Ampule cleaning and quality control system

A process of cleaning sealed, partly filled, floatable ampules comprising the steps of:

• (1) placing a number of said ampules in a fluid permeable but fully enclosing container having bottom, top and side walls,
• (2) completely submerging the container with said ampules in an ultrasonic cleaning tank and bath containing sufficient liquid therein to completely cover and fill the container whereby the ampules float therein in physical contact with the container top,
• (3) transmitting ultrasonic energy into said tank bath in such quantity and in such mode as to clean the ampules in the container,
• (4) removing the container with the cleaned ampules from the ultrasonic cleaning tank bath,
• and (5) removing the cleansed, intact ampules from the container in a subsequent separating step by separating the cleaned ampules from the container in a second, liquid containing rinse tank in a floatation separating step,
• wherein the container removed from the ultrasonic cleaning tank bath is placed under the liquid in a second tank with the container top open and the ampules are floated out of the upper portion of said container.

A process of cleaning sealed, partly filled, floatable ampules comprising the steps of:

• (1) placing a number of said ampules in a fluid permeable but fully enclosing container having bottom, top and side walls,
• (2) completely submerging the container with said ampules in an untrasonic cleaning tank and bath containing sufficient liquid therein to completely cover and fill the container whereby the ampules float therein in physical contact with the container top,
• (3) transmitting ultrasonic energy into said tank bath in such quantity and in such mode as to clean the ampules in the container,
• (4) removing the container with the cleaned ampules from the ultrasonic cleaning tank bath
• and (5) removing the cleansed, intact ampules from the container in a subsequent separating step by separating the cleaned ampules from the container in a second, liquid containing rinse tank in a floatation separating step wherein said container is removed from the ultrasonic cleaning bath after the cleaning step and is placed in the second rinse tank under the surface of the liquid therein with the container top and one side wall thereof open and the ampules are floated upwardly and out of the container through said open top and side wall to the surface of the liquid in the rinse tank,
• said second, rinse tank having means associated therewith for continuously flowing the liquid therewithin from one end of said tank to the other thereof with continuous recirculation of at least some of the liquid from the latter end back to the former end,
• there also being provided within said second tank means for collecting said ampules released into said tank from said container at the surface of the liquid therein and, further, means for removing said collected ampules from said second tank.

A process of cleaning and quality control sifting frangible, sealed, partly filled, submergible ampules comprising the steps of:

• (1) placing a number of said ampules in a fluid permeable but fully enclosing container having bottom, top and side walls,
• (2) completely submerging the container with said ampules in an ultrasonic cleaning tank and bath containing sufficient liquid therein to completely cover and fill the container, whereby the ampules submerge therein into physical contact with the container bottom,
• (3) transmitting ultrasonic energy into said tank bath in such quantity and in such mode as to both clean the ampules in the container and subject them to sufficient vibrational stress so as to break a substantial percentage of any flawed ampules therein,
• (4) removing the container with the cleaned and broken ampules from the ultrasonic cleaning tank bath, and
• (5) separating the cleansed intact ampules and the broken ampules from the container and one another in a subsequent separating step.