Dosing machine for hard gelatin capsules

• US 6,425,422 B1
• Filed: 03/20/2001
• Issued: 07/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: IMA - Industria Macchine Automatiche SPA (Vacchi Family)
• Original Assignee: IMA - Industria Macchine Automatiche SPA (Vacchi Family)
• Inventors: Trebbi, Roberto
• Primary Examiner(s): Douglas, Steven O.
• Application Number:
  US09/787,533
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: 141/5, 141/6, 141/11, 141/12, 141/67, 141/71, 141/83, 141/73, 141/103, 141/144, 141/173, 141/175, 141/145, 141/146
• US Class Current: 141/67
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 3/074 Filling capsules; Related operations
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 1/363 with measuring pockets moving in an endless path

Abstract

A carousel carries a holder with product to be dosed and includes a lower disc fitted with peripheral sets of dosing holes into which plungers insert and press in successive stages doses of product. The carousel also includes fixed bodies and radially moveable bodies with seatings for supporting tops and bottoms of capsules. Lower bodies support extensions that close the lower ends of dosing holes in the successive stages, and opposing members are provided to support the moveable assemblies. With only one dosing disc, it is possible to form doses of product of different densities and masses and of different heights by varying the heights of the sets of plungers. A chamber defined by a sweeper wall and containing no product is provided with a plunger station that completes the pressing of this final quantity of product, before a subsequent plunger station discharges the product into the capsule bottoms.

Claims

1. A dosing machine with intermittent operation during a work cycle that is suitable for packaging doses of loose product in hard gelatin capsules, comprising:

a carousel mounted for rotation on a vertical axis,

a holder mounted on top of said carousel and containing the product to be dosed, said holder having a top and a bottom,

a fixed cover which covers the top of said holder,

a disc which closes the bottom of said holder and which rotates with the carousel, said disc including

on a periphery thereof, respective sets of vertical angularly equidistant through holes, and

a respective top body located adjacent each said set of through holes and in which capsule tops are contained, said top bodies being fixed to said disc in a position for loading the capsules and for the stages of opening and then reclosing and discharging the capsules when filled,

a respective flat hole-closing bottom body located under each respective said set of through holes of said disc, each said bottom body carrying bottom seatings for holding bottoms of the hard gelatin capsules and including an extension,

respective radial slides which mount each said extension of the bottom body to said carousel,

means for intermittently rotating said carousel about the vertical axis so that as an angular position of said disc intermittently changes, said slides are actuated to move said bottom body with the bottom seatings (a) from a position of alignment of the bottom seatings underneath said top seatings of said top body (b) to a position in which the bottom seatings are in line with said sets of holes of the disc, such that the bottoms of the capsules are filled with doses of the product,

openings in the cover of the holder,

respective sets of plungers which traverse said openings of said cover and which occupy a part of a circle concentric with the rotation axis of the carousel,

associated height adjusters to which respective said sets of plungers are mounted,

a turret to which said height adjusters are mounted and which is lowered and raised in phase with the intermittent rotation of said carousel, first ones of said sets of plungers being located partly so as to interfere with the product in the holder so as progressively to compress the corresponding quantities of product into underlying said sets of through holes, and

a fixed sweeper wall of said holder outside of which there is no product, such that second ones of said sets of plungers are located outside of said sweeper wall and perform final stages of the work cycle including transferring of doses of the product from said through holes to the capsule bottoms.

2. A dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein said disc includes a peripheral annular part which is lower than an adjacent lower face of the disc and in which the sets of through holes are open at a bottom thereof, such that said bottom bodies only contact the bottom of said peripheral annular part during movement thereof.

3. A dosing machine according to claim 2,

wherein the holes of each set of holes of the disc are arranged in a layout of a plurality of rows with the holes of one row staggered with respect to those of the adjacent row, and

wherein the sets of plungers, the bottom seatings and the top seatings are positioned with the layout, such that when the bottom bodies are moved to the position where the bottom seatings are in line with the sets of through holes, each through hole lines itself up with a corresponding bottom seating without passing over other bottom seatings.

4. A dosing machine according to claim 1, further including opposing means which operate under one of said bottom bodies or the associated slides when the bottom bodies are in the position in which the bottom seatings are in line with the sets of the through holes, in order to oppose a force applied to the bottom bodies by the associated plungers on descent strokes thereof.

5. A dosing machine according to claim 4, which said opposing means are rollers supported rotatably by the turret.

6. A dosing machine according to claim 4, in which one of said bottom bodies or the associated slides are given a very small amount of play in the vertical direction (a) which ensures perfect contact between the bottom bodies and the disc when said opposing means are operating, and (b) which ensures a small amount of play between the bottom bodies and the disc when said opposing means are not operating, so as to permit an almost frictionless radial movement of the bottom bodies relative to the disc.

7. A dosing machine according to claim 1,

wherein the first ones of said sets of plungers in the product are laid out in stations, including a final station of plungers which fills a remaining space in the sets of holes with product up to a top edge thereof, and

wherein the second ones of the sets of plungers located outside of the sweeper wall are laid out in stations, including

(a) a compression station of plungers which compresses to a desired density a final dose of product, and

(b) a final station of plungers which expels the final dose of product from the disc,

such that with a single said disc it is possible, by adjusting the height adjusters of the sets of plungers to form doses of product that vary in density, mass and height as desired.

8. A dosing machine according to claim 7,

wherein at least the second ones of the sets of plungers of the compressing station include respective force sensors which emit an electrical signal proportional to an axial force applied by the second ones of the sets of plungers of the compressing station to the pressed product dose, and

further including a control processor that controls the operation of the machine and which receives the signals from the force sensors, which said processor compares the signals with predetermined values for an automatic and selective check of a mass of the product doses, such that if the check produces negative results, the processor then sends commands for the automatic rejection of the capsules with incorrect doses of product and sends instructions for activation of a warning signal.

9. A dosing machine according to claim 8, wherein the second ones of the sets of plungers of the final station where the final doses of product are expelled from the disc likewise include respective force transducers which measure a resistance to discharging of the doses and which transmit a signal indicative thereof to the control processor.

10. A dosing machine according claim 9,

wherein the second ones of the sets of plungers to which the force sensors are fitted are each positioned so that an upper end is part of a body of each said force sensor which said upper end is mounted in the respective height adjusters supporting each of the second ones of the sets of plungers,

wherein each said second one of the sets of plungers includes a sensor body, each said sensor body including

(a) said upper part,

(b) an intermediate part which includes

a transverse through hole in the intermediate part,

symmetrical transverse weight-reducing recesses in the intermediate part, said recesses being located above and below said through hole in such a way as to give said intermediate part of the sensor body with the through hole elasticity,

a fixing means for fixing two force sensors to a wall inside the through hole,

a fill material which fills the through hole, which keeps the force sensors in position, and which preloads the force sensors,

electrical conductors of the force sensors which pass out through said through hole,

longitudinally flattened sections adjacent said through hole and along which said electrical conductors pass, and

transverse holes at the upper end of the flattened sections which have open ends through which said electrical conductors pass, and

an axial hole which leads into the transverse holes through which said electrical conductors run out at a top end of said intermediate part and said upper part, and

(c) a protective bush located about said intermediate part.

11. A dosing machine according to claim 10, wherein said fill material is a self-curing resin.

12. A dosing machine according claim 8,

wherein the first ones of the sets of plungers to which the force sensors are fitted are each positioned so that an upper end is part of a body of each said force sensor which said upper end is mounted in the respective height adjusters supporting each of the first ones of the sets of plungers,

wherein each said first one of the sets of plungers includes a sensor body, each said sensor body including

(a) said upper part,

(b) an intermediate part which includes

a transverse through hole in the intermediate part,

symmetrical transverse weight-reducing recesses in the intermediate part, said recesses being located above and below said through hole in such a way as to give said intermediate part of the sensor body with the through hole elasticity,

a fixing means for fixing two force sensors to a wall inside the through hole,

a fill material which fills the through hole, which keeps the force sensors in position, and which preloads the force sensors,

electrical conductors of the force sensors which pass out through said through hole,

longitudinally flattened sections adjacent said through hole and along which said electrical conductors pass, and

transverse holes at the upper end of the flattened sections which have open ends through which said electrical conductors pass, and

an axial hole which leads into the transverse holes through which said electrical conductors run out at a top end of said intermediate part and said upper part, and

(c) a protective bush located about said intermediate part.

13. A dosing machine according to claim 12, wherein said fill material is a self-curing resin.

14. A dosing machine according to claim 8,

further including an adjustment means for the automatic adjustment of the heights of the sets of plungers;

and

wherein said processor where the check produces negative results sends an instruction to said adjustment means to adjust the height of the sets of plungers to produce doses of product with acceptable characteristics of mass.

15. A dosing machine according to claim 1, wherein the sets of plungers are provided with adjusters of one of selective or centralized type, and with one of manual control or servocontrol thereof.

16. A dosing machine according to claim 1,

wherein the holder for the product includes a portion of toric shape,

wherein the holder is formed by

the disc which turns with the carousel and an outer lateral wall integral with the disc and

the sweeper wall and an inner lateral wall which are integral with the cover which is fixed.

17. A dosing machine according to claim 16,

further including a central fixed shaft about which said carousel rotates, and

wherein the cover is integral with said central shaft.

18. A dosing machine according to claim 1,

wherein the sweeper wall of the holder of the product has an extension such that, in a space isolated by this sweeper wall from the product, and

wherein one or more auxiliary stations operate in the space after the doses of product are transferred into the capsule bottoms and when these capsule bottoms are in line with the corresponding sets of through holes, said auxiliary stations inserting other products into the capsule bottoms.