System for performing a unitizing dose process of blister packs

Abstract

A unidose blister cutting machine comprises a cartridge for holding blister packs, a first positioning arm for pushing a blister pack in a first direction, a second positioning arm for pushing the blister pack in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction, a flipping robotic arm having a suction means for retaining the blister pack during a flipping movement, a grabbing jaw for grabbing the blister pack from the flipping robotic head, a cutting device, and a collecting chute located below the cutting device for collecting the cut blister packs.

Claims

1. A unidose blister cutting machine comprising: a cartridge for holding a stack of blister packs to be processed, each blister pack having a plurality of cavities; a first positioning arm for pushing a blister pack in a first direction; a second positioning arm for pushing the blister pack in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction; a flipping robotic arm having a suction means for retaining the blister pack during a flipping movement, the flipping robotic arm flipping the blister pack from the cartridge; a grabbing jaw for grasping the blister pack from the flipping robotic head; a cutting device for cutting the blister pack into individual cavities; and a collecting chute located below the cutting device for collecting the cut cavities.

2. The machine of claim 1, wherein the cartridge for holding the blister packs includes at least one lateral guiding wall and a movable bottom base.

3. The machine of claim 2, wherein the movable base is a flat platform with a top surface where the blister packs to be processed are laid and a bottom surface coupled to a step motor.

4. The machine of claim 1, wherein the first positioning arm comprises a step motor piston coupled to a pushing head.

5. The machine of claim 1, wherein the second positioning arm comprises a step motor piston coupled to a pushing head.

6. The machine of claim 1, wherein the flipping robotic arm comprises a step motor coupled to a flipping axis to which a flipping arm with a C-shaped head is attached which, in turn, includes the suction means.

7. The machine of claim 6, wherein the suction means includes a vacuum pump connected to two hoses also attached to a suction cup that is part of the C-shaped head.

8. The machine of claim 1, wherein the grabbing jaw comprises a metallic toothed-jaw a coupled to a driving arm which in turn is coupled to a driving mechanism, for grabbing the edge of the blister pack and moving if sequentially below the cutting device.

9. The machine of claim 1, wherein the cutting device is defined by a cutting die actuated by a servomotor with a ball bearing screw.

10. The machine of claim 9, wherein the shape of the die can be selected from: rounded, a oval, or rectangular with rounded edges.

11. The machine of claim 9, wherein the shape of the die corresponds to the shape of the cavity to be cut.

12. The machine of claim 1, wherein the collecting chute includes a tube for receiving the cavities already cut, which in turn are pushed into a moving piece that keep them in a pile.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The preferred embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the appended drawings provided to illustrate and not to limit the invention, where like designations denote like elements, and in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a general isometric view of the cutting machine in accordance with the present invention.

(3) FIGS. 2A-2F are respective perspective views of the machine showing from the first to the final stage of the unidose repacking process.

(4) FIGS. 3A-3H are respective top plan view showing how the blister pack is moved through the process and the individual blisters are cut out defining an individual dose.

(5) FIG. 4 is a left side elevational view thereof.

(6) FIG. 5 is a right side elevational view thereof.

(7) FIG. 6 is a general perspective view of the main parts of the system, while blister packs are being processed, and:

(8) FIG. 7 is a general perspective view of the cutting device 170 in which the rest of the machine's parts have been taken away to show clearly the ball bearing screw 175 that drives said cutting device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF REPRESENTATIVE EMBODIMENTS

(9) The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments or the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word exemplary or illustrative means serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any implementation described herein as exemplary or illustrative is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to make or use the embodiments of the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims. For purposes of description herein, the terms upper, lower, left, rear, right, front, vertical, horizontal, and derivatives thereof shall relate to the invention as oriented in FIG. 1. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. It is also to be understood that the specific devices illustrated in the attached drawings, and described in the following specification, are simply exemplary embodiments of the inventive concepts defined in the appended claim. Hence, specific dimensions and other physical characteristics relating to the embodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting, unless the claims expressly state otherwise.

(10) Making reference to FIGS. 2A-F, the unidose blister cutting machine 100 comprises a blister pack-feeding cartridge 110 for holding and feeding the blister packs 101 to be processed. The blister pack that is located at the top of the pile is numbered as upper pack 102. A first positioning arm 120 is capable of pushing one blister pack 101 at a time in a first direction; a second positioning arm 130 capable of pushing the blister pack 101 in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction; a flipping robotic head 140, a positioning device 160 capable of grabbing one blister pack at a time from the flipping robotic head 140; a cutting device 170, and a collecting chute 180 located below the cutting device capable of collecting the cut blister packs 101.

(11) Said cartridge 110 comprises a lateral guiding wall 111 and a movable base 112. A group of blister packs 101 may be laid on said guiding wall 111 and the base 112, which is coupled to driving means (not illustrated) capable of lifting or descending this base 112 as explained below. When the blister packs 101 are positioned in the cartridge, each blister pack 101 is placed at an angle of around of 10-30 (see FIG. 6). Said guiding wall 111 aligns and guides the blister packs 101 during the ascending and descending movement.

(12) The first positioning arm 120 comprises a pushing head 121 and a moving mechanism 122 (not illustrated in detail) capable of moving said pushing head 121 back and forward and thus pushing the upper blister pack 102 in a first direction.

(13) The second positioning arm 130 comprises a pushing head 131 and a moving mechanism 132 (not illustrated in detail) capable of moving said pushing head 131 and pushing said upper blister pack 102 in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction. The action of both positioning arms 120-130 places the upper blister pack 102 in a position where the flipping robotic head 140 can take it. The position of the blister pack 102 in the right position is the combination of three independent but coordinated movements: the lifting movement of the base 112, the pushing action of head 121 and the pushing action of head 131.

(14) As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the pile of blister packs 110 is in position to start the process in accordance with the following detail: a. The first movement is the lifting movement of the base 112 until the upper blister pack 102 on top of the pile reaches the top position. This base 112 is moved by a step motor mechanism (not illustrated). b. As illustrated in FIG. 2B the step motor driving mechanism 122 moves the head 121 in the direction of axis X and said head 121 pushes the edge of the blister pack 102 in the direction of axis X. When the blister pack 102 reaches the desired point, the step motor mechanism 122 is activated in the opposite sense and the head 121 returns to its original position. c. The step motor driving mechanism 132 moves the head 121 in the direction of axis Y (FIG. 2B) pushing the edge of the upper blister pack 102 in the direction of axis Y. When the blister pack 102 reaches the desired point, the step motor mechanism 132 is activated in the opposite sense and the head 121 returns to its original position.

(15) Thus, the system 100 levels the blister packs 111 up to a top position in which it will be taken to the next step, without using excessive pressure on it. The base 112 and said heads 121-131 can be driven by different mechanisms, including but not limited to, step motor driving mechanisms, hydraulic driving mechanisms, motors, etc. By means of these driving means and a software, the system 100 can align any size of a blister pack 101 automatically, keeping it in an exact position to be taken by a grip in the next step. When the user needs to change the size of the blister pack, it is not necessary to make any changes or regulations between one size and the other in the feeding cartridge 110.

(16) Said flipping robotic head 140 comprises an axis 141, a flipping arm 142 and a C-shaped flat head 143 attached to said flipping arm 142. Said axis 141 is coupled to a driving device (not illustrated) capable of rotating said flipping arm 142 clockwise and counter-clockwise. At the outer end 144, said C-shaped flat head 143 includes a vacuum device 145 that comprises a suction cup 146, and two suction hoses 147-148 connected to a vacuum pump (not illustrated). When the blister pack 102 is in the right position (that is, when the pushing heads 121-131 positioned it in are in the correct place), the vacuum pump is activated, creating a suction effect on the suction cup 146. When this suction cup 146 is in contact with the flat surface 102A of the blister pack 102, the blister pack 102 is retained or sucked by the suction cup 146 of the C-shaped flat head 143. The suction pressure is high enough to keep the blister pack 102 in position during the flipping movement of the arm 142. Thus, the C-shaped flat head 143 of the flipping arm 140 takes the blister pack 102 and holds it (by vacuum), rotating it and taking it to the next operation.

(17) Before releasing the vacuum, the blister 102 is taken by the positioning device 160. This device 160 comprises a grabbing jaw 161 and an operating arm 162 coupled to a step motor device (not illustrated) capable of moving the grabbing jaw in an X-Y plane (FIG. 2B and FIGS. 3A-H). The main purpose of this positioning device 160 is to place the blister pack 102, and particularly each cavity 103 of said blister pack 102, below a cutting device 170. This positioning device 160 is controlled by a software capable of storing the arrangement and number of cavities of each blister pack as well as determining the exact position of the cavity to be cut and separated from the blister pack, and controlling all the moving parts of the machine 100. The device 160 moves and places the blister pack ready for the cut to take place. When the cutting device 160 cuts and separates one cavity 103 from the blister pack, the device 160 moves the blister 102 again to place the next cavity 103 right below the cutting device 170.

(18) FIGS. 3A-H clearly show how the blister pack is moved during the cutting process. FIG. 3A shows when the blister pack is moved horizontally from the previous step described above to the initial positioning of the cutting process. Arrow A shows this horizontal movement. When the blister pack 102 reaches the initial position of FIG. 3B the device 160 moves it vertically, as indicated by arrow B. Since the cutting device is fixed, the blister pack 102 and particularly the cavity 103 to be cut out needs to be positioned right below the cutting die 171. The device 160, controlled by mechanical means and a software, will be the one in charge of positioning the blister in the cutting position.

(19) FIG. 3C shows the exact position where the first cavity 103 is cut out of the blister pack by the cutting device 170. In FIG. 3D the first cavity 103 is already cut out and the device 160 is moving the blister 102 to the right (arrow C) so as to position the second cavity right below the cutting die 171. In FIG. 3E the first two cavities are gone and the device 160 moves again the blister 102 to position the third cavity right below the cutting die of the cutting device 170. The process is repeated until all the cavities are cut from the blister and the system returns to the original step to grab a new blister and re-start the process.

(20) The cutting device 170 is actuated by a servomotor 182 (illustrated) in FIG. 7, with a ball bearing screw 175 that moves up and down the cutting die 171. Since the cavities of the blister packs may have different shapes, different cutting dies with different shapes can be used, including but not limited to, rounded, oval, and rectangular with rounded edges, etc. The shape of each die must copy the shape of the cavity to be cut out.

(21) A collecting chute 180 including a tube 181 (FIG. 6) receives the cavities already cut, which in turn are being pushed into a collecting bucket (not illustrated) for further processing.

(22) While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be recognized and understood that various modifications can be made in the invention and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.