Title of Invention

A METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRODUCING AND FILLING CONTAINERS .

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing and filling containers (12), for which at least one hose (3) of a plastified synthetic material is extruded into an open mould (6), the hose (3) being welded at its frontmost end during the closing of the mould (6) to form the container floor, the hose (3) above the mould (6) is separated by means of a separating element (21) to form a filling port (15), and the mould (6) is moved to a filling position with the hose (3) incorporating the open filling port (15), in which the container (12) is filled following the forming of the same by means of creating an expanding pressure gradient in the mould (6) that acts on the hose (3), whereby the filling port (15) of the hose (3) is covered by means of a sterile barrier (23) during movement of the mould (6) into the filling position. The sterile barrier is heated to a bacteria destroying temperature by means of heatable plate (23) that is moveable together with the separating element (21) that separates the hose (3).

Full Text

Method and Device for the Production and Filling of Containers The invention relates to a process for the production and filling of containers, in which at least one tube of plasticized plastic material is extruded into an open mould, the tube is bonded at its leading end when the mould is closed to form the bottom of the container, the tube is severed above the mould by means of a separating element to form to form a fill opening, and the mould, together with the tube having the fill opening, is moved to a filling position in which the container is filled, after being formed in the mold by production of a pressure gradient acting on and expanding the tube. The invention also relates to a device for application of such process. A process of this type is known in the relevant technology as a bottlepack® system. This process permits automated moulding (blowing or vacuum molding), filling, and sealing of contents in a cost-effective manner. If highly sensitive products are to be produced, products, ones such as pharmaceuticals for which the international standards relating to aseptic packaging are to be met, the mould, when moved into the filling position, is positioned beneath a so-called sterile filling space (ASR), in which sterile air flows over the open fill opening of the containers and creates effective protection against entry of germs, until movable top jaws are closed after completion of the filling process in order to configure the desired top seal of the container by a combined vacuum-bonding process. While the fill opening is effectively protected in the filling position by the sterile filling space, the fill opening is not fully protected during displacement of the mould from the extrusion position, in which the tube formed is severed below the extruder nozzle, even if the process is conducted in a clean room. In other words, the tube having the fill opening forms a case open at the top during movement of the mold into the filling position. US 5962039 (A) discloses a simultaneous filling blow molding apparatus. According to the invention, a cross head is mounted at an end portion of an extruder for extruding a parison between a pair of elements of a metallic mold and a filling nozzle lifting apparatus having a filling nozzle are provided in parallel, and opening and closing of the metallic mold by a mold clamping apparatus, back and forth movement of the mold clamping apparatus between a parison receiving position and a filling position by a metallic mold feeding apparatus, upward and downward movement of the filling nozzle and back and forth movement of a parison cutter of a parison cutting apparatus are electrically operated. Further, a metallic mold body of the metallic mold is formed from a ventilation material, through which air in the metallic mold is sucked by vacuum to expand the parison. Furthermore, a clean air box is constructed so that it can accommodate the filling nozzle, and clean air is jetted from a jetting hole provided in a lower wall of the clean air box so that a clean air atmosphere may be provided above the metallic mold. On the basis of this state of the art the invention has the object of providing a process which in comparison ensures even better protection of the uncovered fill opening. In a process of the kind indicated above it is claimed for the invention that this object is attained in that the fill opening of the tube is covered by a sterile barrier during movement of the mould into the filling position. As a result, not only is the danger prevented of the possibility that foreign matter might fall into the open fill opening after severance of the tube, the sterile barrier also blocks access by germs to the fill opening during this segment of the process. The process claimed for the invention is accordingly suitable especially for the production of highly sensitive products for the medical/pharmaceutical area of application. In one especially advantageous exemplary embodiment the sterile barrier is in the form of a heatable plate movable together with the separating element severing the tube, the plate being heated to a germ-killing temperature, preferably above 150°C. In that the plate moves with the cutting edge severing the tube , the fill opening is covered by the heated plate even as the tube is being formed, that is, at no time is the fill opening devoid of cover. Especially favorable conditions are established in this process if the separating element is in the form of a cutting edge which is immediately adjacent to the heatable plate. A cost-effective process with short cycle times is obtained if the heatable plate with the cutting edge for severance of the tube mounted on its leading edge is moved from a retracted initial position to an operating position in a direction in which the plate is mounted above the path of movement of the mould leading into the filling position, in such a way that the fill opening is covered by the plate throughout its travel to the filling position, and in which plate and cutting edge are then moved back from the operating position to the initial position after the mould has reached the filling position. Another object of the invention is development of a device for production and filling of containers having the features specified in claim 9. The invention is described in detail in what follows with reference to the drawing, in which FIG. 1 presents a simplified diagram of an open blowing mould and an extrusion head positioned above it for forming a tube of plasticized plastic; FIG. 2 the partly closed blowing mould shown in FIG. 1 after transfer to a filling position and after formation of the container to be filled; and FIG. 3 to 5 perspective views of greatly simplified diagrams illustrating the course of the process claimed for the invention. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate an assembly such as is used within the framework of the conventional bottlepack® system for production of plastic containers in the blow moulding process, a tube 3 of melted plastic being extruded by means of an extruder assembly 1 between the two mould halves 5 of a mould 6, which is illustrated in FIG.l. After extrusion of the tube 3 into the opened mould 6, the tube 3 is severed between the nozzle outlet of the extruder assembly 1 and the top of the mould 6. In FIG. 1 the line of separation is shown as a broken line and is designated as 8. FIG. 2 shows the mould 6 in the partly closed state, the shaping components for the body of the container 12 to be moulded from the tube 3, that is, the mould halves 5, being brought into contact with each other so that the bottom bevel edges 7 on the lower end of the tube 3 execute a bonding process to seal the tube 3 to a bond seam 9 (FIG. 2) on the bottom side. FIG. 2 shows the mould 6 in a filling position in which the mould has been displaced, in contrast with the position illustrated in FIG. 1, laterally to the position toward the extruder assembly 1. In this filling position the container 12 which has previously been formed is charged with content by way of the fill opening 15, blown air being introduced into the open fill opening 15 through by means of a blast arbor (not shown). FIG. 2 shows the end of the fill arbor 11 introduced into the fill opening 15 for this purpose. Forming and charging of the container may also be effected by means of a combined blast-fill arbor in place of the fill arbor 11 and a previously introduced blast arbor. In the filling position shown in FIG. 2, the mould is positioned below a so-called sterile filling space (ASR), which is not shown in FIG. 2 and which acts as aseptic shielding of the fill opening 15 which is formed by the preceding severance process on the tube 3, along the line of separation 8 indicated in FIG. 1. After the container 12 has been charged, the fill arbor 11 is moved away upward and the movable top bonding jaws 13, still open, of the mould 6 are brought together in order to effect shaping on the container neck and/or to seal these jaws simultaneously by bonding. By means of the bonding jaws 13 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 external threading is formed on the neck of the container for a screw-on cap which may be provided in addition to sealing by bonding, for example, one in the form of a screw-on cap with a puncture pin in it. FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate by means of greatly simplified diagrams the sequence of the process claimed for the invention on the basis of an example in which, for the purpose of simultaneous production of two small-volume containers, two tubes 3 are extruded by means of the extruder assembly 1 into juxtaposed moulding cavities of the open mould 6 (see FIG. 3), in which the mould 6 is indicated only by outlines of the mould halves 5, which may be moved in the directions indicated by the double arrow 22 to open and close the mould). FIG. 3 illustrates the operating state before severance of the extruded tubes 3, a heatable cutting edge 21 serving as separating element and a heatable plate 23 whose front edge is mounted so as to be contiguous with the cutting edge 21 being in the retracted initial position. For the purpose of severing the tubes 6, plate 23 and cutting edge 21, which may be moved back and forth in the directions indicated by the double arrow 25, are moved from the initial position shown in FIG. 3 into the operating position (FIG. 4). The heatable plate 23, whose surface consists of stainless steel, has imbedded in it a heating assembly (not shown) whose activity may be controlled by means of temperature sensors 27. Together with the cutting edge 21 the plate 23 is heated to a germ-killing temperature, preferably one in the range above 200°, so that the plate 23 represents a sterile barrier which is situated, when in the .advanced operating position, above the openings 15 in the tubes 3 formed in the separation process. In the next step illustrated in FIG. 4, the mould 6 is now displaced from the extrusion position (FIG. 3) in the direction indicated by the double arrow 29 into the filling position shown in FIG. 4, the fill openings 15 at the top of the mould 6 open at this time being positioned below the plate 23, which remain in the advanced operating position and accordingly are covered by this sterile barrier. FIG. 4 illustrates the operating state in which the mould 6 has reached the filling position, in which the fill openings 15 are now positioned below a sterile filling space 31. As is to be seen from FIG. 4, the plate 23 extends along the path of movement of the mould 6 leading to the filling position far enough so that the entire area of this path of movement is covered, that is, the fill openings 15 leave the area of plate 23 only when they have entered the sterile filling space 31. Only after this filling position has been reached are plate 23 and cutting edge 21 again retracted from the advanced operating position to the initial position, in which the cutting 21 edge in turn is in the initial position for severance of the tubes 3 formed in the next extrusion cycle (see FIG. 5). The essential feature of the invention that the fill openings formed in the process of severance of the extruded tubes are covered by a sterile barrier from the moment of their formation until the filling position protected by the sterile filling space 31 has been reached has been explained in the foregoing on the basis of the example of a heatable plate 23 with a heatable cutting edge 21 positioned on its front side. It is to be noted that essentially use of a different kind of separating element and a heatable component forming a sterile barrier of a different configuration is also possible. Thus, for example, a heated wire may be provided in place of a knife-like cutting edge 21 or the plate 23 could be replaced with a heatable, extremely close- meshed grid with openings in the micrometer range. As is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the process may be applied for simultaneous production of a plurality of containers, preferably containers of small volume in the form of ampules, or for production of container each of which may be produced individually from a tube extruded in each operating cycle. The containers may be formed by blow moulding or, specifically in the case of containers of very small volume, by vacuum moulding. I Claim: 1. A method for producing and filling containers (12), for which at least one hose (3) of a plastified synthetic material is extruded into an open mould (6), the hose (3) being welded at its frontmost end during the closing of the mould (6) to form the container floor, the hose (3) above the mould (6) is separated by means of a separating element (21) to form a filling port (15), and the mould (6) is moved to a filling position with the hose (3) incorporating the open filling port (15), in which the container (12) is filled following the forming of the same by means of creating an expanding pressure gradient in the mould (6) that acts on the hose (3), whereby the filling port (15) of the hose (3) is covered by means of a sterile barrier (23) during movement of the mould (6) into the filling position, characterized in that the sterile barrier is heated to a bacteria destroying temperature by means of heatable plate (23) that is moveable together with the separating element (21) that separates the hose (3). 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heatable plate (23) is heated to a bacteria destroying temperatue of more than 150°C. 3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the separating element consists of a blade (21) that closely follows the heatable plate (23). 4. The method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the heatable plate (23) is moved from a retracted starting position into a working position with the blade (21) for separating the hose (3) positioned at it's frontmost end, i.e. in a direction in which the plate (23) is positioned above the movement path of the mould (6) leading to the filling position in such a way that the filling port (15) is covered by the plate (23) along its entire path towards the filling position, and wherein the plate (23) and the blade (21) are then moved from the working position back into the starting position after the mould (6) has reached the filling position. 5. The method as claimed in one of the claims 2 to 4, wherein the plate (23) is heated to a temperature of more than 170°C, preferably to a temperature of approximately 200°C. 6. The method as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein more than one hose (3) of a plastified synthetic material is extruded into a multi- component mould (6) for the simultaneous production of several containers (12), and wherein the hoses (3) are separated at the same time by the separating element (21). 7. The method as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein a blow mould (6) is used as the mould for which the pressure gradient acting on the hose (3) and expanding the same to form the container (12) is created by means of a supply of blown air. 8. The method as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein a mould is used where the pressure gradient acting on the hose (3) and expanding the same to form the container (12) is applied by means of underpressure created between the mould walls and the outside of the hose (3). 9. A device for producing and filling containers (12) with at least one mould (6) incorporating moveable mould walls (5), into which at least one hose (3) of a plastified synthetic material can be extruded, the mould parts (5) of which can be closed in order to weld the frontmost end of the hose (3) by means of welding edges (7) positioned on the same to create a container floor, with a means for producing a pressure gradient acting on the hose (3) and expanding the same to form the container (12) along the mould walls (5), with a moveable separating element (21), which is moveable between a retracted starting position and a working position to form a filling port (45) by means of separating the hose (3) above the mould (6), and with a displacement means for moving the mould (6) into a filling position for filling of the container (12) through the filling port (15), whereby a sterile barrier (23) is envisaged in such a positioning arrangement and with such dimensions that the same will be located above the movement path of the mould (6) leading to the filling position in the working position of the separating element (21) to cover the filling port (15), characterized in that a moveable plate (23) that can be heated to a bacteria destroying temperature together with a blade (21) serving as the separating element is envisaged as the sterile barrier. 10.The device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the blade (21) can be heated and is positioned closely along the frontmost edge of the plate (23), and wherein the same can be moved from its retracted staring position during separating of the hose (3) into its working position that covers the movement path of the mould (6) in a direction that is transverse to the movement path. 11.The device as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the heatable plate (23) incorporates a heater embedded into the same and at least one temperature gauge (27) to control the heater. 12.The Device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the heatable plate (23) consists of several layers, and wherein at least the external layers positioned on the wide sides are made of stainless steel. The invention relates to a method for producing and filling containers (12), for which at least one hose (3) of a plastified synthetic material is extruded into an open mould (6), the hose (3) being welded at its frontmost end during the closing of the mould (6) to form the container floor, the hose (3) above the mould (6) is separated by means of a separating element (21) to form a filling port (15), and the mould (6) is moved to a filling position with the hose (3) incorporating the open filling port (15), in which the container (12) is filled following the forming of the same by means of creating an expanding pressure gradient in the mould (6) that acts on the hose (3), whereby the filling port (15) of the hose (3) is covered by means of a sterile barrier (23) during movement of the mould (6) into the filling position. The sterile barrier is heated to a bacteria destroying temperature by means of heatable plate (23) that is moveable together with the separating element (21) that separates the hose (3).

Documents:

665-KOLNP-2003-(05-12-2011)-FORM-27.pdf

665-KOLNP-2003-(13-08-2012)-FORM-27.pdf

665-KOLNP-2003-FORM 27.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-abstract.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-claims.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-correspondence.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-description (complete).pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-drawings.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-examination report.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-form 1.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-form 18.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-form 2.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-form 26.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-form 5.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-priority document.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-reply to examination report.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-specification.pdf

665-kolnp-2003-granted-translated copy of priority document.pdf