Abstract: A coater for coating a material with a solution or a suspension includes an access door and a process port separately openable within a housing. A rotating coating drum is removably connected with respect to the coater and the coater is configured for exchange of drums having a wide range of production capacities.

Abstract: A coating apparatus for coating a material to be coated with a solution is disclosed, preferably for coating pharmaceuticals. A spray bar having a spray gun receptacle, a solution inlet conduit and an atomizing air conduit is disclosed. The spray gun is positionable in the spray gun receptacle and has a body portion adapted to fit in the receptacle and an insertion portion having a sealable orifice at a spraying end thereof. The body portion has an internal void constructed and arranged to be in fluid communication with the solution inlet conduit and the atomizing air conduit when the spray gun is positioned in the spray gun receptacle and the insertion portion is in an open position. The insertion portion is moveable between an open position defining a passage between the body portion void and the spraying end orifice a closed position sealing the insertion portion against the body portion to close said passage.

Abstract: A method for controlling and monitoring instrumentation for a multilayer tablet press mechanism is disclosed. The compression for each layer, other than the first, takes the measured variable or error from the previous layer control loop and applies a transformation to that variable or error. The resulting transformation is then used as a compensation to the subsequent layer control loop in the form of a modified set point, modified measure variable, modified error, or modified control output. Additionally, the variable or error resulting from the previous control loop is fed back into the controller for the previous control loop so that any adjustments necessary in the previous layer loop may be completed. The variable or error is also used to determine whether to accept or reject the tablet.

Abstract: Control and monitoring instrumentation for a high speed double rotary tablet press mechanism is disclosed. Each tablet press side has strain gauges producing signals indicative of table compression. The strain gauges generate control signals received by a peak detector, which holds the maximum strain signal. The peak signals are converted to digital form and provided to a microprocessor that first controls operation of the reject gate and regulates tablet consistency by controlling powder fill into the dies, and second, passes information to RAM. The RAM is shared by a master CPU, clocked 180.degree. out of phase with the microprocessor. The master CPU produces either a CRT or printed output of both raw and statistically abstracted tablet press data.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for coating particulate granules is disclosed. The method is practiced by providing a fluidized charge of granules suspended in a flow of a drying gas within a rotating perforated coating pan. A portion of the fluidized granules is drawn along the pan's surface to a position above the fluidized charge of granules and allowed to cascade back into the fluidized charge. Flow of the drying gas is concentrated in the vicinity of the granules movement, and a coating material is dispensed onto the moving granules. The apparatus disclosed comprises a rotating perforated pan having gas inlet and exhaust plenums in contact with the rotating pan's exterior. The inlet plenum introduces a stream of drying gas to fluidize and suspend the agitated granules; the outlet plenum exhausts the drying gas and thereby draws granules along the pan's inner surface to the outlet plenum's position.