TEMPERATURE TELEMETRY IN PROCESSING OF MATERIAL

• US 20100203227A1
• Filed: 07/23/2008
• Published: 08/12/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK plc)
• Original Assignee: GlaxoSmithKline LLC (GSK plc)
• Inventors: Arp, Zane A., McDade, Christine
• Granted Patent: US 8,815,326 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 427/2.140
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/024 for remote indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/00 Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/04 for measuring temperature of moving solid bodies
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 2007/422 Dummy objects used for estimating temperature of real objects

Abstract

In the process of coating pharmaceutical tablets in a moving bed, the temperature of the tablets is measured by incorporating a temperature transducer in the form of tablet into the bed of tablets, and transmitting temperature data to an external receiver by wireless telemetry.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring the temperature of a material being subjected to processing step, the method comprising:

including, along with said material, a temperature monitoring transducer; and

transmitting temperature data from said monitoring transducer by wireless telemetry to a receiver external to said material.

2. The method according to claim 1, in which said material is a mass of material, and in which the temperature monitoring transducer is embedded within said mass of material.

3. The method according to claim 2, in which the mass of material is a flowable mass that is in motion during said processing step.

4. The method according to claim 2, in which the mass of material is composed of multiple pharmaceutical dosage forms and said transducer.

5. The method according to claim 4, in which the processing step is a coating step.

6. The method according to claim 5, in which the processing step is a coating step in which a coating material is sprayed onto the pharmaceutical dosage forms while the pharmaceutical dosage forms are being tumbled.

7. The method according to claim 2, in which plural temperature monitoring transducers are embedded within said mass of material, and temperature data are transmitted from said temperature monitoring transducers, by wireless telemetry, to a receiver external to said mass of material.

8. The method according to claim 2, in which plural temperature monitoring transducers are embedded within said mass of material, and temperature data are transmitted from said temperature monitoring transducers over independent wireless channels to a receiver external to said mass of material, whereby the temperature of each transducer can be ascertained independently.

9. The method according to claim 1, in which the processing step includes deposition of a drop of liquid on each tablet of an array of tablets and passing the array of tablets through a drying stage, and in which the temperature monitoring transducer is included in the array along with said tablets.

10. The method according to claim 1, in said material is a mass of material being subjected to lyophilization, and in which the temperature monitoring transducer is embedded within said mass of material during lyophilization.

11. A method of monitoring the temperature of pharmaceutical dosage forms in a bed comprising multiple dosage forms in a random array being subjected to a processing step, the method comprising:

including a temperature monitoring transducer within said bed; and

transmitting temperature data from said monitoring transducer by wireless telemetry to a receiver external to said bed.

12. The method of claim 11, in which the processing step is a coating step.

13. The method according to claim 11, in which the processing step is a coating step in which a coating material is sprayed onto the pharmaceutical dosage forms and the transducer while the pharmaceutical dosage forms are being tumbled.

14. The method according to claim 11, in which the pharmaceutical dosage forms and said transducer are moved during the processing step, and in which the transducer is of a size, shape and weight such that its movement within said bed is substantially indistinguishable from the movement of the pharmaceutical dosage forms in said bed.

15. The method according to claim 11, in which plural temperature monitoring transducers are included within said bed, and temperature data are transmitted from said temperature monitoring transducers, by wireless telemetry, to a receiver external to said bed.

16. The method according to claim 11, in which plural temperature monitoring transducers are included within said bed, and temperature data are transmitted over independent wireless channels from said temperature monitoring transducers to a receiver external to said bed, whereby the temperature of each transducer can be ascertained independently.