Cold blow-fill-seal packaging system and process
AssigneeWoodstock Sterile Solutions, Inc.
InventorWaiken K. Wong
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and system for cold blow-fill-seal packaging of a product. The method and system are directed to maintaining a relatively cold temperature of the product to be packaged during the flow-fill-seal process. This accomplished via the use of one or more of, for example, a heat-exchanger in the system, insulated flow lines and steps taken during the procedure to maintain the temperature of the product below a certain level.
Claims14
A method for blow-fill-seal packaging in a blow-fill-seal machine of a heat sensitive product that is subject to denaturing and/or precipitation in the event that the product becomes too warm, said method comprising steps of:
- forming a container to provide a formed container in a mold of the blow-fill-seal machine;
- cooling the formed container to a container temperature between 60° C. to 80° C., said cooling step consisting of waiting a duration of from more than one second to about 5 seconds from when the container is formed,
- filling the formed container with the product after the cooling step, and wherein the container is at a temperature between 60° C. to 80° C. at the start of the filling step and the product employed in the filling step has a temperature between about 0° C. to about 20° C. and immediately after filling the formed container, has a temperature no greater than 40° C.;
- and
- sealing the container;
- wherein the blow-fill-seal (BFS) packaging is a packaging in which in a sterile and pyrogen-free state, formation of a container by blowing an extruded resin, filling of a product in the formed container and sealing of the container are carried out by means of a single mold.
A system for cold blow-fill-seal packaging of a heat sensitive product that is subject to denaturing and/or precipitation in the event that the product becomes too warm, said system comprising:
- a holding tank for holding the heat sensitive product that is subject to denaturing and/or precipitation in the event that the product becomes too warm;
- and
- a blow-fill-seal machine adapted to:
- (a) form a container in a mold of the blow fill seal machine to provide a formed container in the mold;
- (b) cool the formed container in the mold to a temperature between 60° C. to 80° C., by a cooling step consisting of waiting for more than one second to about five seconds once the container is formed, and
- (c) fill the heat sensitive product into the formed container having the temperature between 60° C. to 80° C. in the mold after cooling the formed container to the temperature between 60° C. to 80° C., and wherein the product, immediately after filling has a temperature no greater than 40° C.;
- and
- (d) seal the container;
- wherein the blow-fill-seal (BFS) machine is a machine in which in a sterile and pyrogen-free state, formation of the container by blowing an extruded resin, filling of the product in the formed container and sealing of the container are carried out by means of a single mold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.