Rotary transfer mechanism

A rotary transfer mechanism for transferring a flat article from a discharge opening of a magazine to a receiving station on a conveyor, comprising:

• a support member;
• a drive shaft rotatably mounted on said support member;
• means for rotatably driving said drive shaft;
• carrier means rotatable with said drive shaft;
• at least one support shaft rotatable on said carrier means substantially parallel to said drive shaft whereby said support shaft orbits around said drive shaft;
• vacuum means including a suction means connected to said support shaft for (1) positively engaging the article at the discharge opening of the magazine, (2) positively holding the article during transfer to the receiving station, and (3) releasing said article at said receiving station;
• and
• means for controlling the rotational disposition of the support shaft with respect to said carrier means, said controlling means including a pinion secured coaxially to the support shaft, an arcuate rack secured to the support member, a cam follower on an arm extending laterally from the support shaft and a cam track secured to the support member;
• said arcuate rack being in such a position so as to act upon the pinion to create a partial path of the suction means with a node point at the discharge opening of the magazine and said cam track being of such an extent as to act upon the cam follower when the arcuate rack is not acting on the pinion with the profile of the cam track being such as to cause the suction means to move past the receiving station in the same direction as the conveyor with the article generally parallel to the conveyor.