Device for packaging of medicine-units

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for packaging of medicine-units, comprising a controllable conveyor for conveying a packaging film extending in a longitudinal direction along a path through the device in a direction of conveyance, a first controllable medicine-unit dispensing device positioned at a first location along the path, at least one second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device, positioned at a second location along the path downstream in the conveying direction relative to the first controllable medicine-unit delivery device, a controller, arranged for controlling the conveyor for moving stepwise in the direction of conveyance and simultaneously controlling the first and at least second dispensing device for dispensing a medicine-unit between displacement steps of the conveyor.

Claims

1. A device for packaging of medicine-units, comprising: a controllable conveyor for conveying a packaging film extending in a longitudinal direction along a path through the device in a direction of conveyance; a first controllable medicine-unit dispensing device positioned at a first location along the path; a controller, arranged for: controlling the controllable conveyor for moving stepwise in the direction of conveyance; and simultaneously controlling the first controllable medicine-unit dispensing device and at least a second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device for dispensing the medicine-unit between displacement steps of the conveyor characterized by: the at least one second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device, positioned at a second location along the path downstream in the direction of conveyance relative to the first controllable medicine-unit dispensing device; at least one vertical sealing device for applying a vertical seal in the packaging film, placed upstream in the direction of conveyance relative to the first controllable medicine-unit dispensing device, wherein the controller is configured for controlling the at least one vertical sealing device and the conveyor in conjunction such that the displacement steps correspond to twice a distance between two vertical seals; a first gripping device for gripping the packaging film; and a second gripping device, located upstream in the direction of conveyance, adapted for gripping the packaging film simultaneously with the first gripping device and wherein the first and the second gripping devices are configured to move toward each other while gripping the packaging film to facilitate opening compartments in the packaging film for receiving the medicine-units; wherein two of the compartments are located between the first and second gripping devices, and the device is free of any additional gripping device between the first and second gripping devices; and wherein the two compartments remain connected prior to and while being filled by the first and second controllable medicine-unit dispensing devices.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first and at least second controllable medicine-unit dispensing devices are arranged at adjacent locations; and wherein the adjacent locations are situated between the first and second gripping devices.

3. The device according to claim 1, comprising two of the at least one vertical sealing device for simultaneously applying the two vertical seals in the packaging film.

4. The device according to claim 3, wherein the first gripping device is upstream in the direction of conveyance of the first controllable medicine-unit dispensing device and the second gripping device is downstream in the direction of conveyance of the at least one second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device.

5. The device according to claim 1, comprising a horizontal sealing device for applying a horizontal seal in the packaging film, positioned downstream in the direction of conveyance relative to the at least second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the horizontal sealing device is configured for applying a continuous horizontal seal which extends between three vertical seals.

7. The device according to claim 1, designed for transporting a folded film in the direction of conveyance, with a folding line directed towards its bottom.

8. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or at least one second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device is provided with an output funnel for being received between layers of the packaging film.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the output funnel is configured to move, in a vertical direction, toward and from the packaging film.

10. The device according to claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to let movement into the direction of conveyance of the packaging film take place in between the movement of the packaging film and the dispensing of the medicine units, and/or to let movement in an opposite direction take place after dispensing the medicine units.

11. The device according to claim 8, wherein the output funnel comprises at least one wedge that is received between the layers of the packaging film.

12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the output funnel comprises two opposing wedges that are received between the layers of the packaging film.

13. The device according to claim 1, wherein the packaging film is collected on a reel after filling.

14. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a camera arranged upstream of the first and at least one second controllable medicine-unit dispensing devices, and obtains an optical representation of the medicine-units to be packed.

Description

(1) Another aspect of the present invention is a verification system for correctness of the packaged products. Such verification system may comprise first optical registration means such as a camera, arranged upstream of the funnel of the least one controllable medicine-unit dispensing device, wherein the optical registration means are configured for obtaining an optical representation (such as an image) of medication units to be packed. The device according to the invention may be equipped with a movable container for moving the medicine units toward a position where the optical registration means are positioned. The optical registration means may be configured for providing a coloured image and/or an ultraviolet image and/or an infra red image. This way, medicine units having similar colours in the visible range, may still be distinguished.

(2) The verification system may further comprise a controller, which may comprise electronic processing means, for comparing images obtained from the optical registration means with reference data and/or reference images, that are uploaded to the system or obtained by training the system.

(3) A set of medicine-units to be packed may then be checked for the number of units, their size, shape, (visible) colour and any other property that allows to recognize and/or distinguish them.

(4) The controller may determine that the set of medicine-units matches the intended set, or that a mismatch is present. In both cases a second image can be taken and a second comparison can be made. Optionally, the container may be slightly moved between taking the first and the second image, to make sure that the angle under which the picture was taken does not have an impact on the verification. Dependent on the outcome, next steps may be rejection of the medicine units, packing, or for instance to decide that manual inspection is requires. The invention will now be elucidated in more detail, with reference to FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 1 shows a device 1 for the closed packaging of medicine-units, comprising a controllable conveyor 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d for conveying a packaging film 3 extending in a longitudinal direction along a path through the device in a direction of conveyance D. The device comprises a first controllable medicine-unit dispensing device 3a positioned at a first location along the path and a second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device 3b, positioned at a second location along the path downstream in the conveying direction relative to the first controllable medicine-unit delivery device 3a. The device further comprises a controller (not depicted) arranged for controlling the conveyor for moving stepwise in the direction of conveyance. The step length S corresponds to the common length of the number of compartments (C1, C2) that can be filled simultaneously, which is in the depicted case also the number of medicine unit dispensing devices 3a, 3b, in this case two. The controller is configured for simultaneously controlling the first and at least second dispensing device 3a, 3b for dispensing a medicine-unit between displacement steps of the conveyor 2a, 2b, 3c, 2d.

(6) As visible, in the configuration shown, the first and at least second controllable medicine-unit dispensing devices 3a, 3b are arranged at adjacent locations.

(7) The device 1 comprises a first vertical sealing device 4a for applying a vertical seal in the film 3, placed upstream in the direction of conveyance relative to the first controllable dispensing device 3a, and a second vertical sealing device 3b for simultaneously applying two vertical seals in the film together with vertical sealing device 3a.

(8) The controller is configured for controlling the at least one or two vertical sealing devices and the conveyor in conjunction such that a displacement step S corresponds to twice the distance between two vertical seals s1, s2.

(9) The device 1 further comprises a horizontal sealing device 5 for applying a horizontal seal in the film 3, positioned downstream in the direction of conveyance relative to the at least second controllable medicine-unit dispensing device 3b. The horizontal sealing device 5 is configured for applying a continuous horizontal seal which extends between three vertical seals s1, s2, s3. The conveyor 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d comprises a first gripping device 2d for gripping the film and a second gripping device 2c, located upstream in the direction of conveyance D, adapted for gripping the film 3 simultaneously with the first gripping device 2d and wherein the first and the second gripping devices are configured to move toward each other while gripping the film.

(10) The controllable medicine-unit dispensing devices 3a, 3b are provided with output funnels 6a, 6b, for being received between layers of film 3.

(11) The above example is an example only and does in no way limit the scope of protection as defined in the following claims.