625,115. Capsule - filling machines. FLINT MACHINERY CO. June 1, 1946, No. 16692. Convention date, April 8, 1941. [Class 94(i)] A capsule-filling machine comprises a rotatable hollow cylindrical drum carrier 50 with rows of radial holes 53 for the reception of capsule bodies, a plurality of carrier elements 51 with recesses 52 to receive capsule caps and adapted to be aligned with the holes 53 of the first carrier, the carrier elements being movable with the carrier during its rotation and displaceable in succession axially of the carrier to uncover said holes and expose the open ends of the capsule bodies and subsequently to realign said holes and recesses, means at 13, 67 to fill the capsule bodies with powdered material when exposed, means 76 to apply caps from the carrier elements to the capsule bodies when the recesses and holes are realigned, and means 79 to eject the filled capsules. Capped capsules 25 fall from a hopper 11 into vertical chutes 22 (see Fig. 16) under the control of agitators 16 and fingers 17 between the agitators,-in the example shown there are four chutes corresponding to the number of holes 53 in each row on the carrier 50, and four fingers 17-the plungers 23 and plate 24 being alternately reciprocated and withdrawn from the chutes through the medium of the cam 26 in association with respectively lug 33, lever 7, plate 31, and spring 34; and tooth 27, bell crank 28 and spring 30, whereby one capsule is metered through each chute at pre-determined intervals. The capsules fall between vertical plates 35 and are contacted by fingers 5 (see Fig. 17, not shown) of the plates 41, 42, 43 actuated by cams 6 to turn them with their body ends nearest the rotary carrier and push them into channels 46 in the housing 45. The carrier elements 51 comprise a series of axially movable arcuate plates (see Figs. 5 and 11) slidably mounted around the exterior of the carrier 50, and at this point the holes 53 and recesses 52 are in alignment. A suction cap 57 is forced behind the holes 53 by the spring 110 to draw the capsules into the said holes, the momentum of the capsules and contact of the caps with shoulders 54 of the holes being sufficient to de-cap them. The cam 75 and arm 109 retract the suction cup 57 and the carrier system is indexed to present the next row of holes 53 to the channels 46. As the carrier is indexed to rotate it step by step the cam 62 in contact with rollers 61 (see Fig. 11) moves the cap carriers 51 axially of the carrier 50 until the hopper 13 carrying powdered filling material is reached at which point the capsule bodies are filled, On further indexing the cam 63 moves back the cap carriers until capsule bodies and caps are again in alignment, when the cam 75 actuates plungers 76 to force the capsules into the caps by pressure against the block 77. Further indexing brings the filled and capped capsules into alignment with plungers 79 which are actuated by the cam 75 to eject them into a trough 80 and receptacle 14 (see Fig. 1, not shown). The motor 96 (Fig. 2, not shown) continuously drives shafts 83, 86, 89, shaft 15 of the capsule metering means, and shaft 68 for the flexible wiping blades 67 in the material hopper. The shaft 86 through clutch means comprising ratchet wheels 101, 102, lug 103 and dog 104 periodically drives the shaft 100 carrying the cam 75 which actuates the suction, ejector and capping means. Whilst the shaft 100 and cam 75 are momentarily stationary, the carrier system is indexed as follows:-the dog 111 (Figs. 4 and 7, not shown) oscillates a ring 112 rotatably mounted on the housing 10 at the rear of the carrier 50, by alternate engagement with the surfaces 113, 114 as the shaft 89 is rotated; the dog 115 pivotally mounted on the ring 112 engages teeth 120 (Fig. 9, not shown) in the periphery of the carrier 50 so that as the ring 112 is moved forward by the dog 111, the dog 115 is carried forward and turns the carrier a distance W.S., and on the return of the ring 112 rides back freely the carrier remaining locked on this return stroke through the interaction of a dog 117 resiliently mounted on the housing 9 to project into the teeth 120, and having a cam surface 118 adapted to engage a cam surface 119 on the cam member 116 pivotally mounted on the ring 112; as the ring 112 moves forward the surfaces 119, 118 engage to lift the dog 117 from between the teeth and allow the carrier 50 to be indexed. The surface 118 then rides over the cam member 116 and on the return of the ring 112 the dog 117 falls into the next tooth space to lock the carrier.