HK1178135B - Method and apparatus for filling a container - Google Patents

Description

Method and device for filling containers

The applicant is: pfeiri gmbh, filed for: 8/4/2004, application number: 200480021964.9, the name is: divisional application of the invention of a method and apparatus for filling containers.

Technical Field

The invention relates to a method for filling a container having an open end with a powder, to a method for simultaneously filling a plurality of such containers, and to a device for carrying out such a method.

Background

When a factory packs unit doses of pharmaceutical products into individual containers, it is necessary to protect the pharmaceutical products from air. The fill weight (mass) must be accurate and the standard to be met is above 5% RSD (relative standard deviation).

Viscous drugs are difficult to push into the capsule due to adhesion to the walls and to each other, resulting in uneven filling. If a large force is used to solve the above problem, the powder is compacted into a solid mass. This is particularly disadvantageous for DPI (dry powder inhalation) applications where the powder must be drawn out of the container by the air flow inhaled by the patient.

Some methods for filling are known. A dosing tube (dosator tube) may be used. The tube is advanced into a powder bed (powder bed) and powder adheres to the tube, whereupon the tube is lifted and moved to the container. The powder is then pushed out of the tube and into the container. It is also known to push a container into an inverted powder layer so that the powder sticks in the container and then to remove the excess. It is also known to tap powder into a container, weigh the container, and stop tapping when the container contains the appropriate amount. Finally, it is known to suck the powder into a transfer tube of known volume, transfer the transfer tube to a container, and blow the powder out into the container.

Often these methods are difficult to fill the small container so that it is filled without powder depositing on the surfaces around the container and the density inside the pocket is higher than the bulk density.

WO 97/05018 describes a method and apparatus for filling cavities, in particular a method and apparatus for filling cavities with powder in free-flowing agglomerated form which flows from a hopper by vibrating the hopper. It shows that the powder flow can be switched on and off accurately by means of vibration. The cavity may be formed in a disc having a circular configuration. The disk may be placed on a turntable and vibrated. The document states that the effect of the vibrations is to cause the cavities on the periphery of the dosing ring (dose ring) to be uniformly filled with powder as they pass under the hopper outlet. The vibrations also cause excess powder in the cavity and on the upper surface of the dose ring to move along the surface to the next cavity or to fall to the edge of the dose ring. This document also describes that the dose receptacle (with cavities formed therein) and the hopper can be locked in engagement so that powder flows directly into each cavity and the upper surface of the dose holder between the cavities remains free of powder.

Thus, WO 97/05018 shows a system which uses flutter to ensure that each cavity is filled properly. The vibration ensures that powder flows out of the hopper to the cavity and then ensures that the powder continues to flow within the cavity so that no voids or air pockets remain in the sides or middle of the cavity and thus a uniform density is achieved. However, in WO 97/05018 the actual density of the powder ultimately obtained in the cavity is not taken into account. WO 97/05018 proposes a system which provides a vibration until the cavity is completely filled, and another system in which the amplitude and frequency of the vibration are set to be kept constant on the basis that the flow rate of the powder flowing into the cavity is substantially constant, and the filling weight is determined by carefully selecting the timing of the continuation of the vibration operation. The fact that the density of the powder may vary for a particular volume, for example the total volume of the cavity, is not taken into account here, so that the filling weight may vary. It is different from simply ensuring that the volume is filled with powder rather than having air pockets or voids.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or at least reduce the drawbacks of the aforementioned methods and devices.

The invention is based on the recognition that: a predetermined mechanical disturbance to the container holding the powder will cause the powder to settle to a stable predetermined, reproducible density over time. The mechanical agitation should result in vertical acceleration of the powder particles and is preferably caused by tapping.

According to the present invention there is provided a method of filling a container having an open end with a powder, the method comprising: positioning the outlet of a hopper containing powder above the open end of the container, mechanically agitating the hopper, thereby causing powder to be transferred from the hopper to the container, and mechanically agitating the container, wherein the step of mechanically agitating is performed by at least a predetermined amount sufficient to ensure that the container is filled with powder at a predetermined density.

By mechanically agitating the hopper, powder is transferred from the hopper to the container. By then mechanically agitating the container, the powder will settle within the container and reach a reproducible condition known as "tap density". The powder will reach a tap density after a predetermined amount of agitation of the container. Further perturbation does not significantly increase the density. Thus, it is not necessary to monitor the amount of powder in the container. The amount of agitation to the vessel can be measured, for example, by the time the vessel is agitated, the number of taps to the vessel, or the frequency or amplitude of the oscillations. With a known container capacity and a predetermined level of filling, e.g. determined by the outlet of the hopper, a known mass of powder can be provided on the basis of a predetermined density. In addition, tapping may be ended at some time before tap density is achieved. During the last part of the tap to tap density, the container may be filled with powder and the density slowly increases with each tap.

In addition, in this range, generally above 90% tap density, the state of the powder is very reproducible. In this manner, by varying the number of taps used, it is possible to fill the container and control the powder density within the container in a reproducible manner, within a tap density range from 90% to 100%. This makes it possible to achieve small changes in the filling weight. This helps to allow variation between batches of powder.

Preferably, the method further comprises defining a predetermined volume of powder using the volume of the container.

In this way, a predetermined quality can be achieved by a predetermined capacity.

Preferably, the method further comprises filling the entire volume of the container with powder, the volume of the container being equal to the predetermined volume.

In this way, the capacity of the container can be used to determine the mass of the powder.

Preferably, the method includes the steps of mechanically agitating the hopper for at least a portion of the hopper, spacing the outlet of the hopper from the open end of the container to overfill the container, and removing excess powder from the open end of the container after the step of mechanically agitating.

In particular, it is preferred that the hopper fills the container and powder is deposited within the container before the hopper is removed from the open end of the container. By further agitating the hopper when it is removed from the open end of the container, it is ensured that the container is completely filled with powder. This overcomes the possibility of the powder being partially entrained from the top of the container when the hopper is removed from the open end of the container.

Preferably, the method further comprises positioning an outlet of the hopper across an open end of the container such that the container is filled to the level of the open end.

In this way, the outlet and open end of the hopper define the capacity of the powder to the capacity of the container to the level of positioning.

Alternatively, the method further comprises positioning the outlet of the hopper at a predetermined level within the container, thereby defining with the container the predetermined volume, the predetermined volume being less than the volume of the container.

In this manner, the container may still be used to define a predetermined volume. However, since the outlet of the hopper extends to a position within the container, the top surface of the predetermined volume of powder within the container is below the level of the open end. In this way, the likelihood of powder being deposited on the container around the open end of the container is reduced. Additionally, the predetermined volume may be adjusted by adjusting the extent to which the hopper outlet extends into the container.

Preferably, the method further comprises arranging the outlet of the hopper with one of a perforated hole (orifice), a mesh (mesh), a screen (screen), and a grid (grid) to separate the powder in the hopper from the container.

This provides an effective way of retaining powder in the hopper until mechanical agitation is provided to the hopper.

Preferably, the method further comprises providing the weep hole, mesh, screen or grid with a hole size small enough so that the bulk density powder does not flow through under gravity, while being large enough to allow the powder to fall through during the mechanical agitation step.

In this way, the hopper can be moved towards and away from the container without dropping a large amount of powder.

Preferably, the method further comprises providing the weep holes, mesh, screen or grid with a hole size of about 0.5 mm.

Other pore sizes may be more suitable depending on the nature of the powder.

Preferably, one or both of said mechanically agitating steps comprises tapping said hopper and/or container.

Thus, the hopper and/or container may be tapped to provide mechanical agitation for conveying the powder and/or depositing the powder.

The tapping, unlike the mere usual non-specific vibration (cavitation), not only causes the powder particles to move back and forth and thus flow more freely, but actually provides a positive impact to the powder causing it to move particularly in a direction determined by the tapping direction. Preferably, therefore, the tapping is in a direction from the open end of the container into the container, thereby providing a positive impact on the powder particles in that direction. Typically, in the case of gravity-dependent filling, the open end of the container is oriented facing upwards, thereby providing tapping in a vertically downward direction.

Preferably, the step of mechanically agitating lifts the hopper and container by 1 to 10mm and then allows the hopper and container to fall under gravity to a substantially fixed position.

This tapping of the hopper and container causes the powder to be transferred from the hopper to the container and the powder to be properly deposited in the container.

Preferably, the mechanically agitating step provides an acceleration of about 1000G to the powder in the hopper and container.

Acceleration of the powder may be provided as described above or with any suitable hopper and/or container movement. It is suitable for depositing the powder to the desired density.

Preferably, the mechanically agitating step comprises tapping the hopper and/or the vessel 50 to 500 times.

Depending on the nature of the powder and the size of the predetermined volume, this will provide sufficient mechanical agitation to ensure that the container is filled with powder and that the powder is deposited to the required density. Thus eliminating the need to weigh the container.

Preferably, the mechanically agitating step comprises vibrating the hopper and/or vessel.

This is another alternative method of causing the powder to be transported and/or deposited. It may be used in conjunction with tapping as described above.

It is not sufficient to provide the usual non-specific vibration to the vessel in order to achieve the required mechanical agitation. The usual vibrations only cause the powder particles to move relative to each other and up and down and thus improve the powder flow. Although this helps to cause the powder to be transferred from the hopper to the container and to cause the powder to completely fill the container, it is still not sufficient to limit the resulting powder density well.

To provide the required mechanical agitation to deposit the powder to reproducible conditions of tap density, the vibration must be arranged as required to impart a corresponding impact to the powder particles as described above. In practice, the distribution of the vibratory movement should also be such that the powder particles move in a similar manner as they are tapped. As such, the skilled artisan will generally appreciate that a vibration that is considered suitable for mechanical perturbations may be considered a series of consecutive taps rather than the more commonly understood non-specific "vibrations".

In view of the above, it will be appreciated that tap is particularly advantageous.

Preferably, the method further comprises vibrating the hopper and/or vessel at a frequency of between 100Hz and 1 kHz.

For most common powders this provides suitable mechanical agitation to transport and deposit the powder.

Preferably, the method further comprises providing a powder-light seal (power-light seal) between the hopper and container during the step of at least partially mechanically agitating the hopper.

In this way, when mechanical agitation of the hopper releases powder from the hopper, the powder is correctly transferred to the container without splashing onto the surfaces surrounding the container.

Preferably, the invention further comprises mechanically coupling the hopper to the container such that mechanical disturbance of one of the hopper and the container causes mechanical disturbance of the other of the hopper and the container, whereby the step of mechanically disturbing the hopper and container is performed simultaneously by mechanically disturbing the hopper and container together

In this way, only mechanical agitation needs to be provided to the hopper and container as a single unit. For example, the hopper and container may be dropped as a single unit to provide the appropriate tap. In addition, the vibrations applied to one or the other of the hopper and the container can cause both the hopper and the container to vibrate.

According to the present invention, there is also provided a method of simultaneously filling a plurality of containers each having an open end with a powder, the method comprising:

providing a hopper having a plurality of outlets;

positioning the plurality of outlets over the open ends of the respective containers; and

the method defined above is performed simultaneously for each container.

In this manner, multiple containers may be filled together. In particular, since the process of mechanical agitation ensures that each container is filled with the same density, it is not necessary to monitor each container separately, for example by weighing. Thus, it is also possible to provide a plurality of containers in a single carrier.

Also, the method defined above may seal the lid of the container to seal the powder in place.

According to the present invention there is also provided an apparatus for filling a container having an open end with a powder, the apparatus comprising:

a support for the container;

a hopper having an outlet and being selectively movable relative to the support to position the outlet above the open end of a supported container.

A dispenser for mechanically agitating the hopper and container so that powder is transferred from the hopper to the container; and

a controller for operating the dispenser at least a predetermined amount sufficient to ensure that the powder in the container reaches a predetermined density.

In particular, the apparatus may be arranged to carry out any of the methods described above, for example to fill a plurality of containers simultaneously, optionally forming part of a single carrier.

Drawings

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1a and 1b show an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows the hopper according to the invention detached from the container.

Fig. 3 shows another alternative method according to the invention.

Figures 4a and 4b show another alternative method and hopper according to the invention.

Fig. 5 shows an example of the present invention applied to a plurality of containers.

Figures 6a to 6e show a further alternative arrangement of the outlet of the hopper according to the present invention.

Figure 7 schematically shows an arrangement according to the invention for providing tap to a container and hopper.

FIG. 8 shows a plot of position, velocity and acceleration versus time.

Detailed Description

It is necessary to fill a container with a predetermined mass of a drug powder or a drug and an excipient formulation (excipient formulation).

With an accurately controllable capacity of the container, the mass of powder filled into the container can also be accurately controlled if the powder in the container has a uniform, reproducible density.

Factory filled unit dose DPIs are required to be accurately filled at high speed. Many DPIs have an array of containers in one plane. This facilitates fast filling of multiple containers in parallel rather than in series.

This facilitates small (+ -5%) trimming of the dose without changing the main equipment, enabling the filling system to account for minor variations in drug concentration of the formulation.

This application describes an apparatus for delivering powder from a feed hopper into a container using tapping or vibration while distributing the powder throughout the container at a uniform, reproducible density.

The feed hopper cooperates with a leak in the bottom adjacent the opening of the container. The feed hopper and container may be clamped together and the two parts are then tapped (tap) so that under the influence of gravity the powder enters the container through the mesh in the outlet of the hopper. Tapping or vibrating causes powder from the hopper to fill the container and deposit the powder within the container to achieve a reproducible condition known as "tap density". At this time, the hopper is separated from the container. The size and shape of the orifice is chosen so that the powder does not fall if it is not tapped and so the surface of the powder in the container is defined by the position of the grid during filling.

The method can be used to fill a plurality of containers from a single hopper provided with the necessary number of orifices. Even if some containers are filled before the others, the density within each container will be approximately the same if sufficient tapping is used to ensure that all containers are filled.

The fill level can be set below the container opening using a hopper with a set level of a orifice plate protruding into the container through the opening face.

The method also has the advantage that the container is filled with powder at high density without the powder having to be compressed, resulting in cohesive powder sticking to each other in the pocket.

Fig. 1a shows a cross-sectional view and fig. 1b shows a top view of a basic arrangement for implementing the concept.

Powder 1 is located in a hopper 2. The hopper 2 has an opening 7 in the bottom, the area of which is adapted to the opening of a container 8. The open area of the hopper is covered by a thin plate with a plurality of holes in it to form the weep holes 3. Tapping or fluttering is performed in the form of short pulses of high acceleration. They can take many forms and be applied in different directions depending on the geometry and powder properties. As a basic example, assume a tapping or vibration mode where both the hopper and container are lifted upwards by a distance of between 1mm and 10mm and then allowed to fall under gravity to impinge on a hard flat surface. This can be achieved by means of a cam as shown in figure 7 and causes the powder to decelerate rapidly from a downward velocity. The powder on the opening in the mesh falls into the container due to inertia. At each oscillation, a discrete mass of powder 4 falls into the container. The nature of the powder is such that the mass delivered per oscillation is not very constant. Therefore, an accurate mass cannot be obtained only by tapping or vibrating a predetermined number of times. Tapping or vibration continues through the moment of the full condition of the container, i.e. the condition in which the powder contacts the underside of the grid 3. Further tapping or vibration increases the density of the powder in the container and if the tapping or vibration is of long duration, the powder will achieve a known tap density.

Tap density is a rather reproducible property of powders. The tap density will generally be 20% to 100% higher than the bulk density (loosely injected into the vessel).

Tap is not necessary until the amount of full tap density is achieved if the conditions achieved have the necessary repeatability to achieve the required fill accuracy. Tap densities of typically between 50 and 500 times have been found to be suitable. The number of taps can be used to adjust the fill weight of the container to accommodate batch-to-batch variations in the powder, if desired.

After tapping or vibration is complete, the hopper 2 and filled container 9 are separated as shown in figure 2 without causing any vibration of the hopper which would tend to cause powder to fall out of the hopper onto the surfaces surrounding the container. The result is a container filled with powder at a controlled, uniform density. In this way, accurate filling quality is achieved.

Figure 3 shows a preferred variant in the case where the powder is very sticky and will adhere to the underside of the grid 10. If the amount of adhesion varies, accuracy will be adversely affected. Thus, for this example, after separation, the container is fixed and the hopper is tapped. This will deposit powder over the surface 11 ensuring that the container is completely filled. The excess can then be removed by the wiper blade 12 to fill the container.

Figure 4 shows another embodiment of a fill container developed to an accurate level and having a reproducible density. In this case, the fill level is lower than the rim. Here, the mesh plate protrudes downward so as to fill the open area of the container to a predetermined distance below the opening 15. The filling below the rim makes it easy to seal the container without spilling powder or having powder on the sealing surface around the rim of the container.

The filling is as described above. However, the container 9 is only filled to the position where the grid plate is located, not to the rim. Fig. 4b shows the hopper and container after filling. It can be seen that the container is filled to a height below the top of the container and a ═ b, where b is the depth to which the grid plate protrudes below the hopper. Obviously, the filling depth can be set by the design of the hopper and the grid plate. And the filling height can be adjusted slightly by shimming the position of the container relative to the hopper.

Figure 5 shows another arrangement in which the hopper has a plurality of grid plates on its bottom, positioned so that several containers can be fitted to the hopper simultaneously, each container being supplied through its corresponding grid plate. Fig. 5 shows a single hopper 16 with 3 mesh plates 17a, 17b, 17c and three containers 18a, 18b, 18 c.

The filling is performed as described previously. Figure 5 shows the system halfway through the tapping or fluttering sequence. As shown, container 18c is nearly full, while container 18b is only half full. However, as tapping or vibration continues, both containers will be completely filled and additional tapping or vibration will deposit powder in the container to near tap density. There is no limitation as to the number of containers that can be filled simultaneously. This makes it possible to achieve a fast filling speed. For example, a system that fills 30 containers in parallel with a tap speed of 100 times per second has an average filling speed of 3 containers/second.

Figure 6 shows a cross-sectional view of various types of mesh plates. Fig. 6a shows a vent plate that can be made by rolling a hole in a sheet. For example, the orifice plate may have a thickness (t) of 0.5mm, wherein the orifices may have a diameter (d) of 0.5mm and may be drilled in a rectangular or hexagonal array with a pitch of 1mm (p). The orifice plate may be adapted to disperse powders having particles in the range of 0.005mm to 0.01 mm.

It is noted that this geometry may result in a different segregation of powder as the mesh is lifted clear of the powder in the container. In particular, it can be seen that the powder sometimes separates at the bottom 20 of the well, leaving a flat surface, and sometimes separates at the top 21 of the well, leaving a column of powder on the surface of the powder in the container.

This uncertainty in the separation point can result in significant variations in fill weight.

Figure 6b shows a method to overcome the above problem, where the thickness of the grid plate is made much smaller than the hole diameter. For a typical drug powder this means a mesh plate thickness in the range of 0.05mm to 0.1 mm. While such mesh plates are often used and can be easily manufactured by etching or laser machining, they are somewhat fragile for the production environment and can vibrate excessively on larger vessels that use high tapping or vibration forces.

FIG. 6c shows a hopper with a larger diameter d on the hopper side₁The tapered hole is arranged. This arrangement results in the powder always being at the smaller opening d on the container side of the plate₂And crushing. The angle of taper will have an optimum value for any particular powder, with too shallow an angle not causing the fracture to always be at the bottom, and too steep an angle compressing the powder passing through the hole, possibly resulting in clogging.

FIG. 6d shows a container with a larger diameter d on the container side₂A version of the tapered bore of (1). In this case the powder will be separated at the hopper side of the plate. However, the large taper angle allows powder in the orifice to fall into the container as the orifice plate lifts away, thereby ensuring that the point of separation is accurately controlled.

These tapered orifices allow the use of a robust, rigid orifice plate while maintaining accurate control of the separation position. The choice of positive or negative taper is dictated by the nature of the powder, particularly its viscosity.

Figure 6e shows a well plate with an array of slots instead of a circular hole. The retention of the powder on the trough is mainly determined by the width (w) of the trough. By making the length (l) of the slot much larger than the width of the large opening area, a fast filling and a good powder retention during the separation process can be achieved.

Fig. 7 shows a device for generating tapping or vibration. The container and hopper are rigidly connected to the follower of the cam 20. The cam profile 21 causes the cam follower to be lifted and then allowed to fall freely under gravity and stop quickly by impacting the lower cam surface 22. FIG. 8 shows the plotted distribution of position, velocity, and acceleration over time. The cam profile 21 is designed to lift the hopper at a low acceleration and then let it fall downwards under gravity, thereby causing the hopper to be insideWithout air and then stopping the downward movement of the powder in the hopper and in the container within a very short time interval by impacting the solid surface. This impact causes the acceleration to reach a very high peak. If the hopper is allowed to fall 3mm and stop on impact over a distance of 3 microns, the peak deceleration will be 1000g (or ≈ 10,000 m/s)²). The powder directly above the holes in the mesh is unsupported and a portion of the powder is pushed through the holes into the container. The rest of the powder is rapidly at rest after impact, usually after less than 0.01 seconds. Repeated taps or oscillations of up to 100 taps per second can be achieved without changing state, as compared to slower taps or oscillations.

It is noted that some powders fill faster and more uniformly with the use of vibration rather than discrete tapping. The characteristic of the oscillations is to make a cyclic motion, where the cycle time is short enough that the powder is still moving at the beginning of the next cycle. Typically, oscillations in the frequency range of 100Hz to 1kHz will be suitable. Vertical or horizontal dithering may be used.

It may also be advantageous to use tapping or vibration in combination with vibration, either sequentially or simultaneously. This is particularly applicable to viscous powders where high tapping or vibratory forces facilitate transport from the hopper through the mesh, while the vibration helps the powder to settle and disperse within the container without compression.

Claims (18)

1. An apparatus for filling a container having an open end with a powder, the apparatus comprising:

a support for the container;

a hopper having an outlet and being selectively movable relative to the support to position the outlet above the open end of the supported container;

a clamping device for clamping the hopper and the container together;

a dispenser for mechanically agitating the hopper and container so as to cause powder to be transferred from the hopper to the container, the dispenser being arranged to tap the clamped hopper and container; and

a controller for operating the dispenser at least a predetermined amount sufficient to ensure that the powder within the container reaches a predetermined density.

2. A method of filling a container having an open end with a powder, the method comprising:

positioning an outlet of a hopper containing powder above an open end of the container;

mechanically agitating the hopper so as to cause powder to be transferred from the hopper to the container; and

mechanically agitating the container; wherein

Clamping the hopper and container together and the mechanically agitating step comprises tapping the clamped hopper and container at least a predetermined amount to ensure that the container is filled with powder at a predetermined density.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the predetermined volume of powder is defined by the volume of the container.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

filling the entire volume of the container with powder, the volume of the container being equal to the predetermined volume.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

mechanically agitating the hopper for at least a portion thereof, the outlet of the hopper being spaced from the open end of the container to allow the container to be overfilled; and

removing excess powder from the open end of the container after the mechanically agitating step.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

positioning an outlet of the hopper across an open end of the container such that the container is filled to a level of the open end.

7. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

positioning an outlet of the hopper at a predetermined level within the container so as to define the predetermined volume with the container, the predetermined volume being less than the volume of the container.

8. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

the outlet of the hopper is arranged to have one of a weep hole, a mesh, a screen, a grid to separate the powder in the hopper from the container.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

the orifice, mesh, screen or grid is provided with an orifice size sufficiently small that the bulk density of the powder does not flow through under gravity, yet sufficiently large to allow the powder to fall through during the mechanical agitation step.

10. The method of claim 8 or 9, further comprising:

the weep holes, mesh, screen or grid are arranged to have a hole size of 0.5 mm.

11. A method according to claim 2, wherein the mechanically agitating step comprises raising the hopper and container by 1 to 10mm and then allowing the hopper and container to fall under gravity to a fixed position.

12. The method of claim 2, wherein the mechanically agitating step provides an acceleration of 1000G to the powder within the hopper and container.

13. The method of claim 2, wherein the mechanically agitating step comprises tapping the clamped hopper and container 50 to 500 times.

14. The method of claim 2, further comprising vibrating the hopper and/or container at a frequency between 100Hz and 1 kHz.

15. The method of claim 2, 11 or 12, further comprising:

providing a powder seal between the hopper and container during at least part of the step of mechanically agitating the hopper.

16. The method of claim 2, comprising:

adjusting the amount of mechanical agitation of the container to change the density of powder within the container to compensate for variations between batches of powder.

17. The method of claim 2, wherein at least the step of mechanically agitating the container provides an impact on the powder in a direction from the open end of the container into the container.

18. A method of simultaneously filling a plurality of containers having respective open ends with a powder, the method comprising:

providing a hopper having a plurality of outlets;

positioning the plurality of outlets above the open ends of the respective containers; and

simultaneously performing the method of claim 2, 11 or 12 on each container.