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:
Mar. 16, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 23, 1997
Martin Bunce, Wiltshire, GB;
John Lamb, Wiltshire, GB;
Martin Greeves, Wiltshire, GB;
Iain Grierson McDerment, Herts, GB;
Peter Villax, Lisbon, PT;
Plurichemie Anstalt, , LI;
Abstract
Apparatus for orienting elongate objects, for example capsules of medicament, comprises a passage for receiving an individual capsule in a preferred orientation, a container for holding a bulk supply of capsules, and a ramp surface which directs a capsule towards the passage when the device is positioned such that the passage extends vertically downwardly from the container. It has been found that by appropriate choice of ramp angle, passage diameter and container diameter there is a high probability that a single capsule will be loaded into the dispensing passage when the apparatus is inverted to place the dispensing passage below the bulk supply. The apparatus is particularly useful in a dry medicament dispensing apparatus comprising, in addition to the orienting apparatus, a chamber for receiving capsules from the dispensing passage, means for piercing the ends of the capsule, and a mouthpiece for drawing air through the capsule and to entrain the medicament.