Improvements in Apparatus for Compressing Pharmaceutical and other Powders for the Manufacture of Tabloids.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application (in United Kingdom), 11th Oct., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 6th May, 1898-Accepted, 11th June,
1898
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Compressing Pharmaceutical and
other Powders for the Manufacture of Tabloids.
I, PAUL EUGENE MEINRAD JAMAIN, of 19, Rue des Roses, Dijon, (Cote d'Or),
in the Republic of France, Manufacturer of Pharmaceutical Preparations, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to a machine for compressing pharmaceutical and other
powders into perfectly uniform tabloids.
In order that my invention may be readily understood, I have represented the
same but by way of example only in the accompanying drawings in which
Figure 1 shows a side elevation of my apparatus as a whole.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the apparatus.
Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section on the line 1-2 of Figure 3, and
Figure 5 is a detail view shewing the toothed wheel and rack for actuating the
distributing cylinder and the hopper.
Similar letters and figures of reference are used to designate like parts in all
the figures of the drawings.
As shown in the drawing, the powder which it is desired to compress into
tabloids of all forms and dimensions, is fed into the hopper a within which is
arranged an agitator for preventing the powder from collecting and forcing it to
enter the apertures 6 of the movable cylinder c.
This agitator consists of rods h mounted upon a cross-piece to which are
imparted an irregular oscillatory upward movement by means of a pinion k pro-
vided with teeth upon a portion of its circumference only, and by means of
levers and, this latter being provided with a tooth m gearing with the teeth
of the pinion. Whilst this is taking place, rods n mounted upon a cross-piece o
are actuated with a horizontal reciprocating motion, in a direction transversal to
the machine, by means of an angle-piece p and a rod q carried by the cross-piece i
and engaging in a slot in the angle-piece p.
Within each of the apertures b of the cylinder c is arranged a piston d the lower
extremity of which is connected with a plate e which is maintained constantly in
contact with a curved part f by means of springs g.
The curved part f placed at each extremity of the plate e may be raised or
lowered upon its support by means of screws r, so as to regulate the quantity of
powder to be introduced into the apertures b.

page_text: The cylinder c has imparted to it a rotary motion of a quarter revolution, by
means of a pinion s fixed upon the extremity of the cylinder and actuated by a
rack fixed upon the frame of the machine. This movement of the cylinder e
is effected by the intermittent. horizontal motion transmitted to the hopper and
to its support u by means of guides actuated by the double cams in contact
with the rollers a carried by the guides v.
The guides are connected with the mould-carrier which receive the powder
coming from the cylinder c through the pipes z. The mould-carrier, the pipes,
the cylinder and the hopper are thus rigidly connected and participate in the
same sliding motion.
A hammer 1 mounted upon a shaft 2 is set in motion each time the tooth 3 of
the pinion s lifts during its passage the ratchet 4 and upon the disengagement
of the tooth strikes upon the duct or passage z in order to cause the powder to
fall into the apertures of the mould-carrier.
If, whilst the apparatus is in operation it is desired for any reason to render
the cylinder c motionless, the pinion s is thrown out of gear by acting upon the
lever 5 so that the powder is no longer supplied by the cylinder, thereby pre-
venting the occurrence of any agglomeration of powder whilst the machine is
running.
The powder conducted to the moulds is compressed by the front punches 6 and
the rear punches 7 so as to form tabloids.
With this object the punches 6 are mounted in a support 8 upon which are
fixed connecting rods 9 provided with rollers 10 which are in contact with the
cams 11.
The rear punches 7 are mounted in a support 12 connected by means of links 13
to the levers 14 mounted upon a spindle 15 having at its middle portion a
sleeve 16 for effecting regulation by means of the nuts 17 which are displaced upon
the rod 18 fixed to the extremity of the lever 19. This lever 19 is connected with
the guides 20 provided with rollers 21 which are in contact with the cam 22.
The counter pressure is obtained by means of a screw 23 actuated by a toothed
sector 24 which gears with an endless screw 25 the spindle of which carries a
pinion 26 actuated by a toothed sector 27 which is itself actuated by a connecting
rod 28 pivoted to the wheel 29 Figure 2. The regulation of pressure is effected
by the displacement of the lever 45 connected with the screw 23 upon a graduated
sector 46. A brush 30 mounted upon arms 31 causes the compressed tabloids to
fall into a conduit 32, from which they pass into a box 33, and also cleans the
punches after each operation.
The movement of this brush 30 is effected by means of a connecting rod 34 and
a lever 35 provided with a roller 36 which is held in contact with a cam 37 by
means of a spring 38.
The cams are mounted upon the driving shaft 39 which also carries the wheel 29,
and motion is imparted to them by means of the wheels 40, 41, 42 and 43 which
are actuated either by hand or by means of a pulley 44 Figure 1.
The method of action is as follows: The machine having been started, the powder
is fed into the hopper a, the apertures in the cylinder c come opposite the lower
openings of the hopper, and the agitator assists in introducting the powder into the
apertures b by preventing it from collecting..
Whilst the hopper is travelling towards the rear of the machine, the cylinder c
makes a quarter revolution and the powder contained in its openings bis distributed
into the pipesz under the influence of the pistons d actuated by the parts f.
From the pipes z the powder falls into the conduits of the mould carrier z, and,
in order that the powder may not adhere to the walls of the pipes z, the hammer
strikes upon these latter.
As soon as the powder has entered the moulds, the punches 6 and 7 approach
each other in order to effect the compression, which action is at the same time
increased by the screw 23.
The powder having been compressed and the tabloids formed, the rear punches 7

page_text: retire and make way for the brush which causes the tabloids to fall into the
conduit 32 and then cleans the punches.
The operation being completed, the hopper returns to its initial position, the
cylinder again presents its openings, into which the powder enters and is then dis-
tributed into the conduits z to be compressed into tabloids, and so on in continuation,
in the manner above described.
It will of course be understood that the forms, dimensions, details, accessories
and the materials employed in the construction of my apparatus may all vary
without thereby departing from the principle of my invention in any way.
Dated this 11th day of October 1897.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Apparatus for Compressing Pharmaceutical and
other Powders for the Manufacture of Tabloids.
I, PAUL EUGENE MEINRAD JAMAIN, of 19, Rue des Roses, Dijon, (Cote d'Or),
in the Republic of France, Manufacturer of Pharmaceutical Preparations, do
hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This invention relates to a machine for compressing pharmaceutical and other
powders into perfectly uniform tabloids.
In order that my invention may be readily understood I have represented the
same but by way of example only in the drawings left with my Provisional Specifi-
cation, in which,
Figure 1 shews a side elevation of my apparatus as a whole.
Figure 2 is a plan view of the same.
Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the apparatus.
Figure 4 is a vertical cross-section on the line 1-2 of Figure 3, and
Figure 5 is a detail view shewing the toothed wheel and rack for actuating the
distributing cylinder and the hopper.
Similar letters and figures of reference are used to designate like parts in all
the figures of the drawings.
As shewn in the drawings, the powder which it is desired to compress into
tabloids of all forms and dimensions, is fed into the hopper a within which is
arranged an agitator for preventing the powder from collecting and forcing it to
enter the apertures 6 of the movable cylinder c.
This agitator consists of rods h mounted upon a cross-piece i to which are
imparted an irregular oscillatory upward movement by means of a pinion k pro-
vided with teeth upon a portion of its circumference only, and by means of
levers and, this latter being provided with a tooth m gearing with the teeth
of the pinion k. Whilst this is taking place, rods n mounted upon a cross-piece o
are actuated with a horizontal reciprocating motion, in a direction transverse to
the machine, by means of an angle-piece and a rod q carried by the cross piece i
and engaging in a slot in the angle-piece p.
Within each of the apertures 6 of the cylinder c is arranged a piston & the lower
extremity of which is connected with a plate e which is maintained constantly in
contact with a curved part f by means of springs g.

page_text: The curved part f. placed at each extremity of the plate e may be raised or
lowered upon its support by means of screws r, so as to regulate the quantity of
powder to be introduced into the apertures b.
The cylinder c has imparted to it a rotary motion of a quarter revolution, by
means of a pinion s fixed upon the extremity of the cylinder and actuated by a
rack t fixed upon the frame of the machine. This movement of the cylinder c
is effected by the intermittent horizontal motion transmitted to the hopper and
to its support by means of guides actuated by the double cams x in contact
with the rollers carried by the guides v.
The guides are connected with the mould carrier y which receive the powder
coming from the cylinder c through the pipes z. The mould carrier, the pipes,
the cylinder and the hopper are thus rigidly connected and participate in the
same sliding motion.
A hammer 1 mounted upon a shaft 2 is set in motion each time the tooth 3 of
the pinion s lifts, during its passage, the ratchet 4 and upon the disengagement
of the tooth strikes upon the duct or passage z in order to cause the powder to
fall into the apertures of the mould-carrier.
If, whilst the apparatus is in operation, it is desired for any reason to render
the cylinder c motionless, the pinion s is thrown out of gear by acting upon the
lever 5 so that the powder is no longer supplied by the cylinder, thereby pre-
venting the occurrence of any agglomeration of powder whilst the machine is
running.
The powder conducted to the moulds is compressed by the front punches 6 and
the rear punches 7 so as to form tabloids.
With this object the punches 6 are mounted in a support 8 upon which are
fixed connecting rods 9 provided with rollers 10 which are in contact with the
cam 11.
The rear punches 7 are mounted in a support 12 connected by means of links 13
to the levers 14 mounted upon a spindle 15 having at its middle portion a
sleeve 16 for effecting regulation by means of the nuts 17 which are displaced upon
the rod 18 fixed to the extremity of the lever 19. This lever 19 is connected with
the guides 20 provided with rollers 21 which are in contact with the cam 22.
The counter pressure is obtained by means of a screw 23 actuated by a toothed
sector 24 which gears with an endless screw 25 the spindle of which carries a
pinion 26 actuated by a toothed sector 27 which is itself actuated by a connecting
rod 28 pivoted to the wheel 29 Figure 2. The regulation of pressure is effected
by the displacement of the lever 45 connected with the screw 23 upon a graduated
sector 46. A brush 30 mounted upon arms 31 causes the compressed tabloids to
fall into a conduit 32, from which they pass into a box 33, and also cleans the
punches after each operation.
The movement of this brush 30 is effected by means of a connecting rod 34 and
a lever 35 provided with a roller 36 which is held in contact with a cam 37 by
means of a spring 38.
The cams are mounted upon the driving shaft 39 which also carries the wheel 29,
and motion is imparted to them by means of the wheels 40. 41, 42 and 43 which
are actuated either by hand or by means of a pulley 44 Figure 1.
The operation is as follows: The machine having been started, the powder.
is fed into the hopper a, the apertures in the cylinder c come opposite the lower
opening of the hopper, and the agitator assists in introducing the powder into the
apertures by preventing it from collecting.
Whilst the hopper is travelling towards the rear of the machine, the cylinder c
makes a quarter revolution and the powder contained in its openings b is distributed
into the pipes under the influence of the pistons d actuated by the parts f.
3
From the pipes the powder falls into the conduits of the mould-carrier y, and,
in order that the powder may not adhere to the walls of the pipes, the hammer
strikes upon these latter.
As soon as the powder has entered the moulds, the punches 6 and 7 approach

page_text: each other in order to effect the compression, which action is at the same time
increased by the screw 23.
The powder having been compressed and the tabloids formed, the rear punches 7
retire and make way for the brush which causes the tabloids to fall into the
conduit 32 and then cleans the punches.
The operation being completed, the hopper returns to its initial position, the
cylinder again presents its openings, into which the powder enters and is then dis-
tributed into the conduits to be compressed into tabloids, and so on in con-
tinuation, in the manner above described.
It will of course be understood that the forms, dimensions, details, accessories
and the materials employed in the construction of my apparatus may all be varied
without in any way departing from the principle of my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what 1
claim is:-
A machine for compressing pharmaceutical and other powders, comprising the
arrangement of a hopper a having a horizontal reciprocating motion, and of a
cylinder e provided with openings & into which the powder is caused to enter freely
by the action of an agitator, the cylinder c having imparted to it in addition a
movement of partial rotation by means of a wheel's moving upon a fixed rack t
in such a manner as to distribute into the conduits z the powder forced from the
openings 6 by the pistons & in contact with the curved parts f, a hammer 1 for
preventing the adhesion of the powder to the conduits z from which such powder
passes to the moulds where it is compressed by the punches 6 and 7, in combination
with a brush 30 for detaching the tabloids formed and cleaning the punches after
each operation, the whole arranged and combined substantially as hereinbefore
described with reference to the drawings and for the purpose specified.
TUDO
Date Suay
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.