Abstract:
The present invention is directed to devices for encapsulating medicinal products and methods of using these devices to form the encapsulated product. More specifically, the present invention includes improved closing and/or ejection pins for use with a conventional capsule closing device. The closing pins may be hollow down a longitudinal interior diameter and may include a chamfered capsule contacting surface. The closing and/or ejection pins may be removably mounted to a pin plate and may be manufactured from a polymer. The pin plate may be attached to an actuation shaft in a non-rotational fashion, such as with a non-circular shaft profile and set screw.

Description:
This application claims continuing status from application Ser. No. 09/822,382 filed Mar. 30, 2001, now abandoned. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention generally relates to methods and devices for preparing medicinal capsules and more specifically to medicinal capsule preparation methods and devices with improved closing and ejection pins. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The mass production of medicines, supplements, and other compounds in predefined doses has become an important part of the health care and exercise industries. Many of these doses come prepackaged inside a two-piece, hard gelatin or cellulose capsule. Such a capsule may be easier to administer to a patient when compared to other forms of doses, and the capsules may be more readily produced by a mass production manufacturing facility. 
     The conventional process for the production of a medicinal capsule involves putting the two empty halves of the capsule in a pressing rack, filling the lower capsule half with powdered or some other form of medicine, and pressing or squeezing the two capsule halves together until they are frictionally locked. The current devices for holding and pressing these capsule halves together may suffer from various undesirable problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention broadly contemplates, in at least one presently preferred embodiment, a method and apparatus for packaging a measured dose of a medicinal or other material in a container. More specifically, one embodiment of the present invention includes a device for squeezing two halves of a medicinal capsule together and ejecting the capsule from the capsule preparation device. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the capsule production device may include one or more hollow closing pins that may be used to press the two halves of the capsule together into frictional contact with each other. The closing pins may be removably secured to a pin plate and may be chamfered at the capsule end to reduce the local force on any one area of the capsule to be squeezed. 
     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a pin plate that holds one or more closing and/or ejection pins may be mounted to an actuating shaft that is capable of forcing the pins into contact with the capsules to be formed along a vertical axis through the center of the capsules. The pin plate and shaft may have matching non-rotational profiles so that a horizontal force on the device may not produce a twisting, bending, or slipping of the pin plate in relation to its rotational position in the actuating shaft. The pin plate may be secured to the actuating shaft by way of a set screw inserted through the upper portion of the actuating shaft. 
     These and other details, objects, and advantages of the present invention will be more readily apparent from the following description of the presently preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention and its presently preferred embodiments will be better understood by reference to the detailed disclosure hereinafter and to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a prior art capsule closing device; 
     FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a capsule closing device according to one aspect of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 3A-3C show an enlarged top ( 3 A), front ( 3 B), and side ( 3 C) view of a pin plate, closing pin, and actuating shaft combination; 
     FIGS. 4A-4C show an enlarged top ( 4 A), front ( 4 B), and side ( 4 C) view of a presently preferred closing pin for use with the present invention; 
     FIGS. 5A-5C show an enlarged top ( 5 A), front ( 5 B), and side ( 5 C) view of a presently preferred closing pin plate for use with the present invention; 
     FIGS. 6A-6C show a top ( 6 A), front ( 6 B), and side ( 6 C) view of one presently preferred actuating shaft for use with the present invention; 
     FIGS. 7A-7C show a top ( 7 A), front ( 7 B), and side ( 7 C) view of one presently preferred ejection pin actuation device; and 
     FIGS. 8A-8C show a top ( 8 A), front ( 8 B), and side ( 8 C) view of one presently preferred ejection pin for use with the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As stated briefly above, a conventional mass production method of closing a capsule or other container for a powdered or other medication includes pressing the two halves of the capsule together with a machine  10  as partially shown in FIG.  1 . The two-piece segment  20  of the conventional capsule closing machine  10  includes an upper segment  22  and a lower segment  24  that provide a plurality of vertical holes or slots  26  (sixteen shown in FIG. 1) in which the two halves  28 ,  32  of the capsule  30  are brought together. 
     A plurality of empty capsule tops  32  may be inserted into the upper segment  22  with the open end of these tops  32  facing downwards. These tops  32  may be held in place in the upper segment  22  by a stepped shoulder. Simultaneously, a plurality of lower capsule halves  28  of the capsules  30  may be inserted into the lower segment  24  with the open ends of the capsule halves facing up (toward the upper capsule half). The lower capsule halves  28  are supported in place in the lower segment  24  by a shelf or ledge at the bottom of the lower segment  24 . Both the top of the upper segment  22  and the bottom of the lower segment  24  should have shafts or openings  26  to enable the closing and ejection pins to operate on the capsules  30  therewithin. 
     The upper  22  and lower  24  segments may then be brought together so that the vertical slots  26  in the upper and lower segments align. This two-piece segment  20  is then preferably brought to the rest of a capsule closing and ejection machine  10 . The conventional capsule closing machine  10  generally includes a pin plate  34  which is a broad flat plate that holds a plurality of closing pins  36 . The pin plate  34  is preferably bolted (via a vertical bolt not shown) to the top of a cylindrical closing pin actuating shaft  40  that compresses the lower capsule half  28  into the upper capsule half  32 . This shaft  40  is connected to an actuating device (not shown) that is capable of moving the shaft along a vertical line. Attached to the top face of the pin plate  34  is a plurality of closing pins  36  arranged to match the plurality of slots  26  in the two-piece segment  20 . These closing pins  36  may be solid cylinders with a spherical concave depression in the top  42 . These conventional closing pins  36  are bolted to the upper face of the pin plate  34  and extend generally upwards toward the two-piece segment  20 . 
     Because the closing pins  36  may not accurately line up with the slots or holes  26  in the two-piece segment  20  and because the pins may bend through use, there may also be a stationary guide plate  38  that surrounds the middle of the extending closing pin shafts  36  to align them with the holes  26  in the lower segment  24  of the two-piece segment  20 . This stationary guide plate  38  preferably is attached to some external point of reference (e.g., the remainder of the capsule closing machine  10 ) so that the closing pins  36  may travel up into the two piece segment  20  guided by the stationary guide plate  38 , without the guide plate  38  moving in the vertical direction. The holes in the stationary guide plate  38  are preferably of a slightly larger diameter than the closing pins  42  to allow the pins to slide through these holes along a vertical line. Finally, a counter closing device (not shown) is preferably located above the top of the upper segment  22  of the two-piece segment  20  to prevent the tops of the capsules  30  from popping out of the segment  20  during capsule  30  compression. 
     Once aligned, the closing pin actuating shaft  40  is actuated (by the actuating device), and the shaft  40  forces the pin plate  34 , and therefore the closing pins  36 , up into the holes  26  of the two-piece segment  20  (which holds the two capsule halves  28 ,  32  therewithin). The lower half  28  of the capsule is forced up and into or around the upper half  32  of the capsule. Because the counter closing device (which may be merely a flat piece of material covering the segment shafts or holes  26 ) restricts movement of the capsule tops  32  in the vertical direction, the two halves  28 ,  32  of the capsule are squeezed together to a predetermined point where the two halves  28 ,  32  frictionally lock together. 
     After the plurality of capsules  30  are locked together, the closing pin actuating shaft  40  is pulled downward and the closing pins  36  are pulled out from the two-piece segment  20  (guided by the stationary guide plate  38 ). Also, the counter closing device is removed so that the two-piece segment  20  is left with the completed capsules  30  within the slots  26  of the two-piece segment  20 . Next, an ejection pin device (not shown) is preferably actuated. The ejection pin device is similar to the closing pin device, except the ejection pins are preferably longer and of a smaller diameter than the closing pins  36 . When the ejection pin device is actuated, the ejection pins enter the hole or slots  26  of the two piece segment  20  and force (or “eject”) the completed capsules  30  through the top of the two piece segment  20 . Once the ejection pins eject the completed capsules  30 , the process may preferably begin again. 
     FIG. 2 shows part of one presently preferred embodiment of an improved device  100  for automatically closing a series of filled capsules  134  or other devices as envisioned by the present invention. The two-piece capsule segment  110  may be similar to that of the conventional model described above. Preferably, the two-piece segment  110  includes an upper segment  114  which houses an empty upper half  120  of a capsule  134  and a lower segment  112  which houses the lower half  118  of the capsule  134 . In practice, the upper capsule half  120  may be held in place in the upper segment  114  by a stepped shoulder. The lower capsule half  118  may be placed into the lower segment  112  where it is supported in place by a ledge at the bottom of the lower segment  112  that has a slightly smaller diameter than the capsule bottom  118  resting in the lower segment  112 . 
     At this point, a predetermined amount of powdered product or other material is then preferably injected into the lower capsule half  118 . The upper  114  and lower  112  segments may then preferably be brought together so that the upper  120  and lower  118  capsule halves line up in the vertical direction. The slots or holes  116  in the two piece segment  110  run therethrough in a vertical direction. This two-piece segment  110  is then preferably brought to the rest of a capsule closing and ejection machine  100 . 
     In the FIG. 2 embodiment, the pin plate  124  is shown with sixteen vertically extending closing pins  122  (matching the sixteen holes  116  in the two piece upper segment  110 ) and an actuating shaft  126 . In this embodiment, the upper section  130  of the actuating shaft has a square profile. The pin plate  124  may have a corresponding acceptance profile (in this case a square slot). This square or other non-rotational profile  130  may be useful in preventing the pin plate  124  (and therefore the closing pins  122  themselves) from becoming rotationally misaligned from the capsule slots or holes  116  in the two-piece capsule segment  110 . If the closing pins  122  do not line up, they may bend or break when the closing pin actuating shaft  126  is actuated which may cause a loss of time or money during the manufacturing process. Also, the pin plate  124  and the actuating shaft  126  may be secured to each other by a bolt or screw  132  that extends through the upper portion  130  of the actuating shaft  126 . This horizontal screw  132  will also preferably impede any rotational movement of the pin plate  124 , even if the screw  132  becomes loosened. 
     The closing pins  122  are preferably inserted into the pin plate  124  by applying pressure rather than by bolting the pins  122  to the plate  124 . To aid in this pressure fit, the pins  122  may preferably be made from a polymer material such as an FDA approved polymer. By changing the pin  122  material from the conventional stainless steel to such a polymer, there may be a reduced cost in the manufacture of the closing pins  122 . Also, by making the pins  122  pressure-fitted to the pin plate  124  rather than bolted, the pins  122  may be more quickly and easily replaced when some sort of pin failure occurs during device  100  operation. 
     Additionally, the closing pins  122  may have a hollow hole drilled all the way through the elongated shaft (along the vertical axis in FIG.  2 ). Upon actuation, when the closing pins  122  force the lower capsule half  118  into or around the upper capsule half  120 , some product may overflow from the capsules  134 . With the conventional, spherical depression-tipped closing pins  36 , some of this material may collect in the tips  42  of the closing pins  36 . Upon shaft  40  actuation in a subsequent capsule closing process, this collected excess product may cause an indentation or deformation in the bottom of the newly closed capsule. This deformation may render the capsule a failure and not sellable to the public. 
     With the hollow closing pins  122  of at least one embodiment of the present invention, the excess product that spills during capsule  134  closure may preferably pass right through the hollow middle hole of the closing pin  122  and pass harmlessly away from the next capsule run. Such a hole may lessen the amount of capsule  134  failures during the process cycle. Also, there may be a 120 degree (or other dimension) chamfer cut into the top  128  of the closing pin  122  (the face that contacts the capsule  134 ). This chamfer may be preferred to a flat edge because it distributes the actuating force to the outside or “shoulder” area of the capsule  134  rather than concentrating the force in any one place (especially at the tip of the capsule). This force-spreading may again reduce the number of capsule failures due to deformed or broken capsules during actuation and capsule closing. 
     FIGS. 3A-3C show an enlarged top ( 3 A), front ( 3 B), and side ( 3 C) view of the pin plate  124 , closing pin  122 , and actuating shaft  126  combination  150 . The top view details the non-rotational square profile  130  of the top portion of the actuating shaft  126  and the corresponding acceptance slot of the pin plate  124 . A set screw  132  is then preferably used in the horizontal plane to secure the pin plate  124  to the actuating shaft  126 . FIG. 3C also shows how the closing pins are preferably pressed (at  152 ) rather than bolted into the pin plate  124 . Here, the base of each closing pin  122  contains an increased diameter insertion shaft that mates with a hole drilled in the pin plate  124 . Also, FIG. 3C shows the hollow hole or slot  121  drilled vertically through the elongated axis of the closing pin to allow excess product to pass therethrough during device  100  operation. 
     FIGS. 4A-4C show an enlarged side ( 4 A), cross section ( 4 B), and top ( 4 C) view of a presently preferred closing pin  122  for use with the present invention. The  120  degree chamfer at the end  128  of the closing pin  122  that contacts the capsule  134  may be useful in distributing the force of the compression more evenly over the lower capsule halfs  118  surface area. The pin plate insertion side of the closing pin  122  includes an insertion shaft  160  to be pressed into the pin plate  124  and an insertion ledge or shoulder  158  to prevent the closing pin  122  from being inserted into the pin plate  124  too far. This ledge  158  may also keep the chamfered tip  128  of the closing pin  122  at the correct desired height throughout device  100  operation. The hollow shaft  156  is also depicted. 
     FIGS. 5A-5C show an enlarged top ( 5 A), front ( 5 B), and side section ( 5 C) view of a presently preferred closing pin plate  124  for use with the present invention. The non-rotational shape of the actuating shaft acceptor  130  may be seen here. The slot for set screw  132  is showing in FIGS. 5A-5B. Also, preferred positions of the slots or holes  170  that accept the insertion shaft  160  of the closing pins  122  are detailed. 
     FIGS. 6A-6C show a front ( 6 A), side ( 6 B), and top ( 6 C) view of one presently preferred actuating shaft  126  for use with the present invention. These figures detail how the set screw  132  passes through the non-rotational upper shaft portion  130  to secure the pin plate  124  to the shaft  126 . There is also shown a tap  180  in the opposite end of the actuating shaft  126  to secure the shaft  126  to an actuation device (not shown). The tap  180  may facilitate replacement or removal of the shaft  126  during device operation. 
     As the actuating shaft  126  pushes upward toward the two-piece capsule segment  110 , the upper ends  128  of the closing pins  122  enter the lower part of the slots  116  through the two-piece capsule segment  110 . As the closing pins  122  push upward, the lower capsule half  118  filled with product is forced into and/or around the empty upper half  120  of the capsule  134  until a predetermined closing point is reached. The counter closing device again restricts the upper capsule halves  120  from escaping the two-piece segment  110  in the vertical direction. At this closing point, the upper  120  and lower  118  capsule halves have been secured together by friction, and the capsule  134  is now one complete capsule. At this point, the actuating shaft  126  preferably is retracted down so the closing pins  122  lower out of the upper capsule segment  114  and away from the capsules  134 . The closed capsules  134  remain in the two-piece capsule segment  110 . 
     To force the closed capsules  134  out of the two-piece upper capsule segment  110 , a device similar to the closing pins  122  is preferably used. FIGS. 7A-7C show a top ( 7 A), front ( 7 B), and side ( 7 C) view of one such device. This device  200 , utilizing ejection pins, includes one or more ejection pins  210  which are preferably a series of solid pins  210  that are pressure mounted to an ejection pin plate  212  and an ejection pin actuating shaft  214  (which could be the same as the closing pin plate  124  and closing pin shaft  126 ). The ejection pins  210  may differ from the closing pins  122  because they are preferably meant to force the closed capsules  134  out of the two-piece segment  110  rather than forcing the two halves  118 ,  120  of the capsule  134  together. Hence, the ejection pins  210  are preferably longer than the closing pins and do not preferably include a chamfered tip. Before actuation of the ejection pin actuating shaft  214 , the counter closing device is preferably removed from being in contact with the two-piece segment  110 . This removal may leave the upper end of the holes or slots  116  of the two-piece segment  110  open so that the capsules  134  can exit through this top hole. 
     The ejection pins  210  are preferably lined up along the vertical axis through the center of the capsules  134  in the two-piece segment  110  (the same as the closing pins  122 ). Upon actuation, the ejection pins  210  are pushed up into the hollow channels  116  in the two-piece segment  110  (where the capsules  134  are currently held) and the ejection pins  210  come into contact with the lower portion of the lower capsule half  118 . Upon increased actuation of the ejection pin actuator shaft  214 , the ejection pins  210  preferably force the capsules  134  up and out of the top of the two-piece segment  110 . In one preferred embodiment, the capsules  134 , once ejected from the two-piece segment  110 , may be removed from the vicinity of the two-piece segment  110  by compressed air. 
     To aid in this forcing, the ejection pins  210  may preferably be longer and narrower than the closing pins  122 . FIGS. 8A-8C detail a front ( 8 A), side section ( 8 B), and top ( 8 C) view of one presently preferred ejection pin  210  for use with the present invention. The ejection pins  210  may be secured to the ejection pin plate  212  by friction (through enlarged diameter lower section  220 ) rather than being bolted to the pin plate  212 . Such a connection method may allow the closing pins to more easily be removed or replaced when necessary. There may also be an ejection pin ledge or shoulder  222  to prevent the ejection pins  210  from being inserted too deeply into the ejection pin plate  212  and to keep the ejection pins  210  at the proper height within the two-piece segment  110 . 
     After the capsules  134  are ejected from the top of the two-piece segment  110  and collected, the now empty segment  110  is returned to the capsule loading station where the process can start over again. This may preferably complete one full cycle of use of the capsule preparation device  100 . 
     The above specification describes several different embodiments and features of a capsule preparation device  100 . Various parts, selections, and/or alternatives from the various embodiments may preferably be interchanged with other parts of different embodiments. Although the invention has been described above in terms of particular embodiments, one of ordinary skill in the art, in light of the teachings herein, can generate additional embodiments and modifications without departing from the spirit of, or exceeding the scope of, the claimed invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the drawings and the descriptions herein are proffered by way of example only to facilitate comprehension of the invention and should not be construed to limit the scope thereof.