Patent ID: 6851911

Claim:
A helical distributing chute conveyor for a receptacle for transferring loose varied regularly shaped fragile pharmaceutical or chemical products, this chute conveyor comprising at least one helical chute path developing about a vertical axis, said chute path having an upper side, a back side, a cross-section and a transverse angle of inclination, wherein a central volume of the chute conveyor is hollowed out in the form of a well; each chute path is continuous and has substantially constant pitch; and each chute path forms a broad plateau, which is wide in comparison with a diameter of the receptacle, the cross section of which is substantially straight, inclined transversely towards the axis, the transverse angle of inclination of the chute path being such that the transferred regularly shaped fragile pharmaceutical or chemical products, given at the upper part of each helicoid sufficient speed for centrifugal force to keep them along the corresponding chute path, deviate towards the axis when the centrifugal force which holds them on the chute path cancels out or drops below a predetermined critical value, and wherein the chute paths act as baffles, taking most of the weight of the items heaped up therein, the slope of the back side of each helicoid chute path being slightly less than or equal to the repose angle of the transported regularly shaped fragile pharmaceutical or chemical product.