Dual wheel discharge for can tester

Claim 1

In a switching mechanism for selectively diverting successive advancing articles, a first wheel having disposed about its periphery a plurality of spaced-apart pockets for engaging and supporting said advancing articles, a fixed member disposed about the periphery of said first wheel for cooperatively engaging and diverting one of said advancing articles and thereby depositing it in a pocket of said first wheel, a double-disc second wheel disposed adjacent to said first wheel so that one disc is on each side of said first wheel and the outer peripheries of the first and second wheel overlap, disposed about the periphery of said second wheel a plurality of equally spaced, two-position, hinged flippers secured to a disc of said second wheel, each of said flippers having a plurality of pins secured to said flipper, said disc having at least one opening therein to allow said pins to protrude into the space between said discs of said second wheel in such a manner as to support an advancing article between said discs when said flipper is in one position and to allow complete removal of said pins from said space between discs when the flipper is in the second position, and a permanent magnet associated with said hinged flipper to hold it in said one position and a second permanent magnet to hold said flipper in said second position.