Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. An indexing assembly (210) comprising:
a turret (215) rotatably mounted on a base plate (230), configured for rotation about a vertical axis (V1);
a plurality of capsule holders (225) mounted on the outer circumference of the turret (215) aligned with a plurality of processing workstations (W) along the outer circumference;
a drive shaft (220) having a first end operatively coupled to the turret (215) about the vertical axis (V1), coaxially extending through the base plate (230);
a gear box (260) operatively connected to a second end of the drive shaft (220) for driving the turret (215);
a servo motor (280) in communication with the gear box (260) for rotating the turret (215) through the gear box (260); and
a control unit (600) having a motion controller (620) in communication with the servo motor (280) configured for:
variably controlling and regulating rotation of the turret (280) about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations (W) and the plurality of capsule holders (225) along the outer circumference of the turret (215); and
variably controlling and regulating processing time at each of plurality of workstations (W).

2. The indexing assembly (210) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said gear box (260) in communication with said servo motor (280) is coaxial or offset to the vertical
axis (V1).

3. The indexing assembly (210) as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein rotation of the turret (215) controlled through the motion controller (620) is a continuous rotation or an intermittent rotation with a dwell time or a variable speed rotation in a clockwise (A) or an anti-clockwise direction.

4. The indexing assembly (210) as claimed in one of the preceding claims 1-3, wherein the gear box (260) is a cycloidal gear box or a hollow rotating gear box or a combination thereof.

5. A tamping assembly (240, 510) comprising:
a set of plurality of tamping pistons (255) configured for vertical reciprocating motion about a vertical axis (V2);
a dosing disc (245) having a plurality of elongated through-holes corresponding to plurality of tamping pistons (255);
a drive shaft (250) having a first end operatively coupled to the dosing disc (245) about the vertical axis (V2), coaxially extending through a base plate (230);
a gear box (270) operatively connected to a second end of the drive shaft (250) at bottom end of the base plate (230) for driving the dosing disc (245);
a servo motor (290) in communication with the gear box (270) for rotating the dosing disc (245) through the gear box (270); and
a control unit (600) having a motion controller (620) in communication with the servo motor (290) configured for variably controlling and regulating indexing of the dosing disc (245) about a predetermined degree that cyclically/sequentially allow progressive compressing of a pharmaceutical ingredient through the plurality of elongated through-holes of the dosing disc (245) to form a slug, and allow pushing of the formed slug out of dosing disc (245) into an aligned receiving capsule holder (225) of an indexing assembly (210).

6. The tamping assembly (240, 510) as claimed in claim 5, wherein vertical reciprocating motion of plurality of tamping pistons (255) and a sliding motion of a sliding plate is controlled and regulated via a plurality of servo motors (265) or a cam or a gear enabled drive mechanism unit.

7. The tamping assembly (240, 510) as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6, wherein said motion controller (620) is in communication with said servo motor (290) that drives the dosing disc (245) and said plurality of servo motors (265) that reciprocates plurality of tamping pistons (255) vertically and slides the sliding plate.

8. The tamping assembly (240, 510) as claimed in one of the preceding claims 5-7,
wherein said gear box (270) in communication with said servo motor (290) that drives the dosing disc (245) is coaxial or offset to the vertical axis (V2).

9. The tamping assembly (240, 510) as claimed in one of the preceding claims 5-8, wherein rotation of the dosing disc (245) controlled through the motion controller (620) is a continuous rotation or an intermittent rotation with a dwell time or a variable speed rotation in a clockwise (A) or an anti-clockwise direction.

10. The tamping assembly (240, 510) as claimed in one of the preceding claims 5-9, wherein the gear box (270) is a cycloidal gear box or a hollow rotating gear box or a combination thereof.

11. A capsule filling machine (200, 300, 400, 500) comprising:
an indexing assembly (210) having a turret (215) rotatably mounted on a base plate (230), said turret (215) configured for rotation about a first vertical axis (V1) coaxially coupled via a first drive shaft (220), has a plurality of capsule holders (225) mounted on outer circumference that are alignment with a plurality of workstations (W) for filling and processing capsules along the outer circumference of the turret (215);
a tamping assembly (240) having a dosing disc (245) rotatably mounted on the base plate (230) coupled via a second drive shaft (250), coaxially about a second vertical axis (V2), said tamping assembly (240) configured for tamping a predetermined amount of a pharmaceutical ingredient into said plurality of processed capsules in said capsule holders (225) indexing along the outer circumference of the turret (215);
a gear box (260, 270) operatively connected to the first (220) and second drive shafts (250) of the corresponding indexing assembly (210) and tamping assembly (240) at bottom of the base plate (230) for driving the turret (215) and the dosing disc (245);
a servo motor (280, 290) in communication with the said gear box (260, 270) for rotating the turret (215) and the dosing disc (245) through the gear box (260, 270); and
a control unit (600) having a motion controller (620) in communication with said servo motor (280, 290) configured for synchronized indexing of the turret (215) and the dosing disc (245) to:
variably control and regulate rotation of the turret (215) about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations (W) and the plurality of capsule holders (225) along the outer circumference of the turret (215);
variably control and regulate processing time at each of plurality of workstations (W); and
variably control and regulate indexing of the dosing disc (245) about a predetermined degree.
12. The machine (200, 300, 400, 500) as claimed in claim 11, wherein the gear box (260, 270) includes a first gear box (260) operatively coupled to the first drive shaft (220) of the indexing assembly (210) and to a first servo motor (280),coaxially or at an offset corresponding to said first vertical axis (V1).

13. The machine (200, 300, 400, 500) as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the gear box (260, 270) includes a second gear box (270) operatively coupled to the second drive shaft (250) of the tamping assembly (240, 510) and to a second servo motor (290),coaxially or at an offset corresponding to said second vertical axis (V2).

14. The machine (200, 300, 400, 500) as claimed in one of the preceding claims 11-13, wherein rotation of the turret (215) and dosing disc (245) controlled through the motion controller (620) is a continuous rotation or an intermittent rotation with a dwell time or a variable speed rotation in a clockwise (A) and/or anti-clockwise direction.

15. The machine (200, 300, 400, 500) as claimed in one of the preceding claims 11-14, wherein each of said first (260) and second gear box (270) is a cycloidal gear box or a hollow rotating gear box or a combination thereof.
16. A method (700) for operating a capsule filling machine (200, 300, 400, 500), the method comprising the steps of:
controlling, by a control unit (600) having a motion controller (620), a turret (215) of an indexing assembly (210) and a dosing disc (245) of a tamping assembly (240, 510), operatively coupled with a first (280) and a second (290) servo motor through a gear box (260, 270), each said servo motor coupled coaxially or at an offset to a corresponding first vertical axis (V1) and a second vertical axis (V2);
synchronizing said first and second servo motor (280, 290) with each other for:
variably controlling and regulating rotation of the turret (215) about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations (W) and the plurality of capsule holders (225) along the outer circumference of the turret (215);
variably controlling and regulating processing time at each of plurality of workstations (W); and
variably controlling and regulating indexing of the dosing disc (245).

Dated this 15th day of January, 2021

For Scitech Centre and ACG Pam Pharma Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
By their Agents

(GIRISH VIJAYANAND SHETH) (IN/PA 1022)
KRISHNA & SAURASTRI ASSOCIATES LLP
, Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]

INDEXING ASSEMBLY, TAMPING ASSEMBLY, CAPSULE FILLING MACHINEAND METHOD THEREOF

SCITECH CENTRE, A COMPANY INCORPORATED UNDER SECTION 25 OF THE COMPANIES ACT 1956 WHOSE ADDRESS IS 7 PRABHAT NAGAR, NEAR UNICHEM LABORATORY, PATEL ESTATE ROAD, JOGESHWARI WEST, MUMBAI- 400102, MAHARASHTRA, INDIA
&
ACG PAM PHARMA TECHNOLOGIES PVT. LTD., A COMPANY REGISTERED UNDER THE LAWS OF INDIA, WHOSE ADDRESS IS PLOT 127, KANDIVALI INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, KANDIVALI WEST, MUMBAI,400067, INDIA

THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates to an indexing assembly, a tamping assembly, a capsule filling machine and a method thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] A capsule is typically made of two prefabricated cylindrical shells referred to as a cap and a body, one end of each of which is rounded and closed, and the other end of which is open. In a capsule filling machine, a pharmaceutical and/or a nutraceutical ingredient is filled in the body of the capsule and the cap is inserted over the body to telescopically join the cap and body. Generally, the cap concentrically overlaps the body when the cap and body are telescopically joined.
[003] Referring figure 1, shows a conventional capsule filling machine typically comprising a turret (T) in the form of a turntable comprising a plurality of capsule holders (CSH) circumferentially mounted thereon. Each capsule holder (CSH) comprises a cap holder (C) and a body holder (B) each having plurality of through-holes (O). Typically, the cap holders (C) are mounted on the top of the turret (T), and the body holders (B) are affixed to the side or bottom of the turret (T) in a manner such that the body holders (B) can slide out of the turret (T) to enable filling of the pharmaceutical/nutraceutical ingredients in empty capsule bodies held in the body holders (B). The turret (T) rotates, as denoted by arrow (TR), through plurality of stations such as a loading station (1) for loading empty capsules; an orientation station (2) for automatically orienting the empty capsules in a predetermined orientation where the cap of each capsule is on top and the body of each capsule is below the cap, and separating the cap and the body of each capsule in the cap holder (C) and the body holder (B) respectively; a cap sensing station (3) for checking and confirming the presence of the cap of each capsule in the cap holder (C); a body sensing station for checking and confirming the presence of body of each capsule in the body holder (B), a tamping station (5), etc., for filling one or more pharmaceutical/nutraceutical ingredients in each capsule body in the body holder (B); unopened capsule ejection station (7) for ejecting unopened capsules; a closing station (9) for closing the cap and the body of each capsule to form filled capsules; filled capsule ejection station (11) with a capsule ejection chute (11a) for ejecting the filled capsules typically into a collector placed therebelow; and a cleaning station (12) for cleaning the bushes i.e. holes in the capsule cap holder (C) and body holder (B). The turret (T) may comprise one or more optional stations for performing additional functions such as pellet filling or liquid filling, checking the filled capsules for compliance with predefined quality parameters, rejecting the capsules not complying with the predefined quality parameters.
[004] Conventionally, indexing of the turntable/turret and a dosing disc of a tamping assembly is provided via a cam mechanism or a step-by-step gear mechanism operatively connected to a drive shaft of the turntable/turret and the dosing disc. It is also known that arrangement of the stations along the circumference of the turret depends on application and requirement. Indexing the turntable/turret using such conventional mechanism has limited application and not flexible as rotation is restricted to a specified degree and cannot be readily converted to index to other desired degree to suit desired application with desired stations. Therefore, depending upon application one has to replace the existing indexer for desired indexer several times for each application which increases the cost. Another limitation of such conventional mechanism is that indexing of turntable/turret and dosing disc at desired degree and their processing times at specific station cannot be controlled or regulated.
[005] Therefore, there is a need to overcome one or more of the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[006] Accordingly, an aspect of the present invention discloses an indexing assembly comprising a turret rotatably mounted on a base plate, configured for rotation about a vertical axis; a plurality of capsule holders mounted on the outer circumference of the turret aligned with a plurality of processing workstations along the outer circumference ;a drive shaft having a first end operatively coupled to the turret about the vertical axis, coaxially extending through the base plate; a gear box operatively connected to a second end of the drive shaft for driving the turret; a servo motor in communication with the gear box for rotating the turret through the gear box; anda control unit having a motion controller in communication with the servo motor configured for variably controlling and regulating rotation of the turret about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations and the plurality of capsule holders along the outer circumference of the turret; and variably controlling and regulating processing time at each of plurality of workstations.
[007] According to an embodiment, said gear box in communication with said servo motoris coaxial or offset to the vertical axis.
[008] According to the embodiment, rotation of the turret controlled through the motion controller is a continuous rotation or an intermittent rotation with a dwell time or a variable speed rotation in a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction.
[009] According to the embodiment, the gear box is a cycloidal gear box or a hollow rotating gear box or a combination thereof.
[0010] According to another aspect, the present invention discloses a tamping assembly comprising a set of plurality of tamping pistons configured for vertical reciprocating motion about a vertical axis; a dosing disc having a plurality of elongated through-holes corresponding to plurality of tamping pistons; a drive shaft having a first end operatively coupled to the dosing disc about the vertical axis, coaxially extending through a base plate; a gear box operatively connected to a second end of the drive shaft at bottom end of the base plate for driving the dosing disc; a servo motor in communication with the gear box for rotating the dosing disc through the gear box; and a control unit having a motion controller in communication with the servo motor configured for variably controlling and regulating indexing of the dosing disc about a predetermined degree that cyclically/sequentially allow progressive compressing of a pharmaceutical ingredient through the plurality of elongated through-holes of the dosing disc to form a slug, and allow pushing of the formed slug out of dosing disc into an aligned receiving capsule holder of an indexing assembly.
[0011] According to another embodiment, vertical reciprocating motion of plurality of tamping pistons and a sliding motion of a sliding plate is controlled and regulated via a plurality of servo motors or a cam or a gear enabled drive mechanism unit.
[0012] According to another embodiment, said motion controller is in communication with said servo motor that drives the dosing disc and said plurality of servo motors that reciprocates plurality of tamping pistons vertically and slides the sliding plate.
[0013] According to another embodiment,said gear box in communication with said servo motorthat drives the dosing disc is coaxial or offset to the vertical axis.
[0014] According to another embodiment, rotation of the dosing disc controlled through the motion controller is a continuous rotation or an intermittent rotation with a dwell time or a variable speed rotation in a clockwise or an anti-clockwise direction.
[0015] According to another embodiment, the gear box is a cycloidal gear box or a hollow rotating gear box or a combination thereof.
[0016] According to yet another aspect, the present invention discloses a capsule filling machine comprising an indexing assembly having a turret rotatably mounted on a base plate, said turret configured for rotation about a first vertical axis coaxially coupled via a first drive shaft, has a plurality of capsule holders mounted on outer circumference that are alignment with a plurality of workstations for filling and processing capsules along the outer circumference of the turret; a tamping assembly having a dosing disc rotatably mounted on the base plate coupled via a second drive shaft, coaxially about a second vertical axis, said tamping assembly configured for tamping a predetermined amount of a pharmaceutical ingredient into said plurality of processed capsules in said capsule holders indexing along the outer circumference of the turret;a gear box operatively connected to the first and second drive shafts of the corresponding indexing assembly and tamping assembly at bottom of the base plate for driving the turret and the dosing disc; a servo motor in communication with the said gear box for rotating the turret and the dosing disc through the gear box; and a control unit having a motion controller in communication with said servo motor configured for synchronized indexing of the turret and the dosing disc to: variably control and regulate rotation of the turret about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations and the plurality of capsule holders along the outer circumference of the turret; variably control and regulate processing time at each of plurality of workstations; and variably control and regulate indexing of the dosing disc about a predetermined degree.
[0017] According to another embodiment, the gear box includes a first gear box operatively coupled to the first drive shaft of the indexing assembly and to a first servo motor, coaxially or at an offset corresponding to said first vertical axis.
[0018] According to another embodiment,the gear box includes a second gear box operatively coupled to the second drive shaft of the tamping assembly and to a second servo motor, coaxially or at an offset corresponding to said second vertical axis.
[0019] According to another embodiment, rotation of the turret and dosing disc controlled through the motion controller is a continuous rotation or an intermittent rotation with a dwell time or a variable speed rotation in a clockwise and/or anti-clockwise direction.
[0020] According to another embodiment, each of said first and second gear box is a cycloidal gear box or a hollow rotating gear box or a combination thereof.
[0021] According to still another aspect, the present invention discloses a method for operating a capsule filling machine, the method comprising the steps of controlling, by a control unit having a motion controller, a turret of an indexing assembly and a dosing disc of a tamping assembly, operatively coupled with a first and a second servo motor through a gear box, each said servo motor coupled coaxially or at an offset to a corresponding first vertical axis and a second vertical axis; synchronizing said first and second servo motor with each other for: variably controlling and regulating rotation of the turret about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations and the plurality of capsule holders along the outer circumference of the turret; variably controlling and regulating processing time at each of plurality of workstations; and variably controlling and regulating indexing of the dosing disc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a conventional capsule filling machine;
Figure 2through Figure 2A and Figure 2B shows an elevation view of an exemplary capsule filling machine, according to an aspect of the present invention, wherein Figure 2A shows cycloidal gear boxes in communication with servomotors operatively coupled to drive shafts co-axially to vertical axes and Figure 2B shows a hollow rotating gear box in communication with servomotors operatively coupled to drive shafts at an offset to vertical axes;
Figure 3 shows a plan view of the capsule filling machine with 10-station indexing assembly having a 36º rotation of the turret/turntable, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 shows a plan view of the capsule filling machine with 8-station indexing assembly having a 45º rotation of the turret/turntable, according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 5 shows a plan view of a tamping assembly, according to another aspect of the present invention;
Figure 6 shows a block diagram of a control unit of the capsule filling machine, according to the embodiment of the present invention; and
Figure 7 shows a block diagram of a method of operation of the capsule filling machine according to another aspect of the present invention.
Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.
Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and units.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0022] In general, the present invention claims a capsule filling machine comprising an indexing assembly and a tamping assembly. The indexing assembly and the tamping assembly are operatively connected to a gear box in communication with a servo motor each, coupled coaxially or at offset to a corresponding vertical axis respectively, via a plurality of drive shafts, a control unit having a motion controller in communication with each said servo motor configured for synchronized indexing of the turret and the dosing disc to: variably control and regulate rotation of the turret about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations and the plurality of capsule holders along the outer circumference of the turret; variably control and regulate processing time at each of plurality of workstations; and variably control and regulate indexing of the dosing disc about a predetermined degree.
[0023] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention.
[0024] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of the invention as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.
[0025] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. For example, first and second drive shafts, first and second vertical axes, first and second servo motors, first and second gear boxes etc. are referred in the description for the purpose of the understanding and nowhere limit the invention. The terminology, number of indexing stations, off-set distances, and type of gearbox, structure and arrangement nowhere limits the invention. Further, the vertically and co- axially, are referred in the description for the purpose of the understanding and nowhere limit the invention.
[0026] Figures discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way that would limit the scope of the disclosure and not to scaled specifically degree and positioning of capsule holders. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged environment. The terms used to describe various embodiments are exemplary. It should be understood that these are provided to merely aid the understanding of the description, and that their use and definitions in no way limit the scope of the invention.
[0027] The following discussion provides many example embodiments of the inventive subject matter. Although each embodiment represents a single combination of inventive elements, the inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements. Thus, if one embodiment includes elements A, B, and C, and a second embodiment includes elements B and D, then the inventive subject matter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A, B, C, or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.
[0028] With the technical solution provided by the present invention it is made possible to reduce or increase speed of the indexer i.e. variably regulate and control the indexing of the turret, and dosing disc of tamping assembly, thereby processing of the capsules in the capsule filling machine. In the present invention, servomotor coupled with gear box provides higher torque for indexing the turret and the dosing disc. The enablement of drive mechanism via cycloidal gearbox reduces size of the servomotor of the indexing assembly. In the present invention, servomotor coupled with gear box provides higher torque for indexing the turret and the dosing disc. The present invention enables indexing of the turret and dosing disc about desired degree in synchronization independent of processing workstations and capsule holders in clockwise or anti-clockwise or combination thereof without the need to replace the indexing assembly to suit specific application that matches the processing work stations.
[0029] Referring Figures 2-7 shows a capsule filling machine (200, 300, 400, 500) having an indexing assembly (210) having a turret (215), a first drive shaft (220) about a first vertical axis (V1) mounted on a base plate (230), a plurality of capsule holders (225),a tamping assembly (240, 510), a plurality of tamping pistons (255), a dosing disc (245), a second drive shaft (250) about a second vertical axis (V2) mounted on a base plate (230), a first gear box (260) coupled with a first servo motor (280), a second gear box (270) coupled to a second servo motor (290), a control unit (600) having an input/output unit (610), a motion controller (620) in communication with at least one processor (not shown), a memory (630), plurality of processing workstations (W), clockwise direction (A), a sliding plate (not shown), a plurality of servo motors (265) and a method (700) for operating the capsule filing machine.
[0030] Referring Figure 2-5 shows a capsule filling machine (200, 300, 400, 500) comprising an indexing assembly (210) having a turret (215) rotatably mounted on a base plate (230).
[0031] According to the embodiment of the present invention, said turret (215) is configured for rotation about a first vertical axis (V1) coaxially coupled via a first drive shaft (220), has a plurality of capsule holders (225) mounted on outer circumference that are alignment with a plurality of workstations (W) for filling and processing capsules along the outer circumference of the turret (215).
[0032] According to the embodiment, the drive shaft (220) has a first end operatively coupled to the turret (215) about the vertical axis (V1), coaxially extending through the base plate (230). The capsule machine includes a tamping assembly (240) having a dosing disc (245) rotatably mounted on the base plate (230) coupled via a second drive shaft (250), coaxially about a second vertical axis (V2).
[0033] According to the embodiment, said tamping assembly (240) is configured for tamping a predetermined amount of a pharmaceutical ingredient into said plurality of processed capsules in said capsule holders (225) indexing along the outer circumference of the turret (215). The tamping assembly includes a set of plurality of tamping pistons (255) configured for vertical reciprocating motion about a vertical axis (V2). The tamping assembly includes a dosing disc (245) having a plurality of elongated through-holes corresponding to plurality of tamping pistons (255).
[0034] According to the embodiment, the tamping assembly includes a drive shaft (250) having a first end operatively coupled to the dosing disc (245) about the vertical axis (V2), coaxially extending through a base plate (230).
[0035] Referring Figure 2A, according to the embodiment, the capsule machine includes a first gear box (260) operatively coupled to the first drive shaft (220) of the indexing assembly (210). A first servo motor (280) is in communication with the first gear box (260), coaxially to said first vertical axis (V1).The first gear box (260) is a cycloidal gear box.
[0036] According to the embodiment, the capsule machine includes a second gear box (270) operatively coupled to the second drive shaft (250) of the tamping assembly (240, 510). A second servo motor (290) is in communication with the second gear box (270), coaxially to said second vertical axis (V2).The second gear box (270) is a cycloidal gear box.
[0037] Referring Figure 2B, according to the embodiment, the capsule machine includes a first gear box (260) operatively coupled to the first drive shaft (220) of the indexing assembly (210). at bottom of the base plate (230) at an offset corresponding to said first vertical axis (V1). A first servo motor (280) is in communication with the first gear box (260). According to the embodiment, the capsule machine includes a second gear box (270) operatively coupled to the second drive shaft (250) of the tamping assembly (240, 510). A second servo motor (290) is in communication with the second gear box (270), coaxially or at an offset corresponding to said second vertical axis (V2).
[0038] According to the embodiment, each of said first (260) and second gear box (270) is a cycloidal gear box or a hollow rotating gear box or a combination thereof.
[0039] According to the embodiment, rotation of the turret (215) and dosing disc (245) controlled through the motion controller (620) is a continuous rotation or an intermittent rotation with a dwell time or a variable speed rotation in a clockwise (A) and/or anti-clockwise direction.
[0040] Referring Figure 3 shows, a 10-station indexer having a 360º/10 = 36º degree intermittent rotation with a dwell time, according to an exemplary implementation of the present invention. Referring Figure 4 shows, 8-station indexer having a 360º/8 = 45º degree intermittent rotation with a dwell time, according to an exemplary implementation of the present invention. The turret (215) and dosing disc (245) rotate in clockwise (A) direction in synchronization without any back clash precisely. The synchronization is achieved by a motion controller in communication with servomotors coupled to indexing assembly (210) and tamping assembly (240).
[0041] With the technical solution provided by the present invention it is made possible to reduce or increase speed of the indexer i.e. variably regulate and control the indexing of the turret, and dosing disc, thereby processing of the capsules in the capsule filling machine. The present invention enables indexing of the turret and dosing disc about desired degree in synchronization, independent of processing workstations and capsule holders in clockwise or anti-clockwise or combination thereof and therefore without the need to replace the indexing assembly to suit specific application that matches the processing work stations. The present invention enables deployment of multiple powder filling stations, multiple pellet filling stations as per requirement. Furthermore, the workstations with the employment of servo motor are not limited to powder filling or pellet filling, there may be multiple different workstations depending on the application and customer requirement of the product.
[0042] Referring to Figure 5 shows different stations (S1-S6) comprised in the capsule filling machine with a tamping assembly (510), the vertical displacement of the reciprocating shaft/rods by a drive unit causes vertical reciprocating motion of the tamping plate in the downward direction to compress the pharmaceutical ingredient by five sets of tamping pistons (255) (110-T1 to 110-T5) in five sets of holes in the dosing disc (245, 510) and to push out the slug being formed in the sixth set of holes in the dosing disc (245, 510) to be filled in the body of each empty capsule held in the empty capsule segment in the turret aligned adjacent to the sliced out portion of the slider plate and below the sixth set of through-holes of the dosing disc (245, 510). The tamping pistons (255) generate the same amount of tamping force for compression the pharmaceutical ingredients and achieve a higher compression level of the pharmaceutical ingredients. A control unit (600) having a motion controller (620) in communication with the servo motor (290) configured for variably controlling and regulating indexing of the dosing disc (245) about a predetermined degree that cyclically/sequentially allow progressive compressing of a pharmaceutical ingredient through the plurality of elongated through-holes of the dosing disc (245) to form a slug, and allow pushing of the formed slug out of dosing disc (245) into an aligned receiving capsule holder (225) of an indexing assembly (210).
[0043] According to the embodiment, vertical reciprocating motion of plurality of tamping pistons (255) and a sliding motion of a sliding plate is controlled and regulated via a plurality of servo motors (265) or a cam or a gear enabled drive mechanism unit.
[0044] Referring Figure 6, according to the embodiment, the capsule machine includes a control unit (600) having a motion controller (620) in communication with said servo motor (280, 290) configured for synchronized indexing of the turret (215) and the dosing disc (245).
[0045] According to the embodiment, the motion controller (620) variably controls and regulates rotation of the turret (215) about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations (W) and the plurality of capsule holders (225) along the outer circumference of the turret (215).
[0046] According to the embodiment, the motion controller (620) variably control and regulate processing time at each of plurality of workstations (W). The motion controller (620) variably control and regulate indexing of the dosing disc (245) about a predetermined degree.
[0047] According to the embodiment, the tamping assembly includes as motion controller (620) is in communication with said servo motor (290) that drives the dosing disc (245) and said plurality of servo motors (265) that reciprocates plurality of tamping pistons (255) vertically and slides the sliding plate.
[0048] Referring Figure 7 shows a method (700) for operating a capsule filling machine (200, 300, 400, 500), the method comprising the steps of (710)controlling, by a control unit (600) having a motion controller (620), a turret (215) of an indexing assembly (210) and a dosing disc (245) of a tamping assembly (240, 510), operatively coupled with a first (280) and a second (290) servo motor through a gear box (260, 270), each said servo motor coupled coaxially or at an offset to a corresponding first vertical axis (V1) and a second vertical axis (V2); (720) synchronizing said first and second servo motor (280, 290) with each other for: (730) variably controlling and regulating rotation of the turret (215) about a predetermined degree, independent of the plurality of processing workstations (W) and the plurality of capsule holders (225) along the outer circumference of the turret (215); (740) variably controlling and regulating processing time at each of plurality of workstations (W); and (750)variably controlling and regulating indexing of the dosing disc (245).
[0049] According to the present invention, cycloidal gearboxes have practically zero or negligible backlash gearboxes. Cycloidal gearboxes have high reduction ratio because of which high torque is achieved. Further, high positional accuracy is also achieved. With the application of cycloidal gearboxes, a smaller servomotor size may be used for indexing purpose. The weight of cycloidal gearbox is less and they are compact in size, thereby reducing the overall weight of the indexing assembly and hence the capsule filling machine.
[0050] The present invention has been described in the context of an indexing assembly, tamping assembly, and a capsule filling machine. The description of known process and components for actuating, controlling, coupling, driving is omitted for clarity purpose and nowhere limit the invention, further is not limited to description of embodiment to those particularly described herein. The degrees of indexing/rotation, shape of dosing disc, type of gear boxes, number of capsule holders, number of workstations are not limited to those particularly described herein.
[0051] Further, the arrangement of electrical connections of servo motors, control unit, motion controllers, microprocessors are omitted and nowhere limit the invention. Plurality of sensors may be used for detecting amount, weight of pharmaceutical and/or a nutraceutical ingredient, precise degree of indexing. Capsule filling machine as described herein can be modified according within the scope of the present invention and is not limited to the manner specifically described herein. The offset distances are not limited and not to be scaled.
[0052] In the foregoing detailed description of aspects embodiments of the invention, various features are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments of the invention require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the detailed description of aspects, embodiments of the invention, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.
[0053] It is understood that the above description and drawings are intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Description and drawings are intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” is used as the plain-English equivalent of the respective term “comprising” respectively.