Patent ID: 12246506

The drawing figures do not limit the present invention to the specific embodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description of the invention references the accompanying drawings that illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention can be practiced. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of the invention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In this description, references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to are included in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separate references to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “embodiments” in this description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and are also not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. For example, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment may also be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included. Thus, the current technology can include a variety of combinations and/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

Turning to the drawing figures, a material transfer system200and ram liner100(best seen inFIGS.4-7) constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The material transfer system200transfers a viscous material from a large container into smaller containers and broadly comprises a ram202and a plurality of syringes204A-D.

The ram202may include a ram plate206, an actuator208, a plurality of valves210A-D, and a plurality of plugs212A-E. The ram202may be configured to accommodate various syringes or combinations of syringes. The ram202is depicted herein as being set up for the plurality of syringes204A-D.

The ram plate206may include a ram surface214, a circumferential surface216, and a plurality of apertures218A-J. The ram plate206is configured to be pressed into an open-topped container300to compress a material302in the open-topped container300. To that end, the ram plate206may have an outer shape similar to the shape of the open-topped container300. In most cases, the ram plate206is circular. However, the ram plate206may have any suitable shape to match the shape of a container may be used.

The ram surface214normally would contact the material302directly but—for the presence of the ram liner100. Regardless, the ram surface214may be shaped to urge the material302through certain ones of the plurality of apertures218A-J. To that end, the ram surface214may be convex. This convex shape may be bowl-shaped or conical.

The circumferential surface216may extend around a periphery of the ram plate206. It may be desirable to prevent material302from contacting the circumferential surface216. The circumferential surface216may be used for retaining the ram liner100on the ram200.

The plurality of apertures218A-J may extend through the ram plate206and may be spaced apart from each other to accommodate the plurality of syringes. In one embodiment, the plurality of apertures218A-J may include a first set of apertures218A-D, a second set of apertures218E-H, and a central aperture218J. Other numbers and arrangements of apertures may also be used.

Each of the first set of apertures218A-D may be larger than the second set of apertures218E-H and may be equally spaced apart from each other around the center of the ram plate206. Each of the second set of apertures218E-H may be smaller than the first set of apertures218A-D and may be equally spaced from each other between the first set of apertures218A-D. The central aperture218J may have a different size than the first set of apertures218A-D and second set of apertures218E-H and may be positioned in the center of the ram plate206.

The actuator208may include legs, linkages, push rods, and the like, and a force generator such as a hydraulic, pneumatic, or electric motor. The actuator208may be configured to urge the ram plate206into the open-topped container300.

The plurality of valves210A-D may be positioned on the ram plate206opposite the ram surface214and may be in fluid connection with the first set of apertures218A-D. The plurality of valves210A-D may be butterfly valves, globe valves, ball valves, diaphragm valves, or any other suitable valves. The plurality of valves210A-D may be configured to selectively partition material302that has been pushed into the plurality of syringes204A-D from the rest of the material302. This may help retain the material302when the ram202is retracted from the open-topped container300and may ease removal of the ram202from the open-topped container300.

The plurality of plugs212A-E may be configured to close the second set of apertures218E-H and the central aperture218J. The plurality of plugs212A-E may be configured to be removed from the second set of apertures218E-H and the central apertures to accommodate syringes of different sizes or connection types.

The plurality of syringes204A-D may be configured to be connected to the ram plate206via the plurality of valves210A-D for filling with material302. Syringes of different sizes or connection types may also be connected to the ram plate206by removing the plurality of syringes204A-D and the plurality of plugs212A-E. This may require the plurality of valves210A-D or a different set of valves.

The ram liner100broadly comprises a liner wall102and a circumferential lip104. The ram liner100may be made of a thin plastic material and may be formed via molding, additive manufacturing, subtractive manufacturing, or the like. In the case of molding, specific molding tools may include geometric features to achieve desired knock-out tab and aperture arrangements such as the ones described below.

The liner wall102may be a substantially circular disc configured to abut the ram surface214of the ram plate206and may include a plurality of knock-out tabs106A-J. The liner wall102may be convex (from above) for closely matching the concave shape of the ram surface214. The liner wall102may be configured to prevent the viscous material302from contacting the ram surface214.

The plurality of knock-out tabs106A-J may include a first set of knock-out tabs106A-D, a second set of knock-out tabs106E-H, and a central knock-out tab106J. Other numbers and arrangements of knock-out tabs may also be used to accommodate different rams.

Each of the first set of knock-out tabs106A-D may be larger than the second set of knock-out tabs106E-H and may be equally spaced apart from each other around the center of the ram liner100. Each of the second set of knock-out tabs106E-H may be smaller than the first set of knock-out tabs106A-D and may be equally spaced from each other between the first set of knock-out tabs106A-D. The central knock-out tab106J may have a different size than the first set of knock-out tabs106A-D and second set of knock-out tabs106E-H and may be positioned in the center of the ram liner100.

The knock-out tabs106A-J may be circular discs having circumferential indentations for being sheared from a remainder of the liner wall102. The liner wall102forms a plurality of apertures108A-J upon removal of the knock-out tabs106A-J.

The apertures108A-J may have the same arrangement and configuration as the knock-out tabs106A-J. That is, the apertures108A-J may include a first set of apertures108A-D, a second set of apertures108E-H, and a central aperture108J. Each of the first set of apertures108A-D may be larger than the second set of apertures108E-H and may be equally spaced apart from each other around the center of the ram liner100. Each of the second set of apertures108E-H may be smaller than the first set of apertures108A-D and may be equally spaced from each other between the first set of apertures108A-D. The central aperture108J may have a different size than the first set of apertures108A-D and second set of apertures108E-H and may be positioned in the center of the ram liner100.

The circumferential lip104may extend vertically from a circumferential edge of the liner wall102. The circumferential lip104may be configured to prevent material302from contacting the circumferential surface216.

The above-described ram liner100has been described with a plurality of apertures, but the ram liner100may have only a single aperture corresponding to a single aperture (or one aperture of a plurality of apertures) of a ram plate. In this case, a single syringe may be filled via the single aperture of the ram liner100. This may be particularly useful if the material transfer system200and/or container300is stored in a refrigeration unit and syringes are to be filled with refrigerated material as needed instead of first filling syringes and storing the filled syringes in the refrigeration unit.

The above-described ram liner100and material transfer system200provide several advantages. For example, the liner wall102and the circumferential lip104of the ram liner100prevent material302from contacting the ram surface214and circumferential surface216of the ram plate206, which significantly reduces the amount of time required to clean the ram plate206. The circumferential lip104also may be used to retain the ram liner100on the ram plate206. The ram liner100may be disposable and reusable. In this way, the ram liner100could be cleaned in a more efficient manner (e.g., via a cleaning machine) than the ram plate can be cleaned. The apertures108A-J have different sizes and positions, which allows the ram liner100to be used with various ram plate models and syringe arrangements.

Although the invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it is noted that equivalents may be employed and substitutions made herein without departing from the scope of the invention as recited in the claims.