Patent Publication Number: US-2022212822-A1

Title: Filling Unit to Fill a Container, in Particular a Cartridge, With a Liquid Product of the Pharmaceutical Industry

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This patent application claims priority from Italian patent application no. 102019000007150 filed on 23 May 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a filling unit to fill a container with a liquid product of the pharmaceutical industry. 
     The present invention finds advantageous application for the filling of a container with a liquid product, for example a medicine, in particular a cartridge (Carpule®, hereinafter simply cartridge), i.e. a tubular container provided with a sliding piston to allow the injection of the liquid product directly from the inside of said container. The same advantageous application is provided with the use of other similar containers, for example “ready-to-use” syringes. 
     PRIOR ART 
     Normally, an empty syringe is used to perform an injection which initially sucks the liquid medicinal product from a vial; however, this procedure exposes the liquid medicinal product to the risk of contamination during the transfer from the vial to the syringe. To solve this problem, the so-called Carpule® was introduced in 1925, i.e. a container provided with a sliding plunger to allow the injection of the liquid medicinal product directly from the inside of the container. In other words, the system is formed by a ready-to-use cylindrical glass container (the so-called Carpule®) and a special metal syringe. The cylindrical-shaped glass container, a glass tube closed on both sides with rubber stoppers, needs only to be inserted in the cartridge slot provided in the syringe: a double-ended injection needle pierces the front rubber stopper and the syringe is ready for use. During the injection, the rear rubber stopper of the cartridge acts as a piston, which is pushed forward by the plunger of the syringe. In this way it is possible to prepare the injection with a simple procedure without the risk of contamination of the sterile solution for injection. Alternatively, “ready-to-use” syringes can be used. 
     A filling unit to fill a container (in particular cartridge or syringe) comprises a conveying system which feeds a plurality of containers organized in an array through a filling station in which initially each container (already provided with a respective sealed cap and arranged “upside down”) receives from the bottom (temporarily oriented upwards) a quantity of liquid product and subsequently receives in the bottom a piston which tightly closes (i.e. seals) the container (i.e. acts as a rear cap). 
     An undesirable problem that occurs with the known filling units is that, following the closure of the containers, the liquid therein contains numerous air bubbles, which can complicate the subsequent use of the liquid. 
     In addition, the operating speed of the filling unit described above is not optimal. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The object of the present invention is to provide a filling unit to fill a container, in particular a cartridge, with a liquid product of the pharmaceutical industry, which filling unit allows to eliminate the air bubbles present in the liquid before closing the container. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide a filling unit having an optimal operating speed with respect to the known art. 
     According to the present invention, a filling unit to fill a container, in particular a cartridge, is provided with a liquid product of the pharmaceutical industry, according to what is claimed in the attached claims. 
     The claims describe embodiments of the present invention forming an integral part of the present description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will now be described with reference to the attached drawings, which illustrate a non-limiting example of embodiment, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a container, in particular a cartridge, for liquid products; 
         FIG. 2  is a side and partially sectioned view of the cartridge of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a filling unit of the cartridge of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , number  1  denotes as a whole a disposable container, specifically a cartridge (Carpule®) of the pharmaceutical industry. In the following, specific reference will be made to this type of container, without the invention losing its generality, as it can be advantageously applied to other containers for liquids of the pharmaceutical industry, for example syringes. 
     The cartridge  1  comprises a tubular body  2  closed at the front by a sealed cap  3  which can be centrally pierced (i.e. can be crossed through with relative ease by a needle) and closed at the rear by a piston  4  which acts as a rear cap and in use is designed to slide along the tubular body  2  to push a liquid product  5  outwards. 
     In  FIG. 3 , number  6  denotes a portion of a filling machine for filling a cartridge  1  of the type illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
     The filling machine  6  comprises a feeding conveyor  7  which is designed to feed a group of cartridges  1  through a filling station S 1  in which a quantity of liquid product  5  is fed inside each cartridge  1 , through a subsequent degasification station S 2 , and finally through a capping station S 3  in which a corresponding piston  4  (which acts as a rear cap) is inserted inside each cartridge  1 . 
     According to a possible embodiment, the feeding conveyor  7  comprises (at least) a transport base  8  having a plurality of pockets  9 , each of which is designed to house a corresponding cartridge  1  arranged “upside down” (i.e. with the bottom, still open facing upwards and with the cap  3  facing downwards); for example, each transport base  8  can have 15-30 pockets  9  oriented to form an array (i.e. on multiple rows and on multiple columns). Furthermore, the feeding conveyor  7  comprises a feeding device  10  which is designed to feed the transport base  8  through the stations S 1 , S 2  and S 3  with a step law of motion (i.e. a law of motion which cyclically alternates stopping and movement steps). 
     A filling unit  11  is arranged at the stations S 1 , S 2  and S 3  which carries out, among other things, the filling (in the filling station S 1 ) and the capping (in the capping station S 3 ) operations. 
     The filling unit  11  comprises a dosing head  12  which is arranged in the filling station S 1  and is designed to feed a quantity of liquid product  5  inside each cartridge  1  which is located in the filling station S 1 . In particular, the dosing head  12  comprises a row of cannulas  13  (only one of which is illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) which are inserted into respective cartridges  1  through the open upper ends of the cartridges  1  and deliver respective quantities of liquid product  5 . Each cannula  13  is vertically movable and receives the liquid product  5  from a calibrated dosing device  14  arranged above the cannula  13 . 
     The filling unit  11  comprises a sucking device  15  which is arranged in the degasification station S 2  (which is located between the filling station S 1  and the capping station S 3 ), is designed to engage the open upper end of each cartridge in a sealing manner, which is located in the degasification station S 2 , and is designed to generate a depression inside each cartridge  1  in an upper volume not occupied by the liquid product  5 . In particular, the sucking device  15  is designed to generate a depression inside each cartridge  1  in an upper volume, which is not occupied by the liquid product  5 , by sucking only and exclusively air, i.e. without sucking any part of the liquid product  5  or any foam which is generated during the feeding of the liquid product  5 ; this result is obtained by causing the sucking device  15  to generate a depression sufficient to suck part of the air but completely insufficient to suck any part of the liquid product  5  or any foam that is generated during the feeding of the liquid product  5 . 
     According to a possible embodiment, the sucking device  15  is designed to generate a depression inside each cartridge  1  ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 Pascals and is designed to maintain the depression for a time ranging from 0.4 to 3 seconds. 
     According to a possible embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the sucking device  15  comprises a plurality of elastic caps  16  (only one of which is illustrated in  FIG. 3 ), each of which is designed to engage the open upper end of a corresponding cartridge  1  in a sealing manner. Each elastic cap  16  is connected by means of a flexible duct to a suction source  17  (typically a vacuum pump) which can be common for all elastic caps  16 . 
     The filling unit  11  comprises a capping device  18  which is arranged in the capping station S 3  and is designed to insert a piston  4  (i.e. a closing element) inside each cartridge  1  which is located in the capping station S 3  and through the open upper end of the cartridge  1 . Generally, the capping device  18  comprises a plurality of pushers  19  (only one of which is illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) which are designed to force the pistons  4  (i.e. the closing elements) inside the corresponding cartridges  1  located in the capping station S 3  and through the open upper ends of the cartridges  1 . Generally, a compression element is coupled to each pusher  19  which has a funnel shape and elastically and radially compresses a corresponding piston  4  to make the piston  4  smaller and thus facilitate the entry of the piston  4  through the open upper end of a cartridge  1 . 
     The filling unit  11  comprises a sucking device  20 , which is arranged in the capping station S 3 , is designed to engage the open upper end of each cartridge  1  in a sealing manner, located in the capping station S 3 , and is designed to generate a depression inside each cartridge  1 , in an upper volume not occupied by the liquid product  5 , and during the insertion of the piston  4  (i.e. the closing element). In other words, simultaneously with the insertion of the piston  4  in a cartridge  1 , the sucking device  20  generates a depression in an upper volume, not occupied by the liquid product  5 . Similar to the sucking device  15 , also the sucking device  20  is designed to generate a depression inside each cartridge  1  in an upper volume not occupied by the liquid product  5 , by sucking only and exclusively air, i.e. without sucking any part of the liquid product  5  or a possible foam that is generated during the feeding of the liquid product  5 ; this result is obtained by causing the sucking device  20  to generate a depression sufficient to suck part of the air but completely insufficient to suck any part of the liquid product  5  or any foam that is generated during the feeding of the liquid product  5 . 
     The sucking device  20  comprises, for each cartridge  1  located in the capping station S 3 , a chamber  21  inside which the depression is generated and along which the piston  4 , pushed by the pushing device  20 , is caused to pass. 
     According to a possible embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the sucking device  20  comprises a plurality of elastic caps  22  (only one of which is illustrated in  FIG. 3 ), each of which is designed to engage the open upper end of a corresponding cartridge  1  in a sealing manner, and forming the terminal part of a chamber  21 . Each chamber  21  (and therefore each elastic cap  22 ) is connected by means of a flexible duct to a suction source  23  (typically a vacuum pump) which can be common for all chambers  21  (and therefore for all the elastic caps  22 ). 
     According to a possible embodiment, the sucking device  20  is designed to generate a depression inside each cartridge  1  ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 Pascals and is designed to maintain the depression for a time ranging from 0.2 to 2 seconds. 
     According to a preferred embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 3 , a resting station S 4  is arranged between the degasification station S 2  and the capping station S 3 , in which the end of each cartridge  1  is free and in communication with the external environment. 
     According to an alternative not illustrated, the filling unit  11  comprises a further sucking device, located at the filling station S 1 , designed to generate a depression inside each cartridge  1  during filling, even if this depression is (in absolute value), lower than that performed in the degasification station S 2  and in the capping station S 3  (i.e. weaker). 
     The embodiments described herein can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The filling unit  11  described above has numerous advantages. 
     Firstly, the filling unit  11  described above allows to obtain closed, liquid filled containers, in which no air bubbles inside the liquid are present. 
     Secondly, the filling unit  11  described above allows to speed up the delivery of the liquid product  5  into the filling station  1  (therefore, allowing an increased operating speed) without penalizing the final quality of the cartridges  1  since any excess air trapped in the liquid inside the cartridges  1  is efficiently and effectively evacuated by the action of the two sucking devices  15  and  20 . 
     In addition, the filling unit  11  described above is simple and inexpensive to implement, since compared to a similar known filling unit requires the addition of a few elements (the two sucking devices  15  and  20 ) formed by commercial components.