Cutting – Tool engages work during dwell of intermittent workfeed – Work advance occurs during return stroke of tool
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-18
2001-10-30
Young, Lee (Department: 3729)
Cutting
Tool engages work during dwell of intermittent workfeed
Work advance occurs during return stroke of tool
C083S268000, C083S270000, C083S278000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308604
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for splitting articles. More particularly, the invention is concerned with splitting articles which are formed of a plurality of integrally formed containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the area of pharmaceutical packaging and distribution, pharmaceutical substances are commonly packaged in small vials made of glass or plastic known as ampoules. Ampoules can be made in a variety of sizes, and are commonly made so that each ampoule holds approximately one dose of a particular pharmaceutical. Recently, mass produced ampoules have been constructed such that a plurality of ampoules are simultaneously and integrally formed into a belt-like configuration.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,885 issued to Anderson, which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference, teaches a method and apparatus for manufacturing ampoule cards wherein each card comprises a plurality of integrated ampoules. The cards are made out of a soft plastic where each ampoule is attached to one another by means of a weakened line or score in the soft plastic between each individual ampoule. Although any number of ampoules may be formed into an ampoule card, it is common to receive ampoule cards that include 6 ampoules.
Ampoules typically have a flat end and an enlarged end wherein the enlarged end provides a vessel for storing a substance and the flat end provides a grip for handling the ampoule. Therefore, in order to minimize packaging and transportation costs, ampoule cards are typically stacked in alternating layers facing opposite directions so that the enlarged ends are nested with the flat ends. Once the nested ampoule cards are received, it is desirable that the cards be split into individual ampoules so that they may be individually packaged for safety or longevity purposes. For example, a particular pharmaceutical may last longer if it is stored in the dark. Such a container would preferably be individually wrapped in a lightproof wrapper and packaged, together with a plurality of other wrapped ampoules, into a box. Packaged as such, many ampoules can be provided in a box so that unused ampoules are not exposed to light when the box is opened.
In order to separate ampoule cards into individual ampoules, it has been known to punch, knock or push the containers so as to break the reduced thickness sections between the individual ampoules. However, it has been found that such methods involve substantial manual labor costs.
A further disadvantage arises when it is necessary to split ampoule cards that are stacked alternately facing opposite directions and it is desired that the individual ampoules face the same direction after being split from the ampoule cards.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for splitting articles such as ampoule cards that satisfy the aforementioned requirements.
It is another object of this invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for splitting articles that can quickly and reliably split ampoules and discharge them so that they are aligned facing the same direction.
These and other objects are achieved according to the present invention by providing a splitting apparatus including a splitter member with a plurality of blades, a splitter advancer configured to move said splitter member along a cutting path, a splitting guide configured to receive an ampoule card and provided substantially in the cutting path of the splitter member, wherein the splitter member is configured to translate across the splitting guide such that an ampoule card supplied to the splitting guide is split in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axes of the ampoules.
According to a further aspect of the invention, an article splitting apparatus is provided which includes a splitting guide configured to receive an article to be split and to align the article with a cutting path. A splitter member including a plurality of blades is also provided where the blades are configured to split an article in the splitting guide. A splitter advancer is provided to move the splitting member along the cutting path. Furthermore, a rotating platform is provided which is configured to selectively rotate articles before they are moved to the splitting guide.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3490323 (1970-01-01), Jensen et al.
patent: 3759122 (1973-09-01), Lane et al.
patent: 4054074 (1977-10-01), Martensson et al.
patent: 4230008 (1980-10-01), Fornwalt et al.
patent: 4738177 (1988-04-01), Jones, III et al.
patent: 4921154 (1990-05-01), Abe et al.
patent: 5127211 (1992-07-01), Mancini
patent: 5192011 (1993-03-01), Fuchs
patent: 5347898 (1994-09-01), Ito
patent: 5503885 (1996-04-01), Anderson
patent: 5517888 (1996-05-01), Ray
patent: 5709138 (1998-01-01), Rimer
patent: 5839337 (1998-11-01), Neu
patent: 37 32 269 A (1989-04-01), None
patent: 2 674 473 A (1992-10-01), None
patent: 2 175 565 A (1986-12-01), None
patent: 2 175 836 (1986-12-01), None
Chang Rick Kiltae
Genentech Inc.
Oblon & Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt P.C.
Young Lee
LandOfFree
Apparatus for splitting articles does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Apparatus for splitting articles, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Apparatus for splitting articles will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2564785