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AssigneeWarner-Lambert Company
InventorsJean C. Lebrun, Jeffrey L. Kaltz, Pressley A. Love
Estimating the term…
Method and apparatus for sealing gelatin capsules having cylindrical cap and body portions arranged in telescoping relationship to contain a medicament therein comprising a capsule-sealing machine for continuously conveying capsules from a supply hopper to a capsule-rectification station wherein the capsules are reoriented and delivered in endwise, cap-down abutment to capsule-wetting stations where a suitable sealing liquid is applied to the capsules at the seams of their cap and body portions to be located between the overlapping side walls of the cap and body portions of the capsules, and wherein the capsules are conveyed from their wetting stations in peripheral pockets of a rotating drum dryer to a capsule heating and sealing section where the capsules are heated by convection and conduction to seal the cap and body portions.
A method of sealing gelatin capsules, each having a generally cylindrical cap and body arranged with the side wall of the body telescopically received within the side wall of the cap to contain a medicament therein, comprising the steps of moving a plurality of capsules in longitudinal endwise abutment along a path of travel for treatment with the capsules initially positioned randomly cap-first and body-first in their direction of movement, sequentially orienting each capsule in the path to position the capsule with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical and cap down, applying a metered amount of a wetting fluid against the side wall of the body of each capsule adjacent the seam of the juncture of the side walls of its body and cap to distribute wetting fluid by capillary action and under influence of gravity into the area between the telescoped walls of the cap and body, and delivering each wetted capsule along the path for further treatment.
Apparatus for sealing gelatin capsules, each having a generally cylindrical cap and body arranged with the side wall of the body telescopically received within the side wall of the cap to contain a medicament therein, comprising means for delivering a plurality of capsules in longitudinal endwise abutment randomly cap-first and body-first along a predetermined path of travel, capsule-orienting means in the path of travel for sequentially holding each capsule during its movement along said path, and for orienting each held capsule to position the capsule with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical with cap down, wetting means for applying a metered amount of a wetting fluid against the side wall of the body of each held capsule adjacent the seam of the juncture of the side walls of its body and cap to distribute wetting fluid by capillary action and under influence of gravity into the area between the telescoped walls of the cap and body, and means for delivering each wetted capsule from the wetting means along the path of travel for further treatment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.