High-speed tablet sorting machine
First Claim
1. An apparatus for conveying tablets in an aligned stream and uniform orientation, comprising,a) a rotatable turntable and means for loading bulk quantities of tablets onto said turntable, including means for deflecting said tablets toward the outer periphery of said turntable;
- b) a guide member positioned above and closely adjacent said turntable, said guide extending from a first outer periphery point to a second outer periphery point, and having a plurality of spaced apart air jets along its extent;
c) an adjustable gate positioned in parallel and spaced apart relation to said guide, said gate having a portion thereof positionable to slidably engage against top surfaces of said tablets; and
d) an opening in said gate, said opening being smaller than the height of a tablet and positioned in facing relation to said turntable.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for feeding tablets in an aligned and uniformly oriented sequence onto a tablet measuring device, including a movable turntable having a deflector for guiding the tablets to a circumferential edge, a guide member and plow assembly respectively aligned in parallel and spaced apart relationship, the guide member having longitudinally-spaced air jets and the plow assembly having respective edge surfaces for slidably guiding tablets to a uniform orientation, and including a gate for removing particles and broken tablets from the channel to prevent them from being conveyed onto the measuring system.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An apparatus for conveying tablets in an aligned stream and uniform orientation, comprising,
a) a rotatable turntable and means for loading bulk quantities of tablets onto said turntable, including means for deflecting said tablets toward the outer periphery of said turntable; -
b) a guide member positioned above and closely adjacent said turntable, said guide extending from a first outer periphery point to a second outer periphery point, and having a plurality of spaced apart air jets along its extent; c) an adjustable gate positioned in parallel and spaced apart relation to said guide, said gate having a portion thereof positionable to slidably engage against top surfaces of said tablets; and d) an opening in said gate, said opening being smaller than the height of a tablet and positioned in facing relation to said turntable. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for conveying tablets in uniform alignment and orientation from the peripheral edge of a rotating turntable, comprising:
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a guide channel formed from a first point on the peripheral edge of said turntable to a second point on the peripheral edge of said turntable, said guide channel formed between a guide member and an adjustable gate aligned parallel to said guide member; said adjustable gate comprising a forward plow and a rearward plow, and means for vertically adjusting both of said plows; an air manifold adjacent said guide member, said air manifold having a plurality of passages opening toward said channel; and
means on said adjustable gate for slidably contacting the upper surface of tablets conveyed along said channel. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification