the term “ pellets ,” as used herein , includes solid , or at least externally solid , orally delivered pharmaceutical dosage forms , vitamins , candies , chewing gum , breath mints , animal feed , and the like . usually , all of the pellets being coated by the method and apparatus described herein will be of substantially the same size and composition . the coating apparatus of fig1 comprises three main sections : a feeder section 10 , a coating section 12 , and a discharge section 14 . the feeder section 10 can be any of a variety of mechanisms suitable for delivering pellets to be coated to a desired location continuously at a defined average rate . in fig1 , the feeder comprises a conveyor belt 16 , on which pellets 18 are carried to a chute 20 . the rate at which the feeder delivers pellets through the chute should be adjustable , and in the case of a belt conveyor , the feed rate can be adjusted by controlling the speed of a drive motor ( not shown in fig1 ) connected to a belt - driving drum , e . g ., drum 22 . the rate at which the feeder delivers pellets does not need to be well - defined over a short interval such as a few seconds . however , the rate should be capable of being reasonably well - defined over a longer interval such as a minute , e . g ., an average rate of 1000 ∀ 100 pellets per minute . various alternative forms of feeding mechanisms such as vacuum conveyors , screw conveyors , elevators , vibrating conveyors and other suitable conveyors can also be used . pellets drop through the chute 20 into an elongated , vibrating , trough 24 , at a location preferably adjacent one end of the trough , which will be referred to as a trough “ inlet .” in fig1 , the inlet is designated by reference numeral 26 . the trough may be open as in fig1 , or may be enclosed so that an air plenum is formed as will be described later . in the latter case , the inlet is a location adjacent a opening in the enclosure , which may be either controlled or uncontrolled . a weir 28 , is disposed at an outlet location or “ outlet ” 30 , spaced longitudinally from the inlet 26 , and preferably located at the end of the trough opposite from the inlet 26 . the weir has an upper edge 32 , over which pellets are discharged from the trough onto a collector 34 , which can be in the form of a belt conveyor or hopper . the weir shown in fig1 is in the form of a segment - shaped plate . alternatively , a ramp can be used , at the outlet of the trough , and the term “ weir ,” as used herein , includes ramps and other similar barriers over which pellets can be discharged . the upper edge of the weir 28 can be horizontal , or slanted , and need not be straight . however , regardless of the shape of its upper edge , the weir establishes a maximum level for the bed 34 of pellets in the trough . as will be described , the pellets in the bed are substantially fluidized , that is , made readily flowable , by the vibration of the trough . thus , as pellets are fed at a given rate to the inlet of the trough , the bed slowly moves toward the outlet , and pellets are discharged from the outlet at substantially the same rate . as vibration takes place , the upper surface of the fluidized bed of pellets will ordinarily be disposed at an angle in the range of about 10 to 20 degrees from the horizontal , depending on various factors such as the magnitude of the vibrations , air flow though the bed , the properties of the pellets , etc . however , in some cases , the surface of the bed can reach an angle of 45 degrees or more . the trough 24 is flexibly supported on a frame 38 by a set of resilient supports ( not shown in fig1 ) along one of its sides 40 . these supports effectively establish a pivot axis extending alongside the trough and substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of the trough . the pivot axis , although preferably alongside the trough , can be inside the trough , or above or below the trough . the trough is connected by a set of arms 42 , 44 , 46 and 48 , to a bar 50 , which extends longitudinally along the trough on the side opposite to the side on which the trough is pivoted . the bar 50 is mounted on the frame by springs 52 , and connected to an energy - imparting source 54 , which applies rapidly repeated mechanical impulses to the bar . in the apparatus shown , the impulses are applied vertically upward to the bar . however the impulses can be applied in any direction other than directly toward the pivot axis of the trough , so that the impulses are applied as moments about the pivot axis . the repeated impulses must have sufficient intensity to fluidize the bed of pellets in the trough , and at the same time cause rotation of the bed of pellets so that pellets circulate continuously from the lower portions of the bed to the surface , and then back to the lower portions of the bed . the impulses must therefore be sufficient to overcome the effect of gravity on the pellet bed , taking into account also the effect of any air flowing upward or downward through the bed . the movement of the bar 50 will ordinarily be in the range of 0 . 1 to 5 mm . the intensity of the impulses , of course , depends not only on their amplitude , i . e ., the range of movement of the bar 50 , but also on the rate of movement of the bar , i . e ., the slopes of the leading and trailing edges of each impulse when the amplitude of movement of the bar is plotted against time . the rotation and fluidization of the pellet bed are influenced not only by the intensity of the impulses , but also by the frequency at which the impulses are applied , the frequency being preferably in the range from about 500 to 3500 hz . the energy - imparting source 54 can be any of a variety of mechanisms for producing mechanical vibrations , such as electric motors having eccentric weights mounted on their shafts , linear devices such as electromagnetic vibrators , servomotors , etc . the energy imparting source can be composed of plural energy - imparting units , if appropriately synchronized . servomotors are preferable because they are easily controlled . preferably , one or more parameters of the impulse components , such as intensity , amplitude , direction , or frequency is adjustable , and suitable adjusting means can be included as part of the energy - imparting source . the adjusting means can be , for example , an electrical motor speed control , a source of electrical pulses for operating an electromagnetic vibrator , or any of a wide variety of equivalent adjusting devices . in the case of adjustment of direction , the adjusting means can be , for example , a mechanism for moving the energy - imparting source itself or its output shaft or arm , or a mechanism for adjusting the relative amplitudes of impulses delivered by two or more sources coupled together in order to adjust the direction of a resultant impulse . the adjusting means can be adjusted manually , or automatically , with or without feedback from one or more sensors used to monitor conditions of the coating operation such as coating thickness , pellet feed rate , and the like . on the inside of the trough , a smooth mirror finish , that is , a finish having an average surface roughness ra of less than about 0 . 05 μm , should be avoided because , for some tablets , it will not exhibit sufficient friction to achieve reliable tablet bed rotation . for the coating apparatus of the invention , good results can be achieved for a broad variety of tablets , using a trough having an average surface roughness , ra , in the range from approximately 0 . 2 μm to 0 . 8 μm . spray nozzles 56 and 58 are mounted on the frame and arranged to direct fan - shaped spray patterns of liquefied coating material downward toward the bed of pellets in the trough at intermediate locations between the inlet 26 and the outlet 30 . the fan - shaped spray patterns are preferably relatively wide in the direction of the trough and relatively narrow in the direction of the width of the trough . the coating material can be any of a variety of known coating materials . in the case of pharmaceutical tablets , for example , the coating material can be a combination of a polymer such as polyvinylpyrollidone ( pvp ) or hydroxypropylcellulose ( hpc ), together with a pigment and an opacifier such as titanium dioxide ( tio 2 ), in a suitable vehicle such as water or an organic solvent , which partially evaporates as the spray approaches the bed of pellets . various devices can be used to monitor the condition of the coating applied to the pellets . in fig1 , a sensor 60 is mounted on the frame 38 above the pellet bed at a location downstream of the second spray nozzle 58 with respect to the direction of travel of the pellet bed in the trough . the sensor is associated with a monitor ( not shown in fig1 ), which can be a spectrometer for monitoring the thickness of the coating on the pellets . a feedback signal from the spectrometer can be used to control the rate at which uncoated pellets are fed to the trough by the feeder section 10 . other conditions in the coating apparatus such as temperature and humidity can be monitored , and the coating thickness as well as these other conditions can be used , individually or in combination , to control operating parameters such as pellet feed rate , vibration amplitude , vibration intensity ( which depends on both amplitude and the rate of change of amplitude ), vibration frequency , coating spray velocity and spray pressure . where air is caused to flow through the bed of pellets , the temperature and flow rate of the air can also be controlled in response to one or more monitored conditions . fig2 shows a version of the coating apparatus according to the invention in which an array of air passages is formed in the trough , and upper and lower air plenums are formed by cooperation of the trough with enclosures respectively above and below the trough . these air plenums are provided in order to maintain a flow of air through the air passages and through the bed of pellets in the trough . the trough 62 is a vibrating trough , supported on a set of arms similar to arms 42 - 48 in fig1 . one such arm , 64 , is shown in fig2 , and is supported at one end on a mounting structure 66 , which includes an elastomeric bar 68 . the opposite end 70 of the arm 64 is connected to a energy source ( not shown ) similar to energy source 54 in fig1 . an array of air passages 72 is formed in the trough . the passages are smaller than the pellets in the pellet bed 74 in the trough , and situated so that most of the openings are below the top of the bed . the trough is provided with a pair of flanges 76 and 78 , which extend longitudinally along its upper edges . elastomeric sealing strips 80 and 82 are clamped between the respective flanges and clamping strips 84 and 86 , and extend between flanges of upper and lower enclosures 88 and 90 . an upper enclosure 88 has an air passage 92 , and the lower enclosure 90 has an air passage 94 . the pellet bed 74 is fluidized as a result of vibrations imparted to the trough through the arms including arm 64 , which vibrates up and down about an axis at the location of elastomeric bar 68 in the directions indicated by the double - ended arrow 96 . the motion of the trough substantially fluidizes the bed of pellets , and causes the pellets to circulate in a rotating path as indicated by arrow 98 . in the embodiment shown in fig2 , air passes into the upper plenum through passage 92 , downward through the pellet bed 74 and passages 72 into the lower plenum , and outward through passage 94 and blower 100 . the upper and lower enclosures do not need to be sealed perfectly , and in the embodiment shown , for example , the arms on which the trough are mounted extend through slots in the lower enclosure 90 . pellets are fed into , and discharged from , the vibrating trough , through suitable airlocks ( not shown ), for example , through rotary plate feeders of the kind illustrated in u . s . pat . no . 6 , 416 , 261 , dated jul . 9 , 2002 , the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference . the flow of air through the bed of pellets provides for more uniform distribution and drying of the coating material , and reduces the loss of particles of the spray from the spray nozzles , e . g ., nozzle 102 , to the atmosphere . although in the embodiment shown , the flow of air through the pellet bed is maintained by drawing air outward from the lower plenum by a blower 100 , as an alternative , air can be forced into the upper plenum through passage 92 . in some instances it may be desirable to maintain an upward flow of air , i . e ., a flow of air into the pellet bed in the trough through the holes 72 . in that case , blower 100 can be arranged to blow air into the lower plenum through passage 94 , or a blower can be used to draw air outward from the upper plenum through passage 92 . in any of these embodiments , the temperature and humidity of the air flowing through the bed of pellets can be controlled in order to maintain proper coating conditions . although it is preferred to have both an upper air plenum and a lower air plenum , advantages of air flow through the pellet bed can also be realized in a coating apparatus having only an upper air plenum , or only a lower air plenum . moreover , although it is desirable , but not absolutely essential , to provide airlocks for feeding pellets to , and discharging pellets from , the trough in the case in which an upper air plenum is used , airlocks are entirely unnecessary in the case of a coating apparatus having only a lower plenum . as shown schematically in fig3 , a typical trough 104 has an arcuate cross - section . in this case , the arc is centered on a center line c ( shown endwise as a point in fig4 ). pellets are discharged from the pellet bed in the trough over the upper edge of a weir . as the trough is vibrated , the weir maintains the top of the fluidized pellet bed substantially at a fixed position so that the center of the top of the pellet bed remains at a constant height h , measured from the bottom of the trough . as mentioned previously , while vibration takes place , the top of the bed will ordinarily be at an angle in the range of about 10 to 20 degrees from horizontal . however , depending on the intensity and direction and frequency of the vibrations of the trough , the pattern of circulation of the pellets in the trough , and other factors such as air flow and the nature of the pellets , the top of the bed can be disposed at an angle outside the 10 to 20 degree range . as shown in fig3 , the bed , if at rest , would have a width w , measured in a direction transverse to the direction of elongation of the trough . because the pellet bed is coated in a vibrating trough , instead of in a conventional rotating drum , it is possible for the spray nozzle 106 , or parts of the spray nozzle , to be located above the cylinder 108 that would be formed if the arcuate inner wall of the trough were continued to form a complete cylinder . thus , even in a coating apparatus having a pellet bed with a relatively small cross - sectional area , it is possible to position the spray nozzles far enough from the top of the bed that the sprayed coating material will dry sufficiently before it reaches the pellet bed , so that the solvents in the coating material do not damage the surfaces of the pellets and impair coating quality . in the case of an arcuate trough , the vertical distance d from the center of the top surface of the bed and the arc extension 108 is given by the formula d = w 2 / 4h . thus , parts of the nozzle assembly can be at a distance greater than d from the center of the top of the pellet bed , that is , beyond the arcuate extension of the inner wall of the trough . the trough 110 shown in fig4 can be used in the coating apparatus of fig1 , or in the coating apparatus of fig2 . this trough 110 has a discharge weir 112 at one end , a barrier 114 at the opposite end , which is higher than the discharge weir , at the opposite end , and a series of intermediate weirs 116 . the height of each of the intermediate weirs is preferably less than the height of the discharge weir 112 , and is also preferably such that each of the intermediate weirs is entirely underneath the surface of the pellet bed when the trough is vibrating . the intermediate weirs block longitudinal movement of lower parts of the pellet bed and improve the uniformity of the residence time of each pellet in the trough . it is possible to use a single intermediate weir or a plurality of intermediate weirs as shown . one or more intermediate weirs can also be made hollow and provide with an array of holes for passage of air into or out of a trough . for example , as shown in fig5 , a trough 118 , having a discharge weir 120 at one end and a barrier 122 at the opposite end , is formed with an intermediate weir 124 . the intermediate weir is hollow , forming a tunnel 126 extending underneath the trough in a direction transverse to its longitudinal direction . the wall 128 of the weir , which faces toward the discharge end of the trough , is preferably , but not necessarily , vertical or nearly vertical , and has an array of air passages . the opposite face of the intermediate weir ( not shown in fig5 ) can have a similar array of air passages . the trough of fig5 can be used in a coating apparatus having an upper air plenum , a lower air plenum , or both as in fig2 . because the air passages are in walls of the weir that are either vertical or nearly vertical , the vertical component of the velocity of the air flow through the pellet bed is small and has only a negligible effect on the circulation of pellets resulting from vibration of the trough . however , the air flow can be effective in maintaining uniform coating conditions . here , as in the embodiment of fig2 , the air flow can be directed either inward through the air passages to the pellet bed , or outward from the pellet bed through the air passages . the hollow weir also has the advantage of achieving a more uniform residence time , and , of course , plural hollow weirs can be provided in a trough . in the control system depicted in fig6 , the spectrometer 60 ( fig1 ) is sensitive to the color of the coating on the pellets in the pellet bed passing underneath it . the color is a function of coating thickness . a monitor 130 , e . g ., a spectrometer , responsive to the sensor 60 , generates a signal corresponding to coating thickness , and operates a motor control 132 , which , in turn , controls the speed of a servomotor 134 which operates the pellet feeder 10 . if the coating becomes too thin , the rate at which pellets are fed to the trough can be reduced , and their residence time in the trough will be increased . thus , a uniform coating thickness can be maintained . other monitoring features and controls can be utilized . for example , the signal from the monitor 130 can be used to control the vibration rate or intensity , or spray velocity , in addition to , or as an alternative to , controlling the pellet feed rate . the temperature and / or humidity of the exhaust air can also be monitored and used to control operating parameters or combinations thereof , including air temperature , humidity , spray velocity , as well as pellet feed rate , and trough vibration rate or intensity . as shown in fig6 , the control 132 can also receive inputs from an air temperature sensor 136 and a humidity sensor 138 , and delivers control signals to an air temperature and humidity control 140 and a spray pump 142 . although satisfactory results can be achieved with the trough of the coating apparatus disposed horizontally , by tilting the trough downward in the direction of travel of the pellets along the trough , so that the outlet end of the trough is lower than the inlet end , the depth of the tablet bed can be made more nearly uniform along the length of the trough thereby reducing the maximum depth of the bed . as shown in fig7 , in the case of a horizontal trough , the depth of the tablet bed 144 gradually decreases from the inlet end 146 of the trough toward the outlet end 148 . the shape of the tablet bed in the trough is affected by the tablet feed rate , by the vibration of the trough , by drag due to friction between the tables and the inner surface of the trough , and by gravity . thus , the surface of the tablet bed slopes downward from the side at which the magnitude of trough vibration is maximum toward the opposite side of the trough , and also from the inlet end toward the outlet end . in the case of a downwardly tilted trough , as shown in fig8 , where the outlet end 150 is lower than the inlet end 152 , surface of the tablet bed 154 slopes downward from the side at which the magnitude of trough vibration is greater toward the opposite side . however , the slope of the tablet bed surface in the direction along the length of the trough is approximately the same as the angle of downward tilt of the trough . thus , the cross - section of the tablet bed is maintained nearly constant along the length of the trough , the tablet bed is not excessively deep adjacent the inlet end of the trough , and more uniform coating of the tablets can be achieved . the uniformity of the depth of the tablet bed , of course depends on the tablet feed rate at the inlet end of the trough . therefore , the degree of tilt of the trough should be matched to the tablet feed rate . thus , the pellets should be fed at a rate that maintains the surface of the bed of pellets substantially parallel to the direction of elongation of the trough . various other modifications can be made to the apparatus and method described above . for example , although the trough can be open as shown in fig1 , or provided with an upper air plenum as shown in fig2 , as an alternative , the trough can be the lower part of a closed channel that is vibrated . the closed channel can even have a circular cross - section if sufficiently large that the spray nozzles are not too close to the pellet bed . however , in most cases , and especially where the apparatus is built on a scale suitable for continuous coating of relatively small quantities of pellets such as prescription drugs , if the trough is a lower part of a closed channel , the channel will have a non - circular shape , with a vertically elongated transverse cross - section . whereas the continuous coating apparatus described above comprises a linear trough , various alternative configurations are possible . for example , the trough can have a toroidal configuration similar to that of the vibration mill described in u . s . pat . no . 3 , 100 , 088 , granted on aug . 6 , 1963 to h . l . podmore et al . and incorporated herein by reference . in that case , as described by podmore et al . the impulses imparted to the toroidal container by an eccentric weight on a centrally located motor will cause circulating movement of pellets in the container as they travel along the length of the trough . another example is a configuration in which the coating apparatus is composed of a series of vibrating troughs , located one above another , and arranged so that pellets are fed from an upper trough to a next trough , and the pellet beds travel in alternating directions in the respective troughs . still other trough configurations , such as an arcuate configuration , or a helical configuration as in u . s . pat . no . 5 , 067 , 431 , granted on nov . 26 , 1991 to charles e . heitmiller , can also be utilized . the above modifications , and numerous other modifications , can be made to the invention described without departing from its scope , as defined by the following claims .
a continuous dosage form coating apparatus uses vibrational impulses to maintain a dosage forms in a fluid state to expose them to a coating material atomized by spraying .