";s:4:"text";s:5675:" In the following description, unless the usage context indicates otherwise, the term "tablet" is used in its broad sense to mean a solid, hard, unitary pellet containing one or more active ingredients, which pellet is of such size as to be administered by an intended user and is of desired geometry; the term includes such things having caplet configuration, which things are often referred to simply as "caplets".
Such teaching is inconsistent with the actual development and present state of the industry which produces soft elastic gelatin capsules. The height of the caplet is the dimension of the caplet perpendicular to its width and length. The switches can be bistable electrical or pneumatic devices which, when in one state, allow a plunger to extend sufficiently into the cooperating passage 80 to prevent the movement of cores through the passages, but which, when in the other state, cause the plunger to be withdrawn from the passage. FIGS. The particular product which formed the focus of the development of this invention is a tablet of caplet configuration enrobed between applied gelatin films which adhere to the solid tablet core of the product to produce a non-peelable, tamper-evident and potentially tamper-resistant gelatin coated caplet-type medicine tablet. Gelatin films cast from gelatin formulations having gelatin to plasticizer ratios in the range of from 3:1 to 15:1 will adhere to most tablet cores. Temperature should be controlled within plus or minus 2° F. for optimum film sealing results. The other aspect of film adhesion is relevant during the product drying process where the applied gelatin layers forming the gelatin coating around the enrobed product becomes an integral part of the finished product and cannot, as presently preferred, be physically removed without damaging the core. It was found, particularly in the instance of caplet cores, that particular attention had to be given to the handling of the cores in the final core feeder to cause the cores to be properly aligned relative to the dies. 5 is a side elevation view of a gelatin film enrobed caplet in which the enrobing film is uniformly colored over the entire extent of the product; FIG. Workers skilled in the manufacture of soft elastic gelatin capsules and in the design and operation of machinery for making such capsules will readily appreciate that the general illustration of FIG.
In that event, the heater elements preferably are disposed in the upper portion of the wedge-shaped lower part of the horn with the lower portions 92 of the several passages 80 passing between the positions of the heater elements to their openings at the lower extremity of the horn wedge. FIGS. As each preform is moved into contact between both of films 136 and 137, it is enrobed by the films by coaction of the dies in the manner described above. The gelatin films are sealed to each other along the seam line 15 of the product and the thus conjoined and adhered films are cut to allow the gelatin enrobed products (shown as articles 60 in FIG. 2,663,128 (1953), 2,697,317 (1954), and 2,775,080 (1956), all issued to F. E. Stirin and A. S. Taylor as assignors to American Cyanamid Company, describe complex procedures and equipment in which a suitable active ingredient powder is formed into a soft pellet. As will be appreciated from an inspection of the illustrations of FIG.
The edges of each recess rim, both toward and away from the corresponding recess, are rounded to desired small radii of curvature. While a pair of films are applied from opposite directions to an article and those films are sealed in face-abutting relation to each other circumferentially of the article, such events are intermediate events, not final events, in making of a product of this invention; after those intermediate events occur, they are followed by cutting the face-sealed films sufficiently close to the covered article that, in the finished package, the applied films are effectively sealed together in edge-to-edge manner. 1; FIG. The extent to which the film obverse surfaces adhere to the cores is a function, among other things, of the film surface temperature. Feeding mechanism 40 includes a first stage core feeder 67, an intermediate feeder 68, and a final feeder 69 of which core feed horn 56 is a component. The upper ends of the flexible downtubes connect to the bottom wall of box 7 around respective ones of openings 85, see FIG. The dimensions of the passage lower portion are slightly larger than the cross-sectional dimensions of the caplet core so that the core can move freely under the bias of gravity and other influences downwardly through passage portion 91 while being confined by cooperation with the shape of the passage lower portion to have its major plane of symmetry parallel to and substantially coincident with the major plane of symmetry of the passage lower portion. As shown in FIG. Blood volume is reduced when injuries are accompanied by a heavy loss of blood, leaving organs inadequately supplied.
FIGS. If a tamper-evident gelatin-coated medicine tablet is the desired end product, then the ratio of plasticizer to gelatin in the gelatin formulation should be in the range of about 1:5. The gelatin has a bloom value in the range of from 150 to 180.