US1643841A - Means for aiding the sorting of documents - Google Patents

Description

Patented Sept. 27, 1927.

UNITED STATES? JAMES H. FULLER, 0F COLUMBUS, OHIO.

MEANS FOR AIDING THE SOR'IING OF DOCUMENTS.

Application filed November 23, 1925. Serial No. 71,026.

The object of the inventioni's a means or apparatus for facilitating the classification or sorting of documents, such, for example, as. salesmens reports, letters, shop records and so forth that come in uniform" width or length. To illustrate, in: the tobacco and cigar business as conducted by one or more. large concerns in the United States, the country is divided geographically into departments and divisions and districts or assignments of divisions,the departments having supervisors and the divisions managers under whose direction are salesmen, the latter being assigned to particular districts in which they make daily visits to retail dealers to take orders for the goods needed. These salesmen are required to make daily reports of their sales upon a form sheet of uniform dimensions printed in connection with spaces to be filled in by them giving in detail the information required. These reports are sent by mail into the department manager who arranges them or through a clerk causes them to be ar ranged'eachweel'r for convenient future reference in alphabetical order as respects the names of the salesmen and also if desired in chronological order,

In the illustration instanced the sorting is not done each day nor even at the end of the week'but during each week in respect of the next preceding week so as toinclude in the sorting those reports that arrive late by reason of the time consumed in mail transportation, it being evident that a Saturdays report will not ordinarily arrive until Monday or later; lVhere a department is large or populous and the salesmen numerous the sorting of the reports, unless some mechanical aid be provided requires much handling and rehandling and shifting about of the documents to get them into the proper order so that they can be quickly located and referred to at some later time. ltly invention will be useful inmany businesses other than that herein specifically instanced.

The invention is embodied in the exanr ple herein shown and described, the features of novelty being finally claimed.

In the accompanying drawing Figure l is a top planview of an apparatus according to the invention.

Fig- 2 is a front View of the left hand side of the same, both sides being alike.

Fig. 3 is a view in elevation looking at the left hand end of the device with the near leg removed,

F 1g. l is a detail view of a ticket or slip oi paper designed to bear thename of'a salesman or division manager.

Fig; 5 shows a section of the ribbon employed with a ticket like that shown in Fig.4 inserted.

in the views A designates an elongated rectangular table supported by legs B upon which table the documents to be sorted'are laid as" hereinafter explained. The table is provided with a pair of longitudinal finger grooves A. The rear of the tableis prov ded with a permanent rail C over which ribbons D and Pare shifted. At each end of the table is journaled a spool E to which are. connected the ends of the ribbon D. The ribbon- D has stitched to it by transverse stitches in regularly occurring un ts of measurement as hereinafter descrlbedat opposite margins narrow strips D to provide opposed pocket-like openings to receive the tapered endsof flexible paper tickets (see Fig. 4) bearing'the names of the division manager and the salesmenunder his direction and also, as shown, a series oi numbers. These tickets are made remova-ble so as to permit of substitution and transposition where new managers or sales men take the places of thoseold, resigned, deceased or discharged. The names of the salesmen are arranged on'the ribbonin alphabetical sequence following the distinctively marked ticket bearing the name of the division manager. The spools E are turned by suitable crank shafts J fixed on which are gears K engaging pinions L fixed on the spools to cause rapid winding of the ribbon In one direction or the other so as to present in the exposed portion of the ribbon the particular set of names desired or the series of numbers. The ribbon can be held from slipping out of its adjusted position by means. 01 screws M clamping on the shaft the parts of the crank shaft bearing.

The rail in front of said movable ribbon is provided with a stationary marking or right with numerals in arithmetical series, for example, from 1 to 35.

Connected with additional spools O is another ribbon P bearing transverse dividing lines forming spaces equalling those of the permanent scale 'lhis ribbon is also provided with an arithmetical series of numbersone for each division-connnencing at the left hand end as shown. This ribbon is adjustable to the right or left by providing the shafts of the spools with knurled heads that can be turned With the lingers of the user. Stops U can be'provided to prevent the ribbon i from runnmg off the rail,

it Will therefore be observed that the ribbon 1) can be moved to have the middles of its divisions and the names thereon coincide With the lines of the permanent scale. it Will also be observed that the movable ribbon i can be moved to have its lines of division coincide with any of the lines of division of the permanent scale and the coincidence commence with any digit or number of the permanent scale. l'he ribbon f can, of course, be similarly adjusted with respect to the numbered portion of the ribbon i) if desired. The point at which the coincidence of the ribbon l With the permanent scale is determined, in practice, by the width or length of the documents to be sorted. For example, if the width of the document to be sorted is eight inches the ribbon P will be'adjusted to have its division line 1 coincide with the division line 9 of the permanent scale and the name on ribbon D will be adjusted to have the alphabetically first name coincide with the i'irst division of the permanent scale.

Supported in guides Q, secured on the lower side of the table is a slide it having stops like that at S to abut against a cross bar T to limit the extent of Withdrawal of the slide. Said slide when drawn out affords a convenient place to initially receive the pile of documents to be sorted.

In practice the reports of the various salesmen are laid on the table each with its upper left hand corner coinciding with the line opposite which is his name on the ribbon D. All the reports for the week are laid in the same manner so that there Will result a layer of reports some projecting more and some less to the right than the others and, of course, according to the position determined by the alphabetical position of the name of the salesman but all the reports of a particular salesman will lie in the same relative position vertically to'the table and the scale, or to particularize, all the reports of the salesman Whose family name begins with the lowest letter of the alphabet in the group will project equally beyond the reports of the salesman having the next lowest letter. By taking at the grooves A with the fingers of the right hand the margins of those reports'that project to the right beyond all the other reports andv pressing down and holding the other nearest adjacent reports with a linger of the left hand at the same number of the stationary scale as the number with which the documents to be withdrawn coincide at their right hand edge the reports of one salesman can be withdrawn without disturbing or dislodging the others. When the reports of one salesman have thus been withdrawn the reports of the next salesman are left projecting'and capable of being withdrawn in the same manner and so on through all those distributed on the table.

As fast as the reports are withdrawn they are laid face up in one pile, the consequence being an alphabetical occurrence of the reports in the pile. To put the matter in a more concrete way and as shown in Fig. 1, if the documents are eight inches widethe reports will aline at their right hand edges at E) on the number ribbon P and 9 on the permanent scale will indicate the pressing point for holding down the documents at the left. The two scales can be used for chronological arrangement of the several alphabetical groups in the same way except that when distributed according to dates the documents are withdrawn from the left hand side, the numbers of the permanent scale being used as the date placing positions and the numbers of the ribbon P used as the pressing or holding indications. If a series of numbersbe placed on the name ribbon as suggested in Fig. 1 said ribbon can be used in connection with the permanent scale for chronological sorting. v

vVhere the documents used in a business are not of different dimensions the two numbered scales can be made or left in permanent relation to each other.

The forms of the parts can be changed without departing from the gist of the invention as claimed.

l/Vhat I claim is:

1. Means for facilitating the sorting of documents originating from various persons comprising in combination an elongated table for primarily depositing the documents, a rail extending longitudinally of the table carrying the names of such perthe table carrying the names of such persons, said names being regularly spaced from each other a regular series of similarly spaced numbers paralleling said names, and a second movable series of similarly spaced numbers paralleling said first 10 named series so that the numbers thereof can be placed in non-coinciding relation to the first series of numbers whereby documents deposited on said table alining with said names are grouped in distinguishable 15 piles readily separable in substantially the manner described.

JAMES H. FULLER.

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