Rotary pad turner.

摘要

Apparatus for turning pads (11) through an angle of 90 DEG about an axis perpendicular to their plane as they are orbited with a drum (50) from a pad pickup station to a pad transfer station. The drum (50) has a plurality of circumferentially spaced apart supports (41) inside of it. A hollow shaft (40) extends radially out of each support (41) and has a vacuum pickup shoe (33) on it. A pinion (45) is fastened concentrically to the hollow shaft (40) and a gear (46) in the support turns the pinion (45). A cam follower (69) engages in the groove (70) of a stationary circular cam (71). As the drum (50) rotates the cam follower (69) arrives in a part of the cam groove (70) which turns the gear (65) and results in the hollow shaft (40) and the vacuum shoe (33) being turned through an angle of 90 DEG as the shoe (33) is orbited from the pad pickup station to the pad transfer station. Flexible tubes (42) connect ports (59) in the base (51) of the drum (50) to the hollow vacuum shaft (40). The ports (59) run over a curved groove (60) in a stationary vacuum platen (61) at times when vacuum must be applied to the shoe (33) and run off the groove (60) and cut off the vacuum of the shoe (33) at the pad transfer station where pads (11) are transferred to a rotating vacuum drum (15). <IMAGE>