US1064568A - Capsule-filling device. - Google Patents

Description

W. G. TOPLIS.

CAPSULE FILLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1909.

Patented June 10, 1913.

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W. G. TOPLIS.

CAPSULE FILLING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, 1909.

1,064,56, Patented June 10, 1913.

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l5 5- 2/ 0 V Z /5 /5 A8 WILLIAM GEORGE TOPLIS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAPSULE-FILLING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 10, 1913.

Application filed July 26, 1909. Serial No. 509,622.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, lVILLIAM GEORGE Tor- LIS, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Capsule-Filling Devices, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide, for use by pharmacists or other compounders of physicians prescriptions, a simple, cheap and effective device for filling capsules with powdered or granular material. This object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a top or plan view of a capsule filling device constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same on the line aa, Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical section on the line b b, Fig. 1; Fig. 4. is a transverse vertical section on the line 0-0, Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section illustrating the first step in the filling of the capsules; Fig. 6 is a similar section illustrat ing the next step in the filling operation, and Fig. 7 is a similar section illustrating the final step of the operation.

The main elements of the device are a capsule-receiving block and a trough resting thereupon and serving to receive the material with which the capsules are to be filled and to direct the same into said capsules. The capsule-receiving block comprises an upper member 1 and a lower member 1 prefera ly of hard wood, such as maple or the like, and presenting reverse wedges as shown in Fig. 3, whereby the line of separation between them is inclined, the upper member of the block being deeper at the front side than at the rear. The end portions 2 of the upper member of the block are of the full depth of said block and are grooved for the reception of tongues 3 projecting from the ends of the lower member 1 of the block, as shown in Fig. 2, said lower member being correspondingly shorter than the upper member. The upper member of the block also has, by preference, at the front a depending tongue 1 which serves as a stop to limit the forward movement of the lower member, and accidental rearward displacement of the latter is prevented by a pin 5 which is adapted to openings in the upper and lower members, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

The upper member of the block has formed therein any desired number of parallel rows of openings 6, the openings of each row being of a difierent diameter from those of the other rows, and, because of the wedge shape of the upper member of the block, being also of different depths, the openings of the greatest diameter having the greatest depth and those of the least diameter the least depth, so that they will accord with the relative diameter and depth of the capsules which have to be filled, these capsules increasing in depth as they increase in diameter.

In the upper face of the lower member 1 of the block are parallel rows of conical, rounded or tapering recesses 6, corresponding with the rows of openings 6 in the upper member, and between the two members of the block is-stretched a sheet 7 of rubber or other resilient material which is confined to the lower member by having its opposite ends inserted into grooves 9 in the ends of said lower member, as shown in Fig. 2, the end portions of the rubber sheet being preferably stiffened and strengthened by the application thereto of an overlapping strip of metal or other suitable material, as shown in Fig. 2.

Mounted upon the capsule-receiving block is a longitudinal receiving trough 10 having flaring sides and a flat bottom in which are formed as many openings 11 as there are openings 6 in each row, these openings 11 flaring outwardly from top to bot-tom, as shown in Fig. 3, for a purpose described hereafter. The tops of the openings 11 are preferably of smaller diameter than the smallest of the capsules to be filled, so as to permit of the free delivery of the material to said small capsules, but the bottoms of the openings are greater in diameter than the largest capsules, so as to readily receive the upper ends of the same.

The trough 10 is secured in position laterally and longitudinally upon the capsulereceiving block by means of depending split pins 12 one near each end of the trough, these pins entering openings 13 formed in the block at each end of each row of openings 6, and, in order to increase the frictional hold of the pins 12 it is preferable to slightly spread the said pins as they are thrust into the openings 13, such result being attained by means of a spreader plate 14:, extending across each opening 13 and having its upper end tapered both longitudinally and transversely, as shown in Figs. 2, and 4, whereby, when the split pins 12 are pushed down into the opening 18 they will readily engage the spreader plates and will be slightly expand-ed laterally so as to press upon the opposite sides of said spreader plates and resist accidental vertical displacement of the trough 10. The spreader plates let are supported vertically in the openings 13 by forking said plates at the bottom, as shown in Fig. 2, and then spreading said forks so as to cause them to bite into the walls of the openin s. In order to prevent the springing upwarc of the cenral portion of the trough when its ends re pressed d wn onto the capsule-receiving block, the bottom of the trough is, in its vrmal condition, slightly curved upward from the center toward each end, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, whereby downward pressure upon the ends of the trough will have the effect of straightening the same.

In using the device the capsules to be filled are first inserted in the openings 6 of the proper row in the capsule-receiving block, and are set or adjusted into proper vertical position in the openings by meansof a setting plate 15 having projecting pins 16, which, by contact with the bottoms of the capsules, force the latter down into the openings 6 so as to depress them all to the proper extent. This may be done either before the application of the trough, or afterward, as shown in Fig. 5, the pins 16 in the latter case passing through the openings 11 in the bottom of the trough. The bottoms of the capsules force the rubber sheet 7 into the conical openings 6 in the lower member of the block and, by reason of the resiliency of these depressed portions of the rubber sheet, the tops of the capsules will, when the setting plate is withdrawn, be forced upwardly into the tapering lower portions of the openings in the trough and the upper end of each capsule will be 'pressed closely against the side walls of its respective opening so. as to prevent the escape of any material between said walls and the capsule. The powder being deposited in the trough the back of the setting plate 15 is used to scrape or distribute the powder along the trough, as shown in Fig. 6, so that it will pass through the openings 11 and into the capsules, said back of the plate being properly shaped to conform to the internal contour of the trough whose sides converge until they meet the openings 1.1 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, in order that no shelves or projections may be formed on which the material can accumulate, consequently all of the material will finally be deposited in the capsules or in the open-' ings above the same.

The thickness of the setting plate 15 is .ings 11.

Any material which may have accumulated in the openings is forced to enter the capsules by the use of'a finishing plate 17, as shown in Fig. 7, this plate having depending pins 19 and being shouldered as at 20 so as to limit its descent and insure the compacting of the powder in the capsule until it is below the upper edge of the same. The trough is then removed and the filled capsules are withdrawn from the openings 6 and capped in the usual way. Instead of using the finishing plate 17, the material may be pressed down into the capsules by the pins 16 of the setting plate 15, is desired.

The various operations attending the filling of the capsules can be performed readily and without the exercise of any special skill, or risk of wasting any of the material.

The number of openings 6 in each row corresponds to the maximum number of capsules of a given size which are likely to be filled at any one time, and if a less number than the maximum is required the trough 10 may be provided with a fillingblock 21 which will serve to confine the material to that portion of the trough which corresponds with the number of capsules which are being used.

For the purpose of dividing the rows of capsule-receiving openings into proper sections I provide the top of the capsule-receiving block with section-indicating marks 22, as shown in F ig. 1, and in order that these marks may be indelible and free from liability to obliteration by the frequent washings to which the capsulereceiving block is subjected in order to keep it in a properly cleansed condition, I prefer to apply to the top of the block at the proper places narrow lines of a suitable material which will resist the action of dye or stain, and then to impart a dark color to the block by dyeing or staining the same, after which the resisting material can be removed, so that the block will present on its upper face indicating marks in the natural color of the wood and contrasting with the color of the dye or stain. For this purpose the resistant is secured to the block in the first instance by means of gum arabic or other adhesive readily soluble in water, whereby, after the block has been stained or dyed the resistantcan be readily removed by washing. An other reason for dyeing or staining the block a dark color, is to cause it to strongly contrast with the materials with which the capsules are to be filled, which are usually of a light color, consequently the presence of any stray particles of material on the block or in the openings can be readily detected. WVhen, however, a light colored block is used, the indicating marks 22 may be burned into the surface of the same or. otherwise indelibly produced thereon.

The trough 10 may be composed of any desired material, but it is preferably made of some material such as hard rubber or glass which will not injuriously affect or be injuriously affected by the chemicals which are likely to be present in the materials with which the capsules are to be filled.

By providing for the ready fitting together or separation of the two members of which the capsule-receiving block is composed and for the ready application and removal of the rubber sheet 7 and the trough 10 the perfect cleansing of the block and trough and their openings by washing is permitted, the mixing of part of one prescription with another is prevented and the device is maintained in a sanitary condition at all times. The device, moreover, comprises but few parts, of simple and inexpensive construction, and its cost is thereby reduced to a minimum without detracting from its eiticiency.

I claim:

1. In a capsule-filling device, a capsulereceiving block comprising two members of reverse wedge shape and separable one from the other, the upper member having capsulereceiving openings formed therein and extending through the same.

2. In a capsule-filling device, a capsulereceiving block having therein openings with resilient bottoms which normally close said openings.

3. In a capsule-filling device, a capsulereceiving block composed of two members, and an interposed sheet of resilient material, the upper member having capsule-receiving openings whose bottoms are formed by said resilient material.

4;. In a capsule-filling device, a capsulereceiving block comprising two members, and an interposed sheet of resilient material, the upper member having capsule-receiving openings therein and the lower member having tapering recesses corresponding to said openings.

5. In a capsule filling device the capsule receiving block comprising two members, one fitted to slide on the other, the upper member having capsule receiving openings formed therein and extending through the same, said upper member providing an open bottomed recess for the reception of the lower member, which recess has at the sides projecting portions for the support of said lower member.

6. In a capsule-filling device, a capsulereceiving block comprising two members and an interposed sheet of resilient material, the upper member having capsule-receiving openings therein and the lower member having the ends of the resilient sheet secured thereto.

7. In a capsule-filling device, a capsule-- receiving block comprising two members and an interposed sheet of resilient material, the upper member having capsule-receiving openings therein and the lower member hav ing the ends of the resilient sheet let into grooves in the ends of the same.

8. In a capsule-filling device, a capsulereceiving block comprising two members and an interposed sheet of resilient material, the upper member having capsule-receiving openings therein and the ends of the resilient sheet being overlapped by reinforcing material and let into grooves in the ends of the lower member.

9. In a capsule-filling device, a capsulereceiving block comprising upper and lower members mounted so as to slide transversely one upon the other, and means for preventing accidental displacement or release of said members, the upper member having ca 'isule-receiving openings formed therein and extending through the same and said upper member presenting an open-bottomed recess for the reception of the lower member, which recess has at the sides projecting portions for the support of said lower member.

10. In a capsulefilling device, the combination of the capsule-receiving block with a distributing trough having split pins adapted to openings in the block, and spreader plates contained in said openings.

11. In a capsule-filling device, the combination of the capsule-receiving block with a distributing trough having split pins adapted to openings in the block, and spreader plates contained in said openings and tapered transversely at their upper ends.

12. In a capsule-filling device, the combi nation of the capsulereceiving block with a distributing trough having split pins adapted to openings in the block, and spreader plates contained in said openings and tapered both longitudinally and transversely at their upper ends.

13. In a capsule-filling device, the combination of the capsule-receiving block with a distributing trough mounted thereon and having split retaining pins adapted to openings in the block and acted upon by spreader plates the-rein, said spreader plates being forked at their lower ends and having said forks forced into engagement with the block in order to support the plates in the openings.

I l. In a capsule-filling device, the combination of the capsule-receiving block, the distributing trough and a finishing plate having pins for forcing the material into the capsules, and shoulders for limiting the descent of said pins when the latter have properly packed the material in. the cap sules.

15. In a capsule-filling device, the combination of a distributing trough having a flat bottom and flaring sides, with a distributing plate of the same thickness as the width of the flat bottom of the trough.

16. In a capsule-filling device, the combination of a distributing trough having a flat bottom and flaring sides, with a distributing plate of the same thickness as the width of the flat bottom of the trough, said plate having a flat back with beveled corner.

17. In a capsule-filling device, the combi-- nation of a capsule-receiving block, with a distributing trough having anormally curved bottom slightly lower in the center than at the ends, and means for vertically confining the ends of said trough to the capsule-reoeiv ing block. 4

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM GEORGE TOPLIS.

\Vitnesses HAMILTON D. TURNER, KATE A. BEADLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

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