Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Compressing Powdered Substances.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Dec., 1887
Complete Specification Left, 13th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 26th Oct., 1888
S
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Compressing Powdered
Substances.
1, JOSEPH ALEXANDER MCFERRAN, of No. 1720, Green Street, in the City of
Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Physician, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention to be as follows:—
My invention consists of certain improvements in the machine for compressing
powdered substances for the manufacture of pills, tablets, lozenges, and other analogous
articles, for which Letters Patent, No. 8,709, were granted to me on the 18th day of
July, 1885, the improvements relating especially to the feeding mechanism, to the
adjusting devices for the different parts of the machine, to the cleaning devices,
and to the general construction of the operating mechanism, as hereinafter
described.
As in the Invention hereinbefore referred to, there is in the apparatus hereinafter
described an intermittently rotated die holder, consisting of a metal disk resting on
an annular rib, and on a central projection, both preferably cast with the base, which
is preferably cast in one piece with the frame of the machine, the die holder being
pivoted to the base by a pin.
The die holder in the present instance carries six dies, of the same form as that used
according to the aforesaid Invention. The dies are held in place by a detachable plate
secured to the said holder and bearing on the shoulders of the dies, serving to
maintain the latter in place, the upper surface of the plate being flush with the tops of
the dies.
Each die is provided with an ejector operating substantially in the manner described
in the Specification of the aforesaid patent.
A plunger has its bearings in the frame and is intermittently reciprocated by
mechanism described hereinafter. To this plunger is fitted the upper die, which
enters each lower die in succession, and the material to be formed into pills or tablets

page_text: is compressed between this die and the ejectors of the lower dies, as described
hereinafter.
A hopper is secured to the frame of the machine, and the opening of the hopper is
on the same circumferential line as are the six lower dies, the dies being at equal
distances apart, and on the flange of the die carrier are, in the present instance,
six equidistant pins, six equidistant wedge-shaped notches being formed in said
flange.
The die holder is intermittently rotated through the medium of a guided and
reciprocated rod, connected by a rod to a crank on a shaft. A pawl is pivoted to the
reciprocated rod, and is acted upon by a spring, which is wound around a pivot
pin. A hooked end of this pawl engages with the said six pins on the die carrier,
and at each reciprocation of the said rod, the pawl moves the carrier to the extent
of one-sixth of a revolution, a movement equal to the distance from one lower die to
another, so that the lower dies are brought under the upper die in rotation.
In order to prevent the lower die from moving out of line with the upper dic, I
pivot to the base of the machine a detent lever, as in the aforesaid Invention, one arm
of said lever being acted on by a pin on the said reciprocating rod.
Springs tend to force a projection of the detent lever towards the periphery of the
die carrier and into one of the notches therein, but when the forward reciprocation of
the said reciprocating rod takes place, the pin lastly referred to on said bar operates
the lever so as to withdraw said projection from the wedge-shaped notch in the die
carrier, and during the interval when said projection of the detent lever is clear of the
notch, the said pawl moves the die carrier sufficiently to prevent the projection from
again entering the same notch, but as soon as the die carrier has moved one-sixth
of a revolution, the detent lever will be free from the control of the said pin and
the said projection will drop into a succeeding notch, thus locking the die holder
securely while the die of the plunger presses a pill or tablet into form.
I will now describe the compressing plunger and the devices for discharging the
compressed pill or tablet from the die."
Having its bearings in the frame is a shaft provided with a face clutch, which
engages with a face clutch on a fly wheel, a spring tending to keep the faces of the
clutches together, and the fly wheel is provided with a suitable handle, so that the
machine can be operated by hand, a driving belt being applied to the wheel when
power is employed.
The object of the clutch is to prevent injury to or breaking of any of the parts of the
machine, the spring yielding and permitting the clutch to slip when there is any undue
resistance to the movement of the shaft.
On the shaft is a pinion, which engages with a spur wheel on a second shaft,
having its bearings in the frame of the machine. This wheel has a pin, which
acts upon the under face of an arm of a lever, pivoted to the side frames of the
machine, a counterbalance weight on said arm tending to depress the lever when it is
released from the control of the said pin.
The other arm of the lever has a threaded orifice for the reception of a screw
which is provided with a head and a jam nut and is bored out to receive the shank
of a block, the upper portion of said shank being grooved for the reception of a pin, so
that the block may be free to turn in the screw but will be secured to it longi-
tudinally.
The block is connected to the upper portion of the plunger by a link, and this link
has rounded and enlarged ends, which fit snugly into orifices in the block and in
the head of the plunger, forming what may be termed a knuckle joint, so that as the
said pin on the spur wheel lifts the arm of the said lever, the die of the plunger will
be forced into a lower die to compress the pill or tablet, and as soon as the lever is
released from the control of the pin the said weight will effect the raising of the plunger
until its die is clear of the lower die.
By manipulating the screw the plunger can be adjusted to any position required and
locked in this position by the jam nut.
The pin on the spur wheel also acts on one arm of an under lever pivoted to the

page_text: frame of the machine, the other arm of the lever projecting into a cavity formed in an
annular rib. This arm supports, and at a certain time, lifts the ejector of each of the
series of dies.
Under the said other arm of the said under lever is a wedge block forming part of
a rod which has at the outer end a screw thread adapted to a thumb screw longi-
tudinally secured to the frame but free to turn in an orifice in the base of the machine.
By turning this thumb screw, therefore, the said arm can be adjusted to a nicety
without the necessity of removing any portion of the machine.
A set screw passing through the base, and acting on the said arm of the said
under lever, may, if desired, replace the wedge block, but the latter is preferred.
When the ejector is raised by the said under lever, the lower end of said ejector
will, as the die carrier rotates, pass onto an inclined plane formed by a segmental rib,
which is located inside of the said annular rib and preferably forms part of the same.
The object of this incline is to raise the pill or tablet gradually out of the die, the
straight portion of the incline holding the plunger fully elevated until the pill or tablet
can be brushed off into a spout at the side of the machine.
Beyond the segmental rib is an adjustable segmental platform onto which the ejector
passes. This platform is supported on a post connected to an upright rod and by a
yoke.
The rod extends up through the base, and through a block secured to the base, and
is threaded at its upper end for adaptation to a nut having its bearings in a plate on
the block.
Situated at one side of the rod lastly mentioned, is a small shaft having a hand
wheel, and on the periphery of the nut lastly referred to are teeth which mesh into a
small pinion on the lower portion of the said small shaft so that by turning the latter,
the said rod can be raised or lowered and a like movement of the platform effected,
thus increasing or diminishing the capacity of the mould to accord with the desired
size of the pill or tablet.
Situated at one side of the said rod is another rod having a nut provided with teeth
which mesh into those of the nut lastly herein before referred to and having bearings
in the same plate as the said nut, and being splined to its own rod, so as to allow said
rod to have a vertical movement independent of the nut.
Secured to the upper portion of the rod lastly referred to is a head having two
arms the one arm being provided with a downwardly projecting pin, which, as the
ejector passes from the segmental rib on the base, to the platform, forces the ejector
down onto said platform, thus preventing the sticking of the ejector in the die, which
would interfere with the desired uniformity in the size of the pills or tablets. The
other arm of the said head is provided with a steady pin, which works in an orifice
in the block referred to in the third preceding paragraph hereof, for the purpose of
insuring the truth of the said downwardly projecting pin in respect to the lower dies.
The lower portion of the rod lastly referred to has a thread of the same pitch
that of the rod firstly referred to in the second preceding paragraph, and this threaded
portion of the rod is adapted to a threaded block, adjustable at the end of a lever
which is secured to a rock shaft having its bearings on the underside of the base of
the machine.
as
By turning the nut of the said lastly referred to rod the latter will also be turned,
and consequently, raised or lowered by reason of its screw thread tapped into the said
threaded block, the object of gearing together the said two rods being to insure the
simultaneous elevation or depression of the said platform and said downwardly
projecting pin to the same extent, so that when the parts are once set for a certain
depth of die, this adjustinent cannot be changed by a careless operator.
The said lastly referred to rod, as remarked above, has a vertical movement, which
is obtained in the present instance from an eccentric on the said second shaft herein-
before referred to, this eccentric having a strap, the rod of which is connected to an
arm secured to the said rock shaft.
The eccentric is so timed in respect to the mechanism for moving the die carrier
that the said downwardly projecting pin will be elevated when the die carrier is .

page_text: rotated, and when the die carrier is stationary the pin will be depressed so as to force
the plunger to its seat on the said platform, and will then be again raised prior to the
next movement of the die carrier.
In the said hopper which contains the material to be made into pills or like forms,
is a vertical shaft having a disk near the bottom of the hopper, this disk being
provided with a flange which is somewhat less in diameter than the hopper and above
this disk is an internal flange on the hopper.
The object of this disk and flange is to prevent the material from packing near the
bottom of the hopper, in order to allow the pulverized material to be fed evenly and
regularly through the said openings into the dies.
A series of agitating fingers project from the disk beneath the first of the said
lastly referred to flanges, and hung to one or more of these agitators is a spring
feeding arm which rests on the bottom of the hopper.
The said shaft lastly referred to is driven from a small vertical shaft at the side
of the machine. by means of a belt which passes around a pulley on the driven shaft,
and a pulley on the driving shaft. The said driving shaft is driven from the main
shaft through the medium of another shaft, and bevel wheels.
The brush shaft is driven from the same driving shaft by means of belts passing
around pulleys. The brush shaft is provided with a brush at its lower end, and is so
situated in respect to the die that as the ejector forces the pill or tablet to the surface,
the brush sweeps the pill or tablet into a spout and at the same time cleans the face
of the ejector and surrounding die before it receives the material to be made into
another pill or tablet.
The device for cleaning the face of the upper die is constructed as follows:-An
arm is pivoted to a spindle located at one side of the said driving shaft, and having
its bearings in a bracket on the frame of the machine. At the outer end of the arm
is a receptacle containing felt or other suitable material for cleaning the upper die.
This receptacle is journalled in the outer end of the arm, and is rotated by a belt
passing around it and around a belt pulley on the said driving shaft, the said pulley
turning with the said driving shaft, but being free to slide vertically upon it.
A projection of the said arm is connected by a rod to a lever pivoted to the side
of the machine, this lever having a friction roller which bears against the face of a
cam on the said second shaft herein-before referred to. A spring tends to keep the
roller always in contact with the face of the cam, and the latter is so shaped that when
the upper die is raised, the said arm lastly referred to will be swung under the same,
in order that the rotating cleaner may come in contact with the under face of the die,
the cleaner being thrown back clear of the die before the latter begins its downward
movement.
When the said receptacle is moved under the upper die, the said arm lastly referred
to is raised bodily through the medium of the spindle, which is connected to one
arm of a pivoted lever, the other arm of the lever being acted upon by a lug on the
hub of the said crank actuating the die holder. A spring keeps the end of the arm
pressed against the hub, except when acted upon by the lug.
The said bolt pulley can slide on the said driving shaft, as before remarked, and is
carried up with the said arm lastly referred to when it is raised to clean the upper die.
The said arm is adjusted by a nut and a jam nut so that proper contact of the
cleaning pad with the face of the die can always be insured.
In some cases where adjustment is required, and a firm base is necessary for the
ejector, I place a block directly above the end of the said under lever, this block
having a steady pin or pins passing through the frame and forming a guide for the
block when it is raised by the said lever, springs tending to keep the block always to
its seat on the said wedge block.
. By this arrangement, the bearing for the ejector will always be perfectly level,
irrespective of the position to which it is adjusted by the wedge. I prefer to round
the faces of the lever and block where they are in contact.
In some cases, the outlet of the hopper may be at one side, wings on the said disk
forcing the material into the outlet, from which it drops into the lower die.

page_text: The outlet of the hopper may be at one side of the centre, the hopper shaft being
provided with arms to agitate the material, so that as the arms are moved, the material
will be thrown from the centre by centrifugal force and will pass through the opening,
which may be either in the bottom or side of the hopper.
11 l
Dahon 1907
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT.
321, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for Compressing Powdered
Substances.
I, JOSEPH ALEXANDER MCFERRAN, of No. 1720 Green Street, in the City of
Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, United States of America, Physician, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention and in what manner the same is
to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement
My invention consists of certain improvements in the machine for compressing
powdered substances for the manufacture of pills, tablets, lozenges, etc., for which
Letters Patent were granted to me on the 18th day of July 1885 No. 8709, the
improvements relating especially to the feeding mechanism, to the adjusting devices
for the different parts of the machine, to the cleaning devices, and to the general
construction of the operating mechanism, as fully described hereafter.
In the accompanying drawings-
Fig. 1 is a side view of my improved machine, looking in the direction of the
arrow 1, Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 is a plan view.
Fig. 3 is a view looking in the direction of the arrow 2, Fig. 2.
Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 1-2, Fig. 2.
Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 3-4, Fig. 1.
Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 5-6, Fig. 1.
Fig. 7 is a sectional plan on the line 7-8, Fig. 1.
Fig. 8 is a sectional plan of part of the machine on the line 9-10.
Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the feed hopper detached.
Fig. 10 is a sectional plan view of Fig. 9, on the line 11-12.
Figs. 11 and 12 are detached views of the plunger cleaning device.
Fig. 13 is a view of the die-lifter provided with a shoe.

page_text: Figs. 14 and 15 are detached views of parts of the machine; and
Figs. 16 and 17 are views of modified forms of hopper.
Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, A represents part of the frame of the machine,
and a the base, preferably cast in one piece with the frame.
As in the Patent above referred to, B is the intermittently rotated die holder,
consisting of a metal disk resting on an annular rib b, and on a central projection d,
both preferably cast with the base a, the die holder being pivoted to the base by
the pin c.
The die holder in the present instance carries six dies, as shown in Fig. 7, of the
same form as that shown in the above Patent. The dies are held in place by a
detachable plate secured to the holder B, and bearing on the shoulders of the lies,
serving to maintain the latter in place, the upper surface of the plate being flush
with the tops of the dies.
Each die is provided with an ejector D, operating substantially in the manner
described in the above Patent.
:
A plunger E has its bearings in the frame A, and is intermittently reciprocated by
mechanism described hereafter. To this plunger is fitted the upper die m, which
enters each lower die in succession, and the material to be formed into pills or
tablets is compressed between this die m and the ejectors of the dies e, as will be
fully described hereafter.
The hopper F is secured to the frame of the machine, and the opening of the
hopper is on the same circumferential line as are the six dies e, the dies being at
equal distances apart, and on the flange of the die carrier are, in the present
instance, six equidistant pins q, six equidistant wedge-shaped notches q¹ being formed
in said flange.
The die holder B is intermittently rotated through the medium of a guided and
reciprocated rod H, connected by a rod ³ to a crank H2 on the shaft I. (Figs. 1
and 2.) A pawl H is pivoted to the reciprocated rod HI, and is acted upon by a
spring which is wound around the pivot pin h³.
The hooked end 3 of this pawl engages with the pins 7 on the die carrier b, and at
each reciprocation of the bar E, the pawl H will move the carrier to the extent of
one-sixth of a revolution, a movement equal to the distance from one lower die to
another, so that the lower dies are brought under the upper die in rotation.
In order to prevent the lower die from moving out of line with the upper
die, I pivot to the base of the machine at a detent lever, as in my aforesaid patent,
one arm of said lever being acted on by a pin u on the bar H.
Springs U tend to force a projection of the detent lever towards the periphery
of the die carrier B, and into one of the notches therein, but when the forward
reciprocation of the bar H takes place, the pin on said bar operates the lever so as
to withdraw said projection from the notch 7' in the die carrier, and during the
interval when said projection of the detent lever is clear of the notch, the pawl H¹
moves the die carrier sufficiently to prevent the projection from again entering the
same notch, but as soon as the die carrier has moved one-sixth of a revolution, the
detent lever will be free from the control of the pin and the projection will
drop into a succeeding notch, thus locking the die holder securely while the die m
of the plunger E presses a pill or tablet into form.
I have described the above intermittently rotating die holder and the devices for
rotating it. I will now describe the compressing plunger and the devices for
discharging the compressed pill or tablet from the die.
Having its bearings in the frame A is a shaft G, provided with a face clutch G',
which engages with a face clutch on the fly wheel G2, a spring G³ tending to keep
the faces of the clutches together, and the fly wheel is provided with a suitable
handle G, so that the machine can be operated by hand, a driving belt being applied
to the wheel G2 when power is employed.
The object of the clutch G¹ is to prevent injury to or breaking of any of the parts
of the machine, the spring yielding and permitting the clutch to slip when there is
any undue resistance to the movement of the shaft G.

page_text: On the shaft G is a pinion g which engages with a spur wheel i on a shaft I,
having its bearings in the frame A of the machine. This wheel has a pin 2, which
acts upon the under face of an arm of a lever J pivoted at J to the side frames of
the machine, a counterbalance on said arm j tending to depress the lever when
it is released from the control of the pin .
The arm of the lever has a threaded orifice for the reception of a screw K,
which is provided with a head and a jam nut k², and is bored out to receive the
shank of a block K¹, the upper portion of said shank being grooved for the recep-
tion of a pin 3 so that the block may be free to turn in the screw K, but will be
secured to it longitudinally, as shown in Fig. 4.
The block K is connected to the upper portion of the plunger F by a link K², and
this link has rounded and enlarged ends, which fit snugly into orifices in the block
and in the head of the plunger E, forming what might be termed a knuckle joint,
so that as the pin lift the arm of the lever J, the die m of the plunger E will
be forced into a lower die to compress the pill or tablet, and as soon as the lever is
released from the control of the pin the weight will effect the raising of the
plunger E until its die m is clear of the lower die.
By manipulating the screw K, the plunger can be adjusted to any position required
and locked in this position by the jam nut k².
The pin on the wheel also acts on one arm of a lever, pivoted at to the
frame of the machine, the other arm w of the lever projecting into a cavity W formed
in the annular rib b. This arm supports, and at a certain time, lifts the ejector D of
each of the series of dies.
Under the arm is a wedge block w forming part of a rod w² which has at the
outer end a screw thread adapted to a thumb screw ³, longitudinally secured to the
frame but free to turn in an orifice in the base of the machine. By turning this
thumb screw, therefore, the arm w can be adjusted to a nicety without the necessity
of removing any portion of the machine.
A set screw passing through the base and acting on the arm w of the lever v,
may, if desired, replace the wedge wel, but the latter is preferred.
When the ejector D is raised by the lever V, the lower end of said ejector will, as
the die carrier B rotates, pass onto an inclined plane y, y', formed by a segmental
rib Y, which is located inside of the rib b, and preferably forms part of the same.
The object of this incline is to raise the pill or tablet gradually out of the dic,
the straight portion y of the incline holding the plunger fully elevated until the
pill or tablet can be brushed off into a spout at the side of the machine.
Beyond the segmental rib Y is an adjustable segmental platform onto which
the ejector D passes. This platform is supported on a post c¹ connected to an upright
rod and by a yoke a³ as shown in Figs. 1 and 14.
The rod extends up through the base, and through a block X secured to the
base, and the rod is threaded at its upper end for adaptation to a nut X', having its
bearings in a plate on the block X.
Situated at one side of the rod a² is a small shaft p, having a hand wheel p²,
and on the periphery of the nut X are teeth which mesh into a small pinion pon
the lower portion of the shaft p, so that by turning the latter, the rod can be
raised or lowered, and a like movement of the platformæ effected, thus increasing
or diminishing the capacity of the mold to accord with the desired size of the pill or
tablet.
Situated at one side of the rod a² is a rods having a nut X provided with teeth
which mesh into those of the nut X', said nut X having bearings in the same plate
as the nut X', and being splined to the rod s so as to allow said rod to have a
vertical movement independent of the nut.
arm s
Secured to the upper portion of the rod s is a head S, having two arms s¹, s²; the
being provided with a downwardly projecting pin 3, which, as the ejector D
passes from the segmental rib Y on the base to the platform x, forces the ejector down
onto said platform, thus preventing the sticking of the ejector in the die, which
would interfere with the desired uniformity in the size of the pills or tablets. The

page_text: '
arm is provided with a steady pin st, which works in an orifice in the block X, as
shown in Fig. 5, for the purpose of insuring the truth of the pins in respect to the
dies e.
The lower portion of the rods has a thread of the same pitch as that of the rod
and this threaded portion of the rod is adapted to a threaded block t, adjustable at
the end of a lever T, which is secured to a rock shaft T¹ having its bearings on the
underside of the base of the machine.
By turning the nut X2 of the shaft s, said shaft will also be turned, and conse-
quently, raised or lowered by reason of its screw thread tapped into the block t, the
object of gearing together the two shafts and being to insure the simultaneous
elevation or depression of the platform a and pins to the same extent, so that when
the parts are once set for a certain depth of die, this adjustment cannot be changed by
a careless operator.
The rods, as remarked above, has a vertical movement, which is obtained in the
present instance from an eccentric I¹ on the shaft 1. (Figs. 3 and 5) this eccentric having
à strap the rod 2 of which is connected to an arm secured to the rock shaft T¹.
The eccentric is so timed in respect to the mechanism for moving the dio carrier
that the pins will be elevated when the die carrier is rotated, and when the die carrier
is stationary the pin will be depressed so as to force the plunger to its seat on the
platform a, and will then be again raised prior to the next movement of the die
carrier.
In the hopper F, which contains the material to be made into pills or like forms,
is a vertical shaft F having a disk F2 near the bottom of the hopper, this disk being
provided with a flange which is somewhat less in diameter than the hopper F, and
above this disk is an internal flange f on the hopper.
The object of this disk and flange is to prevent the material from packing near the
bottom of the hopper, in order to allow the pulverized material to be fed evenly and
regularly through the openings finto the dies.
A series of agitating fingers f³ project from the disk F2 beneath the flange f¹, and
hung to one or more of these agitators is a spring feeding arm f4, which rests on the
bottom of the hopper.
The shaft F is driven from a small vertical shaft Qat the side of the machine, by
*means of a belt Q¹ which passes around a pulley Q2 on the shaft F, and a pulley Q³
on the shaft Q.
The shaft is driven from the main shaft G through the medium of a shaft R, and
bevel wheels 7, 12, 3, as shown in Fig. 1.
The brush shaft M is driven from the same shaft Q by means of belts m³, m¹
passing around pulleys m² m³ m³.
The shaft M is provided with a brush M at its lower end, as shown in Fig. 15,
and is so situated in respect to the die that as the ejector D forces the pill or tablet
to the surface, the brush M sweeps the pill or tablet into the spout M², and at the
same time cleans the face of the ejector and surrounding die before it receives the
material to be made into another pill or tablet.
In Figs. 6, 11 and 12 is shown the device for cleaning the face of the upper diem,
which device is constructed as follows:
An arm N is pivoted to a spindle N¹ located at one side of the shaft Q, and having
its bearings in a bracket A¹ on the frame of the machine.
At the outer end of the arm N is a receptacle n, containing felt or other suitable
material for cleaning the upper die. This receptacle is journalled in the outer end of
the arm N and is rotated by a belt n¹ passing around it and around a belt pulley n²
on the shaft Q, (Figs. 11 and 12) said pulley n² turning with the shaft Q, but being
free to slide vertically upon it.
A projection N2 of the arm N is connected by a rod N to a lever N³ pivoted to
the side of the machine at this lever having a friction roller 1, which bears against the
face of a cam 12 on the shaft I. (Fig. 1) A spring 13 tends to keep the roller always
in contact with the face of the cam, and the latter is so shaped that when the upper
die m is raised, the arm N will be swung under the same, in order that the rotating

page_text: cleaner may come in contact with the under face of the die, the cleaner being thrown
back clear of the die before the latter begins its downward movement.
When the receptacle n is moved under the upper die m, the arm N is raised bodily
through the medium of the spindle N', which is connected to one arm of a lever z,
pivoted at 1, the other arm of the lever being acted upon by a lug on the hub of
the crank H. A spring 3 keeps the end of the arm pressed against the hub, except
when acted upon by the lug, as shown in Fig. 1.
The driving wheel 2 can slide on the shaft Q as before remarked, and is carried up
with the arm N when it is raised to clean the upper die m.
The arm N is adjusted by a nut n³ and a jam nut n, (Fig. 1) so that proper contact
of the cleaning pad n with the face of the die m can always be insured.
In some cases, where adjustment is required, and a firm base is necessary for the
ejector D, I place a block P directly above the end of the lever V, as shown in
Fig. 13, this block having a steady pin or pins P passing through the frame A and
forming a guide for the block when it is raised by the lever V, springs P² tending to
keep the block always to its seat on the wedge w¹.
By this arrangement the bearing for the ejector D will always be perfectly level,
irrespective of the position to which it is adjusted by the wedge. I prefer to round
the faces of the lever and block where they are in contact, as shown in Fig. 13.
In some cases, the outlet of the hopper may be at one side, as shown in Fig. 16,
wings on the disk f2 forcing the material into the outlet, from which it drops into the
lower die, but I prefer, in all cases, where practicable, to use the devices shown
in Fig. 9.
In Fig. 17 I have shown the outlet of the hopper F at one side of the centre, the
shaft F being provided with arms to agitate the material, so that as the arms are
moved the material will be thrown from the centre by centrifugal force and will pass
through the opening f, which may be either in the bottom or side of the hopper.
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 I
claim is:
1. The combination of the rotated die carrier, the ejector, a platform therefor, and
a pin for depressing the ejector, said pin and platform being geared together, so as
to be adjusted simultaneously, but the pin having a vertical movement independent
of the platform.
2. The combination of the rotated die carrier, the ejector, a platform therefor carried
by a rod, a depressing pin, also carried by a rod, gearing for connecting said rods,
and mechanism for reciprocating the rod of the depressing pin.
3. The combination of the threaded rod 2 carrying the ejector platform and
provided with a toothed nut X', the threaded rods carrying the depressing pin and
geared to the rod 2, an operating lever having a threaded block adapted to the rod s,
and an operating shaft having a pinion for operating the nuts of the two rods, so as
to simultaneously adjust the platform and depressing pin.
4. The combination of the frame of the machine, a rod s adapted to slide in said
frame, a lever T, connected to said rod and to operating mechanism, whereby the
raising and lowering of the rod is effected, a head $ on said rod, and a depressing pin
carried thereby.
5. The combination of the die carrier, with a rod guided in the frame of the
machine, and having a head S, with two arms, one carrying a depressing pin and the
other having a steady pin.
6. The combination of the die carrier of a pill machine, provided with a series of
dies, and a rotating brush having its cleaning surface at right angles to the axis of
rotation, whereby the end of the brush acts upon the face of the die.
7. The combination of the hopper, and a shaft carrying a retarding flange and
agitators near the bottom of the hopper.
8. The combination of the hopper, having an outlet at or near the bottom, and an
B

page_text: internal flange above, the same, with a vertical shaft provided with agitators below
said flange.
a
9. The combination of the rotated die holder, carrying ejectors, a lever having
lifter arm, a guided block acted on by said arm, and an adjusting device for raising
and lowering the block.
10. The combination of the upper die of a pill machine, with a revolving die
cleaner having its cleaning surface at right angles to its axis of rotation, and carried
by an arm movable into and out of the path of the die, and means for positively
rotating said die cleaner.
11. The combination of the upper die of a pill machine, with a revolving die cleaner
having its cleaning surface at right angles to its axis of rotation, and movable into
and out of the path of the die, and free to move vertically, so as to press the cleaner
against the face of the die.
a
12. The combination of the upper die of a pill machine with an arm carried by
spindle having its bearings in the frame of the machine, a shaft Q carrying a driving
pulley, a cleaner receptacle free to turn in the arm, and a belt, whereby the die
cleaner is rotated from the pulley on the shaft Q.
13. The combination of the upper die of the machine, and an arm carried by a
spindle, and provided at its outer end with a die cleaner, with a lever and cam for
raising the die cleaner and pressing it against the face of the upper die while the
latter is in the raised position.
14. The combination of the upper die of the machine, and an arm carried by a
spindle and having at its end a die cleaner, with a lever, cam, and connecting devices
whereby said arm is swung so as to carry the cleaner into and out of the path of
the die.
15. The combination of the upper die of the machine, the arm carried by a spindle
and provided at its outer end with a die cleaner, a lever for lifting the spindle, and
means for adjusting the latter, so as to govern the pressure of the cleaner against
the die.
Dated this 13th day of Santambor 1000
DAY, DAVIES & HUNT,
321, High Holborn, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.