Apparatus for testing medicinal tablets
AssigneeBurroughs Wellcome Co.
InventorsDonald L. Mason, Warren A. McAllister
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Apparatus for testing medicinal tablets for thickness, diameter and hardness wherein there is a support for receiving and supporting tablets for testing one at a time, a gauge movable relative to the support to measure the thickness, a gauge movable relative to the support to both measure the thickness and breaking strength, a sweeper movable relative to the support to clear the crushed tablets therefrom and control circuitry including a computer for controlling the sequence of operations and recording the values measured.
Claims16
Apparatus for testing medicinal tablets for thickness, diameter and hardness comprising a support for receiving tablets one at a time for testing, means movable relative to the support in a direction perpendicular to the thickness of the tablet to measure the thickness of the tablet, means movable relative to the support in a direction at right angles to the thickness of the tablet to measure the diameter of the tablet, said latter means being further movable to crush the tablet to thus measure the hardness, and means for effecting reciprocal movement of the aforesaid means in sequence and for repeating said sequence of operation for a predetermined number of tablets.
Apparatus for testing medicinal tablets for thickness, diameter and hardness comprising a support for receiving tablets one at a time, a gauge supported for reciprocal movement perpendicular to the support to measure the thickness, a ram supported for reciprocal movement relative to the support at right angles to the reciprocal movement of the gauge to measure the diameter and hardness and means for delivering tablets from a predetermined group of tablets onto the support one at a time comprising an inclined trough supported with its lower end above the support, means for delivering tablets to the upper end of the inclined trough and means for vibrating the trough.
Apparatus for testing tablets comprising a stationary structure defining a smooth, flat, unyielding surface, a mobile structure defining a smooth, flat, unyielding surface, movable relative to the stationary surface to gauge a tablet deposited between the surfaces of the structures, one of said structures embodying sensing means operable at the gauging position to measure a physical property of a tablet deposited between said surfaces and means responsive to the sensing means to store the measurement of each individual tablet of a predetermined group of tablets, average the measurements, record the range of measurements, and record the out of line measurements, a dispenser for receiving a predetermined number of tablets, an inclined chute for guiding tablets gravitationally received from the dispenser for deposit at gauging position, and means for vibrating the chute to cause the tablets to be deposited one at a time, means operative in response to the presence of more than one tablet at gauging position to disable the vibrating means, clear the tablets from gauging position and then enable the vibrating means.
Apparatus for testing tablets comprising a stationary platen having a flat planar surface, means for depositing tablets to be measured one at a time on the surface, means defining a stationary surface perpendicular of the surface of the platen and means supported above the platen for movement parallel to the platen relative to the stationary surface, said last mentioned means being determinative of the diameter of the tablet resting on the surface and embodying means for effecting recording of the diameter of the tablet, said means supported for movement parallel to the platen enables means determinative of the force required to crush the tablet.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.