Abstract:
A method of printing onto closed vial units. The vial units are formed in a series and the vial units have a drug therein. The method involves providing the series of vial units onto a conveyor belt; positioning the vial units adjacent cleats on the conveyor belt; engaging a first offset inking transfer device on a fist side of said vial units; engaging a first back-up roller against said vial units, said first back-up roller being placed opposite said first offset inking transfer device; capturing the vial units between said first back-up roller and said first offset inking transfer device; printing onto the vial units with said first offset inking transfer device; and curing the ink with a first ultra violet dryer.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/895,987, filed Aug. 27, 2007. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an apparatus and method for imprinting a vial. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, this invention relates to an offset printing system and method for printing onto a vial. 
     A method of producing a series of interconnected vials was disclosed in my patent application bearing Ser. No. 11/639,640, filed on 15 Dec. 2006 which is a continuation application of U.S. Pat. No. 7,168,366, issued 30 Jan. 2007, which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     Users of the vials will require information of the type of material contained within the container. In the situations wherein the vials contain medicine, certain information such as type of medicine, dosage amount, manufacturer, expiration date, etc. is very important. Additionally, the number of vials filled and the lot from which material originated is also very important. Prior art techniques include printing onto a label, and then placing the label onto the vial. However, this is undesirable for several reasons. First, the placement of the labels onto the vials is a highly inefficient and time consuming process. Additionally, the type of ink and/or glue used must not be toxic or environmentally unsafe since the ink and/or glue has a possibility of contaminating the material contained within the vial, or alternatively, the ink making the outer portion of the vial unsanitary. 
     Hence, there is a need for an apparatus to imprint onto a container. There is a further need to imprint onto a series of interconnected vials. There is also a need for printing onto both sides of a vial unit. There is also a need for printing onto a container filled with a substance such as a pharmaceutical drug. Still further, there is a need to imprint a label that is safe to the user and the environment. There is also a need to print onto a plastic article that is irregular in size and shape. These and many other needs will be met by the following invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An apparatus for printing onto closed vial units is disclosed. In the preferred embodiment, the vial units are formed in a series and the vial units have an inner portion filled with a drug, with the vial units having an open end and a closed end. The apparatus comprises a conveyor belt for moving the vial units, with the conveyor belt having spaced cleats, and the vial units having a first side and a second side, and wherein the second side is placed on the conveyor belt in a horizontal orientation. 
     The apparatus further comprises a first offset inking transfer device for printing a first ink pattern onto the vials, with the first side offset inking transfer device configured to print to the first side, and a first back-up roller configured opposite the first offset inking transfer device, with the first back-up roller being a cylindrical member that contains an indented profile placed about the cylindrical member and wherein the indented profile is reciprocal to the outer contour of the vial units. The apparatus further includes a first ultra violet dryer positioned to receive the vials from the first offset inking transfer device and provide for drying of the ink pattern from the first offset inking transfer device. 
     The apparatus may further comprise means for flipping the vial units on the conveyor belt from laying on the second side to laying on the first side, a second offset inking transfer device for printing a second ink pattern onto the vials, with the second offset inking transfer device configured to print to the second side, and a second back-up roller configured opposite the second offset inking transfer device, with the second back-up roller being a cylindrical member and wherein the second back-up roller contains an indented profile placed about the cylindrical member and wherein the indented profile is reciprocal to the outer contour of the vial units. The apparatus may further include a second ultra violet dryer positioned to receive the vials and provide for drying of the ink pattern from the second offset ink transfer device. In one embodiment, the first and second back-up rollers are rotatably mounted so that the roller rotates in phase with the advancement of the vial units. Also in one preferred embodiment, the vial unit contains a tip portion and a body portion, and wherein said indented portion contains a receptacle tip portion and a receptacle body portion. 
     The apparatus may further comprise a vial remover comprising a second conveyor belt to dispense the vial units and a brush configured to orient and position the vial units adjacent the cleats. In the most preferred embodiment, the apparatus also contains a hopper for feeding vial units onto a track; and, a photo-eye device, positioned downstream of the hopper, for determining whether the vials are positioned adjacent the cleats and transmitting a signal to a control means if the vial units are improperly positioned on the track. The apparatus may further include a laser engraver, positioned downstream of the first ultra violet dryer, in order to engrave an alpha numeric number onto the vials and a plasma treater means, positioned upstream of the first offset inking transfer device, for surface treating the vials in preparation of printing the ink pattern on the vial units. 
     In another preferred embodiment, an apparatus for imprinting closed vial units is disclosed. In this embodiment, the vial units are formed in a series, with the vial units having an inner portion filled with a drug. The apparatus comprises a hopper for holding the vial units and delivering the vial units to a conveyor belt, and a conveyor belt for moving the vial units. The apparatus further comprises a first offset inking transfer device for printing a first ink pattern onto the vial units, with the first offset inking transfer device configured to print to the first side, a first back-up roller configured opposite the first offset inking transfer device, with the first back-up roller being a cylindrical member and wherein the first back-up roller contains an indented profile placed about the cylindrical member reciprocal to the vial units, and a first ultra violet dryer positioned to receive the vials from the first offset inking transfer device and provide for curing of the ink pattern from the first offset inking transfer device. The apparatus may also include means for flipping the vial units on the conveyor from laying on the second side to the first side and a brush configured to orient the vial units adjacent the notches/cleats. 
     A method of imprinting a series of vial units is also disclosed. The method comprises providing the series of vial units onto a conveyor belt, positioning the vial units adjacent cleats on the conveyor belt, engaging a first offset inking transfer device on a first side of the vial units, and engaging a first back-up roller against the vial units, with the back-up roller being placed opposite the first offset inking transfer device. The method further includes capturing the vial units between the first back-up roller and the first offset inking transfer device, printing onto the vial units with a first offset inking transfer device, and curing the ink with a first ultra violet dryer. The method may further comprise flipping the vial units on the conveyor belt, engaging a second back-up roller against the vial units, with the second back-up roller being placed opposite a second offset inking transfer device, and capturing the vial units between the second back-up roller and the second offset inking transfer device. The method further includes printing onto the vials with a second offset inking transfer device, curing the ink with a second ultra violet dryer, and removing the vials down stream of the second ultra violet dryer so that the vial units are removed from the mandrel. In one preferred embodiment, the first back-up roller comprises an indented profile configured to engage with the vial units, and the step of capturing the vial units includes engaging an outer contour of the vial units with the indented profile of the first back-up roller. The method may also the step of engraving the vial units with an alphanumeric code. 
     Also disclosed is a method of imprinting a series of plastic containers. This method comprises providing the containers onto a track, and wherein the containers are placed on a first side and a second side of the container is positioned on the track. The method includes advancing a first offset inking transfer device against the first side of the containers, advancing a back-up roller against the second side of the containers, capturing the containers on indented profiles formed on an outer cylindrical surface of the back-up roller, printing onto the first side of the containers with a first offset inking transfer device, and curing the ink with a first ultra violet dryer. The method further comprises flipping the containers so that the first side is positioned on the track, advancing a second offset inking transfer device against the second side of the container, and advancing a second back-up roller against the first side of the container. The method further includes capturing the containers on the indented profiles formed on an outer cylindrical surface of the second back-up roller, printing onto the second side of the containers with the second offset inking transfer device, and curing the ink with a second ultra violet dryer. In one embodiment, the indented profiles of the first and second back-up roller includes a tip indentation and a body indentation and the step of capturing the containers includes capturing a tip portion of the container into the tip indentation and capturing a body portion of the container into the body indentation. 
     An advantage of the present invention includes use of an offset inking transfer device which is a fast and efficient technique for printing onto plastic vials. Another advantage is that the process herein described allows for mass labeling production i.e. quickly imprinting text and numeric information in significant production quantities. Another advantage is the apparatus and method can be used as a means for printing identifying information onto a container, without the use of prior art paper labels and/or glue. 
     Yet another advantage is that the imprinted vials are treated with an ultra violet dryer so that toxins are eliminated from the surface of the vials as well as to the internal portion of the vial. This is possible according to the present invention since the ink is cured and solidified before any ink can permeate through the walls and into the inner portion of the vial. Another advantage is that the imprinted vials can be used for medical purposes, and to get to the drug, the user can twist the top of the vial and open the vial. This can all be done since the ink of the printed material has been properly cured. Another advantage is that the ultra violet dryers make the ink impermeable in the plastic which is an important health and safety issue. 
     A feature of the present invention is that both sides of the vial are printed. Another feature is that printing can occur with a closed vial filled with a material. A feature of the invention is that a conveyor means is used to transport the vials for printing and treating. Another feature is the specially designed back-up rollers. Still another feature is the design of the back-up roller in conjunction with the printheads that captures the vial units for printing. Another feature is that the physical dimensions of the back-up rollers, which includes the size, shape and spacing of the vial units, can be easily changed in order to accommodate various size vials without having to retool the entire assembly line and components. 
     Yet another feature is the ultra violet light that cures the ink after printing. Another feature is the laser engraver that engraves the vials with various pertinent information. Still yet another feature is that in the preferred embodiment, multiple printing stations are provided. Still yet another feature is the use of multiple photo-eye sensors confirms the proper printing of the vials, and aids and synchronizes the process. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a front view of the preferred embodiment of the vial unit of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1B  is a side view of the vial unit seen in  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 1C  is a top view of the vial unit seen in  FIG. 1B . 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are perspective views of the most preferred embodiment of the printing system herein disclosed. 
         FIGS. 3A and 3B  are top views of the printing system illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B . 
         FIG. 4A  is a side view of the vial unit loading mechanism shown encircled as  4 A in  FIG. 2A . 
         FIG. 4B  is a top view of the vial unit loading mechanism illustrated in  FIG. 4A  and which is also encircled as  4 B in  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 5A  is an isometric view of the most preferred embodiment of the roller mechanism. 
         FIG. 5B  is a side view of the roller mechanism seen in  FIG. 5A . 
         FIG. 6A  is a side view of the most preferred embodiment of the ejector mechanism shown encircled as  6 A in  FIG. 2B . 
         FIG. 6B  is a top view of the ejector mechanism seen in  FIG. 6A  and which is also shown encircled as  6 B in  FIG. 3B . 
         FIG. 7  is an isometric view of the camera system of the most preferred embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1A , a front view of the preferred embodiment of the vial unit  202  of the present invention will now be described. The vial unit  202  contains five (5) individual vials that are interconnected, and wherein the vial unit  202  is molded as well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. The process for producing the vial unit  202  includes producing the vial unit via blow molding, filling the individual vials with a product, and then closing and sealing the tops to obtain the vial unit  202 . As shown in the most preferred embodiment, the individual vials of the vial unit  202  are closed containers. The five vials are interconnected, as seen in  FIG. 1A . The individual vials, for instance vials  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 ,  214 , have a body portion that is generally cylindrical (see numeral  216 ). The body portion  216  has an inner portion, and wherein the inner portion is capable of holding liquids and/or solids, and wherein liquids and/or solids can be a drug  218 . The body portion  216  leads to a tip portion  220 , and wherein the tip portion  220  can be twisted so that the vial is opened and the user can obtain the contains of the vial.  FIG. 1  also illustrates the flashing  222 . The outer portion of the vial unit  202  may also be referred to as the outer contour. 
       FIG. 1B  is a side view of the vial unit  202  seen in  FIG. 1A , wherein the body  216  is shown as well as the tip  220 . It should be noted that like numbers appearing in the various figures refer to like components.  FIG. 1C  is a top view of the vial unit  202  seen in  FIG. 1B . This view also depicts the inner portion of the vials, for instance, inner portion  224 . In use, the user detaches individual vials from the vial unit  202 , twist the tip to open, and retrieves the contents of the vial. As used herein, a vial unit refers to five (5) interconnected vials (i.e.  202  in  FIG. 1A ) and the term vial units simply refers to more than one vial unit  202 . 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 2A and 2B , a perspective view of the most preferred embodiment of the printing system  226  will now be described. The printing system  226  includes a feed of the vial units from a form filled seal room to a part elevator  228 , and wherein the part elevator  228  lifts and delivers the vial units to a bowl feeder  230 . The bowl feeder  230  is commercially available from Service Engineering Inc. The bowl feeder  230  delivers the vial units to a loading means  232  for loading the vial units onto the conveyor belt  234 . The conveyor belt  234  will have a series of spaced notches (sometimes referred to as cleats), for instance notch  235   a , and wherein the vial units will be placed adjacent the notch so that the notch will engage the vial unit so that the vial unit advances with the conveyor belt. In one preferred embodiment, the loader  232  contains a timing gate means for placement of the vial units onto the conveyor belt, a photo eye means for detecting the proper placement of the vial unit and an alignment brush means for orienting the vial unit on the conveyor belt. The loader  232  will be described in greater detail in  FIGS. 4A and 4B . Returning again to  FIG. 2A , once the vial unit has been placed onto the conveyor belt  234 , the vial unit will be exposed to a plasma treater means  236  for conditioning the outer surface of the vial unit for printing, and wherein the plasma treater means  236  is commercially available. 
     The conveyor belt  234  will then deliver the vial units to the first offset inking transfer device (also referred to as the first coat printheads, or just printheads)  238 . A back-up roller  240  configured opposite the printhead  238  is also provided. The back-up roller  240  has a generally outer cylindrical surface, and wherein the cylindrical surface will have an indented profile for capturing the vial unit, as will be explained in greater detail with reference to  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Returning to  FIG. 2A , the back-up roller  240  will engage the vial unit relative to the printhead  238  so that the vial unit is captured in place for printing to the top side of the vial unit. After printing at the first printhead  238 , the conveyor belt  234  moves the vial unit along to the ultra violet dryer  242 , wherein the ultra violet dryer  242  is positioned to receive the vial unit and provide for drying of the ink pattern from the first printhead  238 . The ultra violet dryer  242  is commercially available from Aetek UV Systems Inc. The print system  226  also includes a photo-eye device  243   a , positioned downstream of the printheads  238  for determining whether the vial units are positioned adjacent the cleats and transmitting a signal to a control means  243   b  for controlling the printing process if the vial units are improperly positioned on the conveyor belt  234 . 
     Next, the conveyor belt  234  moves the vial unit to a servo flipper means  244  for flipping the vial unit from its second side to a first side. In other words, the servo flipper means  244  turns the vial unit over relative to the conveyor belt  234 . The flipper means  244  comprises a bar that engages the vial unit causing the vial unit to flip. The conveyor belt  234  then moves the vial unit to the second plasma treater means  246  (wherein the second plasma treater is similar to first plasma treater means  236 ). The conveyor belt  234  continues to move the vial unit to the second offset inking transfer device (sometimes referred to as the second printhead)  248  for printing onto the vial units, and in particular, for printing onto the second side of the vial units. A second back-up roller  250  is provided, and wherein the roller  250  is configured opposite the second printhead  248 , with the roller  250  having a generally cylindrical outer surface having an indented profile for capturing the vial unit. The roller  250  is seen in greater detail in  FIGS. 5A and 5B . Returning to  FIG. 2B , the conveyor belt  234  will then move the vial unit to the ultra violet dryer  252  for drying the ink pattern from the second printhead. 
     The printing system  226  also includes the laser engraver  254 , wherein the laser engraver  254  is commercially available from Laser Link Corp. under the name Smart Lase 130X. The print system  226  also includes a photo-eye device  243   c , positioned downstream of the printheads  248  for determining whether the vial units are positioned adjacent the notches and transmitting a signal to the control means  243   b  for controlling the printing process if the vial units are improperly positioned on the conveyor belt  234 . The photo-eye device  243   c  can also determine whether the proper images and data have been printed onto the unit vials. The conveyor belt  234  then delivers the vial unit to the ejector means  256  for ejecting the vial units from the conveyor  234  to a second conveyor system  258 . As can be seen in  FIG. 2B , the conveyor  234  loops around (see generally  260 ) so that the conveyor belt  234  can continue the cycle of printing to the vial units. The vial units containing the printing will be delivered to another station, for instance, to a packaging station. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 3A and 3B , top views of the printing system illustrated in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  will now be described. It should be noted that like numbers appearing in the various figures refer to like components. Hence, the vial units are delivered to the bowl feeder  230  from the part elevator  228 . The bowl feeder  230  places the vial unit onto the conveyor belt  234  and wherein the vial unit is led to the plasma treater  236 , then the first side of the vial unit is printed with the printheads  238 . After printing, the vial units, and in particular the ink, are exposed to the ultra violet dryer  242 . The photo-eye  243   a  checks the position as well as the alphanumeric printed label for any errors. The vial unit is then flipped via the servo flipper means  244  so that the printed side is now face down on the conveyor belt  234  and the un-printed side is face up. The vial unit will then pass through the plasma treater  246  and in turn through the second printheads  248  for printing to the vial units (in this way, both sides of the vials are printed). Next, the ink will be cured as the vial unit is passed through the ultra violet dryer  252 . The laser engraver  254  engraves an alphanumeric code and the photo-eye device  243   c  checks for any printing errors as well as proper positioning of the vial unit. As noted earlier, the vial units will then be ejected via the ejector means  256  (not seen in this view). 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4A , a side view of the vial unit loading means  232  of the most preferred embodiment. In this most preferred embodiment, the bowl feeder  230  (not seen in this view) will deliver to the loading means  232  the individual vial units on the bowl feeder conveyor  262 . In other words, the bowl feeder  230  will align the vial units onto the bowl feeder conveyor  262 . The vial units on the conveyor  262  will abut the loading means  232 . More specifically, the loading means  232  comprises a timing gate  264  that lifts and lowers and wherein the lifting and lowering allows an individual vial unit to be placed onto the conveyor belt  234  i.e. one vial unit at a time is placed onto conveyor  234 . The loading means  232  also contains a photo-eye means  266  for synchronizing the opening and closing of the timing gate  264  based on the position of the individual vial unit, and wherein the photo-eye means  266  is commercially available from Keyence Corp. The photo-eye means  266  creates a light beam that in turn generates a signal that will be processed by the control means. As seen in  FIG. 4A , the loading means  232  also contains the alignment brush  268 , and wherein the bristles of the alignment brush  268  contact the vial unit causing the vial unit to properly abut the notches (cleats). For example, the vial unit  202  has a proximate end contacting the alignment brush  268  and the distal end contacting the cleat  235   a.    
       FIG. 4B  is a top view of the vial unit loading means  232  illustrated in  FIG. 4A . In this view, the conveyor  262  has positioned thereon a vial unit  270  being held-up by the timing gate  264 . Also seen is the vial unit  202  that is positioned on the conveyor belt  234 , and wherein the vial unit  202  is being pushed-up against the cleat  235   a  via the alignment brush  268  as previously mentioned. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5A , an isometric view of the most preferred embodiment of the first back-up roller means  240  will now be described. It should be noted that the first back-up roller means  240  and the second back-up roller means  250  are essentially identically and therefore only roller  240  will be described. As noted earlier, the first back-up roller means  240  has a generally cylindrical outer surface  272 , wherein the outer surface  272  contains an indented profile  274  that is reciprocal to the actual profile of the vial unit. In other words, the indented profile  274  is reciprocal to the outer contour of the vial unit. As can be seen from  FIG. 5A , the roller  240  contains five (5) indented rows which correspond to the five (5) vials contained in an individual vial unit. The five (5) rows include rows  276   a ,  276   b ,  276   c ,  276   d ,  276   e .  FIG. 5B  is a side view of the roller mechanism  240  seen in  FIG. 5A .  FIG. 5B  depicts the rows  276   a ,  276   b ,  276   c ,  276   d ,  276   e.    
       FIG. 6A  is a side view of the most preferred embodiment of the ejector means  256 . In this preferred embodiment, the ejector means  256  includes a first ejector conveyor  280  and a second ejector conveyor  282 , and wherein the vial unit  202  is conveyed via the cleat  235   a  until the vial unit  202  will fall (i.e. drop-off) from the conveyor belt  234 . The vial unit  202  will land on the first ejector conveyor  280  which in turn will direct the vial unit  202  to the second ejector conveyor  282 , and then onto the second conveyor system  258 .  FIG. 6B  is a top view of the ejector means  256  seen in  FIG. 6A , and wherein  FIG. 6B  depicts the vial unit  202  on conveyor belt  234 . The second ejector conveyor  282  is shown in this view as well as the second conveyor system  258 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an isometric view of the camera system of the most preferred embodiment will now be described. More specifically,  FIG. 7  depicts the previously describe photo-eye device  243   a , and wherein the camera  284  is positioned over the conveyor belt  234 . The photo-eye device  243   a  will take digital pictures of the unit vials, and using processing means, compare the picture to a predetermined image to ensure that image on the unit vials was printed correctly. As seen in  FIG. 7 , the camera  284  is electrically connected to the control means  243   b  so that the digital images can be processed and analyzed. The camera  284  can also be used to help ensure proper positioning of the vial units on the conveyor  234 . 
     Although this disclosure has been described and illustrated certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to these particular embodiments. Rather, the invention includes all embodiments, which are functional, electrical or mechanical embodiments of the specific embodiments and features that have been described and illustrated herein.