Abstract: A nail gun having a protection structure includes a body, a protection cover and a resilient release. The body includes a nail magazine loaded with nails and includes a barrel connected to the nail magazine. One end of the barrel has a nozzle, and the nail magazine forms a notch close to the nozzle and includes a fastening recess. The protection cover is slidably disposed on the nail magazine. The protection cover includes an engagement board, a sliding board connected to the same, and an engagement hole formed on the engagement board. The resilient release is resiliently assembled in the fastening recess and contacts and presses against an inner edge of the engagement hole, so that the protection cover is positioned by the resilient release, and the sliding board covers the notch.

Abstract: A product management display system for merchandising product on a shelf includes a divider secured to a support structure, a pusher to move product, a barrier, and a low product indicator device. The low product indicator device may be visible when an amount of product positioned on the top surface of the divider floor or on the shelf is low.

Abstract: A product management display system for merchandising product on a shelf includes a divider secured to a support structure, a pusher to move product, a barrier, and a low product indicator device. The low product indicator device may be visible when an amount of product positioned on the top surface of the divider floor or on the shelf is low.

Abstract: A product management display system for merchandising product on a shelf includes a divider secured to a support structure, a pusher to move product, a barrier, and a low product indicator device comprising a protruding portion. The protruding portion is configured to extend forward of the barrier when an amount of product positioned on the top surface of the divider floor or on the shelf is low.

Abstract: A dosing device for dispensing small-particulate pharmaceutical preparations has at least one chamber for receiving a larger amount of the preparation and a dosing unit. A rotary valve has at least one dosing chamber for receiving a defined dose of the preparation. The dosing chamber is moveable between a filling position and a dispensing position. The rotary valve rotates about a substantially horizontal axis, and has an adjustment device for setting the volume in the dosing chamber and a twisting device. The twisting device constitutes the actuator for the adjustment device. The device is made of a plastic material carefully selected to assure that no softening agents or other volatile components will be released, which prevents drug contamination.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system for collecting, sorting, counting and consolidating an unorganized pool of solid or semi-solid articles such as pills for dispensation. Specifically, the articles are extracted from inside a bin using attraction points on a transport substrate and sorted into containers in finite quantities. The system consists of several components, preferably including a torque source, a counter and a vacuum source, which are uniquely integrated onto a single end-effector to reduce cost and redundancy by servicing several bins. Further, the system presents a method of attracting and carrying pills using negative vacuum pressure, gravity and centrifugal force. This centrifugal force holds articles to the local attraction points and is provided by the spinning of the transport substrate. Pills are collected from the bin or plenum at the local attraction points, counted, cleaved from the local attraction points and guided to a container or vial.

Abstract: Automatic feeding machines are commonly used for filling blister packs with items of product such as pharmaceutical dosage forms. These machines are usually designed for the handling of a specific shape and sized product item. Handling of different shaped items requires expensive re-tooling of all the product item contact components. The invention allows a single feeding machine to be quickly configured for use to handling a wide variety of item sizes/shapes. A machine (21) has a tray (36) defining a series of tapered channels (40) and a container (22) slideably mounted above the tray. A wall of the container and the channels together define apertures into each channel through which items of product pass out of the container. Sliding movement of the container across the planar tray surface (38), along and over the channels, allows the size of the apertures to be adjusted depending upon the size of the item of product to be handled, using the same components.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system for collecting, sorting, counting and consolidating an unorganized pool of solid or semi-solid articles such as pills for dispensation. Specifically, the articles are extracted from inside a bin using attraction points on a transport substrate and sorted into containers in finite quantities. The system consists of several components, preferably including a torque source, a counter and a vacuum source, which are uniquely integrated onto a single end-effector to reduce cost and redundancy by servicing several bins. Further, the system presents a method of attracting and carrying pills using negative vacuum pressure, gravity and centrifugal force. This centrifugal force holds articles to the local attraction points and is provided by the spinning of the transport substrate. Pills are collected from the bin or plenum at the local attraction points, counted, cleaved from the local attraction points and guided to a container or vial.

Abstract: Varying the daily dose of either or both of the estrogen and the progestogen administered for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is readily and inexpensively accomplished, without the necessity of the physician prescribing a new product each time the daily dose of the estrogen or progestogen is changed, by administering preferably transdermally the estrogen and the progestogen contained in separate extrudable pharmaceutical compositions from a dispenser which contains means, preferably adjustable only by the attending physician or dispensing pharmacist, for varying the volume of either or both of the respective compositions which is dispensed as a single dose from the dispenser in response to a defined digital dispensing manipulation of the dispenser thereby facilitating optimal compliance to a combination of HRT with individually adjusted dosages of the estrogen and progestogen.

Abstract: Varying the daily dose of either or both of the estrogen and the progestogen administered for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is readily and inexpensively accomplished, without the necessity of the physician prescribing a new product each time the daily dose of the estrogen or progestogen is changed, by administering preferably transdermally the estrogen and the progestogen contained in separate extrudable pharmaceutical compositions from a dispenser which contains means, preferably adjustable only by the attending physician or dispensing pharmacist, for varying the volume of either or both of the respective compositions which is dispensed as a single dose from the dispenser in response to a defined digital dispensing manipulation of the dispenser thereby facilitating optimal compliance to a combination of HRT with individually adjusted dosages of the estrogen and progestogen.

Abstract: Varying the daily dose of either or both of the estrogen and the progestogen administered for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is readily and inexpensively accomplished, without the necessity of the physician prescribing a new product each time the daily dose of the estrogen or progestogen is changed, by administering preferably transdermally the estrogen and the progestogen contained in separate extrudable pharmaceutical compositions from a dispenser which contains means, preferably adjustable only by the attending physician or dispensing pharmacist, for varying the volume of either or both of the respective compositions which is dispensed as a single dose from the dispenser in response to a defined digital dispensing manipulation of the dispenser thereby facilitating optimal compliance to a combination of HRT with individually adjusted dosages of the estrogen and progestogen.

Abstract: A commodity discharging device in an automatic vending machine, which can easily change the area of the commodity discharging opening, is disclosed. The commodity discharging device comprises: a drum which is rotatable with respect to a shaft extending in a vertical direction and is provided with a commodity discharging opening penetrating in a vertical direction, so as to discharge a commodity via said commodity discharging opening by rotating said drum through a predetermined angle; and an opening regulating member provided on the drum, which can change the effective opening area of said commodity discharging opening by overlapping said commodity discharging opening due to rotation thereof.

Abstract: A mechanical system opens a selected drawer in a multiple-drawer cabinet. The drawers are arranged in rows and columns. A selected drawer is unlatched by moving a rod which has protruding fingers, only one of which is positioned to engage a latch in a column of drawers. When the rod moves longitudinally, the selected drawer becomes unlatched. The unlatched drawer can open only to a distance determined by a cable which unwinds from a drum and passes around a pulley attached to the drawer. Thus, by controlling the rotation of the drum, the system can be programmed to open the drawer only to a distance which exposes the first non-empty compartment in the drawer. A computer controls the selection and opening of the drawers. The computer keeps a record of which compartments of each drawer have been emptied. Each time a drawer is opened, it is opened to the next non-empty compartment, allowing access to one and only one compartment in the drawer.

Abstract: The application discloses a device (10) to retrofit into the cabinet (11) of newspaper vending machine racks to prevent the removal of more than one copy of the newspaper for each vend or door opening of the cabinet (11). The single vend device (10) consists of a front panel (12) with a T-slot (14). The arms (14a) of the T-slot (14) are normally closed off with a pivoted closure plate (16). Consumer access to the newspapers is provided through the leg of the T-slot (14b), but the newspaper must be slid through the gap between the closure plate (16) and the front panel (12). The thickness of the gap is adjustable to selectively allow for the variation in thickness between various editions of the newspaper. The closure plate (16) is spring loaded to be biased to the closed position. Following removal of the paper, the closure of the plate (16) and a locking pin (32) prevents the plate (16) from re-opening. The locking pin ( 32) is disarmed upon closure of the cabinet (11) door (25a).

Abstract: In a bulk vendor having a dispensing wheel for carrying merchandise to a dispensing aperture, containers in the dispensing wheel are adjustable in size according to the size and volume of merchandise to be dispensed. An adjusting wing is rotationally secured to the dispensing wheel by a retractable pin, which when depressed permits the adjusting wing to rotate relative to the dispensing wheel and change the container size, either manually or with the use of a tool provided for this purpose.

Abstract: The application discloses a device (10) to retrofit into the cabinet (11) of newspaper vending machine racks to prevent the removal of more than one copy of the newspaper for each vend or door opening of the cabinet (11). The single vend device (10) consists of a front panel (12) with a T-slot (14). The arms (14a) of the T-slot (14) are normally closed off with a pivoted closure plate (16). Consumer access to the newspapers is provided through the leg of the T-slot (14b), but the newspaper must be slid through the gap between the closure plate (16) and the front panel (12). The thickness of the gap is adjustable to selectively allow for the variation in thickness between various editions of the newspaper. The closure plate (16) is spring loaded to be biased to the closed position. Following removal of the paper, the closure of the plate (16) and a locking pin (32) prevents the plate (16) from re-opening. The locking pin ( 32) is disarmed upon closure of the cabinet (11) door (25a).

Abstract: A tablet selector has a selector plate interposed between a tablet-carrying rotatable disk having a plurality of pairs of first and second openings, and a pair of discharged tubes which lead to a form, fill and seal packaging station. The selector plate is pivotally movable by solenoid actuators to selectively block one or the other of the first and second openings of the rotatable disk. A pneumatic cylinder has an expandable arm which drives the selector plate into a complete blocking position.

Abstract: Coin-dispensing apparatus having a general shape of a hand gun and provided with a trigger for manually advancing an endless belt formed with coin receptacles or pockets for receiving coins as they are fed by gravity from a reservoir, such advancing endless belt moving such coins to an outlet of the apparatus where such coins are directed into a coin-receiving machine such as a slot machine or the like. The apparatus is attachable to such coin-receiving machine and includes an adjustable cam member whereby the number of coins dispensed by the apparatus with a single actuation of the trigger can be varied within limits.

Abstract: Dispenser for pills or sweets contained in a tube closed by a lid. When not in use, a chimney prevents the pills from falling out of a hopper disposed within the body of the tube. When the lid is pushed in, a boss displaces the chimney towards the axial center of the tube. The pills are dispensed downwardly therein until they contact a cross-pin which acts as a fixed stop. Releasing the lid causes the chimney and the pills contained therein to move laterally such that the pills then fall to the bottom of the lid.

Abstract: A dispenser is provided to dispense laminations to a forward position whereat they may readily be manually grasped for withdrawal from a dispenser and insertion into a preformed coil. One or more laminations may be dispensed in a selected group of laminations so that this entire selected group may be withdrawn at one time and need not be separately manipulated to align those laminations before they can be inserted into the coil. When the laminations are withdrawn from the forward dispensing position, a proximity sensor senses the absence of such laminations and controls an actuator to transversely move laminations from the bottom of the stack of laminations in the dispenser to the forward position, ready to be withdrawn by the operator, and then the actuator withdraws to the rearward position. Abutment means are axially adjustable to select one, two or more laminations in the selected group of laminations being dispensed to the forward position.

Abstract: A dry chemical pellet dispensing apparatus particularly adaptable for treatment of well water with chlorine pellets or like water purification tablets. A downwardly open pellet container is secured to a pellet flow regulator housing, which discharges pellets onto the surface of a metering plate. The discharge housing has baffles to regulate pellet flow. The metering plate has arrays of compartments for holding individual pellets. Select compartments are open and select compartments are closed. Open compartments can each receive a pellet. The pellet is moved in the open compartment upon rotation of the metering wheel to a location over a drop opening leading to a discharge tube which drops the pellet into the well. The speed of rotation of the metering wheel and the density of open compartments determines the dosage rate of pellets administered to the well.

Abstract: Apparatus for counting yieldable flat articles such as paperback books or the like consisting of a stack of books with their sides in contacting relationship, the books being guided in such a fashion that a measured quantity may be removed by structure engaging the stack and movable translatively of the longitudinal axis of the stack. The stack guiding structure is provided with means for preventing movement of the stack in the guiding structure during the removing operation and return thereof. Structure is provided for moving the books in the guiding structure and subsequently placing a load on the books along the longitudinal axis thereof and counting the books by measuring part of the stack when so loaded.