Abstract: Tablets, pills or like discrete products are fed into the upper section of an upright conduit to descend into a vessel under the action of gravity. Excessive acceleration of descending products is opposed by an air stream which is induced by a pump and flows in the conduit counter to the direction of advancement of the products. The vessel contains one or more partitions which have outwardly and downwardly sloping upper sides and central openings for the conduit. The outlet of the conduit discharges products first onto the bottom wall of the vessel and thereupon at a level above the lowermost partition which latter causes the products to slide outwardly toward the sidewall of the vessel. When the space between the bottom wall and the lowermost partition is filled, the lowermost partition prevents crushing of products below it under the weight of products which gather above the lowermost partition.

Abstract: Apparatus for mixing charges of flowable material has an open-top vessel movable up and down by fluid-operated motors along vertical guides, either with or relative to a cover which can seal the open top and is provided with an inlet for admission of fresh charges. The extent to which the cover is movable along the guides is limited by followers which are provided on the cover and extend into channels of the guides. The cover carries one or more rotary agitating devices with orbiting blades which mix the contents of the vessel while the open top is sealed by the cover. The central portion of the concavo-convex bottom wall of the vessel has an outlet normally sealed by a closure which is pivotable by a fluid-operated motor. The vessel is lowered away from the cover for the purposes of cleaning.