US3817423A

US3817423A - Apparatus for continuously rectifying two-piece hard capsules

Info

Publication number: US3817423A
Application number: US00328184A
Authority: US
Inventors: Knight H Mc
Original assignee: Eli Lilly and Co
Current assignee: Eli Lilly and Co
Priority date: 1973-01-31
Filing date: 1973-01-31
Publication date: 1974-06-18
Anticipated expiration: 1991-06-18
Also published as: DE2403619C2; JPS5528967B2; GB1455662A; JPS49110495A; DE2403619A1; IT1007589B

Abstract

Apparatus for continuously rectifying two-piece hard capsules comprising a stationary receptacle for holding randomly-oriented two-piece hard capsules in communication with and cooperating with a laterally reciprocating rotatable feeding element having a plurality of equi-spaced openings therein, said openings in essentially axial alignment with a concentrically rotatable circular bank of cooperating vertical tubes into which said capsules are fed, means for delivering said capsules to a rectifying element which orients said capsules into a position wherein the body section thereof is directed toward the exit from said apparatus, and means for ejecting said capsules therefrom.

Description

[45] June 18, 1974 [54] APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY 6/1959 Greereral..........,...............221/171 RECTIFYING TWO-PIECE HARD Pn'mary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Assistant Examiner-H G. Skaggs, Jr.

, 0r Firm- Ralph W. Ernsberger; Ev-

y, Indianapolis,

[73] Assignee: lEli Lilly and Compan ABSTRACT Ind.

TWO-PIECE vHARD CAPSULES BACKGROUND or THE INVENTION l. Field of the lnvention This invention relates to an apparatus for the continuous high speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules. More particularly, this invention relates to a mechanism which converts randomly-oriented twopiece hard capsules to individually positioned capsules, all of which have thebody section thereof oriented in the same direction.

2. Description of the Prior Art Two-piece hard capsules have been used in the pharmaceutical industry for decades to define and contain a unit dose of a drug or medicine. Hard capsules prepared from gelatin are popular in the prescription drug business because such dosage forms are easily swallowed by both young and old. Gelatin is compatible with dyes whichv provide colors in all ranges of the spectrum, enabling the drug producer'to choose a color to suit the mood of the drug and to distinguish one pharmaceutical 'preparation from another by color codes. Moreover, gelatin is'a naturally occurring food-stuff and readily dissolves in the stomach of the ingester.

Generally, capsules comprise two pieces which are telescoped together to form an enclosed container. Empty two-piece capsules are manufactured by forming each of the two pieces on a molding pin, stripping the sections therefrom, trimming the pieces t a predetermined length and joining the two pieces by pushing (telescoping) the body section into the cap section. As a rule, the bodysection is longer than the cap section, so that when the two sections are telescoped. together the exposed body section length is about the same as the cap section.

The joined empty capsules are usually introduced into the capsule filling operation in a randomlyoriented pack. The randomly-oriented empty capsules are rectified to arrange all of the capsules with the body section oriented in the same direction and such rectified empty capsules are deposited in capsule receiving means, which can take many forms, and subsequently separated, filledand rejoined.

One of the earliest mechanisms-for rectifying twopiece hard capsules comprised a hopper for holding the empty capsules which oscillated back and forth. Stationary tubes into which said capsules were funneled cooperated with said oscillating hopper. The capsules, which were randomly-oriented with respect to the direction of the body section, were discharged from said tubes into a set of horizontally positioned fingers which through a reciprocating movement oriented the capsules so that the bodyA section was always pointed in the same direction. The oriented capsules were then deposited in a receiving means.

As two-piece capsules became increasingly popular as a container for drugs and medicines, the need for high-speed capsule filling equipment became more andV more apparent. Several different mechanical means were developed to accomplish this goal. One of the mechanisms which was developed to till such capsules at a speed of a thousand or more a minute is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,954.

As the invention of the above numbered patent was being readied for commercial use, it became quite obvious that an entirely new and novel means had to be devised to accomplish the rectification of empty capsules at a rate consistent with the capability' of the conveying and filling elements embodied in such patent. Attempts were made to adapt known means. including rotary devises, to the continuous high-speed rectification of capsules to facilitate the operation of the aboveidentified invention at its maximum capability. At rectifying speeds approaching even seven or-eight hundred a minute, existing mechanisms could not be coordinated with the apparatus of such invention to maintain a uniform delivery of properly rectified capsules.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a means for consistently and uniformly rectifying two-piece hard capsules at a rate of one-thousand and more of such capsules per minute.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means for consistently and uniformly rectifying two-piece hard capsules continuously at a rate of one-thousand and more capsules per minute, such means being adaptable and coordinatable with a plurality of continuously moving capsule receiving means. j

Still another object of this invention is to provide a means for consistently and uniformly rectifying twopiece hard capsules continuously at a rate of onethousand and more capsules per minute, such means being adaptable and coordinatable with theinvention described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,601,954.

SUMMARY It has now been discovered that an apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hardv capsules can be comprised of: (a) A stationary receptacle disposed above and cooperating with a laterally reciprocating rotatable circular feeding element having a circumferential row of equispaced holes of a diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of said capsules', said feeding element serving as the bottom of said receptacle. (b) A concentrically rotatable circular bank of vertical tubes disposed immediately below the openings in said feeding element and in essentially axial alignment with said openings. (c) A first O-ring disposed in outboard slots disposed in said tubes, said O- ring being diverted away from said vertical tubes at one position and disposed around an idler pulley at such position. (d) A second O-ring disposed in outboard slots disposed in said tubes below the course of said first O- ring, said second O-ring being diverted away from said vertical tubes at a position from about to about from the location of the diversion from said vertical tubes of said first O-ring and disposed around an idler pulley at such position. (e) A rotatable circular rectifying-.plate connected to the lower extremities of said vertically disposed tubes, said rectifying-plate having vertical openings axially aligned with the holes in said tubes and of essentially the same diameter, said rectifying-plate having vertically disposed slots extending from the circumferential side face of said plate to said vertical openings therein, said slots having a width slightly less than the outside diameter of both the cap section and body section of saidcapsules, and said rectifying-plate further having three or more lateral circumferential slots essentially equi-spaced vertically and extending from the circumferential side face of said plate to approximately the vertical circumferential plane defined by the inboard circumference of said openings in said rectifying-plate. (f A stationary, stopplate horizontally disposed beneath said openings in said circular plate at the location where said second O- ring is diverted away from said vertical tubes. (g) A positioning-plate disposed in the middle lateral slot in said rectifying-plate, said positioning-plate extending into said rectifying-plate to a point adjacent to the innermost location of said lateral slot. and at the innermost location being positioned tangentially to the vertical circumferential plane thereof. (h) A reorientation-bar disposed adjacent to the outside circumferential side face of said rectifying-plate, said reorientation-bar extending from a point where said second O-ring returns to the circumferential course described by the second lateral slots in said vertical tubes and at a point just above the upper face of said rectifying-plate to a point just below the bottom face of said rectifying-plate, and (i) means for moving the rectified capsules from said vertical slots in said rectifying-plate to said vertical openings in said rectifying-plate at a point just prior to a position where said rectified capsules are deposited in a receiving means for conveying to a capsule separation operation. i

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a partially cut away perspective view of the apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules.

FIG. 2a is a top plan view of the mechanism which drives the reciprocating movement of the feeding element which is an integral part of the apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two piece hard capsules.

FIG. 2b is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the mechanism which drives the reciprocating movement of the feeding element.

FIG. 2c is a partially cross-sectionalized perspective view of the mechanism which drives the reciprocating movement of the feeding element.

FIG. 3a is a partially cut-away perspective view of the rectifying element of the apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules.

FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional perspective view of a portion of the rectifying element.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the following detailed description of the embodiments of this invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

The apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules constituting the instant invention comprises: (a) a randomly-oriented capsule receptacle 1, (b) a laterally reciprocating, rotatable randomly-oriented capsule feeding element 8 spatially disposed immediately below and cooperating body-section-down-oriented capsules from said rectifying-plate 28, and (f) means for effecting the synchronized rotation of said feeding and delivery elements and rectifying-plate.

The novel apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules which is embodied in this invention is constituted and operates as illustrated and described hereinafter.

In FIG. l, a cylindrical receptacle 1 is shown connected to a stationarily disposed cylindrical support post 3 by a radial arm 4. The receptacle 1 is shown connected to support post 3 by three connecting arms. This number of arms is arbitrary and is used only to fix the position of the hopper. Any number of arms above two which would satisfactorily complete this connection would be satisfactory. Moreover, one of the three arms is cutaway alongwith the front of receptacle 1 in order to show the internal arrangement of the other parts which are involved in the receptacle 1 into which the randomly-oriented two-piece hard capsules are introduced. The receptacle 1 is shown having an internal diameter greater than that of the feeding element 8. In order that the internal diameter of receptacle l can be reduced to the outside diameter of said feeding element 8 there is shown an inclined portion 2 of receptacle l extending from the bottom edge of said receptacle l to the upper outside edge of said feeding element 8. It will be recognized that receptacle 1 can be of any convenient size and if desired can be of the same internal diameter as the outside diameter of feeding element 8. Or, alternatively, the inside diameter of receptacle l can be substantially greater than the outside diameter of feeding element 8 and of a design wholly unlike that which is shown in FIG. 1. It is only necessary that receptacle l should be of a sufficient size to accommodate a reasonable number of randomly-oriented capsules. However, it is important that at the intersection of the top face of feeding element 8 and the bottom of receptacle l, the edge of the receptacle 1 meet the top face of the feeding element 8 at the outside diameter of the latter.

Also shown in the cut away perspective of FIG. l is a cone 5 which rises from the inside circumference of the chamfered holes 9 in feeding element 8 to a position on the stationarily disposed vertical support post 3. This cone S serves the purpose of directing the flow of the randomly oriented capsules down and towards said chamfered holes 9 in said feeding element 8.

As the base of cone 5 meets the upper surface of feeding element 8 at the inside circumference of chamfered holes 9, and receptacle 1 meets the outside circumference of the chamfered holes 9 in said feeding element 8, capsules in receptacle 1 are gravity fed toward said chamfered holes 9 and there are, consequently, no surfaces where the capsules can come to rest and not be involved in the feeding operation.

A flexible baffle 7 is shown attached to one of the radial arms 4 which connect receptacle l to vertically disposed support post 3. A simple coupling 6 connects the flexible baffle 7 to the radial arm 4.

The internal cone 5 yis cut away in FIG. 1 to show the drive mechanism which works to reciprocate the feeding element 8 as the latter rotates. The gear 11 is fixed to the vertically disposed support post 3, and dose not move. An elongated opening l0,v more definitively shown in FIG. 2c, having its longitudinal axis along a radius line of said feeding element 8, is defined in feeding element 8 in such a fashion that a drive gear 12 which operates an eccentric cam 14 within the confines of said elongated opening 10 will be engaged with the stationary gear 11. The drive gear l2 which operates the eccentric c am 14 within the confines of the elongated opening 10 is connected to the eccentric cam 14 by the shaft 13. Shaft 13 is rotatably disposed in an opening in the structure which supports the feeding element 8.

In the operation of the apparatus of this invention feeding element 8 rotates at the same speed as the delivery element which is comprised of a concentrically rotatable bank'of hollow tubes 15 essentially axially aligned with the holes in the feeding element 8.

Vertically disposed immediately below the feeding element 8 is a concentrically rotatable bank of hollow cylindrical tubes which comprises the delivery element of the subject invention. The tubes in the delivery .element rotate as a unit in synchronization with the rotation of the feeding element 8. The feeding element 8, turning free of said support post 3, is disposed upon, but notifixedly attached to the support structure to which the delivery element is attached. The chamfered holes 9 in feeding element 8 are positioned so that they and the hollow tubes 15 of said delivery element are in essentially axial alignment. And the propulsion of feeding element 8 is effected by rotatably disposing one end of shaft 13, to which is attached the eccentric cam 14 which imparts the reciprocating movement to said feeding element 8 as the latter rotates, in the structure which supports said feeding and delivery elements. The details of the assembly are shown in FIG. 2b and FIG. 2c. In this manner, both the feeding element 8 andthe bank of hollow tubes 15 rotate in'unison but at the same time feeding element 8 can reciprocate laterally to provide an oscillating movement which aids in the feeding of capsulesfrom receptacle l into chamfered holes 9 in feeding element 8.

On the ouboard side of each of the hollow tubes l5,

-there is disposed a first lateral slot 16. These lateral slots 16 are on the same horizontal plane around the circumference of the delivery element and are present in each lof the hollow tubes 15.

A first idler pulley 19 located inv the vsame horizontal plane as said lateral. slots 16 in hollow tubes 15 is located at a point outboard of the hollowtubes l5. Said idler pulley 19 is supported by a post 18. A first flexible O-ring 17 is .disposed around idler pulley 19 and in lateral slots 16 which are in hollow tubes 15.

When the apparatus of this invention is operated the randomly-oriented capsules are fed through the chamfered holes 9 in the feeding element 8 into the bankof hollow tubes 15. The capsules fall by gravity down the lhollow tubes l5 until they are stopped by said flexible O-ring 17 which prevents the capsule from falling further until the delivery element reaches a point in its rotation where flexible O-ring 17 leaves said lateral slots 16 in hollow tubes l5 to go around idler pulley 19. At this particular point in the operation, capsules which have been restrained from falling below exible O-ring 17 are free to fall further in the hollow tubes l5.

Attached to the delivery element is a rectifyingplatc plate 28 which receives the capsules from the delivery element. The rectifying-plate 28 is disposed at a distance of about one and one-half capsule lengths from 'i the first lateral slots l6which are circumferentially disposed in each of the hollow tubes 15 which comprise the delivery element. Immediately above the rectifying plate 28 there is disposed in each of the hollow tubes 15 a second course of outboard lateral slots 2l which in turn accommodate a second flexible O-ring 20. This second flexible O-ring 20 is disposed around a second idler pulley 23 disposed outboard of the circumferential row of lateral slots 21 but in the same plane therewith. The idler pulley 23 is supported by a post 22, and is positioned at from about to about 160 degrees from said first idler pulley 19.

In operation, the capsules which have fallen below the first flexible O-ring 17 in the area where the O-ring has left the delivery element to go around the first idler pulley 19 are stopped by the second flexible O-ring 20. As the capsules, which have been stopped by the second flexible O-ring 20, move around in the apparatus as the rectifying plate turns, they reach a point where the second flexible O-ring 20 leaves the circumferential course of lateral slots 21 to engage the idler pulley 23. At this point the capsules are free to fall into the rectifying-plate 28.

The rectifying-plate 28, shown in detail in FIG. 3a receives the capsules from the delivery element. In the rectifying-plate 28, there are a plurality of vertical holes 29 of essentially the same inside diameter as the inside diameter of the hollow tubes 15 which deliver the randomly-oriented capsules to said rectifying-plate 28. These holes 29 cooperate with and are in communication with the hollow tubes l5 and are axially aligned therewith. Moreover, there are the same number of holes 29 in the rectifying-plate as there are hollow tubes 15 in the delivery' element. Extending from the outside circumferential face of rectifying plate 28 to the outboard circumference of holes 29 in rectifyingplate 28 are vertical slots 30 disposed to communicate with each of the holes 29 in rectifying plate 28. These vertical slots 30 which communicate between the outside circumferential face of the rectifying plate 28 and the outboard circumference of eachof the yholes 29 in said rectifying plate are of a width that is slightly less than the outside diameter of bothvthe cap section and the body section of the two-piece capsules which are being rectified by the apparatus of this invention.

When a randomly-oriented capsule is released from the delivery element into a hole 29 in rectifying-plate 28 as the second flexible O-ring is circling idler pulley 23, the capsule is prevented from falling through hole 29 by the stop-plate 31 which is stationarily disposed immediately below the rectifying-plate 28. Stop-plate 31 covers a distance around the circumference of rectifying-plate 28 approximately equal to the distance that is consumed by the diversion of the second flexible O- ring 20 around idler pulley 23.

A plurality of laterally disposed circumferential slots are provided in the rectifying plate 28 extending from the outside circumferential surface of said rectifyingplate 28 to approximately the vertical circumferential plane-defined by the inboard circumference of the plurality of holes 29 disposed in said rectifying plate 28. In

FIG. 1, FIG. 3a, and FIG. 3b, these laterally disposed slots are shown as 36, 37, and 38. As a matter of construction, 3 slots are appropriate for accomplishing the purpose of the rectifying apparatus. An additional number of slots could be provided if it were so desired.

Disposed in circumferential lateral slot 37 (the middle one), and extending from a point near the inside circumference of said slot 37 to a supporting post 33 located'outboard said rectifying-plate 28, is a fixed positioning-plate 32. Positioning-plate 32 is mounted so that the point at which said plate 32 is first contacted by a capsule in rectifying-plate 28 is located perpendicularly above the middle half of stop-plate 31. Moreover, positioning-plate 32 meets rectifying-plate 28 at an angle that is essentially tangential to the rectifyingplate at the point of meeting.

Positioning-plate 32 is contacted by the randomlyoriented capsules in rectifying-plate 28 and causes said capsules to be moved from holes 29 to slots 30. In moving the capsules from holes 29, in which they are free to move, to the slots 30 which have a width narrower than the outside diameter of both the cap section and the body section, the capsules are restrained by the frictional contact between the capsule cap section and slot 30 in rectifyng-plate 28. As the capsules are restrained, positioning-plate 32 continues to exert a force on the capsules and they are turned so'that the body sections of the capsules always are turned outwardly from the outside circumferential face of rectifyingplate 28. Those capsules which are in the holes 29 with the capsule cap section down are turned so that the capsule body section points outwardly in the Alower portion of the rectifying-plate 28. Those capsules which are in said holes 29 with the body section down are turned by the positioning-plate 32 so that the body section of the capsule points outwardly near the top portion of the rectifying-plate 28.

In this situation, the positioned capsules are carried around an arc of the movement of the rectifying-plate with those capsules in the upper portion of the rectifying-plate 28 riding above positioning-plate 32 and those capsules which are the bottom portion of rectifying-plate 28 moving below said positioning-plate 32. Capsules continue to move with the rectifying-plate until they encounter the reorienting-bar 35.

Reorienting-bar 35 is stationarily disposed outwardly from the rectifying-plate 28, but in a position immediately adjacent to the outside circumferential face of said rectifying-plate 28. Moreover, the reorienting-bar 35 begins at a point immediately above rectifying-plate 28 and gradually descends to a point immediately below said rectifying-plate 28. All of the time the curvature of the descending reorienting-bar 35 is esseritially the same as the curvature of the outside circumferential face of rectifying-plate 28. Reorienting-bar 35 is supported by a post 34.

As the positioned capsules meet the reorienting-bar 35, as the rectifying-plate 28 is rotated in a clockwise direction, the contact between the capsule body section and the reorienting-bar 35 causes the capsule body to be reoriented into the down position. Consequently, all of the capsules come to reside in the slots 30 in the rectifying-plate 28 because, in the operation through which the capsule body section is turned downwardly, the capsule cap section, which has a friction fit with the walls of the vertical slot 30 in rectifying-plate 28, pivots and as a result those capsules which were riding in the upper portion of rectifying-plate 28 will continue to be located in that position. Those capsules which were riding in the lower part of rectifying-plate 28 will continue to reside in-that position after the body section has been turned down.

The reoriented capsules continue to ride around with the revolution of the rectifying-plate 28 until they contact the discharging means 40. ln FIGS. 3a and 3b discharging means 40 is shown as a series of freeturning wheels mounted on a post 39. The free-turning wheels are partially disposed within the circumferential

lateral slots

36, 37, and 38 respectively. The freeturning wheels extend into said circumferential lateral slots, 36, 37 and 38, to a point approximately the distance of the depth of vertical slots 30. In operation` as the capsules contact said free-turning wheels v40, said wheels force the capsules out of the vertical slots 30 in rectifying-plate 28 back into holes 29 in said rectifyingplate 28 at which point the capsules are again free to move. With no frictional restraints on the thus positioned capsules, the capsules are discharged by gravity into capsule receiving means where additional operations are performed.

A salient feature of the apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules of this invention lies in the reciprocating feeding element 8. FIG. 2.a, FIG. 2b, and FIG. 2c show in great detail the mechanical operation of said feeding element 8. It was discovered that in order to uniformly maintain a delivery of randomly oriented capsules to the rectifyingplate 28 at high speeds, it was necessary to provide more than a simple delivery tube. In achieving the highspeed rectification, it was found that by introducing a reciprocating movement to the rotation of the mechanism for feeding the capsules to the delivery tubes, it was possible to maintain a uniform feed rate of as high as 60 capsules per minute per delivery tube to the rectifying-plate 28. The feeding element 8 can be coristructed of any suitable material, but it was found that a preferred material of construction was a simple aluminum alloy. The feeding element 8 was designed to revolve in synchronization with the bank of delivery tubes 15. While a chamfered hole 9 is not considered essential for the flow of the capsules from the randomly oriented pack in the hopper to the delivery tubes, it was found that it was beneficial to construct the holes in such a manner. In the construction of feeding element 8, the holes 9 through which the capsules are fed tothe delivery elements are ofa diameter slightly greater than the maximum outside diameter of the capsules which are being delivered to the rectifying-plate 28. The chamfered holes 9 in feeding element 8 are in communication with and essentially axially aligned withthe bank of hollow tubes l5 of the delivery element. Feeding element 8 cooperates with said delivery element as the two elements rotate in unison, and although connected they are no't disposed in a fixed stationary relationship. The reciprocating movement of feeding element 8, as said element rotates, induces a greater turbulency to the stationary bed of randomly-oriented capsules and consequently aids in the free travel of individual capsules to the holes 9 in said feeding element.

The reciprocating movement of feeding element 8 is achieved by providing an elongated slot 10 in said feeding element 8 with an eccentric cam 14 disposed therein, the elongated axis of said slot l0 being along a radius line of said element 8. The eccentric cam is rotated to move said feeding element 8 forward at a velocity greater than the entire apparatus is rotating and then as a reciprocating consequence move said element 8 backwards and consequently slow the movement of said feeding element 8 in relation to the rest of the apparatus. This is accomplished by affixing a stationary gear 1l to the cylindrical support post 3 and in cooperation with said stationary gear l1 attaching a drive gear 12 to the eccentric cam 14 which allows for its revolution through 360. The drive gear 12 and the eccentric cam 14 are both fixedly attached to a shaft 13. Shaft 13 extends into the structure which is a support piece for both feeding element 8 and the bank of hollow tubes 15 through which the randomly-oriented capsules are delivered to the rectifying-plate 28. The shaft 13 is free to rotate in said support structure. Moreover, shaft 13 disposed in said supportstructure provides a positioning index for feeding element 8 and maintains the essentially axial alignment between-holes 9 in said feeding element 8 and the hollow tubes 15 through which capsules are delivered to the `rectifying-plate 28.

Alternate means can be provided for moving the reoriented capsules from the vertical slots in rectifyingplate 28 back into the holes 29 from which the capsules are discharged from the rectifying apparatus. For example, fixed skids could be disposed in the

lateral slots

36, 37 and 38 respectively in rectifying plate 28 at an acute angle to the latter, and the same purpose could be accomplished. However, it was found that the freeturning wheels shown most definitively in FIG. 3b provided a mechanism which was uncomplicated and did not impart damage to the reoriented capsules in the movement from the vertical slots 30 to the holes 29 in rectifying-plate 28.

Although any reasonable number from about or 6 to as many as perhaps 100 hollow tubes l5 and cooperating holesV 29 in a rectifying-plate can be employed in the spirit of this invention. For example, the length of the-hollow tubes l5 which serve as the delivery means for delivering the randomly-oriented capsules to the rectifying-plate 28 can be varied widely from the relative length shown in FIG. l. lt is only essential that these tubes be sufficiently long to accommodate l or more capsules between the feeding element 8 and the first flexible O-ring 17, preferably a minimum length equal to one and one-half the length of one of the capsules being rectified. Moreover, neither the stopplate 31 nor the positioning plate 32 need be as wide as is shown in FIG. l. lt is necessary only that these plates be provided Vto stop the capsules from dropping out of the holes 29 in said rectifying-plate 28 and accomplishingthe movement of the capsule from the holes 29 to the vertical slots 30 in said rectifying-plate 28.

What is claimed is: l. An apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of .two-piece hard capsules comprising:

a. a stationary receptacle for holding randomlyoriented two-piece hard capsules, b. a laterally reciprocating, rotatable randomly-oriented-capsule feeding element, said element spatially disposed immediately below said receptacle and cooperating and in communication with said receptacle,

c. a concentrically rotatable delivery element connectedly disposed immediately below said feeding element, said delivery element comprised of a plurality of vertically disposed hollow tubes cooperating and in communication with said feeding element, and means for regulating the delivery of individual capsules from said feeding element to a rectifying element.

d. the rectifying elementv tixedly disposed immediately below said delivery element comprised of a rotatable rectifying-plate. means for moving vertically positioned randomly-oriented capsules to horizontally positioned body-section-outboardoriented capsules, and means for moving horizontally positioned body-section-outboard-oriented capsules to vertically positioned body-sectiondown-oriented capsules,

e. means for discharging vertically positioned body-section-down-oriented capsules from said rectifying plate, and

f. means for effecting the synchronized rotation of said feeding and delivery elements and rectifyingplate.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said receptacle has cylindrical side walls which terminate at the bottom at the upper outer circumferential edge of the laterally reciprocating, rotatable feeding element, said cylindrical side walls being stationarily affixed to a central support post by a plurality of connecting arms.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein a centrally disposed cone is located with the base beginning immediately above thev laterally reciprocating, rotatable feeding element, said cone having the outside circumference of its-base at the inside circumference of a plurality of chamfered holes disposed in said laterally reciprocating, rotatable feeding element, said cone being truncated and supported on the centrally disposed post to which said cylindrical walls of said receptacle are connected.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein a flexible baffle is disposed transversely in said receptacle between said cylindrical wall and said cone, said flexible baffle being supported from one of the plurality of arms which connect said central support post with said cylindrical walls of said receptacle.

5. The apparatus of claim l wherein said laterally reciprocating, rotatable randomly-oriented-capsule feeding element which is in communication with and cooperates with said receptacle,comprises a flat plate having a plurality of holes disposed therein around the outside periphery of said plate, said holes being chamfered at the top.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the reciprocating movement of the feeding element is provided by an eccentric cam disposed in an elongated slot in said feeding element, the long axis of said elongated slot residing along a radius line of said feeding element, said eccentric cam being driven by a stationary gear affixed to said central support post and being rotated by a drive gear affixed to said eccentric cam, said drive gear being engaged with said stationary gear.

7.' The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said concentrically rotatable delivery element is comprised of a plurality of vertically disposed cylindrical hollow tubes cooperating with and in communication with the feeding element, said hollow tubes being axially aligned with said chamfered holes in said feeding element, said hollow tubes having a first circumferential course of lateral slots disposed on the outboard side thereof, said first lateral slots located at a distance from the origin of said hollow tubes equal to at least one and one-half the length of the two-piece hard capsules being rectified in said apparatus, a first outboard idler pulley located in the said circumferential plane as said first lateral slots in said hollow tubes, a first flexible O-ring disposed in said first lateral slots and around said first outboard idler pulley, a second circumferential course of lateral slots disposed in said hollow tubes, said second course of lateral slots being located at a distance from said first course of lateral slots by at least one and oriehalf the length of the capsules being rectified in said apparatus, a second idler pulley stationarily disposed outboard to the second course of lateral slots and located in the same circumferential plane thereof, and a second flexible O-ring disposed in said second lateral slots and around said second idler pulley.

8. The apparatus of claim l wherein said rectifying element is comprised of a rotatable rectifying-plate, said rectifying plate being lixedly connected to the bottom end of said feeding element, said rectifying-plate further having a plurality of vertical holes communicating and cooperating with and having essentially the same inside diameter as the hollow tubes in said feeding element, said rectifying-plate also being of a thickness of slightly more than the length of the two-piece hard capsules being rectified, said rectifying-plate having vertically disposed slots extending from the outside circumferential face thereof to each of the plurality of said vertical holes therein, said vertical slots having an inside width of slightly less than the outside diameter of both the cap section and the body section of the capsules being rectified in said apparatus, said rectifyingplate further having a plurality of lateral slots equispaced from the top to the bottom of said rectifyingplate and extending from the circumferential face thereof to the inside vertical circumferential plane of the plurality of said vertical holes disposed in said rectifying-plate.

9. The rectifying element of claim 8 wherein a stationarily disposed stop-plate is disposed immediately beneath said rectifying-plate, said stop plate extending from a point just before said second flexible O-ring leaves the second circumferential course of lateral slots in said hollow tubes to turn-around said second idler pulley, to a position just behind the point where a positioning-plate used to move the randomly-oriented capsules from said vertical holes to said vertical slots exits from the lateral circumferential slot in said rectifyingplate in which said positioning-plate is disposed.

l0. The rectifying element of claim 8 wherein a positioning-plate is disposed in the middle of three lateral circumferential slots in said rectifying plate,.said positioning-plate located so that the leading edge of said positioning-plate contacts the two-piecev hard capsules in said vertical holes in said rectifying-plate at an angle essentially tangential to said rectifying-plate at the point of contact between said positioning-plate and the capsules and continues to a point outboard of said rectifying-plate at which point said positioning-plate is stationarily connected to support post.

ll. The rectifying element of claim 8 wherein a reorientation-bar is disposed adjacent to the outer periphery of said rectifying-plate from a point just behind said positioning-plate in the direction of rotation of said rectifying-plate to a point in said direction of rotation just before the location where the reoriented capsules are discharged from said rectifying-plate` said reorientation-bar beginning at a point immediately' above the rectifying-plate and descending to a point immediately below the bottom of said rectifying-plate at which point said reorientation-bar is stationarily connected to a support post.

12. The apparatus of claim l wherein the means for discharging vertically positioned body-section-downoriented capsules fromsaid rectifying-plate comprises a plurality of free-turning wheels, said free-turning wheels disposed in the same vertical plane and supported by a stationary post, said free-turning wheels being so located that at one point the wheels extend into the circumferential lateral slots in said rectifyingplate to approximately the vertical circumferential plane defined by the outboard circumference of the plurality of vertical holes in said rectifying-plate.

13. The apparatus of claim l wherein the means for discharging vertically positioned body-section-downoriented capsules from said rectifying-plate comprises a plurality of skid bars, said skid bars being disposed within each of the circumferential lateral slots in said rectifying-plate and extending into said lateral slots to approximately the vertical circumferential plane defined by the outboard circumference of the plurality of vertical holes in said rectifying-plate, said skids exiting from said lateral slots at an acute angle to the direction of rotation of said rectifying-plate and extending to a stationarily disposed support post to which said skids are connected. l

14. An apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules comprising:

a. a receptacle for holding randomly-oriented twopiece hard capsules,

b. a laterally reciprocating, rotatable feeding element spatially disposed immediately below said receptacle and serving as the bottom thereof, said feeding element having a circumferential row of holes disposed therein near the periphery thereof,

c. a concentrically rotatable bank of cylindrical vertical tubes disposed immediately below and connected to and cooperating with said feeding element, said tubes matching in number the number of holes in said feeding element and circumferentially and axially aligned therewith,

d. a first course of lateral slots disposed on the outboard side of each of said vertical tubes,

e. a first idler pulley located outboard of said rotatable bank of tubes and in lateral alignment with said first course of lateral slots,

f. means for supporting said idler pulley,

g. a first flexible O-ring disposed in said first course of lateral slots and around said first idler pulley,

h. a second course of lateral slots disposed on the outboard side of each of said vertical tubes,

i. a second idler pulley located outboard of said rotatable bank of tubes, from about to about 160 from said first idler pulley and in lateral alignment with said second course of lateral slots,

j. means for supporting said second idler pulley,

k. a second flexible O-ring disposed in said second course of lateral slots and around said second idler pulley,

l. a rotatable rectifying-plate connected to the lower end of said concentrically rotatable bank of cylindrical tubes,

m. a plurality of vertical holes disposed in said rectifying-plate, said holes having essentially the same diameter, in axial alignment with and matching in number the number of vertical tubes in said feeding element,

n. a plurality of vertical slots in said rectifying-plate` said vertical slots disposed between said vertical holes and the outside circumferential face of said rectifying-plate, said vertical slots having a width slightly less than the diameter of both the cap section and the body section of the capsules being rectified,

o. three circumferential lateral slots disposed in said rectifying-plate and equi-spaced between the top and bottom thereof, said lateral slots extending from the outside circumferential face of said rectifying-plate to approximately the vertical circumferential plane defined by the nboard circumference of the plurality of said vertical holes in said rectifyinglplate,

p. a stop-plate disposed immediately below said rectifying plate, covering the arc through which said second O ring is not disposed in said second course of lateral slots and extending from just outside the circumferential face to just inside the vertical circumferential plane defined by the nboard circumference of the plurality of said vertical holes in said rectifying-plate, t

. a positioning-plate disposed in the middle of the three lateral slots in said rectifying-plate, said positioning-plate beginning near the inside circumferentialwall of said middle slot at a point located perpendicularly above the middle half of said stopplate and extending to a support post outboard of said rectifying-plate, said positioning-plate meeting said rectifying-plate at an angle that is essentially tangential thereto,

s. a reorientation-bar spatially and obliquely disposed adjacent to the circumferential face of said rectifying-plate and just to the rear of said positioningpiece hard capsules comprising:

plate in the direction of rotation of said rectifyingplate, said reorientation-bar extending through an arc of from about 10 to about 45 and descending from immediately above the top face to immediately below the bottom face of said rectifying-plate,

u. means for supporting said guide bar. and

v. means for moving capsules which have been rectified from said vertical slots to said vertical holes in said rectifying plate just before said capsules are discharged from said apparatus.

l5. In an apparatus for continuously rectifying two a. a receptacle for holding bulk randomly-oriented capsules,

b. a feeding element for individually removing randomly-oriented capsules from said bulk, l c. a delivery element for transporting said individual randomly-oriented capsules from said feeding element to a rectifying element, and

d. a rectifying element for reorienting individual randomly-oriented capsules to body-section-downoriented capsules; the improvement to the feeding element thereof comprising:

l. a flat circular plate having a plurality of holes circumferentially disposed around the periphery thereof, said plate being spatially disposed immediately-below and serving as the bottom of said receptacle,

2. a chamfer disposed on the upper end of said holes disposed in said plate,

3. an elongated opening disposed in said plate with the longitudinal axis of said opening along a radius line of said plate,

4.' an eccentric cam disposed in said elongated opening, said eccentric cam being fixedly attached to a shaft having one end rotatably disposed in a support structure common to both said feeding element and said delivery element, and

5, means for rotating said eccentric cam as said feeding element is being independently rotated.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules comprising: a. a stationary receptacle for holding randomly-oriented twopiece hard capsules, b. a laterally reciprocating, rotatable randomly-orientedcapsule feeding element, said element spatially disposed immediately below said receptacle and cooperating and in communication with said receptacle, c. a concentrically rotatable delivery element connectedly disposed immediately below said feeding element, said delivery element comprised of a plurality of vertically disposed hollow tubes cooperating and in communication with said feeding element, and means for regulating the delivery of individual capsules from said feeding element to a rectifying element. d. the rectifying element fixedly disposed immediately below said delivery element comprised of a rotatable rectifyingplate, means for moving vertically positioned randomly-oriented capsules to horizontally positioned body-section-outboardoriented capsules, and means for moving horizontally positioned body-section-outboard-oriented capsules to vertically positioned body-section-down-oriented capsules, e. means for discharging vertically positioned body-sectiondown-oriented capsules from said rectifying plate, and f. means for effecting the synchronized rotation of said feeding and delivery elements and rectifying-plate.

2. a chamfer disposed on the upper end of said holes disposed in said plate,

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein a centrally disposed cone is located with the base beginning immediately above the laterally reciprocating, rotatable feeding element, said cone having the outside circumference of its base at the inside circumference of a plurality of chamfered holes disposed in said laterally reciprocating, rotatable feeding element, said cone being truncated and supported on the centrally disposed post to which said cylindrical walls of said receptacle are connectd.

4. an eccentric cam disposed in said elongated opening, said eccentric cam being fixedly attached to a shaft having one end rotatably disposed in a support structure common to both said feeding element and said delivery element, and

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said laterally reciprocating, rotatable randomly-oriented-capsule feeding element which is in communication with and cooperates with said receptacle, comprises a flat plate having a plurality of holes disposed therein around the outside periphery of said plate, said holes being chamfered at the top.

5. means for rotating said eccentric cam as said feeding element is being independently rotated.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said concentrically rotatable delivery element is comprised of a plurality of vertically disposed cylindrical hollow tubes cooperating with and in communication with the feeding element, said hollow tubes being axially aligned with said chamfered holes in said feeding element, said hollow tubes having a first circumferential course of lateral slots disposed on the outboard side thereof, said first lateral slotS located at a distance from the origin of said hollow tubes equal to at least one and one-half the length of the two-piece hard capsules being rectified in said apparatus, a first outboard idler pulley located in the said circumferential plane as said first lateral slots in said hollow tubes, a first flexible O-ring disposed in said first lateral slots and around said first outboard idler pulley, a second circumferential course of lateral slots disposed in said hollow tubes, said second course of lateral slots being located at a distance from said first course of lateral slots by at least one and one-half the length of the capsules being rectified in said apparatus, a second idler pulley stationarily disposed outboard to the second course of lateral slots and located in the same circumferential plane thereof, and a second flexible O-ring disposed in said second lateral slots and around said second idler pulley.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said rectifying element is comprised of a rotatable rectifying-plate, said rectifying plate being fixedly connected to the bottom end of said feeding element, said rectifying-plate further having a plurality of vertical holes communicating and cooperating with and having essentially the same inside diameter as the hollow tubes in said feeding element, said rectifying-plate also being of a thickness of slightly more than the length of the two-piece hard capsules being rectified, said rectifying-plate having vertically disposed slots extending from the outside circumferential face thereof to each of the plurality of said vertical holes therein, said vertical slots having an inside width of slightly less than the outside diameter of both the cap section and the body section of the capsules being rectified in said apparatus, said rectifying-plate further having a plurality of lateral slots equi-spaced from the top to the bottom of said rectifying-plate and extending from the circumferential face thereof to the inside vertical circumferential plane of the plurality of said vertical holes disposed in said rectifying-plate.

9. The rectifying element of claim 8 wherein a stationarily disposed stop-plate is disposed immediately beneath said rectifying-plate, said stop plate extending from a point just before said second flexible O-ring leaves the second circumferential course of lateral slots in said hollow tubes to turn-around said second idler pulley, to a position just behind the point where a positioning-plate used to move the randomly-oriented capsules from said vertical holes to said vertical slots exits from the lateral circumferential slot in said rectifying-plate in which said positioning-plate is disposed.

10. The rectifying element of claim 8 wherein a positioning-plate is disposed in the middle of three lateral circumferential slots in said rectifying plate, said positioning-plate located so that the leading edge of said positioning-plate contacts the two-piece hard capsules in said vertical holes in said rectifying-plate at an angle essentially tangential to said rectifying-plate at the point of contact between said positioning-plate and the capsules and continues to a point outboard of said rectifying-plate at which point said positioning-plate is stationarily connected to support post.

11. The rectifying element of claim 8 wherein a reorientation-bar is disposed adjacent to the outer periphery of said rectifying-plate from a point just behind said positioning-plate in the direction of rotation of said rectifying-plate to a point in said direction of rotation just before the location where the reoriented capsules are discharged from said rectifying-plate, said reorientation-bar beginning at a point immediately above the rectifying-plate and descending to a point immediately below the bottom of said rectifying-plate at which point said reorientation-bar is stationarily connected to a support post.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for discharging vertically positioned body-section-down-oriented capsulEs from said rectifying-plate comprises a plurality of free-turning wheels, said free-turning wheels disposed in the same vertical plane and supported by a stationary post, said free-turning wheels being so located that at one point the wheels extend into the circumferential lateral slots in said rectifying-plate to approximately the vertical circumferential plane defined by the outboard circumference of the plurality of vertical holes in said rectifying-plate.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the means for discharging vertically positioned body-section-down-oriented capsules from said rectifying-plate comprises a plurality of skid bars, said skid bars being disposed within each of the circumferential lateral slots in said rectifying-plate and extending into said lateral slots to approximately the vertical circumferential plane defined by the outboard circumference of the plurality of vertical holes in said rectifying-plate, said skids exiting from said lateral slots at an acute angle to the direction of rotation of said rectifying-plate and extending to a stationarily disposed support post to which said skids are connected.

14. An apparatus for the continuous high-speed rectification of two-piece hard capsules comprising: a. a receptacle for holding randomly-oriented two-piece hard capsules, b. a laterally reciprocating, rotatable feeding element spatially disposed immediately below said receptacle and serving as the bottom thereof, said feeding element having a circumferential row of holes disposed therein near the periphery thereof, c. a concentrically rotatable bank of cylindrical vertical tubes disposed immediately below and connected to and cooperating with said feeding element, said tubes matching in number the number of holes in said feeding element and circumferentially and axially aligned therewith, d. a first course of lateral slots disposed on the outboard side of each of said vertical tubes, e. a first idler pulley located outboard of said rotatable bank of tubes and in lateral alignment with said first course of lateral slots, f. means for supporting said idler pulley, g. a first flexible O-ring disposed in said first course of lateral slots and around said first idler pulley, h. a second course of lateral slots disposed on the outboard side of each of said vertical tubes, i. a second idler pulley located outboard of said rotatable bank of tubes, from about 120* to about 160* from said first idler pulley and in lateral alignment with said second course of lateral slots, j. means for supporting said second idler pulley, k. a second flexible O-ring disposed in said second course of lateral slots and around said second idler pulley, l. a rotatable rectifying-plate connected to the lower end of said concentrically rotatable bank of cylindrical tubes, m. a plurality of vertical holes disposed in said rectifying-plate, said holes having essentially the same diameter, in axial alignment with and matching in number the number of vertical tubes in said feeding element, n. a plurality of vertical slots in said rectifying-plate, said vertical slots disposed between said vertical holes and the outside circumferential face of said rectifying-plate, said vertical slots having a width slightly less than the diameter of both the cap section and the body section of the capsules being rectified, o. three circumferential lateral slots disposed in said rectifying-plate and equi-spaced between the top and bottom thereof, said lateral slots extending from the outside circumferential face of said rectifying-plate to approximately the vertical circumferential plane defined by the inboard circumference of the plurality of said vertical holes in said rectifying-plate, p. a stop-plate disposed immediately below said rectifying plate, covering the arc through which said second O ring is not disposed in said second course of lateral slots and extending from just outside the circumferential face to just inside the vertical circumferential plane defined by the inboard circumference of the plurality of said vertical holes in said rectifying-plate, r. a positioning-plate disposed in the middle of the three lateral slots in said rectifying-plate, said positioning-plate beginning near the inside circumferential wall of said middle slot at a point located perpendicularly above the middle half of said stop-plate and extending to a support post outboard of said rectifying-plate, said positioning-plate meeting said rectifying-plate at an angle that is essentially tangential thereto, s. a reorientation-bar spatially and obliquely disposed adjacent to the circumferential face of said rectifying-plate and just to the rear of said positioning-plate in the direction of rotation of said rectifying-plate, said reorientation-bar extending through an arc of from about 10* to about 45* and descending from immediately above the top face to immediately below the bottom face of said rectifying-plate, u. means for supporting said guide bar, and v. means for moving capsules which have been rectified from said vertical slots to said vertical holes in said rectifying plate just before said capsules are discharged from said apparatus.

15. In an apparatus for continuously rectifying two-piece hard capsules comprising: a. a receptacle for holding bulk randomly-oriented capsules, b. a feeding element for individually removing randomly-oriented capsules from said bulk, c. a delivery element for transporting said individual randomly-oriented capsules from said feeding element to a rectifying element, and d. a rectifying element for reorienting individual randomly-oriented capsules to body-section-down-oriented capsules; the improvement to the feeding element thereof comprising: