Separating and counting apparatus

Claim 1

IN AN ARTICLE-COUNTING APPARATUS FOR USE BY A PHARMACIST IN THE PRESCRIPTION COUNTING OF NUMBERS OF UNIFORMLY SHAPED MEDICINAL ARTICLES INCLUDING TABLES AND CAPSULES ENCOUNTERED IN VARIOUS SHAPES AND SIZES IN THE MEDICINAL ART, SAID APPARATUS HAVING A COUNTING MEANS AT A COUNTING STATION, A DEVICE FOR ARRANGING A GROUP OF SAID ARTICLES IN SINGLE FILE FOR PRESENTATION TO SAID COUNTING STATION, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING: A UNITARY PLATFORM HAVING AN UPPER SUBSTANTIALLY-CONICAL SLOPING SURFACE EXTENDING OUTWARD AND DOWNWARD FROM A CENTRAL APEX TO A CIRCULAR PERIPHERY AS A SURFACE OF REVOLUTION ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS; AN UPRIGHT STATIONARY SPIRAL WALL SPIRALLING UPWARD IN SEVERAL SPACED SPIRAL TURNS FROM AN OUTER TURN TERMINATING IN AN END ADJACENT SAID CIRCULAR PERIPHERY AND SAID COUNTING STATION TO AN INNER TURN TERMINATING IN AN INNER END RELATIVELY CLOSE TO SAID APEX AT A POSITION LESS THAN HALF THE RADIAL DISTANCE FROM SAID APEX TO SAID CIRCULAR PERIPHERY, THE SPACE WITHIN SAID INNER TURN FORMING A SMALL FEED AREA AROUND SAID APEX, SAID SPIRAL WALL HAVING ITS LOWER EDGE ABOVE BUT CLOSE TO SAID SLOPING SURFACE TO FORM THEREWITH A DESCENDING UPWARDLY-OPEN SUBSTANTIALLY V-SHAPED GROOVE SPIRALLING OUTWARD AND DOWNWARD FROM SAID INNER TURN TO SAID OUTER TURN, SAID V-SHAPED GROOVE BEING BOUNDED OUTWARDLY BY AN INNER UPRIGHT ARTICLE-ENGAGING WALL OF SAID TURNS AND DOWNWARDLY BY SAID SLOPING SUBSTANTIALLY-CONICAL SURFACE, SAID INNER END OF SAID INNER TURN STARTING AT THE PERIPHERY OF SAID SMALL FEED AREA AND FORMING WITH THE NEXT OUTER TURN A MOUTH OPENING ON SAID FEED AREA; MEANS FOR RECEIVING A MASS OF SAID UNINFORMLY-SHAPED MEDICINAL ARTICLES TO BE COUNTED AND FOR DROPPING SAME INTO SAID FEED AREA FROM A POSITION ABOVE SAID APEX AT A LIMITED DELIVERY RATE, SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS HAVING A DISCHARGE END SUBSTANTIALLY-CONICAL SURFACE; MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID PLATFORM ABOUT SAID VERTICAL AXIS AT A SPEED TO EFFECT ROLLING OF SAID UNIFORMLYSHAPED MEDICINAL ARTICLES DOWNWARDLY ALONG SAID VSHAPED GROOVE; AND MEANS FOR DELAYING THE FLOW OF THE ROW OF UNIFORMLY SHAPED MEDICINAL ARTICLES RESTING ON SAID CONICAL SLOPING SURFACE AND ENGAGING THE INNER UPRIGHT ARTICLE-ENGAGING WALL FOR CREATING TEMPORARY GAPS IN SAID ROW TO ALLOW STRAY TABLETS INWARDLY OF SAID ROW RESTING ON SAID SLOPING SURFACE TO MOVE INTO LINE BETWEEN TABLETS OF SAID ROW, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY-DISPOSED INWARDLY-ROUNDED OBSTRUCTIONS SPACED FROM EACH OTHER ALONG SAID INNER ARTICLE-ENGAGING WALL, EACH OBSTRUCTION BEING ATTACHED TO SAID ARTICLE-ENGAGING WALL AND EXTENDING THEREFROM TOWARD THE OPPOSED TURN A DISTANCE LESS THAN HALF THE DIAMETER OF EACH OF SAID MEDICINAL ARTICLES.