U.S. patent number 3,670,786 [Application Number 05/042,881] was granted by the patent office on 1972-06-20 for container filling apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to American Home Products Corporation. Invention is credited to Franklin M. Kreider, Howard J. Levin.
United States Patent |
3,670,786 |
Levin , et al. |
June 20, 1972 |
CONTAINER FILLING APPARATUS
Abstract
A rotary filling machine which comprises a tunnel disposed
substantially from before the filling station to the sealing
station of the machine along the direction of travel of a
container, and means for introducing an inert gas into the tunnel
under a slight positive pressure. The inert gas excludes air from
the tunnel and provides an inert gas atmosphere within the tunnel
which effectively maintains at a reduced level the oxygen content
of the void space of containers being filled. The tunnel has
orifices permitting the passage of reciprocating filling spouts for
introducing inert gas into the containers being filled and, in a
separate step, for filling the containers.
Inventors: |
Levin; Howard J. (Norristown,
PA), Kreider; Franklin M. (Lancaster, PA) |
Assignee: |
American Home Products
Corporation (New York, NY)
|
Family
ID: |
21924246 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/042,881 |
Filed: |
June 2, 1970 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
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716521 |
Mar 27, 1968 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
141/92; 53/110;
53/510 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B
31/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65B
31/00 (20060101); B65b 031/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;53/110,112R
;141/63,64,69,70,48,91,92 ;99/182 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Earls; Edward J.
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.
716,521 filed Mar. 27, 1968, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. In a rotary filling machine for filling containers with
oxidizable drugs and including a rotating, indexing machine turret
having means to support open-topped containers, the improvement
comprising:
A. a substantially planar, gas-impermeable cover supported from a
frame for the filling machine and being coextensive with and
overlapping the periphery of the top of the machine turret top from
shortly before an inert gas flushing station to shortly before a
sealing station;
B. a first wall supported from said cover and extending downwardly
from said cover to the top of said machine turret top, said first
wall being disposed between the center of rotation of said machine
turret top and the containers, and being substantially arcuate in
shape having a center of rotation substantially at the center of
rotation of said machine turret top;
C. a second wall supported from said cover and extending downwardly
therefrom to a position adjacent the machine turret top, said
second wall being disposed on the opposite side of said containers
from said center of rotation of said machine turret top and being
substantially arcuate having a center of rotation substantially
centered at said center of rotation of said machine turret top;
D. a plurality of orifices disposed in said cover and further
comprising:
1. A first orifice located so as to permit passage of an inert
gas-flushing apparatus;
2. A second orifice disposed so as to permit passage of a filling
apparatus; and
3. A third orifice for the introduction of an inert gas;
E. an inert gas-flushing apparatus mounted on said filling machine
frame for reciprocation through said first orifice into each
container indexed beneath said first orifice;
F. a filling apparatus mounted on said filling machine frame for
reciprocation through said second orifice into each container
indexed beneath said second orifice;
G. at least one conduit connected to said third orifice and to a
source of inert gas,
Whereby said cover and first and second walls define a tunnel
maintaining an inert gas atmosphere through which said containers
pass during a major portion of the time between flushing and
sealing.
2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said inert gas is
nitrogen.
3. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 where said cover and first
and second walls are fabricated from transparent material.
4. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 where said cover and first
and second walls are fabricated from methyl methacrylate.
Description
The disclosure is directed to apparatus for the lowering of oxygen
concentration in the void space of containers filled with
oxidizable materials. More particularly, the invention is directed
to apparatus for providing an inert gas environment about
containers from the time they are filled with oxidizable drugs
until they are sealed, for instance, on a rotary filling
machine.
The term "containers" is used to describe the receptacles usually
employed to package oxidizable pharmaceuticals and other chemical
materials, compounds and compositions, such as bottles, vials,
ampoules and disposable cartridges, particularly those having a
small capacity-to-void space ratio. For convenience, the container
contents will be referred to as "drugs."
It is a practice in the pharmaceutical industry to fill containers
with a single dose of a drug for convenience in dispensing it. The
drug usually does not fill the container and a "void space" of
gas-filled volume exists above the drug after the containers are
sealed.
Many of the drugs are sensitive to oxidative decomposition. That
is, they decompose, or otherwise lose potency, in the presence of
oxygen. When a void space of a container contains oxygen, the
potency of a contained oxidizable drug is reduced to the extent
that reaction takes place between the oxygen and the drug.
It is a common practice in the pharmaceutical packaging art to
flush the containers with an inert gas, typically nitrogen,
immediately prior to filling. However, the nitrogen flushing
procedure is not entirely satisfactory, and it has been found that
the concentration of oxygen increases in the void space where even
a few seconds pass between filling and sealing. Such a time lapse
typically occurs in a rotary filling machine where, due to design
considerations, a sealing station is relatively remote in time from
a filling station. Without wishing to be bound by a theory of
operation it is believed that this is due to a rapid dispersion of
the nitrogen flushing gas out of the void space into the
surrounding air, and the concurrent in-flow of the surrounding air
into the void space.
It has long been known that oxidizable drugs may be protected by
the exclusion of oxygen from contact with them by replacement of
oxygen with an inert gas. However, the practical solution to the
problem as applied to small containers while they are filled on
rotating filling machines has not been obvious.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the shelf like
and maintain the potency of oxidizable drugs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an
apparatus for maintaining an inert gas atmosphere substantially
free of oxygen in the void space of small containers as they are
filled on a filling machine.
It is a particular object of the present invention to provide an
arcuate inert gas tunnel along the path of travel of a container
between the filling and sealing stations of a rotary machine.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an economical
apparatus for providing an inert gas atmosphere about containers
being filled on commercially available filling machines.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to
those skilled in the art from a reading of the following
description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partly schematic, of a rotary filling
machine to which the inert gas tunnel of the invention has been
applied;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of an inert gas tunnel of this invention
showing the relationship of the functional stations of a typical
rotary filling machine;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken generally along lines 3--3 of FIG.
2 and showing the relationship of an inert gas conduit and an
orifice to the inert gas tunnel;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken generally along the line 4--4 of
FIG. 2 and showing the relationship of an inert gas flushing
station to the inert gas tunnel; and
FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken generally along line 5--5 of FIG.
2 and showing the relationship of a filling station to the inert
gas tunnel.
It has been found that the objects of this invention may be
achieved by providing filling machine 10 with an inert gas tunnel
12 extending along the path of travel of a container 14 from
shortly before a filling station C to shortly before a sealing
station E.
In a preferred embodiment, the inert gas tunnel 12 comprises an
arcuate, substantially planar, gas impermeable cover 18 which is
supported from the frame 16 of the rotary filling machine 10. A
first, or inner, wall 20 is supported from the cover, extends
downwardly from it to a machine turret top 22 and is substantially
linearly coextensive with the cover 18. At its lower extreme the
inner wall is in close juxtaposition with, but does not contact,
the upper surface 24 of the machine turret top 22. A second wall 26
is similarly supported from the cover 18, extends downwardly from
the cover 18 to a position near the machine turret top 22, and is
substantially linearly coextensive with the cover 18. Preferably
both the inner wall 20 and the outer wall 26 are arcuate with the
center of rotation about the center of rotation of the machine
turret top 22.
The cover 18, inner wall 20, and outer wall 26 define the tunnel 12
through which the containers 14 travel during filling and before
sealing. The tunnel 12 is preferably open at both ends for free
ingress and egress of the containers 14. A flexible end wall or
curtain, not shown, may be provided at each end of the tunnel, if
desired. The clearances between the machine turret top 22 and each
of the inner wall 20, and the outer wall 26 is preferably as small
as possible to reduce to a minimum the flow of inert gas between
them. A seal may be provided between the top 22 and each of the
walls 20,26, if desired, but seals have been found to be
unnecessary in a well-made tunnel.
Orifices 28,30 are provided in the cover 18 between the two walls
20,26 through which inert gas may be introduced by means of a
conduit 32 connected to a source of inert gas under a low pressure.
The preferred inert gas is nitrogen, particularly high purity
nitrogen, such as Seaford grade nitrogen, although other gases
inert or non-reactant with the drug may be substituted. Preferably
the inert gas pressure is slightly greater than atmospheric
pressure, typically, about 1 to 3 inches of water. In an embodiment
such as is shown in the drawings, the inert gas consumption is
typically about 1 cubic foot per minute.
The cover, inner and outer walls of the tunnel may be made of any
gas-impermeable material. However, it has been found especially
advantageous that they be made of a transparent material so that
the containers may be observed while in the tunnel. Methyl
methacrylate has been found to be especially advantageous as a
material for construction of the inert gas tunnel.
As is best seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the conduit 32 is connected at
one end to a source of an inert gas, not shown, and serves to
conduct the inert gas to orifices 28 and 30 where the inert gas
enters the interior 38 of the tunnel. The inert gas flows through
the tunnel 12 and exits at tunnel entrance 36 and tunnel exit
40.
In operation, the empty containers 14 are loaded into a hopper 34,
flow downwardly and are individually inserted into a rotary machine
turret top 22 at station A. The empty containers 14 rotate in
step-wise, or indexing, manner with the machine turret top 22 into
the inert gas tunnel 12 at tunnel entrance 36.
As may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 4, at flushing station B, the empty
containers 14 are flushed with an inert gas by means of a hollow
needle 42 which reciprocates vertically through an orifice 44 to
permit passage of the containers 14. The needle 42 is connected at
one end to a conduit 46 which is in turn connected to a source of
inert gas, not shown. The needle may be made to reciprocate in any
well known fashion, for instance, by a gear, cam and cam follower
arrangement synchronized with the rotation of the turret top. The
needle 42 introduces the inert gas to the bottom of each container,
displacing any air present upwardly and out of the container into
the tunnel interior 38 where it is exhausted with the current of
environmental inert gas.
At filling station C, each container 14 is filled by a
reciprocating needle 48 which is connected through a conduit 50 to
a source of a desired drug. The needle 48 may be made to
reciprocate vertically in well known fashion, and the exact amount
of contents may be measured into the container in well known
fashion.
In the embodiment shown, as is frequent in the industry, the
sealing station E is remote from the filling station C due to the
requirements of economy, design, and the like. There is, therefore,
a time lag between the filling and the sealing operations. During
the travel of the filled container 14 from the filling station C to
shortly before the closure applying station D, an inert gas
atmosphere surrounds each container 14, so that, any equilibration
of the materials in the void space with the environment merely
exchanges one moiety of an inert gas for another while in the
tunnel. That is, no oxygen is introduced into the void space while
the containers are in the tunnel. After sealing, the filled, sealed
containers are removed from the machine turret top at the unloading
station F and pass to further inspection and packaging operations
in well known fashion.
As is shown in the drawings, it is frequently impossible to extend
the tunnel past the sealing station, and frequently impossible to
extend it to a point immediately adjacent to the sealing station.
This is due, frequently, to the positioning of the sealing
apparatus directly about the rotating filled containers. As is
shown in the drawings, the inert gas tunnel terminates at exit 40,
shortly before the closure applying station D.
In order more clearly to disclose the nature of the present
invention, specific examples of the practice of the invention are
hereinafter given. It should be understood, however, that this is
done solely by way of example and is intended neither to delineate
the scope of the invention nor limit the ambit of the appended
claims.
EXAMPLE I
The following example illustrates the effect of an inert gas
environment on the air concentration in the void space of a
container.
A. a nitrogen flushing needle is positioned in one of a series of
empty disposable cartridges and connected to a source of nitrogen
under pressure. A polyethylene bag containing air is positioned
around the filling area and sealed into position. The cartridge is
flushed with high purity nitrogen for five seconds, then
immediately filled halfway with nitrogen purged water, and sealed
immediately while within the bag.
The concentration of air in the void space above the liquid is
determined by polarographic analysis carried out on a Leeds and
Northrup Polarograph 62200 Electro-Chemograph, type E. The contents
of the void space are injected into an oxygen-free polarographic
cell after the diffusion current is measured. A fixed potential is
applied to the electrode and the diffusion current is recorded. The
difference between the current readings before and after the
substitution of the contents of the void space is compared with a
standard curve of diffusion currents of known oxygen contents to
determine the oxygen content of the void space.
B. The same procedure is repeated three times except that the
nitrogen flushing time is 10 seconds, 20 seconds, and 60 seconds,
respectively.
C. The same procedure is repeated except that the bag is filled
with nitrogen and the flushing time is 5 seconds. The results are
shown in Table I below.
TABLE I
Oxygen percent Relative oxygen N.sub.2 flush by volume in
concentration Environment Time void space in percent (seconds)
__________________________________________________________________________
air 5 2.65 100.0 air 10 1.58 59.5 air 20 1.38 52.5 air 60 1.42 54.0
nitrogen 5 0.17 6.4
__________________________________________________________________________
As may be seen from Table I, the provision of a nitrogen
environment surrounding the filling area greatly reduces the air
concentration in the void space. Extended nitrogen flushing time in
an air environment decreases the oxygen (O.sub.2) content in the
void space somewhat, but extended flushing after about 20 seconds
does not further reduce the oxygen concentration. Flushing in a
nitrogen atmosphere greatly lowers the oxygen content. As may be
seen from the table, the oxygen concentration in the void space
with the 5 second flush in nitrogen environment is less than 7
percent of the oxygen concentration of the 5 second nitrogen flush
in an air environment.
EXAMPLE II
The following example illustrates the effect of a nitrogen
environment on the oxygen content of the void space of a container
when flushing is carried out under production conditions.
A rigid enclosure, substantially the same as the inert gas tunnel
12 shown in FIGS. 1-5 is installed on a Shields Ampoule Machine Co.
rotary filling machine. Various sizes of disposable cartridges are
filled to various solution capacities in the filling machine
following a nitrogen flush performed by a flushing needle
reciprocably inserted within the container. The solutions are
purged with nitrogen before filling. The oxygen concentration in
the void space is determined as described in Example I. The test is
run first with an air environment within the tunnel and is repeated
with a Seaford grade nitrogen environment. Typical results are
shown below in Table II.
TABLE II
Oxygen Concentration in Void Space
percent Relative Container A. N.sub.2 flushed B. N.sub.2 flushed
concentration contents within N.sub.2 without N.sub.2 in B based
& size environment Environment on A
__________________________________________________________________________
Sparine; 0.27 0.74 269% full: 1 cc. capacity Phenergan; 0.17 0.63
375% full 1 cc. capacity Largon; 1/2 0.27 2.10 770% filled: 2 cc.
capacity
__________________________________________________________________________
Sparine is promazine hydrochloride. Phenergan is promethazine
hydrochloride. Largon is propiomazine hydrochloride.
As may be seen in Table II, the use of a nitrogen environment
greatly reduces the amount of air present. The relative
concentration of oxygen in the containers when filled in an air
environment as compared to that when filled in a nitrogen
environment ranges from 269 to 770 percent as much. The greatest
improvement is found when the void space is largest.
The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as
terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no
intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any
equivalents of the features shown and described or portions
thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are
possible within the scope of the invention claimed.
* * * * *