Rotary applicator having suction rollers with suckers which can be switched off

A rotary applicator for carrying articles along a circular arc, said applicator comprising:

• (a) A rotatable frame;
• (b) a plurality of suction supports rotatably carried in said frame, said suction supports having their axes in substantially parallel relationship and spaced from each other along a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of said frame;
• (c) a plurality of aligned suction grippers carried by said suction supports, said suction grippers each including a gripping head for engagement with an article to be carried, each gripping head having a suction aperture that opens outwardly toward the article to be carried;
• (d) means for providing communication between said suction apertures and a suction air conduit, said communication means including a tubular supporting member carried by each of said suction supports and having first apertures, said suction grippers mounted on carrier members rotatably carried on said supporting members and having second apertures that communicate with said suction apertures, said carrier members being pivotable relative to said supporting members to selectively bring said first and second apertures into and out of alignment with each other;
• and
• (e) means for selectively shifting said suction grippers from an operative position in which the respective gripping heads extend beyond the surface of an enveloping cylinder that envelopes said suction supports in order to contact an article to be carried, to an inoperative position in which the respective gripping heads are within the enveloping cylinder in order to preclude contact with an article to be carried, said first apertures being in alignment with corresponding second apertures when said suction grippers are in the operative position to provide communication between said suction apertures and a suction air conduit, and said first apertures being out of alignment with corresponding second apertures when said suction grippers are in the inoperative position to prevent communication between said suction apertures and a suction air conduit.