阅读说明：本技术 用于制造双袋的方法和设备 (Method and apparatus for manufacturing double bags ) 是由 斯温-大卫·普拉特 于 2018-03-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：公开了一种用于制造双袋(20)的方法和设备。该方法包括通过开放顶端(42)将内袋(30)放置在外袋(40)中,穿过开放顶端(42)之间插入气体供给管(50),通过气体供给管(50)用惰性气体供给内袋(30)与外袋(40)之间的头部空间(44),抽出气体供给管(50),并且密封顶端(42)。气体箱室(80)环绕开放顶端(42)以降低氧气进入头部空间(44)的风险。(A method and apparatus for manufacturing a dual bag (20) is disclosed. The method includes placing an inner bag (30) in an outer bag (40) through an open top end (42), inserting a gas supply tube (50) through between the open top ends (42), supplying a head space (44) between the inner bag (30) and the outer bag (40) with an inert gas through the gas supply tube (50), withdrawing the gas supply tube (50), and sealing the top end (42). A gas box chamber (80) surrounds the open top end (42) to reduce the risk of oxygen entering the headspace (44).)

1. A method for manufacturing a dual bag (20) having an inner bag (30) in an outer bag (40) with an open top end (42), the method comprising:

inserting a gas supply tube (50) through the open top end (42);

placing a gas box chamber (80) over the open top end (42);

-feeding a head space (44) between the inner bag (30) and the outer bag (40) with an inert gas through the gas feed tube (50);

-extracting said gas supply duct (50); and is

Sealing the outer bag (40).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein placing the gas box chamber (80) comprises closing an upper box chamber (80u) and a lower box chamber (80 l).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the inert gas is nitrogen.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the gas box chamber (80) is flushed with nitrogen prior to supplying the head space (44).

5. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising evacuating substantially all air from the head space (44) prior to supplying the head space (44) with the inert gas.

6. The method of any preceding claim, wherein supplying the head space (44) with the inert gas comprises supplying the head space (44) with the inert gas a first time, followed by evacuating the head space (44) and then supplying the head space (44) with the inert gas a second time.

7. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising at least partially sealing the tip (42) prior to supplying the headspace (44) with the inert gas.

8. The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the inner bag (30) contains at least one of a liquid or a powder.

9. The method of any preceding claim, further comprising maintaining a defined pressure around a lower portion of the outer bag (40).

10. An apparatus (10) for manufacturing double bags (20), comprising:

a placing device for placing the inner bag (30) in the outer bag (40) in a bag sealing machine;

a gas box chamber (80), the gas box chamber (80) for enclosing an open top end (42) of the outer bag (40);

a welding device for sealing a top edge of the outer bag; and

a gas supply for filling a head space (44) between the inner and outer bags with an inert gas.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the gas box chamber (80) comprises an upper box chamber (80u) and a lower box chamber (80 l).

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the gas supply comprises a removable tube adapted to be removed after filling the head space (44) with the inert gas.

13. Apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising vacuum means for evacuating the head space (44).

14. The apparatus of any of claims 10 to 13, further comprising a chamber (500) for enclosing a bottom of the outer bag (40).

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the chamber (500) maintains a constant pressure around the outer bag (40).

Background

This document describes a method and apparatus for manufacturing a double bag comprising an inner bag and a surrounding outer bag (also called outer bag). The so-called "head space" between the inner and outer bag is filled with an inert gas, such as nitrogen. There may be more than one inner bag inside the outer bag and the inner bag may have one or more chambers.

Such double bags have been available for some time. They are used for the storage of pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals and other similar products. The outer bag protects the inner bag and ensures that the inner bag and its contents remain sterile. Atmospheric oxygen is removed as much as possible from the head space between the inner and outer bags, as this extends the life of the packaged material by substantially reducing the risk of oxidation of the contents of the inner bag.

Several techniques are known for flushing the bag with an inert gas. For example, U.S. patent No. 3,789,888 teaches a method of flushing a single bag with an inert gas by inserting a gas delivery tube into the bag.

Another technique is known from us patent No. 5,667,827, which teaches a method for packaging fresh meat in a substantially oxygen-free environment. In this case, the meat is initially placed in a packaging tray and overwrapped with a web of transparent plastic material, which is ventilated to allow the passage of gases. The plurality of overwrapped packaging trays are then placed in an outer bag that is first evacuated to a standard atmosphere including oxygen and then flushed with an enhanced preservative gas such as nitrogen.

Another example of a bagging and packaging machine comprising a conveying device for introducing an inert gas into a bag is known from european patent No. EP 2022720, which teaches a gas supply device for supplying an inert gas into a bag in place of air contained in the bag. The bagging and packaging machine comprises oxygen detection means for detecting the amount of oxygen remaining in the bag, and gas supply control means for controlling the supply of inert gas to the bagging and packaging machine and for adjusting the supply of inert gas into the bag in dependence on the state of oxygen remaining in the bag.

In particular, for packaging pharmaceutical materials, it is desirable to ensure that ambient air is prevented from contaminating the contents of the bag during the packaging process and that minimal exposure to atmospheric oxygen is ensured. The products can be packaged and double bags made by making them under clean room conditions in a nitrogen atmosphere. This requires a large amount of nitrogen gas because there is a large amount of waste when the completed double bag is removed from the filling and packaging machine.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a double bag, for example an outer bag and one or more inner bags. In one aspect of the invention, the inner bag may contain pharmaceutical or biological materials.

Drawings

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a manufacturing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention.

Fig. 2 shows a double bag.

Fig. 3 illustrates a method of manufacturing a dual bag.

Fig. 4a-c show various stages of the manufacturing method.

Fig. 5 implements a compartment surrounding the outer bag.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of an example of a manufacturing apparatus 10 for a double bag 20 according to an aspect of the present invention, and fig. 2 shows an example of the double bag 20. The double bag 20 has an inner bag 30 and an outer bag 40. The inner bag 30 has at least one port 32 (typically two ports) and is filled with a content 35, for example a pharmaceutical product, such as but not limited to saline, or a biological product, such as but not limited to a blood product, in one or more chambers. The contents 35 may be in powder or fluid form and may also comprise a mixture of powder and fluid. The inner bag 30 may also contain nutritional or health products. The inner bag 30 is manufactured in another apparatus and the contents 35 remain sealed within the inner bag 30 during the manufacture of the dual bag 20.

The outer bag 40 is placed around the inner bag 30 at a bag manufacturing location (not shown). The manufacturing apparatus 10 also includes an upper support 12u and a lower support 12l that hold the double bag 20 in this position, and a support 14 on which the double bag 20 is placed. In one aspect of the manufacturing facility, the support 14 is a conveyor belt on which the dual bags 20 are placed and on which the dual bags 20 are transferred from the bag manufacturing location to the manufacturing facility 10. In another aspect, the support is a stationary support table 14 and the double bag 20 is placed onto the support table 14.

The double bag 20 is shown in more detail in fig. 2. It is to be understood that this double bag 20 is merely an example and its design is not limiting to the present invention. The inner and outer bags 30, 40 are made of a polymeric material such as, but not limited to, polypropylene that can be heat sealed. The polymeric material has barrier properties to reduce the risk of oxygen passing through the material to contaminate the contents 35.

The manufacturing apparatus 10 is provided with a gas supply tube 50 that can be inserted into the open top end 42 of the outer bag 40. The gas supply tube 50 is connected to a gas supply source 60 to supply nitrogen (or other inert gas) into the outer bag 40. The gas supply tube 50 may be inserted into the head space 44 between the inner bag 30 and the outer bag 40 and removed from the head space 44. The gas supply tube 50 may also be connected to a vacuum pump 70 for removing gas from the head space 44. Alternatively, a separate tube may be connected to the vacuum pump 70. The manufacturing apparatus 10 includes two extending arms 52 that can be used to open the top end 42 of the outer bag 40 to provide a smooth surface.

The manufacturing apparatus 10 includes a gas box chamber 80 composed of an upper box chamber 80u and a lower box chamber 80 l. The upper and lower chambers 80u and 80l are movable together to form the gas chamber 80 such that the gas chamber 80 surrounds the top end 42 of the outer bag 40 as shown in fig. 4b and 4 c. The manufacturing apparatus also has a heating element 90 formed of an upper heating element 90u and a lower heating element 90 l. The gas box chamber 80 and the heating element 90 are shown in more detail in fig. 4 a-c. As can be seen in FIG. 4a, the top end 42 of the outer bag 40 has been inserted between the upper and lower compartments 80u, 80 l.

The upper tank chamber 80u and the lower tank chamber 80l have seal rings 82u and 82l, respectively, as shown in fig. 4B, and the seal rings 82u and 82l cooperate to form a nitrogen gas space 84 connected to a nitrogen gas supply line 86 when the upper tank chamber 80u is closed onto the lower tank chamber 80 l. Fig. 4A and 4B show open top end 42 arranged such that open top end 42 is located within nitrogen gas space 84 under the closure of upper and lower tank chambers 80u and 80 l. Nitrogen space 84 is flushed with nitrogen through nitrogen supply line 86.

As seen in fig. 4c, upper heating element 90u and lower heating element 90l may also move together to form a weld or seam in outer bag 40.

Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of the manufacture of the double bag 20. In a first step 310, the double bag 20 with the inner bag 30 and the outer bag 40 is transferred into the manufacturing apparatus 10. This is done by placing the double bag 20 on a support 14 in the form of a conveyor belt. In step 313, the outer bag 40 is opened. Opening 313 is achieved by pulling apart the two sheets forming the outer bag 40, for example using suction cups, and then inserting the extension arm 52 into the open top end 42 of the outer bag 40 to unfold the open top end 42 of the bag and smooth the open top end 42. In step 319, the gas supply tube 50 is then inserted through the open top end 42.

In step 320, as shown in fig. 4a, upper holding member 12u and lower holding member 12l move together to hold double bag 20 in the manufacturing apparatus. In step 323, the upper and lower chambers 80a and 80b move together to form the gas chamber 80 around the open top end 42. In step 326, the gas box chamber 80 is flushed with an inert gas, such as nitrogen. In step 330, the head space 44 in the outer bag 40 may be evacuated and then filled with an inert gas such as nitrogen in step 335.

After the head space 44 is filled 335, the gas supply tube 50 is withdrawn 340 and the tip 42 is heat sealed 350. The sealed double bag 20 with inner bag 30 and outer bag 40 can be transported out of the manufacturing apparatus 10 on a support 14 in the form of a conveyor belt.

The evacuation of head space 44 in step 330 is optional. This evacuation removes as much air as possible before headspace 44 is filled with nitrogen. This minimizes the amount of oxygen in the head space 44 before the outer bag 40 is sealed in step 350.

In another aspect of the present invention, in step 335, the head space 44 may be evacuated again after the first nitrogen fill, and then refilled with nitrogen. The first fill of nitrogen effectively flushes out any residual oxygen in the bag prior to the second fill of nitrogen. The flushing and refilling process may be repeated several times to remove all remaining oxygen.

The gas box chamber 80 surrounds the top end 42 of the outer bag 40 to provide a controlled atmosphere and to avoid leakage of atmospheric air containing oxygen from the atmosphere into the head space 44 of the outer bag 40.

In another aspect, the amount of inert gas in the headspace 44 can be controlled by surrounding the dual bag 20 having the outer bag 40 and the inner bag 30 with the chamber 500 shown in fig. 5. The chamber 500 is connected to a gas supply source 520 that supplies a gas such as nitrogen and other inert gases or indeed air, and the chamber 500 is moved in the manufacturing apparatus 10 towards the support 14 on which the double bag 20 is placed. The chamber 500 has a sealing cover 510 for forming a substantially airtight connection, and gas is supplied to a predetermined pressure within the chamber 500. The gas pressure in chamber 500 equalizes the pressure in nitrogen headspace 44 and ensures that there is a substantially similar amount of nitrogen (or other inert gas) in headspace 44. This can be important in meeting customer and regulatory requirements.

Reference mark

10 manufacturing equipment

12u upper support

12l lower support

14 support piece

20 double bag

30 inner bag

32 ports

35 content of

40 outer bag

42 top end

44 head space

50 gas supply pipe

52 extending arm

60 gas supply source

70 vacuum pump

80 gas box chamber

80u upper chamber

80l lower chamber

82u sealing ring

82l sealing ring

84 nitrogen space

86 nitrogen supply line

90u upper support

90l lower support

500 chamber

510 sealing cover

520 gas supply