U.S. patent number 3,871,295 [Application Number 05/393,939] was granted by the patent office on 1975-03-18 for capsule orienting apparatus and method of spin printing.
This patent grant is currently assigned to R. W. Hartnett Company. Invention is credited to Edward M. Ackley.
United States Patent |
3,871,295 |
Ackley |
March 18, 1975 |
CAPSULE ORIENTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF SPIN PRINTING
Abstract
Capsule orienting and turning apparatus and method for use in a
spin printing procedure in which a printing roll moves at a greater
speed than the capsule, thus causing the capsule to rotate about
its own axis while it is being printed. Many capsules, randomly
arranged in a hopper, are picked up in a rotary conveyor which
arranges them first in vertical arrangement relative to the path of
movement of the conveyor, some capsules upright and some inverted,
and an air jet shifts the body portions of the upright capsules in
the machine direction so that the cap portions can subsequently be
shifted in a sidewise direction by a subsequent sideward-directed
air jet. Those capsules which are inverted are not affected by the
first air jet because of a barrier which prevents their movement;
the cap portions of these inverted capsules are blown sidewise by
the sidewardly directed air stream. In this way, the positions of
the capsules are rectified, with all of the cap portions on one
side of the predetermined path and all of the body portions on the
other side of the predetermined path.
Inventors: |
Ackley; Edward M. (Stone
Harbor, NJ) |
Assignee: |
R. W. Hartnett Company
(Philadelphia, PA)
|
Family
ID: |
23556860 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/393,939 |
Filed: |
September 4, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
101/40; 101/483;
198/380; 198/543; 101/232; 118/62; 198/384; 221/173 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65G
47/1485 (20130101); B41F 17/36 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B41F
17/00 (20060101); B41F 17/36 (20060101); B65G
47/14 (20060101); B41f 017/36 (); B65g
047/24 () |
Field of
Search: |
;101/35-40,426
;198/33R,33AA,33AB,33AC,33AD,DIG.4,249 ;193/43R,43B,43D
;221/171-173,278,1 ;118/62 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Crowder; Clifford D.
Claims
I claim:
1. In a capsule orienting and turning apparatus, the combination
which comprises:
a continuously movable capsule transporting apparatus having a
plurality of spaced-apart pockets for the capsules,
means moving said transporting apparatus to move said pockets from
positions facing open upwardly to positions facing open
downwardly,
means for feeding a plurality of capsules for reception in said
pockets while said pockets are open upwardly,
each said pocket having an elongated pocket portion for receiving
said capsule therein with the capsule axis substantially
perpendicular to the direction of capsule movement, referred to in
this claim as position "A",
each said pocket also having a longitudinal pocket portion arranged
to carry the capsule with the capsule axis extending in
approximately the direction of its movement, referred to in this
claim as position "B",
and each said pocket having a laterally extending pocket portion
arranged to carry the capsule arranged crosswise of position "A"
and also crosswise of the direction of of its movement, referred to
in this claim as position "C",
and shifting means, operative while the capsule pockets and
capsules are moving, to shift capsules from position "A" to
position "B" and then to position "C", with all the cap portions in
rectified orientation.
2. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein means is provided for
shifting some of said capsules directly from position "A" to
position "C".
3. The apparatus defined in claim 1 wherein said shifting means
includes means forming a passage arranged to carry high velocity
fluid.
4. The apparatus defined in claim 3 wherein said fluid is air.
5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, arranged for rectifying the
positions of capsules each of which has a body portion of given
transverse dimension and a cap portion of larger transverse
dimension than that of said body portion, wherein means are
provided for moving said capsule from position "A" to position "B"
and wherein spacer stop means are provided of such size as to
prevent the cap portion of the capsule from tilting into the
position "B" pocket portion but to permit the body portion to do
so.
6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each pocket includes a
wall of rounded configuration connecting the position "A" pocket
portion to the position "B" pocket portion, and wherein said
shifting means includes a means for applying a blast of air to the
upper portion of said capsule, when said upper portion is the body
portion which is of lesser transverse dimension than the cap
portion of said capsule, to tilt said capsule body portion into the
position "B" pocket portion.
7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said pocket includes a
wall of rounded configuration connecting the position "A" pocket
portion to the position "C" pocket portion, and wherein said
shifting means includes a means for applying a blast of air to the
upper portion of said capsule, when said upper portion is the cap
portion which is of greater transverse dimension than said body
portion of said capsule, to tilt said capsule cap portion into the
position "C" pocket portion.
8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein means are provided
for moving said capsule from position "A" to position "B" and
wherein each pocket includes a wall of rounded configuration
connecting the position "B" pocket portion to the position "C"
pocket portion, and wherein means are provided for applying a blast
of air to the cap portion of said capsule, to swing said cap
portion into the position "C" pocket portion.
9. In a capsule orienting and turning apparatus for printing
capsules which are randomly arranged in a container, said capsules
having body portions and cap portions which are of greater
transverse dimensions than said body portions, the combination
which comprises:
a continuously movable capsule separating and transporting conveyor
having a plurality of generally vertically-arranged pockets for
receiving the capsules in upstanding positions therein, said
pockets being substantially equally spaced apart, each said pocket
also having a capsule body receiving longitudinal pocket portion
which is too small to receive the corresponding cap portion, and
which is arranged to carry the capsule with the capsule axis
extending in approximately the direction of its movement, and each
said pocket having a laterally extending pocket portion which is
large enough to receive said cap portion and which is arranged to
carry the capsule arranged crosswise of the direction of its
movement, means for moving said conveyor along a predetermined path
with some of the capsules upright and some inverted, first means
for directing a stream of air against the body portions of those
capsules which are in upright positions, in a direction generally
along said predetermined path, and second air directing means
directed transversely of said predetermined path for shifting the
cap portions of those capsules which are in an inverted position,
and also the cap portions of those capsules which have been shifted
by said first means, all in a direction generally sidewise with
respect to said predetermined path.
10. In a method of printing capsules which are randomly arranged in
a container, said capsules having body portions and cap portions
which are of greater transverse dimension than said body portions,
the steps which comprise: separating the capsules from one another,
arranging them at substantially equal spacing and standing
substantially upright, and moving them continuously along a
predetermined path, some with caps up and some with caps down,
directing a stream of air against the upper portions of the
capsules to force those upper portions which are body portions into
an orientation generally along the line of said predetermined path,
while blocking any such movement of those capsule upper portions
which are cap portions, and directing a second stream of air
transversely upon all cap portions to swing all capsules to a
transverse position of rectified orientation with all the cap
portions on the same side and downstream with respect to said
second stream of air, and printing upon the capsules while they are
in a rectified orientation.
11. In a method of spin printing capsules which are randomly
arranged in a container, said capsules having body portions and cap
portions which are of greater transverse dimension than said body
portions, the steps which comprise: separating the capsules from
one another, feeding said capsules for reception in pockets which
are open upwardly, with the capsule axis substantially
perpendicular to the path of capsule movement, shifting some of the
capsules to a position where referred to in this claim as position
"A", shifting some of the capsules to a position where the capsule
axis extends approximately in the direction of capsule movement
referred to in this claim as position "B", and then turning all of
the capsules to an alignment with their axes transverse to position
"A" and also transverse to the direction of their movement, thereby
rectifying said capsules with all their cap portions and body
portions similarly oriented, maintaining said capsules in a
rotatable condition and contacting said rectified capsules with a
printing surface which is moving faster than the speed of movement
of the capsules, thereby rotating said capsules while they are
being printed.
Description
INTRODUCTION
This invention relates to a capsule orienting and turning apparatus
for orienting and rectifying the positions of capsules which are
originally disposed in a random arrangement in a container such as
a hopper or the like. According to this invention, the capsules may
be disposed in a uniform manner on a conveyor with all of the cap
portions at one side and all of the body portions on the other,
with the capsules having their axes disposed at approximately right
angles to the path of the movement of the conveyor. In this
position the capsules are arrayed in a preferred position for such
subsequent processing operations as spin printing, in which
procedure the conveyors are mounted in a rotatable position on
individual carriers, and are passed in contact with a rotating
printing roll which rotates at a speed which is considerably
greater than the speed of movement of the capsule conveyor, thus
causing each capsule to spin about its own axis during the printing
process in a manner to apply special printing indicia having a
large angle of wrap around the capsule.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Marking machines of various types have been used commerically for
marking indicia on a multiplicity of objects all of which have
essentially the same size and shape. For example, machines have
been successfully used for applying to relatively small articles
such as pharmaceutical capsules, pellets, pills and the like,
markings such as alphabetical letters, manufacturer's trademarks or
other characterizing symbols for the purpose of ready
identification. However, in most commercial procedures,
particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, one of the primary
objects of marking has been to prevent counterfeiting of products
and of materials contained therein. In order to achieve this
purpose, it has been highly desirable to apply an extremely
accurate marking, having such a finely detailed character that
counterfeiting is difficult or virtually impossible. In order to
achieve this result, it has been considered necessary to avoid any
relative movement between the article and the printing roll, and to
avoid spinning of the pharmaceutical article about its axis.
DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART
The Ackley Pat. No. 2,931,292 discloses an article marking machine
of the type referred to above, which has been in successful
commercial use for many years. Such an apparatus is particularly
useful for handling objects which are symmetrical in form, such as
pellets, pills or the like which are usually generally cylindrical
or oval in shape.
Marking machines of the type disclosed in the Ackley Patent are
ideally constructed for accepting large numbers of individual
objects which are randomly arranged in a hopper, moving them along
a conveyor belt and printing with extreme fineness and accuracy on
one or both sides of the objects while holding the objects
completely stationary in carriers which are specifically designed
for the purpose.
In the pharmaceutical industry a physiologically active substance,
usually in powdered form, is often placed into a capsule which is
composed of two portions: a body portion of predetermined diameter
and a cap portion of slightly larger diameter which slides
telescopically over the body portion. In order to prevent the
removal of a genuine pharmaceutical material from the capsule and
substitution of a counterfeit material, such capsules have recently
adopted a self-locking structure, such that the body portion and
the cap portion are automatically locked to each other upon pushing
the body portion onto the cap portion through a predetermined
distance.
Accordingly, many capsules which are coming into extensive use at
this time are not symmetrical in shape, because the cap portion
necessarily has a larger diameter than the body portion.
In the cases of all such capsules, and in situations relating to
many other pharmaceutical and other objects, it is often desirable
to apply the printed indicia over a wide angle of surface
curvature. For example, when the manufacturer has a long name, the
name may be wrapped all the way around, or as much as 180 degrees
of the circumference of the capsule or other objects, or even more.
This is effectively accomplished by causing the object to spin
about its axis or center as the indicia are printed on the surface
of the object. When the object is supported in a manner to allow
slippage for freedom of rotation sufficient printing friction can
be provided to eliminate any substantial slippage between the
printing means and the surface printed upon.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an
automatic machine which can accept for mass production large
numbers of capsules which are arranged completely at random in a
container such as a feed hopper for example, and which can sort out
and orient the capsules so that they are spaced apart uniformly
from each other and so that they can be "rectified," which term as
used in connection with this invention means arranging all of the
cap portions toward one side of the predetermined path of movement
of the capsules and arranging all of the body portions toward the
other side of such path.
It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus of
this type which picks up the capsules from the hopper with a high
degree of efficiency and reliability, which arranges them in a
vertical position with respect to the path of movement, and which
then shifts them to a transverse position with respect to the path
of movement and deposits them in a rectified condition on a
conveyor belt, with the axes of the capsules substantially
crosswise to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, in a
condition ideally adapted for spin printing.
Other objects and advantages of this invention, including the
simplicity and economy of the same, and the ease with which it may
be adapted to the high speed mass production of spin printed
capsules, will readily become apparent hereinafter and in the
drawings.
DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation, with certain parts shown in
section, illustrating one embodiment in accordance with this
invention.
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the
apparatus, taken as indicated by the lines and arrows II--II which
appear in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken as indicated by the lines and
arrows III--III which appear in FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of the
apparatus, taken as indicated by the lines and arrows IV--IV which
appear in FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken as indicated by the
lines and arrows V--V which appear in FIG. 2.
FIGS. 6 and 7 are sectional views taken as indicated by the lines
and arrows VI--VI and VII--VII, respectively, which appear in FIG.
5.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a portion of the spin printing
apparatus appearing in FIG. 1, taken as indicated by the lines and
arrows VIII--VIII which appear in FIG. 1.
FIG. 9 is a view in plan of a portion of the capsule conveyor which
is used in the spin printing operation, looking in the direction
indicated by the lines and arrows IX--IX which appear in FIG.
8.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS
The following description is not intended to limit the scope of the
invention, as defined in the appended claims, but will be presented
in specific terms in order more clearly to describe the
construction and operation of the particular forms of the invention
that have been selected for illustration in the drawings.
Turning to FIG. 1, the number 20 designates a capsule carrying
hopper which is mounted on a suitable support (not shown), above a
portion of a rotatable cylinder 21 which is mounted for rotation
about an axle 22. A motor (not shown) is provided for rotating the
cylinder 21. The hopper 20 has an opening as indicated at 23 for
delivery of capsules to a plurality of equally spaced, generally
elongated cavities 24 which are formed in and extend across the
outer surface of the rotatable cylinder 21. It will be observed
that the capsule cavities have elongated portions which extend in a
generally radial direction, as will be described in more specific
detail hereinafter, allowing the capsules to be received by the
cylinder 21 in generally radial positions. As will become apparent
in further detail hereinafter, some of the capsules naturally fall
into the cavities 24 in an upright position, with the body portions
above the cap portions, while other capsules fall naturally into
the cavities 24 in an inverted position, with the cap portions
above the body portions.
The number 25 designates a plurality of longitudinally directed air
jets which are arranged to provide blasts of air in a direction
generally along the direction D in which the rotatable cylinder 21
is rotating. The number 26 designates another group of air jets,
which are directed substantially crosswise of the machine, which
tend to shift certain capsules in a crosswise direction as appears
in FIG. 1, and as will be described in further detail
hereinafter.
The number 27 designates a stationary vacuum chest which is located
immediately adjacent to the inner surface of the cylinder 21 and
which serves to assist in the introduction of the capsules into
their cavities, the influence of the vacuum being effected through
small holes 28 which extend through inner portions of the cylinder
21 into the capsule cavities 24.
The number 29 designates a rotating brush which serves to
straighten out any capsules that might be lying in an angular
position, as opposed to the upright position illustrated in FIG.
1.
The number 30 designates a source of warm air located adjacent to
the bottom of the cylinder 21, and serves to assist in the gravity
release and transfer of the capsules from a bottom portion of the
cylinder 21 onto a conveyor belt 31.
It will be apparent that the air jet means 25 and 26 are mounted in
stationary positions but are spaced close to the rotating cylinder
21. Similar comments apply with respect to the vacuum chest 27 and
to the warm air chest 30.
A curved plate 32 is arranged in closely spaced relation to the
lower, outer surface of cylinder 21, preventing the capsules from
falling prematurely by gravity out of their capsule cavities 24.
However, such plate 32 terminates just short of the bottom of the
cylinder 21, thus liberating the capsules to move by gravity, and
under the influence of warm air, onto individual capsule carriers
33 carried by the conveyor 31.
The number 40 designates an air blasting means for separating the
cap and the body portion to a limited degree in order to provide an
exact overall length for each capsule, preparatory to the spin
printing operation. This air separator is the subject of a separate
application for patent, Ser. No. 393,964 filed Sept. 4, 1973 and
which is not itself a part of the invention claimed herein. The
number 41 generically designates an offset printing apparatus which
is ideally adapted for spin printing in accordance with this
invention. It includes an ink reservior 42, a transfer roll 43, and
a printing roll 44 which is continuously rotated in the direction
indicated by the arrow thereon, in contact with the capsules as
they move underneath the roll 44, carried by their carriers 33 on
the conveyor 31. In the spin printing process, one or more
elongated forms of indicia are preferably printed on the outer
surface of the capsule by adjusting the speed of rotation of the
roll 44 so that its surface speed is considerably greater than the
speed of movement of the conveyor 31. Preferably, the capsule
carrier 33 is composed of a slippery material such as
polytetrafluoroethylene for example, which has a coefficient of
friction which is less than that of the printing roll, thus
permitting the capsule to rotate freely upon its axis under the
frictional influence of the printing roll 44 during the spin
printing process.
Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, it will be
apparent that each capsule cavity 24 includes a generally radially
directed pocket portion 50, a generally longitudinally directed
portion 51 and a generally transversely directed portion 52. The
pocket portion 50 is connected by walls having a surface curvature
at 53 to the longitudinal portion 51, and by walls having surface
curvature 54 to transverse portion 52. Another wall having a curved
surface portion 55 provides a connection from longitudinal pocket
portion 51 to transverse pocket portion 52.
A typical capsule is shown in FIG. 3 in its upright position, in
which the body portion By is located above the cap portion Cp. It
will be appreciated that the longitudinally directed air jets 25 in
FIG. 3 impinge upon the body portions By in the manner shown
therein, and tilts them about the curved surface 53 to the position
illustrated as position B in FIG. 3. It will further be appreciated
from FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 that the transverse air jets 26 impinge upon
the cap portions Cp and slide them around the curved portion 55
(see also the upper portion of FIG. 2, central portion), forcing
the capsule into the position illustrated as "position C" in the
drawings.
Turning now to FIG. 5 of the drawings, the capsule is there shown
in its inverted position with the cap Cp above the body portion By
. The longitudinally directed air jet 25 impinges upon the cap
portion Cp as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 5, but the cap portion
Cp is prevented from swinging into "position B" by stop members 60,
60 which appear in FIG. 6 and are spaced apart at a distance
greater than the diameter of By but less than the diameter of Cp.
Subsequently, the transversely directed air jet 26 swings the
capsule around the curved surface 54 which appears in FIG. 7,
forcing the cap portion toward the same side of the machine as the
cap portions from the capsules that were originally in their
upright positions. Thus, in this manner, all of the capsules are
"rectified" which, in accordance with this invention, means that
all caps of the capsules are arranged toward one side with respect
to the machine direction and all of the body portions of the
capsules are arranged toward the other side with respect to the
machine direction.
It will now be apparent that, with all of the capsules thus
rectified, they move downwardly around the periphery of the
rotatable cylinder 21 maintained within their pockets in a
rectified condition by the guard plate 32, and are deposited, under
the influence of gravity and of the warm air 30, onto the carriers
33. They are subsequently subjected to spin printing in a manner to
apply bands 70, 70 or the like, as appears in FIGS. 8 and 9 of the
drawings, the printing roll 44 being driven at a greater peripheral
velocity than the velocity of movement of the conveyor 31 and
recessed at 71 to avoid smearing of the printed indicia.
Although this invention has been described in conjunction with
certain specific forms and certain modifications thereof, it will
be appreciated that a wide variety of other modifications can be
made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For
example, some of the features of the invention may be used
independently of other features, including the use or non-use of
the vacuum chest 27 or the warm air chest 30 and the use or non-use
of the apparatus for partially separating the cap and the body
portions prior to spin printing. Indeed, the capsule orienting and
rectifying apparatus is capable of uses independent of spin
printing, although it is admirably adapted for that use.
Additonally, in accordance with this invention, various equivalent
elements may be substituted for those shown and specifically
described, and in many instances parts may be reversed in ways
which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, all without
departing from the scope and spirit of this invention as defined in
the appended claims.
* * * * *