Abstract: Encapsulated small articles such as medicines in caplet or cylindrical form are disclosed. Gelatin half capsules are formed on the pins of pin blocks and are delivered to a station at which they are trimmed and fitted over the opposite ends of the product to be encapsulated. The capsule halves are first dried to a condition in which they have about 20 wt. % moisture and are thereafter press fitted over the ends of the caplets and allowed to dry to shrink fit tightly onto the caplets making it virtually impossible to remove them from their gelatin coverings without leaving visible evidence of tampering. The finished product has a smoother outer surface which lends itself to overprinting with a precise color separation line between the two capsule halves if the capsule halves are distinctly differently colored.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for encapsulating small articles such as medicines in caplet or cylindrical form are disclosed. Gelatin half capsules are formed on the pins of pin blocks and are delivered to a station at which they are trimmed and fitted over the opposite ends of the product to be encapsulated. The capsule halves are first dried to a condition in which they have about 20 wt. % moisture and are thereafter press fitted over the ends of the caplets and allowed to dry to shrink fit tightly onto the caplets making it virtually impossible to remove them from their gelatin coverings without leaving visible evidence of tampering. The finished product has a smoother outer surface which lends itself to overprinting.

Abstract: Method for encapsulating small articles such as medicines in caplet or cylindrical form are disclosed. Gelatin half capsules are formed on the pins of pin blocks and are delivered to a station at which they are trimmed and fitted over the opposite ends of the product to be encapsulated. The capsule halves are first dried to a condition in which they have about 20 wt. % moisture and are thereafter press fitted over the ends of the caplets and allowed to dry to shrink fit tightly onto the caplets making it virtually impossible to remove them from their gelatin coverings without leaving visible evidence of tampering. The finished product has a smoother outer surface which lends itself to overprinting.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for encapsulating small articles such as medicines in caplet or cylindrical form are disclosed. Gelatin half capsules are formed on the pins of pin blocks and are delivered to a station at which they are trimmed and fitted over the opposite ends of the product to be encapsulated. The capsule halves are first dried to a condition in which they have about 20 wt. % moisture and are thereafter press fitted over the ends of the caplets and allowed to dry to shrink fit tightly onto the caplets making it virtually impossible to remove them from their gelatin coverings without leaving visible evidence of tampering. The finished product has a smoother outer surface which lends itself to overprinting.

Abstract: A caplet dipping machine includes a caplet holding plate including sets of caplet gripping collets on both sides thereof so that caplets can be dipped on one end, pushed through the plate and dipped at the other end. The collets on one side are mounted back-to-back with the collets on the other side in apertures formed in the holding plate. Caplets are fed into the collets on one face of the holding plate by a loading plate which receives the unfinished caplets from a hopper. A plurality of loading transfer pins push the caplets through the first set of collets to the second set of collets on the bottom face of the holding plate. The caplets are then dipped in a first gelatin bath, flipped by a first plate flipping mechanism and dried in a first drying section. The caplets are next pushed through from the second set of collets back to the first set of collets by a second set of transfer pins before passing through a second gelatin dipping bath.

Abstract: A metal pin for forming gelatine capsules, having a work-hardened surface including a circumferential groove, even the surface defining the groove being work-hardened.

Abstract: A gelatine capsule includes a locking ridge having a smooth, rounded cross-section for improved locking characteristics with respect to the body portion of the capsule. The capsule cap is formed on a metal pin having a circumferential groove therein with a shape complimentary to that of the capsule groove. Each forming pin in shaped by rolling an unfinished pin between two rollers. The unfinished pin is supported by an anvil located just below the center line connecting the axes of rotation of the two rollers. One roller is preferably smooth and the other roller preferably has a cross-sectional profile complimentary to that of the ultimate capsule cap. The locking groove is formed in the cap pin by bringing the two rollers together so as to rotate the pin under great force thereby burnishing a smooth, rounded locking groove into the finished pin.