Supporting structure for supporting sealed cartridges, transport or packaging container and process for processing the same

A process for processing a batch of pre-crimped cartridges for use in pharmaceutical, medical or cosmetic applications,

• said cartridges having
• an upper end and a bottom end opposite to the upper end,
• a cylindrical body of a first outer diameter with a filling opening at the upper end, and
• a shoulder portion at the bottom end, which is followed by a widened bottom rim with a secondary opening for drug administering, wherein the secondary opening is sealed by a seal and an outer closure is crimped over the widened bottom rim to secure the seal at the cartridge, a predetermined axial length being defined between the upper end and the bottom end, wherein an outer diameter of the pre-crimped cartridges at their shoulder portions is larger than the outer diameter at their sealed bottom ends but smaller than the first outer diameter;
• said process comprising the steps of:
• a) providing a supporting structure comprising
• a planar supporting plate, and
• a plurality of tubular receptacles formed at the planar supporting plate in a regular arrangement and formed by circumferential side-walls extending downward from a bottom side of the planar supporting plate for accommodating the pre-crimped cartridges, wherein
• retaining protrusions are formed at the bottom ends of the receptacles protruding inward, and
• the axial length of the receptacles is smaller than the axial length of the pre-crimped cartridges;
• b) disposing the pre-crimped cartridges upside-down in the receptacles and with their upper ends protruding from the upper ends of the receptacles at an upper side of the planar supporting plate so that the shoulder portions of the pre-crimped cartridges are supported on the retaining protrusions of the receptacles, that the sealed bottom ends of the pre-crimped cartridges extend through openings formed by the retaining protrusions at the bottom ends of the receptacles and that the upper ends of the pre-crimped cartridges are disposed at the same height level;
• c) feeding the supporting structure with the pre-crimped cartridges to a processing station;
• and
• d) processing the pre-crimped cartridges at their upper ends at the processing station while being supported by the supporting structure;
• wherein step d) comprises at least a step of stoppering the pre-crimped cartridges at their upper ends using rubber stoppers.

A combination of a supporting structure and a plurality of pre-crimped cartridges for use in pharmaceutical, medical or cosmetic applications supported by said supporting structure, said pre-crimped cartridges having

• an upper end and a bottom end opposite to the upper end,
• a cylindrical body of a first outer diameter with a filling opening at the upper end, and
• a shoulder portion at the bottom end, which is followed by a widened bottom rim with a secondary opening for drug administering, wherein the secondary opening is sealed by a seal and an outer closure is crimped over the widened bottom rim to secure the seal at the cartridge, a predetermined axial length being defined between the upper end and the bottom end, wherein an outer diameter of the pre-crimped cartridges at their shoulder portions is larger than the outer diameter at their sealed bottom ends but smaller than the first outer diameter,
• said supporting structure comprising:
• a planar supporting plate, and
• a plurality of tubular receptacles formed at the planar supporting plate in a regular arrangement and formed by circumferential side-walls extending downward from a bottom side of the planar supporting plate for accommodating the pre-crimped cartridges, wherein
• retaining protrusions are formed at the bottom ends of the receptacles protruding inward, and
• the axial length of the receptacles is smaller than the axial length of the pre-crimped cartridges, wherein
• the pre-crimped cartridges are accommodated upside-down in the receptacles of the supporting structure,
• characterized in that
• the shoulder portions of the pre-crimped cartridges are supported on the retaining protrusions of the receptacles, that the sealed bottom ends of the pre-crimped cartridges extend through openings formed by the retaining protrusions at the bottom ends of the receptacles and that the upper ends of the pre-crimped cartridges protrude from the upper ends of the receptacles at an upper side of the planar supporting plate, wherein for stiffening the supporting plate
• stiffening ribs provided on the bottom side of the supporting plate interconnect outer ones of the receptacles, and/or
• stiffening ribs provided on the bottom side and near the center of the supporting plate interconnect central ones of the receptacles.