Opening assembly for bags housing containers for pharmaceutical use

Abstract

An opening assembly for bags housing containers for pharmaceutical use, including at least one clamping mechanism for clamping a portion of said bag spaced apart with respect to an end flap of the bag, said clamping mechanism arranged so as to clamp together sections of opposing sheets of said bag, and at least one cutting element for the trimming and the separation of said end flap with respect to said sections of said opposing sheets of said bag mutually clamped together by said clamping mechanism.

1 . An opening assembly for bags housing containers for pharmaceutical use, comprising: at least one clamping mechanism for clamping a portion of said bag and at least one cutting element, wherein said clamping mechanism is arranged to clamp together sections of opposing sheets of said bag which are spaced apart with respect to an end flap of the bag and in that said at least one cutting element is arranged and configured for the trimming and the separation of said end flap protruding with respect to said sections of said opposing sheets of said bag mutually clamped together by said clamping mechanism. 
     
     
         2 . The opening assembly according to  claim 1 , comprising gripping mechanisms equipped with at least one clamping jaw for gripping said end flap of the bag, said bag hanging from the at least one jaw of the gripping mechanism. 
     
     
         3 . The opening assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein said gripping mechanisms are associated to a transport device. 
     
     
         4 . The opening assembly according to  claim 3 , wherein said transport device comprises a proximal section arranged in a first zone and a distal section arranged in a second zone, wherein the first zone has a higher contamination class and a higher ambient pressure than the second zone. 
     
     
         5 . The opening assembly according to  claim 3 , wherein said transport device has a closed loop configuration and is driven by an automatic drive unit connected to a control and management processor. 
     
     
         6 . The opening assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein said cutting element is arranged between said gripping mechanisms and said clamping mechanism, when the end flap is separated from said sections of opposing sheets clamped by the clamping mechanism. 
     
     
         7 . The opening assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein said clamping mechanism is integral with a movable terminal end of a manipulator. 
     
     
         8 . The opening assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein said manipulator is an anthropomorphic-type robot. 
     
     
         9 . The opening assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein said manipulator is movable between at least two end configurations, a first configuration wherein the bag is removed from said transport device for the clamping of said opposing sheets with said clamping mechanism, and a second configuration wherein the bag is brought in proximity to an opening defined on a separation wall separating said first zone from a compartment with a higher contamination class and higher ambient pressure compared to the first zone. 
     
     
         10 . The opening assembly, according to  claim 9 , wherein in said first zone, there is arranged at least one dispenser of a gas flow intended to flow over the proximal section of said transport device, said bag transported along said end section and said manipulator located in the first zone. 
     
     
         11 . The opening assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein said gas flow is of the laminar type. 
     
     
         12 . A method for opening bags housing containers for pharmaceutical use, comprising the steps of:
 arranging a portion of said bag spaced apart with respect to an end flap (D) in alignment with a clamping mechanism ( 2 );   clamping together sections of opposing sheets of said bag with said clamping mechanism;   trimming and separating, by means of a cutting element, said end flap with respect to said sections of said opposing sheets of said bag mutually clamped together by said clamping mechanism.   
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 12 , further comprising the step of aligning the portion of bag clamped by said clamping mechanism at a subsequent operating station. 
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 12 , wherein the clamping of the bag with the clamping mechanism keeps said sections of opposing sheets clamped together, so that the containers placed inside of the bag remain isolated from the outside environment even after trimming.