Abstract:
An evacuation and closure device in linear construction can be docked to a conveyor device for bottles. A closure stopper supply device is used to supply closure stoppers for the bottles. The device provides a combined closure stopper and evacuation unit for each bottle. The closure stopper and evacuation units are combined into a closure stopper and evacuation module. The closure stopper and evacuation module is fastened to one of three carriers that can be moved in three movement axes (X, Y, Z) in relation to one another. The movement is carried out by means of freely programmable drive mechanisms. Because of its construction, the evacuation and closure device according to the invention can be simply and flexibly adapted to various types of filling machines.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to an evacuation and closure device in linear construction. Devices of this kind are used in the pharmaceutical industry for small containers, e.g. vials, injection bottles, or infusion bottles. The known devices, embodied as so-called rotary machines as well as those embodied in linear construction, are disposed above a conveyor section for the small containers and, due to the predetermined number of spaces and the fact that its course of motion is always the same, is bound to a rigid, inflexible machine concept. Furthermore, in the known devices, for the cleaning or sterilizing of the apparatus by means of a sterilizing apparatus, for example when there is a new product charge or at the beginning of a new work shift, in order for the cleaning or sterilizing apparatus to be used in the known devices, interventions or modifications are required. Furthermore, as rotary machines and in linear construction, the known apparatuses are custom adapted to the preceding filling machines, i.e. only with great expense can the known apparatuses be used for other filling machines, which operate continuously, for example, instead of cyclically. 
     OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The evacuation and closure device in linear construction according to the invention has the advantage over the prior art that the cleaning and sterilization can take place without additional manual interventions or modifications and that the device can at the same time be simply adapted to a wide variety of filling machines. This object is attained according to the invention by virtue of the fact that a number of evacuation and closure units are combined into a module and that the module can move in three movement axes that are perpendicular to one another. As a result, on the one hand, a virtually arbitrarily large number of required evacuation and closure units can be combined in accordance with the output of a filling machine and due to the mobility of the module, can be used in both continuously operating and cyclically operating filling machines. Because of the mobility, it is simultaneously possible to move the module out of the region of a conveyor section for the small containers so that at the conveying device that transports the small containers, no interventions or modifications are required for the cleaning or sterilizing since the module can be supplied as a whole to a separately disposed cleaning or sterilizing device. In addition, the integration of the closure and evacuation function into one evacuation and closure unit makes a particularly compact construction possible. 
     Advantageous improvements and updates of the evacuation and closure device in linear construction according to the invention arise from the disclosure set forth hereinafter. 
     The invention will be better understood and further objects and advantages thereof will become more apparent from the ensuing detailed description of preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an evacuation and closure device in linear construction in a partially sectional representation, 
     FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a part of the device according to FIG. 1 during the sterilization process, 
     FIG. 3 shows a cross section through a part of the device according to FIG. 2, 
     FIG. 4 shows a cross section of an evacuation and closure device during receiving a stopper, 
     FIG. 5 shows the evacuation and closure module according to FIG. 4 during the evacuation of a small container, and 
     FIG. 6 shows the evacuation and closure module according to FIG. 4 while a closure is being pressed into a small container. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The evacuation and closure device shown in FIG. 1, referred to below as the device  10 , is used to evacuate and if need be, to gas a small container that is filled with pharmaceuticals to begin with, such as a vial, bottle  1 , or the like, and to close the bottle  1  with a closure stopper  2  comprised of rubber, for example. To that end, the device  10  can be docked to a frame  11  of a filling machine, not shown in detail, i.e. for the frame  11 , no particular arrangements or modifications are required with regard to the device  10 . The device  10  adjoins the filling region  12  of the filling machine along a conveyor section that is embodied as straight, upon which the bottles  1  are continuously or cyclically conveyed by means of a conveyor device  13 , for example a conveyor belt with lateral guides and catches  14  for maintaining a definite dividing space between the bottles  1 . 
     A closure stopper supply device  15  is disposed on the opposite side of the conveyor device  13  from the device  10 . The closure stopper supply device  15  has an intrinsically known conveying and sorting cup  16  for the closure stoppers  2 , which sorts the closure stoppers  2  into a closure stopper belt  17 . The closure stopper belt  17 , which is supported on two horizontally disposed rotating axles  18 ,  19  and is continuously or cyclically driven, has a carrier belt  20  wound around the rotating axles  18 ,  19  and a closure stopper receptacle  21  for each closure stopper  2  is attached to this carrier belt (FIG.  4 ). The closure stopper belt  17  is arranged in such a way that the closure stoppers  2  are transported parallel to and in the same feed direction as the bottles  1  along a straight conveyor section  22  which extends at the level of the bottle mouths. 
     The device  10 , which essentially has a box-shaped machine frame  24 , has an evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  that can move along three movement axes X, Y, Z disposed perpendicular to one another. To realize the movement of the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25 , a first carrier rail  28  is fastened to the top side  26  of the machine frame  24 , extending parallel to and beneath the conveyor section  22 , and a second carrier rail  29  is supported so that it is disposed perpendicularly on the side oriented toward the first conveyor device  13 . The second carrier rail  29 , which protrudes partially through a recess embodied in the top side  26  of the machine frame  24 , can be moved along the first carrier rail  28  in the direction of the movement axis X and at the same time, can be moved vertically along the movement axis Z. A third carrier rail  30  is disposed at the head region of the second carrier rail  29 , and can be moved along the movement axis Y. The evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  is in turn fastened to the end of the third carrier rail  30  oriented toward the conveyor device  13 . 
     The movements of the three carrier rails  28 ,  29 ,  30  are carried out by means of three drive mechanisms, not shown, which are independent of each other and are controlled by the control unit of the device  10  in such a way that arbitrary movements of the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  with regard to the movement axes X, Y, Z can be permitted. The three carrier rails  28 ,  29 ,  30  consequently have the function of three freely programmable linear axes. Furthermore, a protective cap  31  is fastened to the machine frame  24  and covers the three carrier rails  28 ,  29 ,  30 , wherein an opening is embodied on the end face of the protective cap  31  oriented toward the conveyor device  13  and the third carrier rail  30  protrudes through this opening. 
     A strip-shaped sterilization plate  32  for cleaning or sterilizing the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  is disposed on the top side  26  of the machine frame  24 , inside the protective cap  31 . At the same time, recesses  33  for evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  are provided on the top side of the end plate  32 . A discharge for a cleaning agent is embodied on a side face of the washing plate  32  and is connected to a discharge line  36 . The function of the washing plate  32  will be discussed in further detail at a later time below. 
     The evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  has a carrier plate  40  to which the identical evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  can be fastened, in the exemplary embodiment, there are twelve evacuation and stopper insertion units  35 . The evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  are arranged or spaced apart from one another in such a way that they can be disposed coinciding with the bottles  1  being conveyed in the conveyor device  13 . The number of evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  is a function of the output of the filling machine and the desired residual oxygen content in the bottles  1 , which should be 0.5%, for example. Each evacuation and stopper insertion unit  35  has a sleeve-shaped housing  37  with a receiving opening  38  oriented toward the bottle  1 . On the inside of the housing  37 , a rotating, pneumatically driven bottleneck seal  39  is disposed in the region of the receiving opening  38  that acts as a vacuum chamber and this seal is connected to an overpressure source that is not shown via a line  41 . Furthermore, a vacuum plunger  42  that moves up and down is guided in the housing  37  and has a centrally embodied longitudinal bore for the purpose of receiving and holding a closure stopper  2  and this longitudinal bore is connected via a first vacuum line  43  to a controllable vacuum source that is not shown. For controlling the vacuum that prevails in the housing  37  when the bottle  1  is being evacuated, a pressure absorbing connection  44  is embodied in the wall of the housing  37  and a pressure absorber  45  that is disposed laterally on the housing  37  is inserted into this connection. The pressure absorber  45  is connected to the control unit of the device  10 . To generate the vacuum measured by the pressure absorber  45 , a vacuum connection  46  is also embodied in the wall of the housing  37  and is connected to the vacuum source via a membrane valve  47  and another vacuum line  48 . Furthermore, the membrane valve  47  is fed by a supply line  49  for the control air, which is for opening or closing the membrane valve  47 . The evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  mounted on the carrier plate  40  are encompassed by a common casing  50 . 
     It is furthermore emphasized that an additional connection for the supply of a protective gas can be provided in the wall of the housing  37  so that the gassing of the head region of the bottle  1  is made possible by means of intrinsically known devices. 
     The above described device  10  functions as follows: The closure stoppers  2  are sorted from the conveying and sorting cup  16  into the closure stopper receptacles  21  of the cyclically or continuously revolving closure stopper belt  17 . For the removal of the closure stoppers  2  from the closure stopper receptacles  21  by means of the evacuation and stopper insertion units  35 , the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  is brought above the conveyor section  22 , to coincide with the closure stoppers  2 . Then the evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  are lowered to just above the closure stopper receptacles  21  and the vacuum plungers  42 , for example actuated pneumatically, are moved out of the housings  37  until they are operatively connected to the closure stoppers  2 . Then, the vacuum in the vacuum plungers  42  is switched on and through the returning or lifting of the vacuum plungers  42  (FIG.  4 ), the closure stoppers  2  are inserted into the receiving openings  38  that function as vacuum chambers. In the course of this, the suction force between the vacuum plungers  42  and the closure stoppers  2  is used to hold the closure stoppers  2  mechanically fixed in the upper position. 
     It is essential that the movements of the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  are adapted to the movements or the conveying speed of the closure stoppers  2  in the closure stopper belt  17 . This adaptation is carried out by means of the control unit of the device  10 , which correspondingly controls the drive mechanisms of the carrier rails  28 ,  29 ,  30 . 
     After this, by means of the above-mentioned drive mechanisms for the carrier rails  28 ,  29 ,  30 , the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  is brought above the bottles  1  that are cyclically or continuously conveyed, and is lowered onto them until the neck regions of the bottles  1  have dipped into the receiving openings  38  of the evacuation and stopper insertion units  35 . Here too, the synchronization of the movements of the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  with the conveying of the bottles  1  is in turn carried out by means of the three drive mechanisms for the carrier rails  28 ,  29 ,  30 , which drive mechanisms can be independently controlled by the control unit of the device  10 . After the neck regions of the bottles  1  have dipped into the receiving openings  38 , the bottleneck seals  39  are activated by means of overpressure so that evacuation chambers that are sealed in relation to the outside are embodied in the housings  37  above the neck regions of the bottles  1 . To evacuate the head regions of the bottles  1  above their fill level, then the air is sucked out of the housings  37  above the bottles  1  by means of the membrane valve  47  via the vacuum line  48 , and then if need be, protective gas is introduced into the head regions of the bottles  1  via an additional protective gas supply device that is not shown in the drawing. 
     The evacuation of the bottles  1  can take place in a number of pressure stages, wherein the respectively attained vacuum is detected by means of the pressure absorber  45  and is supplied as an input value to the control unit of the device  10 . If a particular required vacuum is not achieved, for example due to a leak in a bottleneck seal  39 , then the bottle  1  in which this occurs can subsequently be discharged by means of a rejecting device, not shown. 
     As soon as the evacuation and if need be the gassing with the protective gas has been completed in the evacuation and stopper insertion units  35 , the vacuum plungers  42  are slid in the direction of the bottle heads, wherein they press the closure stoppers  2  into the bottles  1 . In the course of this, the conveyor device  13  on which the bottles  1  are disposed constitutes a buttress for the vacuum plungers  42 . When the closing of the bottles  1  by means of the closure stoppers  2  is finished as well, the bottleneck seals  39  are deactivated so that the bottles  1  are released in the receiving openings  38 , whereupon the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  is then moved upward out of the region of the first conveyor device  13  (FIG.  6 ). For the evacuation and closure of the subsequent bottles  1  delivered on the conveyor device  13 , the procedures are repeated as described above. 
     If a cleaning or sterilizing of the evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  is required, the evacuation and stopper insertion module  25  is moved in coincidence with the sterilization plate  32 . This is carried out by means of the control unit of the device  10 , which correspondingly controls the drive mechanisms of the carrier rails  28 ,  29 ,  30 . As soon as the evacuation and stopper insertion units  35  are lowered in a sealed fashion onto the washing plate  32  and are secured by means of locking devices, not shown, the membrane valves  47  introduce the cleaning or sterilizing agent into the housing  37 , which in particular cleans or sterilizes the freed bottleneck seals  39  and vacuum plungers  42 . The cleaning or sterilizing agent can be drained via the drain line  36 . 
     It is additionally mentioned that a transmitter is advantageously disposed on the conveyor section of the conveyor device  13  and when a bottle  1  is not present between two catches  14  of the conveyor device  13 , this transmitter sends a corresponding signal to the control unit of the device  10 . This results in the fact that the evacuation and stopper insertion unit  35  that would be associated with the bottle  1  if it were present is not triggered and that also as a result, a closure stopper  2  is not removed from the conveyor belt  17 . 
     The foregoing relates to preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention, it being understood that other variants and embodiments thereof are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention, the latter being defined by the appended claims.