve V53 is opened, and the drain valve V54 is closed, the cleaning water supply path 53 When washing water is supplied to the product container 1 and (ii) the first flow path and the third flow path of the switching valve 56 are in a flow state, the water supply valve V53 is closed, and the drain valve V54 is open. When the waste water or the like is discharged from the product container 1 to the drainage channel 54, and (iii) the second flow path and the third flow path of the switching valve 56 are in the flow state and the air supply valve V55 is in the open state, Air is supplied from the air supply path 55 to the product container 1.

  As described above, for example, by selecting one of (A) and (C), cleaning water or air can be supplied into the sterilizer main body 51 through the product container 1. By intermittently performing (A) and (C), the cleaning liquid in the sterilizer main body 51 is bubbled and cleaned.

Next, the operation of the product container 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the product container 1 when the product container 1 is in the upright state. FIG. 6A is an external view in the upright state, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state performed.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the product container 1 when the product container 1 is in the inverted state. FIG. 7A is an external view in the inverted state, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the state discharged | emitted from an exit.

(1) First, the object W is put into the sterilizer main body 51. After the object W is introduced, the introduction port 14 and the flow passage 16 are opened, and the discharge port 12 is closed.
(2) Next, the water supply valve V53 of the cleaning water supply passage 53 is opened, the drain valve V54 of the drainage passage 54 is closed, and the switching valve 56 is set to flow between the first flow path and the third flow path. The cleaning water is supplied from the cleaning water supply path 53 to the sterilizer main body 51 via the container 1 and the target W is cleaned while overflowing.
(3) Next, the water supply valve V55 of the air supply path 55 is opened, and the switching valve 56 is set to flow between the second flow path and the third flow path. May be bubbled. In addition, you may repeat (2) and (3) intermittently as needed.
(4) Next, when cleaning is completed, the treated water of the sterilizer 50 is drained, the switching valve 56 is placed in the first flow path and the third flow path, the water supply valve V53 is closed, and the drain valve V54. Is opened, and drainage or the like is discharged from the product container 1 to the drainage channel 54. At this time, the first flow path and the third flow path of the switching valve 56 are set in a circulating state, the water supply valve V53 is closed, and the drain valve V54 is opened.
(5) Next, the object W is sterilized by driving a vibration motor or the like while jetting steam from a jet nozzle (not shown), for example. When the sterilization with steam is completed, the drain is discharged out of the sterilizer 50.
(6) Next, for example, a vibration motor or the like is driven to dry the object W.
(7) Next, for example, the sterilizer main body 51 is tilted by an actuator (not shown), and the object W is put into the product container 1 from the sterilizer 50 via the transfer pipe 57. At this time, the valve units 15 and 13 and the valve unit 17 are driven so that the inlet 14 is opened and the outlet 12 and the flow passage 16 are closed.
(8) When the product (the processed object W) has been put into the product container 1 from the sterilizer 50, for example, the product container 1 is transported to a predetermined position (for example, an assembling apparatus) using a lift. As shown in FIG. 7, the product container 1 is rotated to a predetermined inclined state, and the product is discharged from the discharge port 12. At this time, by driving the valve units 13 and 15, the discharge port 12 is opened and the input port 14 is closed.

According to the product container 1 according to the embodiment, the sterilized target object W can be stably input, and the target object W can be smoothly discharged from the discharge port.
As a result, it is possible to reduce the man-hours for handling the components of the sterilized medical supplies. Moreover, it can handle hygienically.

  Further, according to the product container 1, since the cylindrical wall portion is formed from the charging port toward the bottom, the object W charged from the charging port stably moves to the charging object outlet. It is stably discharged from the outlet to the bottom of the container body.

Moreover, according to the sterilizer 50, since wash water and air are supplied from the wash water supply path 53 and the air supply path 55 via the product container 1, handling of the object W by hand is reduced, and efficiency is increased. Can be processed automatically.
Further, since the product container 1 is washed together with the object W and no manual operation is involved in the cleaning, sterilization, and drying operations, the object W is prevented from being contaminated, and the hygiene quality can be improved.

In addition, about the technical matter described in said embodiment, it is possible to add a various change in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the inner peripheral surface of the container main body also serves as the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical wall portion 20 has been described, but the cylindrical wall portion 20 may be configured by a cylindrical member.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the product container 1 is used in the sterilization apparatus 50 that performs cleaning and sterilization processing has been described. However, the product container 1 is set to perform processing selected from cleaning, sterilization, and drying. Alternatively, it can be used in other processing apparatuses.

  In addition, it is possible to arbitrarily set whether cleaning water, air, cleaning water or air is supplied to the processing apparatus via the product container 1, and the cleaning water, air, cleaning water and air are all supplied to the product container. It is good also as a structure supplied to a processing apparatus, without distribute | circulating 1.

  According to the product container of the present invention, the components of the medical supplies that have been processed can be stably fed, and the object can be smoothly discharged from the discharge port, so that it can be used industrially. It is.

W Object 1 Product container 10 Container body,
10B Inclined portion 12 Discharge port 14 Input port 16 Flow passage 20 Cylindrical wall portion 26 Input object outlet 30 Guide member

Claims (2)

A product container in which a component of a medical product as an object is input and the input object can be discharged,
In the first posture when the object is thrown in, the inclined portion that dents upward, the discharge port that is formed at the upper end portion of the inclined portion and opens upward, and the upper portion that is formed in the inclined portion and that is formed upward. A container body having an opening for opening;
A cylindrical wall formed in the container body and a guide member,
The cylindrical wall portion is
From the charging port, the charging object outlet is opened downwardly extending toward the bottom of the container body in the first posture,
The guide member is
In the second posture when discharging the object from the discharge port, the product container is formed so as to cover the input object outlet in a plan view. A product container according to claim 1,
In the first posture, the container main body is formed with a flow passage penetrating into the container main body.

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