FR2916189A1 - DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING AND DISPENSING THERMOSENSITIVE PRODUCTS - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for transporting and dispensing heat-sensitive products, in particular pharmaceuticals or foodstuffs, comprising a trough provided with an upper closure lid, and comprising a receptacle device which is positioned in the lower part of the trough and which comprises: - a reservoir suitable for receiving a quantity of ice or dry ice; - a thermal barrier interposed between the C02 reserve and the heat-sensitive products to be transported, products which can be deposited on the thermal barrier for the purpose of their transport; - an insulating cover interposing between the products and the top lid closing the tray.

Description

Device for the transport and distribution of products

thermosensitive

  The present invention relates to the field of transport and distribution of thermosensitive products, it is particularly interested in the case of pharmaceutical products (drugs, vaccines ...), and food products (ferments ...). It is known that such equipment ensures the respect of the cold chain in a range typically between +2 and +8 ° C, or even between 2 and +4 ° C. Considering the example of drugs or vaccines, such products are conditioned between 0 and +4 C and are placed in structures (envelopes or stacks 15 cardboard ...) whose purpose is to ensure relative isothermal ... According to commonly practiced processes, a tray or plastic box receives the products as well as a quantity of eutectic plates intended for the thermal protection of the transported products, taking into account in particular the parameters of mean outside temperature and expected duration of transport.

  This type of standard tray is provided with a top closure lid, it is delivered to pharmacies, where the drugs are unloaded, then the bins are returned with their eutectics to the (central) dispensing drug base.

  The following disadvantages can be mentioned in these prior systems: - The organization of the recovery of eutectics - The conditioning and handling of eutectics (heavy system) - The viability of eutectics (aging, dosage - The necessary manpower ( packaging of bins with establishment of internal structures of separation of lots etc) - The results of temperature maintenance of the currently observed products which hardly respect the specifications in general imposed, namely: • Duration of the transport: commonly from 5 to 72 hours • An average ambient temperature up to 25 C • Products to be maintained between +0 +8 C - Without forgetting the major drawback related to unavoidable air intakes in the box, which cause condensation phenomena of very important humidity, in practice it is common that upon arrival at the pharmacy, the products are found dabbling dan s water, therefore unfit for sale and to be returned to the vending platform.

  It should be noted that a draft AFNOR Standard is being developed to better define the transport packaging of such health products and performance to be achieved imperatively.

  As will be seen below in more detail, the present invention provides a novel transport solution of equipping a trough (which may be a conventional trough of generally parallelepipedal shape and provided with a top cover of closure) of a receptacle for ice or dry ice packaged in a very particular arrangement.

  The receptacle device is positioned at the bottom of the tank and comprises: a tank capable of receiving ice or dry ice, in particular packaged, and minimizing the exchange surface with the ice or snow reserve; • a dry ice slab or a dry ice dose is able to be positioned in the bottom of the tank; • A thermal barrier interposed between the CO2 reserve and the heat-sensitive products to be transported, products that can be deposited on the thermal barrier for transport; An insulating lid interposed between the products and the upper lid for closing the container, which insulating lid is advantageously deformable, and which makes it possible in particular to isolate the products from the environment. The evoked tank elements, thermal barrier and insulating cover may for example be made from expanded polypropylene because of its properties of high insulation power, washable and recyclable character, but it is conceivable that many other materials , polymers or not, are possible.

  Exchanges of heat with the surrounding atmosphere, inevitable, will cause the sublimation of the dry ice slab or the dose of dry ice present in the bottom of the tank, the resulting cold gases will exert pressure on the underside of the tank. the thermal barrier, on which the products are placed. In some cases, depending on the desired performance (12h, 24h, 48h, 72h), it may be advantageous to use a different density (porosity) for the manufacture of the thermal barrier to thereby regulate the loss of frigories over time. The cold gases that result from the sublimation will then cross the barrier by capillarity.

  The sizing of the system must take into account the following thermal balance. - the dimensions of the transport container; - the quantity of product to be transported; - the outside temperature - the expected heat inputs under the conditions of the specifications (temperature level to be maintained, outside temperature), for example 14 hours at +25 C, for products maintained between 0 and 8 C. - the properties (materials, thickness, porosity ..) of the thermal barrier and the insulating cover (the possible porosity of the thermal barrier and its thickness allowing the renewal of cold gases in the area where the products are located).

  The present invention thus relates to a device for transporting and dispensing heat-sensitive products comprising a container provided with an upper lid for closing the container, and comprising a receptacle device which is positioned in the lower part of the container and which comprises: tank capable of receiving a quantity of ice or dry ice; a thermal barrier interposed between the CO2 reserve and the heat-sensitive products to be transported, products that can be deposited on the thermal barrier for the purpose of transporting them; - An insulating cover interposed between the products and the upper lid closing the tray.

  The present invention will be better understood in light of the detailed description of certain embodiments as described in the accompanying drawings. These particular embodiments are presented for purposes of illustration only and can not be considered as limiting the invention: FIG. 1 represents two schematic sectional views of an already existing transport container for the transport of foodstuffs ; FIG. 2 shows two diagrammatic sectional views of a pharmaceutical product transport bin according to the invention; FIG. 3 shows two diagrammatic sectional views of another embodiment of a transport container for pharmaceutical products in accordance with the invention, particularly suitable for storage periods of up to 72 hours.

  Figure 1 shows two schematic sectional views of a pharmaceutical transport bin 10 existing in this industry. FIG. 1 shows the presence of: a substantially standard plastic container 1 (substantially parallelepipedic), provided with an upper lid 6; an inner box made of a gas-filled, therefore insulating, flange 2, on the bottom of which a CO2 plate 8 is laid, if necessary supplemented by a eutectic plate for long transport periods; the products to be transported 4 are placed on a cardboard plate 3 and lined with an aluminum film of the Coldpack TM type. It should be mentioned that such arrangements are already available for the transport of food products, in particular via the ChronopostTM service Nevertheless such boxes are typically used to respond to transport not exceeding (for an outside temperature of 25 C) 24h or 48h by implementing large quantities of cryogen, with the disadvantages already mentioned, they are certainly suitable not to reach times of 72h.

  It is understood that it was therefore necessary to provide improved structures over existing structures in accordance with FIG.

  Figure 2 shows two schematic sectional views of a pharmaceutical transport container 30 according to a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 shows the presence of: a substantially standard plastic container 10, provided with an upper lid 11; a receptacle device adapted to receive ice or packaged dry ice 18, receptacle device positioned at the bottom of the tank 10, and comprising: a tank 12, which is in the form of a receptacle occupying all or part of the lower part of the tank; a thermal barrier 13 resting on the upper edge of the reservoir 12, the products 10 (for example vaccines or drugs) are placed on the upper face of the thermal barrier 13 as shown in the figure, until the total loading of the expected delivery; - An insulating cover 14, located above the products, thus interposed between the products and the upper closure lid 11 of the tray when it is closed. The insulating cover 14, in the embodiment shown here, does not cooperate with the walls of the tray, which will be more particularly adapted to the short transport times (typically 15h); a structure is preferably adopted in which the insulating cover 14 co-operates with the walls of the tank (for example on a channel which is provided therein) in order to reach higher durations and thus to achieve a better seal.

  In the embodiment shown, the tank elements 12, heat barrier 13 and insulating cover 14 are made of expanded polypropylene. A device according to FIG. 2 was used for transporting a lot of vaccine, stored with a 750 gram dry ice plate, and thus it was found that such an arrangement allows to maintain vaccines at a temperature below 8 C for a period of 15 to 16 hours, 24h without difficulty if the insulating cover is secured to the walls of the tray, which allows to achieve the specifications of the current load of transportation of pharmaceutical products, especially in the delivery of pharmacies, without any of the disadvantages listed above (eutectics, humidity ...).

  It was therefore interesting, for some applications requiring holdings of 72h products below 8 C, to improve the arrangement of Figure 2.

  This is proposed by the embodiment shown diagrammatically in FIG.

  Figure 3 shows two schematic sectional views of another embodiment of a transport container of pharmaceutical products according to the invention, particularly suitable for shelf life of 72 hours.

  FIG. 3 shows the presence of: a substantially standard plastic container 20, provided with an upper lid 21; a receptacle device adapted to receive packaged ice or carbon dioxide 28, receptacle device positioned at the bottom of the tank 20, and comprising: a reservoir 22, which is in the form of a container which here, in comparison with the mode of FIG. high edges, extending substantially to the upper edge of the tray 20; a thermal barrier 23 on which the products are placed (for example vaccines or drugs) until the total delivery of the expected delivery is completed; the thermal barrier 23 cooperates with the walls of the tray 20, for example by relying on a groove or channel as shown in Figure 3; - An insulating cover 24, located above the products, thus interposed between the products and the upper closure lid 21 of the tray when it is closed. The insulating cover 24 bears, cooperates, with the upper edge of the reservoir 22 and with the upper part of the tray 20. In the closed position, the upper cover 21 thus rests on the insulating cover 24.

  In the embodiment shown, the tank members 22, thermal barrier 23 and insulating cover 24 are expanded polypropylene.

  It will be appreciated that the illustrated embodiment illustrates a preferred embodiment of the high-sided tank, where the bottom thickness of the tank is greater than the thickness of the upper edges of the tank, which favors the creation of convective phenomena. , and therefore the circulation of cold gas. By way of example, the following thicknesses were used: 30 mm for the bottom of the tank, and 25 mm on the high edges (at plus or minus 5 mm depending on the densities of materials chosen). Also advantageously, the bottom of the tank 22, on which bottom the CO2 reserve 28 rests, is preferably, at least on a portion of its surface, embossed or grooved so as to minimize the exchange surface. between the bottom of the tank and the CO2 reserve. and so slow down the sublimation. In this way, the reserve (ice or snow) rests on the peaks of the bumps or grooves formed on the surface of the bottom of the tank.

  It is conceivable that such an arrangement according to Figure 3 has many improvements over the mode of Figure 2, and fortiori compared to the arrangement of Figure 1, in terms of sealing, and there is could demonstrate that such an arrangement according to Figure 3 allows the maintenance of the atmosphere of the area where the products are located in a condition such that it can ensure a temperature on the surface of the products according to the specifications imposed ( 72h at 2-8C).

  The advantages of the invention are therefore spectacular and can be summarized as well. - The respect of the cold chain is perfectly achieved; - a handling gain; - Easy packaging, a small footprint; - simplification of operations; - Reduced size and weight compared to the eutectic solution (the required eutectic weight is about twice as high as in a CO2-based solution according to the invention); The reduction of condensation phenomena (problem mentioned above in the present description in connection with the use of eutectics). the use of CO2 creates inside the tank an overpressure which prevents the entries of humidity. ------------------- 10

Claims (8)

  A device for transporting and dispensing heat-sensitive products comprising a tray (10) having an upper closure lid (11), and comprising a receptacle device which is positioned in the lower part of the tray and which comprises: - a reservoir (12) adapted to receive a quantity of ice or dry ice (18); a thermal barrier (13) interposed between the quantity of CO2 and the heat-sensitive products to be transported, products that can be deposited on the thermal barrier for the purpose of transporting them; - An insulating cover (14) interposed between the products and the upper cover closing the tray.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reservoir (12) is at low edges, located in the lower part of the tray (10), and in that the thermal barrier (13) is supported on the upper face of the tank (12).   3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the insulating cover cooperates with the walls of the tray.   4. Device according to claim 1, characterized by the implementation of the following measures: - the tank (22) has high edges, extending substantially to the upper edge of the tray (20); - The thermal barrier (23) cooperates with the walls of the tray (20), for example by relying on a groove; - The insulating cover (24 bears on the upper edge of the reservoir (22) and cooperates with the upper part of the tray (20).   5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that all or part of the bottom of the tank (22), on which is able to rest the CO2 reserve, is of bumped or grooved structure so as to minimize the exchange surface between the bottom of the tank and the CO2 reserve and thus slow down the sublimation.   6. Device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the thickness of the tank bottom is greater than the thickness of the high edges of the tank.   7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that all or part of the tank elements (12,22), thermal barrier (13,23) and insulating cover (14,24) are made of expanded polypropylene .   8. Device according to one of claims 3 to 7, characterized in that the edges of the insulating cover are deformable. -------------