Carton marking machines

Claim 1

THE COMBINATION OF CONVEYOR MEANS FOR TRANSPORTING ARTICLES HAVING RECTANGULAR CROSS-SECTIONS ALONG A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PATH OF TRAVEL UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GRAVITY, A STAR WHEEL MOUNTED ADJACENT SAID PATH FOR ROTATION ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS IN A PLANE PERPENDICULAR TO ONE SIDE OF THE ARTICLES MOVING ALONG SAID PATH, SAID STAR WHEEL HAVING A SAW-TOOTH SHAPED PERIPHERY DEFINING GENERALLY RADIAL SHOULDERS WHICH ARE CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED APART BY DISTANCES SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIMENSIONS OF THE CONVEYED ARTICLES IN THE VERTICAL DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE LATTER ALONG SAID PATH, SAID PERIPHERY OF THE STAR WHEEL FURTHER HAVING STRAIGHT SURFACES CONNECTING THE RADIALLY INNER AND OUTER ENDS, RESPECTIVELY, OF ADJACENT SHOULDERS, SAID STAR WHEEL BEING DISPOSED SO THAT SAID SHOULDERS PROJECT SUCCESSIVELY INTO SAID VERTICAL PATH FOR DRIVING ENGAGEMENT BY THE LOWER SURFACES OF ALL OF THE SUCCESSIVE ARTICLES FALLING ALONG SAID PATH AND BEING PARTLY ARRESTED BY SAID DRIVING ENGAGEMENT WHILE SAID STRAIGHT SURFACE EXTENDING FROM THE INNER END OF THE SHOULDER IN DRIVING ENGAGEMENT WITH AN ARTICLE ACTS AGAINST THE LATTER TO SHIFT SUCH ARTICLE LATERALLY RELATIVE TO THE ARTICLE NEXT ABOVE, WHEREBY A CORNER PORTION OF THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID ARTICLE NEXT ABOVE IS EXPOSED FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH A SHOULDER OF THE STAR WHEEL, AND MARKING MEANS DRIVEN FROM SAID STAR WHEEL AND LOCATED ABOVE SAID AXIS OF THE LATTER TO APPLY MARKINGS TO THE ARTICLES MOVING ALONG SAID PATH IN RESPONSE TO ROTATION OF SAID STAR WHEEL BY THE ARTICLES.