Compartmented Hard Shell Capsule with Serrated Barrier
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current compartmented hard shell capsule technologies require multi-stage manufacturing and are costly due to complexity, limiting their cost-effectiveness and practical industrial applications, as they can only achieve a single dissolution profile and are unable to provide the necessary variability in drug delivery for multiple active ingredients.
Innovation Solution
A compartmented hard shell capsule design with a serrated edge that forms a barrier when folded, allowing for two separate chambers within a single capsule, enabling multiple dissolution profiles and simplifying the manufacturing process by integrating forming, filling, and encapsulation into a single continuous operation using modified dipping pin molds and encapsulation machines.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional automated dipping process is used to manufacture hard shell capsules, then production efficiency is improved, but the capability to form closed container cavities and complex structures is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The capsule is divided into two separate parts (cap and body) that are formed independently through the dipping process, then assembled together. This segmentation allows each part to be formed with open ends suitable for automated dipping, while the final assembled capsule provides the desired closed container structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap part is inserted onto the body part in a telescopic manner, with the cap locking onto the body to form the final capsule structure. This nesting approach enables the assembly of closed container cavities from separately formed open-ended components.
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional hard shell capsule design with single cavity is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the capability to provide multiple dissolution profiles is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The single capsule cavity is segmented into multiple compartments (first compartment in cap, second compartment in body) separated by a partition. This allows different formulations with different dissolution profiles to be contained within a single capsule structure, maintaining manufacturing simplicity while achieving multi-profile functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the capsule (cap and body) are assigned different functional qualities through the partition separation, allowing each compartment to contain formulations with specific dissolution characteristics tailored to different digestive tract locations.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multi-stage manufacturing process is used for compartmented capsules, then complex structures are achieved, but cost-effectiveness and manufacturing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The forming of cap and body parts, the creation of the partition structure, and the assembly process are merged into a single integrated dipping operation. The pin bar design incorporates all necessary features to form both parts and the partition in one coating cycle, eliminating multi-stage manufacturing while achieving complex compartmented structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The dipping pin bar serves multiple functions simultaneously: forming the cap and body structures, creating the partition wall, and enabling assembly features. This multi-functional tool design achieves complex capsule structures without requiring multiple specialized manufacturing stages.
4Ease of manufacture
If uniform capsule wall material is used, then manufacturing simplicity is maintained, but the capability to sustain single dissolution profile is enforced
Solution Approach 1:
Different wall materials or formulations are applied to different regions of the capsule (cap versus body) based on the desired dissolution profile. The cap wall may use one material composition while the body wall uses another, allowing each compartment to have tailored dissolution characteristics while maintaining overall manufacturing simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
A compartmented hard shell capsule for containing active formulations, and methods and apparatuses for forming, filling and encapsulating the compartmented hard shell capsules. The compartmented hard shell capsule includes a cap portion and a body portion. The cap portion has a hollow cavity defining a cap chamber. The body portion can be removably inserted into the cap portion. The body portion has an open end, a closed end and a sidewall defining a hollow cavity and a serrated edge along the open end. The serrated edge may be folded over to form a barrier to enclose the body portion, thereby creating a body chamber that is separate from the cap chamber when the body portion is inserted into the cap portion. The methods for filling and encapsulating the compartmented hard shell capsules can be completed in one continuous process, which increases cost-effectiveness for use of the compartmented hard shell capsules.