Machine adapted to turn bottles, flasks and the like articles upside down

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR INVERTING A SUCCESSION OF BOTTLES AT LEAST ONCE, WHILE ADVANCING THE BOTTLES ALONG A PATH, SAID MACHINE COMPRISING A DRUM HAVING A VERTICAL AXIS AND ADAPTED FOR ROTATING WITH A CONTINUOUS ROTARY MOVEMENT AROUND SAID AXIS, INPUT MEANS FOR FEEDING BOTTLES SUCCESSIVELY TO THE DRUM AT A FIRST PREDETERMINED POINT STATIONARY IN SPACE, OUTPUT MEANS FOR REMOVING THE BOTTLES SUCCESSIVELY FROM A SECOND PREDETERMINED POINT STATIONARY IN SPACE, APLURALITY OF PAIRS OF ARMS DISTRIBUTED IN A SUBSTANTIALLY RADIAL DIRECTION ALONG THE PERIPHERY OF THE DRUM AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY OF THELATTER, ONE ARM OF EACH PAIR BEING RIGID WITH THE DRUM AND THE OTHER ARM BEING PIVOTALLY SECURED TO SAID DRUM FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS, A SHOE ON THE OUTER END OF EACH ARM OF EACH PAIR, MEANS SUPPORTING THE SHOES ON THE ARMS OF EACH PAIR FOR REVOLVABLE MOVEMENT AROUND A COMMON HORIZONTAL AXIS, ELASTIC MEANS URGING THE PIVOTAL ARM OF EACH PAIR TOWARDS THE COOPERATING RIGID ARM TO HOLD A BOTTLE BETWEEN THE SHOES AT THE ENDS OF THE ARMS FOF SAID PAIR TO ALLOW SAID BOTTLE TO BE ROTATABLY HELD BY THE SHOES RELATIVE TO SAID ARMS, WHILE THE RIGID ARM OF EACH SAID PAIR IS EFFECTIVE TO ADVANCE THE BOTTLE IN REVOLVING MOVEMENT ABOUT THE AXIS OF THE DRUM AS THE LATTER ROTATES, STATIONARY CAM MEANS URGING THE PIVOTAL ARM OF EACH PAIR AWAY FROM THE COOPERATING RIGID ARM OF THE SAME PAIR WHEN SUCH PIVOTAL ARM REACHES THE SECOND STATIONARY POINT AND RELEASING SAID PIVOTAL ARM WHEN IT REACHES THE FIRST POINT TO ALLOW THE CLAMPING OF THE BOTTLES BETWEEN THE SHOES THROUGH THE REMAINING FRACTION OF THE REVOLUTION OF THE DRUM EXTENDING FROM THE FIRST TO THE SECOND STATIONARY POINT, AND A PLURALITY OF EVEN NUMBER SLOP MEMBERS DISTRIBUTED AROUND THE DRUM AND EXTENDING BETWEEN THE TWO STATIONARY POINTS, SAID SLOPE MEMBERS HAVING A CURVATURE IN TWO DIRECTIONS AND CURVING UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF THE DRUM, SAID SLOP MEMBERS BEING FIXED IN POSITION RELATIVE TO THE SHOES ON THE ARMS TO CONTACT A BOTTLE HELD BY EACH PAIR OF SHOES TO CAUSE THE BOTTLE TO BE GRADUALLY INVERTED ABOUT THE CORRESPONDING HORIZONTAL AXIS OF THE SHOES WHICH ENGAGE THE BOTTLE AS THE BOTTLE PASSES ALONG EACH OF THE SLOPE MEMBERS, THE BOTTLE UNDERGOING SUCCESSIVE INVERSIONS BY EACH OF THE SLOPE MEMBERS.