Encapsulation apparatus and process
DCFirst Claim
Patent Images
1. A gelatin encapsulation process comprising the steps of:
- a. casting a continuous first gelatin ribbon and a continuous second gelatin ribbon;
b. applying food-approved lubricant to a first side of the first gelatin ribbon and to a first side of the second gelatin ribbon;
c. applying food approved lubricant to a second side of the first gelatin ribbon and to a second side of the second gelatin ribbon to give a lubricated first gelatin ribbon and a lubricated second gelatin ribbon;
d. uniting the lubricated first gelatin ribbon and the lubricated second gelatin ribbon to form gel pockets and injecting fill material into the gel pockets to give freshly formed gelatin capsules;
e. cooling the freshly formed gelatin capsules to assist their separation from a net formed by the remainder of the gelatin ribbons;
f. finishing the freshly formed gelatin capsules by drying them to give finished gelatin capsules; and
g. recovering the finished gelatin capsules;
wherein the steps of applying food-approved lubricant to the first and second gelatin ribbons comprise controlling the amount of food-approved lubricant applied to the first and second gelatin ribbons so that the finished gelatin capsules do not require a solvent wash step to remove lubricant, whereby the gelatin encapsulation process is a solvent-free process.
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Abstract
A continuous solvent free gelatin encapsulation apparatus and process includes an oil roll back assembly (20) for applying a controlled amount of a food-approved lubricant to a first side of the gelatin ribbon and an applicator guide bar assembly (40) for applying a controlled amount of food-approved lubricant to a second side of the gelatin ribbon. Two opposing food-approved lubricant coated gelatin ribbons are then united in a die assembly (50) to form gelatin capsules which are then dried and recovered.
54 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A gelatin encapsulation process comprising the steps of:
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a. casting a continuous first gelatin ribbon and a continuous second gelatin ribbon; b. applying food-approved lubricant to a first side of the first gelatin ribbon and to a first side of the second gelatin ribbon; c. applying food approved lubricant to a second side of the first gelatin ribbon and to a second side of the second gelatin ribbon to give a lubricated first gelatin ribbon and a lubricated second gelatin ribbon; d. uniting the lubricated first gelatin ribbon and the lubricated second gelatin ribbon to form gel pockets and injecting fill material into the gel pockets to give freshly formed gelatin capsules; e. cooling the freshly formed gelatin capsules to assist their separation from a net formed by the remainder of the gelatin ribbons; f. finishing the freshly formed gelatin capsules by drying them to give finished gelatin capsules; and g. recovering the finished gelatin capsules;
wherein the steps of applying food-approved lubricant to the first and second gelatin ribbons comprise controlling the amount of food-approved lubricant applied to the first and second gelatin ribbons so that the finished gelatin capsules do not require a solvent wash step to remove lubricant, whereby the gelatin encapsulation process is a solvent-free process. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A soft gelatin encapsulation apparatus comprising:
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two opposing gelatin ribbon casting apparatuses for casting a first and second continuous ribbon of gelatin; a first pair of applicator means respectively for applying a food-approved lubricant to a first side of the first gelatin ribbon and a first side of the second gelatin ribbon; a second pair of applicator means respectively for applying a food-approved lubricant to a second side of the first gelatin ribbon and a second side of the second gelatin ribbon; a die assembly; cooling means for cooling the gelatin capsules when they are freshly formed by the die assembly, in order to assist separation of the gelatin capsules from a net formed by the remainder of the gelatin ribbons; and means for controlling the amount of food-approved lubricant applied to the first and second gelatin ribbons so that finished gelatin capsules do not require a solvent wash step to remove lubricant. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. Soft gelatin encapsulation apparatus comprising:
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lubricant applying apparatus, said lubricant applying apparatus compromising first applicator means for applying a food-approved lubricant to a first side of a gelatin ribbon, second applicator means for applying a food-approved lubricant to a second side of the gelatin ribbon, and means for controlling the amount of food-approved lubricant applied to the gelatin ribbon so that finished gelatin capsules do not require a solvent wash step to remove lubricant; a die assembly for forming gelatin capsules using the gelatin ribbon; and cooling means for cooling freshly formed gelatin capsules to assist their separation from the remainder of the gelatin ribbon.
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Specification