MINITAB FEEDER

1 . A device for filling minitabs into a capsule comprising:

(a) a rotary drum which rotates vertically, wherein the rotary drum comprises an exterior surface that further comprises a plurality of cavities for embedding and transporting the minitabs to a capsule shell body;

(b) a means for supplying minitabs to the plurality of cavities of the rotary drum;

(c) a first block located below the rotary drum comprising a plurality of continuous channels for receiving and temporarily storing at least one minitab per channel prior to placement of the minitab into a capsule shell body; and

(d) a movable plate located below the first block which is capable of moving from a first position which blocks the movement of the minitabs from the channels of the first block to a second position allowing movement of the minitabs from the channels of the first block to a capsule shell body.

2 . The device according to claim 1 , wherein the cavities are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns to create a plurality of filling grids on the surface of the rotary drum wherein the number of columns corresponds to the number of capsule shell bodies to be filled, and the number of rows corresponds to the number of minitabs to be placed in a capsule shell body.

3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first block comprises a funnel block portion for receiving and directing the minitabs from the rotary drum to a magazine block portion of the first block for receiving and temporarily storing a predetermined number of minitabs.

4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the cavities further comprise an air opening for applying a vacuum or supplying an air jet to the cavity.

5 . A method for filling minitabs into a capsule comprising:

(a) loading a single minitab into each of a plurality of cavities on the surface of a vertically rotating drum wherein the cavities are arranged in a filling grid that comprises a plurality of columns corresponding to a predetermined number of capsule shell bodies to be filled with a predetermined number of minitabs and at least one row of cavities per column;

(b) vertically rotating the rotary drum from the loading position to a discharge position wherein the minitabs are discharged from the plurality of cavities so that all minitabs in a particular column are directed into a predetermined channel for temporary storage; and

(c) dispensing the temporarily stored minitabs into a capsule shell body.

6 . The method according to claim 5 , wherein the exterior surface of the vertically rotating drum comprises more than one row per column.