Package making – Methods – Forming or partial forming a receptacle and subsequent filling
Patent
1996-05-20
1998-04-21
Culver, Horace M.
Package making
Methods
Forming or partial forming a receptacle and subsequent filling
53560, 53561, B65B 102, B65B 138, B65B 904, B65B 3706
Patent
active
057406600
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to methods and apparatus for the production of soft gelatin capsules containing particulate material. Such capsules are now well established as a means for providing a variety of liquid products such as drugs and dietary supplements in a readily ingestible form.
Known apparatus for producing filled gelatin capsules comprises either flat or rotary dies having recesses against which the capsule wall is shaped. The present invention however, is concerned only with apparatus comprising rotary dies or rollers. Such rotary die apparatus comprises two cylindrical rollers mounted with their longitudinal axes substantially parallel and defining a nip therebetween. A plurality of recesses are formed in the outer surface of at least one of the rollers, and means are provided for feeding gelatin ribbon to each roller surface and thereby to the nip. Such apparatus is described in an article entitled "Soft gelatin capsules: a solution to many tableting problems" published in Pharmaceutical Technology in September 1985.
According to the present invention, rotary die apparatus of the kind described above includes a metering system for delivering particulate material between the gelatin ribbons at the nip. Means are also provided for rotating the rollers in synchronism with the metering system, such that particulate material is supplied over a recess in the roller or rollers to fill a capsule formed therein whereafter the juxtaposed ribbon sections close to seal it. Normally, each recess in one roller is in registry with a complementary recess in the other such that the eventually formed capsules are substantially globular.
Delivery of the fill material at the nip can be enough to force the gelatin ribbon into the recess or recesses, with the result that the eventual capsule is relatively tightly packed, and has a size determined by the quantity of fill material provided. However, it is preferred to provide an additional mechanism for urging the gelatin ribbon into the recesses prior to receipt of the fill material, which mechanism can be an air pressure mechanism. For example, a vacuum could be applied at the base of each recess to draw the gelatin material against the wall. Alternatively, positive air pressure can be applied to the other side of the gelatin ribbon to the same effect.
A preferred metering system is disposed in a wedge mounted at the entrance to the nip, with the wedge defining a conduit extending from the nip to a reservoir or hopper for the particulate material. The cross-section of the conduit must of course be selected to allow flow of the particulate material, and for fill material with a particle size of up to 1200 .mu.m, we have found the conduit diameter of 6 mm to be satisfactory. A passage is coupled to an intermediate section of the conduit in the wedge, and means are included for selectively delivering pressurised air along the passage and down the conduit towards the nip between the gelatin ribbons to force the ribbon into the recesses.
A valve at the top of the conduit in the wedge in the metering system referred to above will normally control the delivery of particulate material. Means are provided for keeping the valve open for a predetermined length of time to allow the requisite metered quantity of particulate material into and through the conduit. The delivery of air is timed to occur prior to the valve opening, and can be used to ensure that the conduit is clear. It can also be maintained while the valve is open to free or loosen particulate material in the reservoir which, after the valve is closed, then falls under gravity to the top of the conduit. In this last option, it is recognised that particulate material over a relatively restricted opening can form a bridge, and this pulse of air can break such a bridge, enabling particulate material to fill a metering space over the valve after it has closed.
The invention will now be described by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a cross-section through a rota
Culver Horace M.
R.P. Scherer Corporation
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