AUTOMATIC DEVICE FOR THE INSTANTANEOUS PRODUCTION AND

SUPPLY OF GEL DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an automatic device for the instantaneous production and supply of gel, in particular for medical and paramedical use.

Currently, gels for medical and paramedical use are industrially produced by using sizable machinery, e.g. comprising turboemulsifiers. Such gels are packaged in bottles or other containers to be stored and transported to the end user, with the entailed increase in costs.

Object of the present invention is to reduce said production, storage and transport costs. Said object is attained by a device whose main features are specified in claim I ₅ and other features thereof are specified in the subsequent claims.

Thanks to its peculiar structure, the device according to the present invention is relatively small and light-weight; therefore, it can be arranged at the place of use and provide the gel directly and automatically to the end user, so as to avoid the packaging, storing and transporting steps.

In fact, the device according to the present invention uses water from a user's source, constituting 99.5% by weight and about 97.5% by volume of the gel produced. Hence, the device has to be supplied merely for the remaining 0.5% b/w and 2.5% b/v with base ingredients, which can be stored and transported in disposable containers, taking up only a small fraction of space and an even smaller fraction of weight with respect to the known gel containers.

The device according to the present invention attains a remarkable saving on all those materials such as plastics packing and packaging, thereby improving ecological disposal, besides saving time, space and energy otherwise used to treat the product produced, packaged, stored and sent to different places.

Moreover, the product itself, by being directly and instantaneously produced shortly before its actual use, is less subject to all those factors that could alter or deteriorate it during transport or in an incorrect storage, e.g. exposing the product for a long time to sun rays, ionizing radiations, injurious or reactive chemical agents. Such a

feature also allows, with simple contrivances during the supply of the product, to keep the latter sterile until the time of application.

According to a specific aspect of the invention, the device is preferably provided with a pump apt to create a negative pressure in the mixing container in order to improve gel production, so as to prevent bubble formation into the product.

Additional advantages and features of the device according to the present invention will be made evident to those skilled in the art by the following detailed and non-limiting description of an embodiment thereof with reference to the annexed drawings, wherein: - figure 1 shows a perspective view of the device; and - figure 2 shows a diagram of the device of figure 1.

Making reference to said figures, it can be seen that the device according to the present invention comprises an external case enclosing one or more reservoirs A, B, C apt to contain base ingredients for gel. The reservoirs A, B, C are connected with the outside to be filled with said ingredients by means of bottles or disposable containers. The reservoirs A, B, C are also connected to a watertight mixing container D, through first valves F, G, H, to suitably meter said base ingredients in the mixing container D. The latter is provided with a mixer O to mix the base ingredients with water from an. internal and/or external source, e.g. from a reservoir and/or the water-supply system P. Said water is filtered and/or softened by a softener V before reaching the mixing container D. Water metering in the mixing container D is controlled by a second valve I.

The mixing container D is connected to a first pump N to create a negative pressure in the mixing container when the water-dissolved base ingredients begin interacting thereamong, increasing the viscosity of the solution until a gel is obtained. The mixing container D is connected, through a second pump L, to a collection container E containing the ready-to-use gel, which may be dispensed outside of the device through a third pump M and an electric heater Q. The pumps L, M, N, the valves F, G, H, I and/or the mixer O are preferably driven by electric actuators controlled by an electronic control unit (not shown in the figures), together with the heater Q. The control unit is in turn connected to a plurality of inlet/outlet interfaces R ₅ S, T, U to control viscosity, temperature and/or amount of gel produced by the device.

To improve sterility of the end product the reservoirs may be removable, so as to replace the latter once the product contained therein is exhausted. Moreover, always in order to ensure sterility, an additional softener, not illustrated in the figure, may be present at the supply to the outside.

Optional variants and/or additions to the embodiment of the invention described and illustrated hereto may be effected by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the following claims.