The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 21, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 26, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:
Neil Emerton, Cambridge, GB;
Graham S Gutsell, Cambs, GB;
Timothy A Large, Cambs, GB;
Stephen Owen, Herts, GB;
Assignee:
Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ (US);
Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B23K / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
21912171 ; 21912174 ; 21912175 ; 21912177 ; 21912186 ; 21912179 ;
Abstract
A laser drilling process capable of producing a plurality of holes in a pharmaceutical dosage form, at high speed, is presented. The process utilizes a high power CO.sub.2 laser steered by an acousto-optic deflector together with various mirrors and optical components to achieve the correct beam path geometry, in order to produce an unlimited number of holes through the surface or coating of a dosage form, at rates up to 100,000 units or more per hour.