Patent ID: 7455166

Claim:
A supply tube for successively transferring, under the effect of gravity, ones of a plurality of pharmaceutical products from a reservoir to an external receptacle, the supply tube comprising a conveying channel of substantially rectangular cross-section therealong formed within the supply tube, the conveying channel including a plurality of successively arranged adjoining sections, each section having: first and second open ends on, and spaced from one another along, a central longitudinal plane that extends in the longitudinal direction of the supply tube, the second open end of each section adjoining the first open end of the next section, each pair of adjacent sections being alternately offset from one another on opposite sides of the plane; and first and second substantially straight portions extending from the first and second open ends, respectively, to adjoin one another at a juncture angled greater than 90°, each of the first and second portions being at an angle of less than 45° with respect to the longitudinal plane, such that each pharmaceutical product moves in a zig-zag multi-angled path as it is transferred through the conveying channel.