Apparatus for applying ultraviolet normally transparent indicia to bottle caps

Claim 1

Apparatus for applying ultraviolet normally transparent indicia to the top surface of bottle caps attached to bottles comprising in combination three rotatable wheels, said wheels including an ink pickup wheel having one surface passing through a source of ultraviolet ink, a marking wheel having a plurality of closely spaced marking characters disposed about its surface, and a drive-transfer wheel having its surface engaged with the surfaces of said ink supply wheel and said marking wheel, drive means for rotating said drive-transfer wheel to rotate said ink pickup wheel and said marking wheel by frictional engagement therewith to transfer ink from said ink supply wheel to the said drive-transfer wheel and from said drive-transfer wheel to the surface of said marking characters, means for controlling the speed of said rotating means to rotate said marking wheel at a selected peripheral speed, means for laterally positioning said marking wheel to axially align said wheel with the advancing bottles, means for vertically adjusting the position of said marking wheel to locate one tangential surface thereof in the plane defined by the top surfaces of the bottle caps attached to the advancing bottles, and means for advancing a plurality of bottles below said marking wheel at a rate equal to the peripheral speed of said marking wheel whereby the tops of said bottle caps contact the surface of said marking characters to effect transfer of ultraviolet ink indicia to the surface of said bottle caps.