Conveyors: power-driven – Conveyor for changing attitude of item relative to conveyed... – By conveying randomly faced items and turning items to...
Reexamination Certificate
1999-05-04
2001-02-20
Brahan, Thomas J. (Department: 3652)
Conveyors: power-driven
Conveyor for changing attitude of item relative to conveyed...
By conveying randomly faced items and turning items to...
C414S755000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189676
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to an assembly for orienting top or bottom shells of medicinal capsules; and to a supply and orienting unit featuring said orienting assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As is known, medicinal capsules normally comprise a substantially cup-shaped bottom shell; a top shell for closing the bottom shell; and a given quantity of drug enclosed inside the bottom shell. The top and bottom shells are normally made of hard gel, which is rapidly dissolved by gastric acids to release the enclosed drug within a controlled length of time.
Currently used machines for producing medicinal capsules receive the drug and the empty capsules separately at the input, and supply, at the output, a succession of capsules containing a predetermined quantity of drug.
Such machines normally comprise a pocket conveyor for feeding a succession of capsules along a path extending through a supply station where the empty capsules are oriented and inserted successively inside the pockets on the conveyor; a parting station where each top shell is detached from the respective bottom shell to open the capsule; a cleaning station where any processing residue is removed from inside each bottom shell; a dispensing station where a predetermined quantity of drug is fed into each bottom shell; a closing station where each top shell is put back onto the respective bottom shell; and, finally, a pickup station where the medicinal capsules are removed off the pocket conveyor and sent to a packing unit.
The marketing of new types of controlled-release medicinal capsules, however, now calls for supplying production machines separately with the drug and the top and bottom shells. To do this, various units for orienting and supplying top shells have been devised, but which are relatively complex and fail to provide for a sufficiently high hourly output rate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an orienting assembly and relative orienting unit for orienting top or bottom shells of medicinal capsules, and which are straightforward and cheap to produce, and provide for a higher hourly output rate than at present.
According to the present invention, there is provided an orienting assembly of a supply and orienting unit for top or bottom shells of medicinal capsules; the orienting assembly receiving, at the input, a succession of single top or bottom shells, each oriented in either of two opposite spatial directions; the orienting assembly supplying, at the output, a succession of equioriented single top or bottom shells; and the orienting assembly being characterized by comprising a rotary drum having a number of seats, each for housing a top or bottom shell oriented in one of the two opposite spatial directions; and by comprising pneumatic means such that, if the convexity of said top or bottom shell is oriented facing said pneumatic means, the top or bottom shell, even though subjected to the action of a stream of compressed air produced by said pneumatic means, remains housed inside the respective seat, whereas, conversely, if the concavity of said top or bottom shell is oriented facing said pneumatic means, said top or bottom shell is transferred, by virtue of the action of said stream of compressed air produced by said pneumatic means, from the respective seat in which the top or bottom shell is housed to a temporary parking device by which the top or bottom shell is reinserted inside the respective seat; the top or bottom shell, once reinserted inside the respective seat, having a direction of orientation opposite with respect to the initial direction of orientation.
It is a further object of the present invention to combine such an orienting assembly in a novel manner with a new type of supply assembly, to achieve a supply and orienting unit of original design.
The main advantage of the orienting assembly according to the present invention lies in it being based on a straightforward fluid dynamic principle, and on the characteristics inherent in the shape of the top or bottom shell. Which straightforward fluid dynamic principle provides for eliminating complex known-state-of-the-art systems normally involving the use of photocells for determining the orientation direction of the top or bottom shell, so that, given a first reference orientation direction, any top or bottom shells already oriented in the first direction are left so oriented, and any top or bottom shells oriented in a second direction opposite the first reference orientation direction are re-oriented in the first direction.
Though the following detailed description refers explicitly to an assembly for orienting top capsule shells, the same assembly, with appropriate alterations, may obviously also be used for orienting bottom shells.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3917055 (1975-11-01), Vandenberg et al.
patent: 4394933 (1983-07-01), Ackley
patent: 4479573 (1984-10-01), Ackley et al.
patent: 4708233 (1987-11-01), Nomura
patent: 5133636 (1992-07-01), Hunt et al.
patent: 5503515 (1996-04-01), Moorehead
patent: 228232 (1985-10-01), None
patent: 211213 (1986-09-01), None
patent: 1720833 (1992-03-01), None
Brahan Thomas J.
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett & Dunner L.L.P.
MG2 S.p.A
LandOfFree
Orienting assembly for orienting top or bottom shells of... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Orienting assembly for orienting top or bottom shells of..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Orienting assembly for orienting top or bottom shells of... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2598066