| 摘要 |
Systems and methods are provided for simultaneously dispensing precisely-controlled doses of a powder into multiple cartridges. The powder can contain a drug, and the cartridges can be used in inhalers. The fill state of each cartridge, typically the powder weight, is sensed during filling, and powder dispenser modules are individually controlled in response to the sensed weight to ensure accurate dosage. The system operates at high speed and can be very compact to enable production filling operations with minimal floor space requirements. According to a first aspect of the invention, a powder dispensing and sensing apparatus comprises a tray support structure to receive a cartridge tray holding cartridges, a powder dispenser assembly including powder dispenser modules to dispense powder into respective cartridges of a batch of cartridges in the cartridge tray, a powder transport system to deliver powder to the powder dispenser modules, a sensor module including sensor cells to sense respective fill states of each of the cartridges in the batch of cartridges, and a control system to control the powder dispenser modules in response to the respective sensed fill states of each of the cartridges of the batch of cartridges. The powder dispenser modules, the powder transport system and the sensor cells can be configured for concurrent dispensing of powder to the batch of cartridges and concurrent sensing of the fill state of each of the cartridges in the batch of cartridges. The sensor cells can comprise weight sensor cells. The cartridge tray can be configured to support the cartridges in a two-dimensional array of rows and columns. |
