US3033365A - Sorting machine - Google Patents

Description

A. E. GRAY SORTING MACHINE May 8, 1962 4 SheetsSheet 1 Filed April 17, 1959 'rlrlzmmllza DIVE/(T01? ALVIN E. GRAY ATTORNEY A. E. GRAY SORTING MACHINE 4 Sheets 2 Filed April 17, 1959 FIG. 2

May 8, 1962 Filed April 17, 1959 A. E. GRAY SORTING MACHINE FIG.3

4 Sheets-Sheet 3 May 8, 1962 Filed April 17, 1959 FIG. 7

A. E. GRAY SORTING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ///I//////////u m,/,//

United States Patent ()filice 3,033,365 Patented May 8, 1962 3,033,365 SORTING MACHINE Alvin E. Gray, Binghamton, N.Y., assignor to International Business Machines Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 17, 1953, Ser. No. 807,128 9 Claims. (Cl. 209-74) This invention relates to improvements in sorting machines for forms, such as record cards, and, in particular, to a sorting machine embodying expandable pockets and drive means-in each pocket to assist in separating the forms from a feed means to which the forms are held by suction.

A sorting machine generally comprises a hopper which contains a deck of cards to be sorted, such as record keeping punched business cards, and a picker knife arm which picks off a card from the deck and delivers it through a throating device onto a set of feed rolls. The cards contain perforations representing bits of information. When the cards are passed through sensing means, such as electrical sensing brushes, they sense the openings in the cards. When a perforation in the card passes under one of the brushes, it enables the brush to complete a circuit, and an impulse is sent to a sorting magnet which then operates a particular chute blade to deflect the card into a particular pocket. As each card passes under the brushes, the signal transmitted to the sort magnets determines the pocket into which the card will ultimately be delivered. Whenever more than one sort is required to obtain the desired information, the brushes are reset to another position in order to select the other desired information as represented by the 'columns of perforations on the cards.

During a sorting operation, the pockets in present machines do not generally receive the same number of cards. For example, a smaller number of cards may be sorted into one pocket while another larger number may be sorted into another pocket. Normally, if a pocket becomes filled before all of the cards in the deck have been sorted, the machine is designed to stop so as to prevent jamming of cards. Therefore, there is a requirement that the machine have the attention of an operator to remove the cards from the pocket that becomes almost filled in order to enable the machine to sustain its operation, although the total number of cards in a deck being sorted does not fill the total capacity provided by all of the pockets.

Furthermore, present-day machines must be designed to include a. full size pocket for each column of a card being sorted even though only one card may enter that pocket during a sort. This results in the machine occupying a greater area than necessary, since it is possible that the pocket may become full during another sort to obtain other information.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a sorter having expandable pockets, which pockets increase in over-all dimension by an amount equal to the size of the deck of cards to be sorted even though all of the forms, such as cards, are sorted into a single pocket and, without the machine stopping, as a result of receiving too many cards, until the complete deck has been sorted.

It is another object of this invention to provide a sorter in which the cards are sorted into pockets which are automatically expanded to accept each additional card entering a pocket, and as each pocket is expanded in size, the succeeding pockets are shifted to a new card receiving position.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a sorting mechanism having a plurality of expanding or expandable sorting pockets in which the over-all length of the pockets increase by an amount substantially equal to the increase in size of one of the pockets, which increase in size is equal to the thickness of the card that is about to be received by that pocket.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a sorting machine with expandable pockets for receiving cards which simultaneously deflect the cards into the pockets and automatically increase in size, and to provide means for retracting the pockets to their original size after a sort is completed and the cards are removed from the pockets.

A further object is to provide drive means disposed within each pocket for helping to strip a selected form from a timing belt that conveys the form to a point above the pocket and to which the form is held by suction.

Briefly stated and in accordance with one aspect of this invention, I provide a sorter having a plurality of expandable pockets, which pockets expand in size to receive forms, such as cards so that it is unnecessary for the machine to be stopped merely because a major por-. tion of all the cards are delivered to one of the pockets of the sorter, and, in addition, a selector mechanism, is provided to seek out the selected pocket and to actuate a portion of the pocket into the path of the card that is slated for that pocket in timed relation with the movement of the card, even though the pocket may shift to a new unknown position with the receipt of each additional card into one of the pockets. The sorter also preferably comprises a drive means within each pocket to help separate a selected form from a timing belt to which the form is held by suction.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following description and claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which disclose, by way of example, the principle of the invention and the best mode, which has been contemplated, of applying that principle.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view showing a sorter with a card feed and sorting mechanism which includes an expandable pocket and selector mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view partially showing a timing belt, expandable pockets, and pocket selecting mechanism,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing restoring mech-- anism for retracting the expandable pockets.

FIGS. 47 show various positions of cam latches and pockets opening levers of a selector mechanism.

Referring to FIG. 1, the cards are fed from a hopper 10, into an expandable pocket mechanism 12. The hopper 10 is shown with cards being fed to a picker knife 20 which singly picks the cards and delivers them to a set of feed rolls 21 for feeding the cards past sensing means 22 which sends an impulse to a distributor 24. The cards then pass into a timing card transport means 25 for maintaining the cards in timed sequence and which will hereinafter be more fully explained. The distributor 24 is part of a selector mechanism 27, the distributor being timed with card movement to send a signal from a single brush at the appropriate time to a pair of magnets 26 which actuate one of the chute blades 28 and deflect the card into one of the expandable pockets 30. There are as many pairs of magnets as there are Pockets.

Timed Card Feed An important consideration in sorting cards in a sorting machine is that of timing. In other words, the operations to be performed on the card must take place in sequence. For example, the timing of the delivery of the card to the sensing means 22 is important to actuate the proper chute blade 28 so as to deflect that card into that chute at the exact moment that the card arrives at the pocket. Otherwise, additional sensing means would be required in order to determine where the particular car that you were sensing is located in the machine. By accurately timing the card from the instant it is placed into motion by the picker knife, the various operations can be timed to take place.

Therefore, in order to feed cards in timed relationship and to actuate the appropriate chute blade to deflect the card into its proper pocket, picker knife 20 delivers cards according to a timed relationship (FIG, 1). The cards are fed past sensing brushes 22 by feed rolls 21, t} and between the guide plates 52 and 54. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, and in order to still maintain the cards in timed relation with the remainder of the machine, two pairs of feed rolls 58, together with the guide plates 52 and 54, form a guide path for feeding cards onto two timing belts 56 (only one of which is shown). Each timing belt 56 is kept in proper timed relationship by being supported by and driven by a sprocket wheel 60 and shaft 62. It is intended that the shaft 62 be connected to the same drive means as the picker knife to maintain the timing relationship. The other end of the timing belts 56 are supported on and passed around sprocket wheels 64 which are rotatably mounted on a shaft 66, which shaft is rotatably mounted in a pair of spring biased arms 68. The spring 67 enables the spring arms 68 to maintain each belt 56 in a tight condition at all times. The teeth 70 that mate with the sprocket wheels 60 and 64 are positioned near the marginal edges of the belts thereby providing a smooth surface 71 (FIG. 2) in the center portion of each belt so that each may rid against the under side of a vacuum channel 72. Vacuum can be supplied to the channel in any well-known manner, such as via a conduit 74 for each belt 56.

Since it is important to insure proper timing of the card through out the sensing and feeding operations, a series of lugs 76 are provided on each belt 56 which extend across the belt and are spaced equally around the periphery of the belt. The lugs 76 are spacedly positioned so as to maintain the cards in timed relation with the picker knife, feed rolls, reading brushes 22, etc., from the time that the card is picked from the hopper. In addition to maintaining the cards in the proper location and timed relationship to the other timed operations, the lugs 76 also assist in pushing the cards into the proper sorting pocket 30, the details of which will be more fully hereinafter explained.

In order that the belts 56 can positively retain and support the cards when the cards are brought around to the underside of the belt 56, openings 78 (FIG. 2) are provided in the central portion of each timing belt between each pair of lugs and positioned so as to be aligned with the vacuum channels, and in that manner, serve as vacuum ports to support the cards against the belts.

The Expandable Pockets Reference is now made to FIGS. 13, which show an expandable pocket system for stacking the deck of sorted cards in a minimum of space without the machine being stopped, as a result of too many cards in a pocket. Each pocket is defined by two plates 80 and 82, two such plates forming a divider as best shown in FIG. 2. In order to provide a plate from which all of the other plates move or expand, a plate 84 (FIG. 1) is provided and is mounted so as to be stationary. A U-shaped notch 86 (FIG. 2) is provided in the plates 80 so as to ride on side rail 88. The other sides of the plates 80 also contain notches 86 to permit another side rail 88 to support the other side of plates 80. The plates 82 contain elongated notches 87, the purpose of which will be more fully hereinafter explained. Now the plates 82 also are provided with rectangular openings 90, but these openings 90 are elongated to permit the plates 82 to move vertically whenever the plate is energized upwardly. This will permit the plate 82 to extend up into the path of the card so as to .strip the card from the belts to deflect the card into the pocket 30. Not only do the plates 82 have elongated notches 87 so as to ride on rail 88 along with the plates 80, but they are also slidably supported on the plates so as to move vertically with respect to the plate 80 since they form the deflecting chute blades for deflecting the cards. For this purpose, I provide elongated slots 92 (FIG. 2) in the plate 82, there being at least two for each plate. Studs or the like 94 are shown mounted in the slots 92 and are fastened to the plates 80. I have shown the second plate 82 in its upward position as shown at 82'. The plates 80 and 82 are slidably mounted on the rails 88 to enable the pockets to increase in size, so as to make room for the cards as they are deflected into the pockets,

Since the pockets formed by the plates 80 and 82 are in an expanded condition when all of the cards have been sorted, the plates must be restored to their original or contracted position before the start of each sort. Therefore, after the cards are removed from the pockets and returned to the hopper, I provide thin pocket restoring bars 96, one pair fastened to the plate 84 and each remaining pair fastened to separate plates 80. Each plate 80 has a pair of such bars fixed to it, which bars then extend through the openings in the remaining plates 80 and 82 from right to left as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 3. The bars 96 are slidably mounted at their other ends in a stationary support plate 98 (FIG. 1). It is to be noted that the outermost pair of bars 96 are fixed to the plate 98 at 97 (FIG. 3). This results in the pair of bars 96 connected to each plate 80 or 84 being shorter than an adjacent pair of bars by the width of a contracted pocket.

In order that the plate 82 for each pocket can be deflected or urged upwardly into the path of the cards, and also be returned to its original position, a pair of brackets 100 (FIG. 2) (only one being shown) is fixed to the movable plate 82 and a pair of brackets 102 (only one being shown) is fixed to the stationary plate 80. A spring 104 (only one being shown) is mounted between these two brackets 100 and 102 so as to urge the plate 82 to its retracted position. In order to provide a means for deflecting the card into the pocket, the upper portion of each plate 82 is curved to the right, as shown at 106 in FIG, 2. The curved portion 106 also contains two deflector tongues 108 which extend down into the pocket to direct the cards over rollers 110 which will be hereinafter more fully explained. Still referring to FIG. 2, it is noted that the upper curved portion 106, which deflects the card into the pocket, would normally interfere with the timing belts 56 when the plate 82 is in its upward position. In order to avoid any interference, a recess 112 is shown at this location in the plate 82 so as to avoid engagement with the belt 56.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, and as pointed out previously, the cards are assisted into the pockets 30 by the lugs 76 in addition to the curved portion 106 on the deflector chute blade 82, and the deflector tongues 108. However, since the timing belt is operating at a high speed, a more positive means is provided for pulling the card down into the pockets. Gravity even with the assistance of the lugs 76, deflector blades 106 and deflector tongues 108, may be insufficient to pull the card down and away from the timing belt 56, or to strip it from the belt 56 in a suificiently small time. Therefore, in order to more quickly pull the cards down and away from the belt 56, we provide two friction rollers 110 (one on each side of the plate 82) which are mounted on shafts 114 which are in turn mounted for rotation in ears 116 struck out wardly from the plates 82. As best seen in FIG. 1, each shaft 114 also carries a pulley 118 and a flywheel 120 which permits the shaft 114 to spin for some time after it is removed from engagement with high speed belt 122 which will be more fully explained.

To further assist the cards being pulled down into the pockets 30, I provide deflector tongues 108, friction rollers 110 mounted on shafts 114 which carry a pulley 118 and flywheel 120 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Another high speed belt 122 is provided for rotating the rollers 110.

In order to set the two sets of friction rollers 110, 110' (FIG. 1) in rotational motion so as to pull the card down after the card has been sensed and the proper plate 82 has been energized into position to deflect the card, the two flat belts 122, 122' are mounted for high speed rotation on two pairs of pulleys 124 and 126. In addition, pulleys 126 are mounted on belt tightener spring bell crank arms 128 so as to maintain the belts in a tightened condition at all times.

Therefore, when the cards are sensed and a signal is received to actuate the plate 82 to deflect the card into a particular pocket, the plates 82 are pushed up to strip the card from the vacuum belt 56 and the pulleys 118, 118' are brought into contact with the high speed belts 122, 122' thereby causing the shafts 114, 114' to spin and to pull the card down into the pocket. In addition, the inertia of the flywheels 120, 120' will keep the shafts 114, 114 spinning for some time after the plates 82 have been returned to their normal position to insure complete removal of the card from the belts.

When more than one plate 82 is energized so as to be pushed up, one of the pulleys 118 may push up on the belt 122 so that the other pulleys would not be in contact with the belt 122. To insure that there is some contact, means are provided to hold the belt 122 down so as to insure engagement of the pulleys 118 and the belt 122. This can be accomplished by a flat guide plate extending across the belt for holding the belt down or by using spring-biased rolls. For this particular embodiment, we prefer to use auxiliary spring rolls 125, acting on belt 122 to insure contact between the pulleys 118 and belts 122 when more than one plate 82 is pushed up simultaneously. The same type rolls can be used for belt 122'.

As the cards are deflected into the pockets, they are stacked in each pocket on their edge rather than on their flat side so as to make it convenient for them to be removed from the pockets and then transported up into the hopper. Also, the cards are maintained in their upright position, so as not to fall over, by the dividers 80, 82 being automatically sized to the number of cards in each pocket. The pocket increases in size only after a signal has been received that it is to receive another card. When this happens, not only is that pocket increased in size by the thickness of the card, but all of the other pockets thereafter are shifted by the same amount to a different card receiving position. Also, if simultaneously one card is entering a pocket while an earlier pocket is about to receive a card, the former pocket will not only increase in size but will also shift its card receiving position. It is also possible for an earlier pocket to be receiving a card so as to shift the position of a later pocket while that later pocket is increasing in size to receive a card designated for that pocket. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and particularly FIG. 2, this is accomplished by providing a clutching lever 130 around each restoring bar 96. The clutching lever 130 is urged into cramping relation with the restoring bars 96 by springs 132 and cam 134. Whenever a signal is received from sensing a particular card that it is to be deflected into a particular pocket, plate 82 of that particular pocket is urged upwardly carrying with it the cam 134. As cam 134 is carried upwardly, it works against the nose 136 of the clutching lever 130 which forces the plates 82 and 80 to the left and is cumulative when more than one plate is pushed up. Since the clutch lever 130 straddles the restoring bar 96 (FIG. 2) and is slidably mounted thereon, it will be in a cramped or latching position whenever the cam is urged against the nose of the clutching lever. The cam, being fastened to the plate 82, pushes against the nose 136 and moves the plate 82 to the left. The pocket will be increased in size to receive the card just prior to the card entering the pocket rather than afterward. Therefore, when the plate 82 returns to its normal position, it will also carry along with it the cam 134 so that the spring 132 will urge the nose 136 of the clutching lever 130 to follow the cam 134 to its lower position and thus release the clutching action of the clutching lever 130 against the restoring bar 96. The spring 132 will now slide the clutching lever 130 to the left along the restoring bar to a new clutching position.

As each pocket increases in size, the pockets which follow in sequential order shift their card receiving positions by that same amount. This is accomplished by having the cams 134 always in engagement with the noses 136 of clutching levers 130 and the other plates slidably mounted on the bars 96 which are supported at their other ends by the support plate 98 (FIG. 1).

In order to aid in the release of the clutch levers and restore the plates 80 and 82 to their original retracted position, a clutch release rod 140 (see also FIG. 3) is positioned on the top of each restoring bar 96. These rods are of various lengths and extend from the left end of each restoring bar to within a short distance from the upper end of each clutching lever 130. Referring more particularly to FIG. 3, these rods pass through the slots 90 in the plates for the restoring bars 96 and are free to move a short distance to the right when pressure is applied aganist their left ends. Springs 142 are provided so as to urge the clutch release rods 140 normally to the left. In order to restrict the movement of the clutch release rods 140 by the springs 142, lugs 144 nest in the notches 146 in restoring bars 96. After the cards are removed from the pockets 30 and it is desired to restore the pockets to their normal contracted starting position, pressure is applied to the left end of the clutch release rods 140 by a bail 148, as shown in the lower left portion of FIG. 1. This causes the clutch release rods 140 to move to the right and release all of the clutching levers 130. Further movement of the bail 148 and clutch release rods 140 brings the L-shaped portion 150 (FIG. 3) of the rods against the ends 152 of the restoring bars 96. Further movement of the bail 148 against the restoring rods 96 moves the plates or dividers 80, 82 to restore the pockets to their normal position.

In order that each plate 82 be capable of being moved in a vertical direction when a card is sensed and the particular pocket for that card determined, each plate 82 is provided with two ears or tabs 154 which project downward. The pair of ears for each plate is offset from the ears of an adjacent plate (as best seen in FIG. 3) so that they do not lie in the same path. This enables the plates to be actuated by a particular pocket opening lever, which will be hereinafter more fully explained, so that only one plate will be actuated for each card.

Selector M echanism In order that a card be deflected into a particular pocket when that card approaches the particular pocket, sensing brushes 22 (FIG. 1) are provided for sensing impulses from the card and to direct the impulses to the sorting distributor 24 which energizes the sorting magnets 26 at the appropriate time. There are two sorting magnets 26 designated for each plate 82. Therefore, for this particular embodiment, there will be twenty-six such magnets, although the number will depend upon the number of plates 82 and pockets used. Each sorting magnet 26 has associated with it an armature (FIGS. 47) which is attracted to it when a pulse is received. Release latches 162 are pivotally mounted and spring biased counterclockwise by spring 163 toward a bail 164. A slot 166 is provided in the armature 160 so as to be engaged by the release latch 162. Therefore, when the armature 160 is attracted to the magnet 26, the release latch 162 will drop against the bail 164 to prevent relatching when the magnet is de-energized. It Will be noted that the armature 160'is pivotally mounted in the sorting magnet assembly and biased away from the armature by spring 168.

7 The release latch then follows the bail 164 (FIG. 7) when the follower 184 rides up the high portion of the cam 186. However, when the magnet is not energized, the armature 160 will latch up the release latch 162 so that it cannot follow the movement of bail 164 as it responds to the follower 184 and cam 186. The various combinations of energizing and de-energizing of the magnet 26 and the latching and unlatching of the release latch levers 162 permit controlled movement of the lever 162 and pocket opening levers 167.

In order for the release latch 162 to transmit the signal it receives to the plate 82 of the pocket so as to actuate said plate upwardly and thereby deflect the card into the pocket, a sprocket drive chain 165 (FIGS. 1 and 2) is provided which is slightly wider than the card and so aligned as to travel below the pockets and also below the sorting magnets 26. The sprocket drive chain 165 is provided with lever means which is actuated by the releasing latches 162, which lever means in turn operates on the tab 154 of the plate 82. This lever means is in the form of pocket opening levers 167. Several rows of pocket opening levers 167 are provided, those of each row being mounted on a respective shaft 169. For this embodiment, there are twenty-six levers 167 in each row, or thirteen pairs, to coincide with the number of pockets 30, sorting magnets 26, and latches 162. Fixed to the links adjacent the pocket opening levers 167 is a spring support 170 extending the width of the chain. The spring support 170 supports the pocket opening lever detent springs 172 and acts as a stop for the pocket opening levers 167 when they are restored to their original position. The links of the sprocket drive chain 165, not connected by shafts 169, are connected by chain pivots 174 which do not extend all the way through the levers but merely extend through the adjacent links. As the chain pivots 169 and 174 leave sprocket wheel 175 (FIG. 1), they enter a guide slot 176 which prevents pressure exerted on the pocket opening levers from displacing the levers.

In order that a pocket opening lever 167 finds the plate 82 for a designated pocket so as to deflect the card into that pocket, the pocket opening levers 167 are first carried past the latches 162 by the movement of the chain 165. Reference is now made to FIGS. 4-7 which show different positions of the pocket opening levers 167 and release latches 162. It is noted that there are thirteen pairs of magnets 26 in a single row, whereas there are several rows of pocket opening levers 167, there being thirteen pairs in each of the last-mentioned rows. Also, each row of pocket opening levers passes the row of magnets at the same time, but the magnets are responsive to an impulse received from a card that is read. The impulse may take place at one of thirteen different time 10- cations, twelve on the card, and one following. Therefore, the magnet must be impulsed before the pocket opening lever reaches it. The intermediate dwell portion on the cam 186 is designed to permit this to take place. Also, it is important to note that each row of pocket opening levers slightly leads the card after it is read so that when the pocket opening lever finally finds the correct pocket, it will energize its plate 82 in time to receive that card.

Referring to FIG. 4, the pocket opening lever 167 is shown leaving the release latch 162. At this time, the follower 184 is riding on the low side of the cam, and the magnet 26 is de-energized so that the armature 160 latches up the release latch 162 so that it cannot engage the pocket opening levers until the magnet is energized. As the next row of pocket opening levers approaches the row of magnets, the pair of magnets, representing the index point sensed in the card, is impulsed (FIG. The cam is designed to have a substantially long intermediate dwell portion to accommodate the time it takes to read the card; for example, thirteen index points. The magnet may be energized during any portion of the intermediate dwell so that the release latch 162 can drop against the bail 164. The magnet is energized for only a short period of time merely to unlatch the lever 162 to permit it to follow the bail 164. Thereafter, the armature cannot relatch the latch 162 when the magnet is deenergized until it reaches the position shown in FIG. 4. During this interval, the intermediate cam dwell portion is designed to position the bail 164 so that the latch lever will clear the notch 180 on the pocket opening lever 167. The impulse from the magnet is therefore stored in the latch 162 until it is transmitted to the pocket opening lever 167.

The earn 186 is designed so that the high portion is timed to act on the bail and latch 162 when the nose 182 is located between the notch 180 and abutment 185 (FIG. 6). The latch 162 drops along with bail 164 so that the nose 182 is below the level of the notch 180 and abutment 185, and the hook 181 is in position to catch onto the abutment 185. The latch 162 will drop with the bail 164 even though the magnet is still de-energized since it is unlatched. The armature cannot latch the lever 162 since the lever 162 is beyond the slot 166 in the armature.

Even though there is a single row of latches 162 and a single row of magnets 26, but a plurality of rows of pocket opening levers 167, only one pair of pocket opening levers will be energized for each pulse. The latch 162 selected is unlatched when the magnet is energized so that it can follow the bail 164.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7, where the selected pair of release latches 162 are shown transmitting the stored impulse from the latch 162 to the pocket opening lever 167 by the hook 181 acting on the abutment 185. Engagement of the hook 181 and abutment 185 causes the pocket opening lever 167 to rotate clockwise bringing the notch 180 into position to engage the particular tab 154 on a plate 82 that lies in its path. As the lever 167 rotates clockwise, the intermediate camming portion 183 will engage the nose 182 of the latch 162 resulting in the disengagement of the hook 181 and the abutment 185. That plate 82 will be raised which contains the tab 154 that matches the raised notch 180 on the selected pocket opening lever. The follower 184 is now almost in position to return to the low portion of the cam 186 so that the release latch 162 can be latched up until the magnet is impulsed again. As the follower 184 returns to the low portion of the cam 186 (FIG. 4), the latch 162 and hail 164 return to their original starting positions. Since the magnet is de-energized, the armature 160 can drop down and permit the end of release latch 162 to be latched up in the slot 166. Overthrow of the levers 167 is prevented by contact of the tail 194 of lever 167 with a cam 191. The frictional force of detent springs 172 on the levers 167 will now hold the levers 167 in an operative position to engage the tabs 154 on plates 82. At the same moment that hooks 181 disengage from the abutment 185, the follower 184 and the bail 164 start to drop off of the high point of the cam, thereby restoring the latches 162 in the respective armatures. Any number of rows of levers 167 can be used for actuating the plates 82 depending upon the timing and speed with which the cards are delivered.

The sprocket drive chain carries the levers 167 in synchronism with the card under the timing belts 56. This is to enable the levers to actuate the proper plate 82 to deflect the card into the proper pocket at the proper instant. The notch on a pair of two pocket opening levers 167 Will now actuate the mating tabs 154 on the plate 82, which lies in their path, for the pocket corresponding in number to the index point that has been sensed on the card by the brushes and transmitted to the sorting magnets.

In further describing the operation of the levers 167 and the tabs 154 (FIG. 2), when the notches 180 engage the tabs 154, the sprocket drive chain 165 will again cause the levers 167 to rotate clockwise with respect to their pivot shaft 169 as the shaft passes under the actuated plate 82. The pocket opening levers 167 will thus force the plate 82 upward, and the upper curved portion 106 of the plate will pass above the end of the card, stripping it from engagement with the timing belt 56. The lugs 76 will urge the card downward between the deflector tongues 108 and the adjacent plate 80. The card will then come between the spinning friction rolls 110 and the plate 80 Where it will be further urged into the pocket before the friction rolls stop spinning. As the particular shaft 169 passes plate 82, the spring 104 will return the plate to its normal position, and the lever 167 will rotate to the position as shown at 167" to the left side of FIG. 1. The sprocket drive chain 165 will carry the levers 167 in this position until they reach the restoring cam 192 (FIG. 1) which is at a point in the cycle before the levers pass under the sorting magnets 26. The tail 194 of the lever 167 will ride on the cam 192 rotating the lever to its normal position before being actuated by the sorting magnets, and holding this position until it reaches the setup position under the latch 162 to start the sequence all over again.

It is important to note that as a card is received by a pocket, that pocket will increase in size and each succeeding pocket will be shifted to a new unknown card receiving position. Each pocket opening lever 167 will seek out its matching tab 154 on plate 82 if it has been rotated into pocket opening position by latches 162. Otherwise, the pocket opening levers will pass under the tabs without engaging them.

As pointed out previously and in order to restore the pockets to their contracted position, pressure is applied to the L-shaped portion 150 (FIGS. 1 and 3) of the rods 148. This can be done either manually or automatically. However, it is preferred to restore the pockets automatically by energizing magnets 450 at the appropriate time. A friction drive clutch (not shown) connected to pulley 462, is actuated to engage continuously rotating shaft 463. When the friction drive clutch engages the shaft 463, pulley 462 is rotated counterclockwise. This causes the bail 148, fastened to belt 464 by screws 466, to engage the left end 150 of the pocket restoring bars 140 and move it to the right to restore the pockets to the contracted position.

Now, in order to permit the pockets to expand, the bail 148 is moved out of the way by rotating the pulley 460 clockwise. This is accomplished by energizing the magnets 480 at the appropriate time to actuate another friction drive clutch (not shown) connected to pulley 460, so as to engage continuously rotating shaft 484. This will move the lower portion of the belt 464 and the bail 148 to the left. Guide rails 482 are provided to support the belt 464. Also, it is preferred to use a pair of pulleys 460, a pair of pulleys 462, a pair of belts 464 and a pair of guide rails 482 to support and drive the bail 148.

In order to synchronize the various driven components, appropriate gearing is used to connect a drive motor 530 to the cam of the picker knife 20, feed rolls 21, sprocket gear shaft 62, shaft of pulley 124, shaft of cam 186, shaft of sprocket gear 175 and shafts 463 and 484 of pulleys 460 and 462.

While there have been shown and described and pointedout the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes in the form and details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention. It is the intention, therefore, to be limited only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for sorting cut forms, the combination of sensing means for sensing the forms to be sorted, a plurality of sets of spaced members, the members of each set defining the side walls of a respective form-receiving pocket, selector means controlled by the sensing means for selecting an appropriate pocket which is to receive a sensed form, means for advancing successive forms past said sensing means and into a path leading past the pockets, at least one of the members of each set being movable into said path to a deflecting position for deflecting a sensed form into the selected pocket, means responsive to such movement of said one member to move said one member and other member relatively apart to increase the width of the selected pocket, and means controlled by said selector means for selectively effecting movement of said one member to deflecting position.

2. In a machine for sorting cut forms, the combination of sensing means for sensing the forms to be sorted, means for feeding the forms past the sensing means, a plurality of means providing respective pockets for receiving sensed forms, selector means controlled by the sensing means for selecting an appropriate pocket which is to receive a sensed form, belt means for conveying successively forms from such feeding means into a path leading past the pockets, said belt means having spaced perforations intermediate its side edges, means for applying suction via said perforations to hold the forms against the outer side of one run of the belt means, diverting means forming part of each pocket-providing means and movable substantially into said path and into contact with said outer side to divert a sensed form from the belt means toward a selected pocket, means controlled by said selector means to effect such movement of an appropriate diverting means, and drive means disposed between the belt means and remote end of such pocket for pulling each sensed form toward said remote end to assist in separating it from the belt means against such suction.

3. The combination according to claim 2, wherein said belt means has at least one abutment-providing means projecting from its outer side for pushing on the trailing edge of each sensed form to prevent slippage of such form when it engages the diverting means and assist in separating the form from the belt means.

4. In a machine for sorting out forms, the combination of means for advancing forms successively along a predetermined path, means for sensing the forms as they move along said path, spaced members defining the side walls of respective pockets disposed adjacent said path, and means including selector means operatively conditioned by said sensing means to select the particular pocket which is to receive a form and move the sidewall-defining member at the downpath end of said particular pocket into blocking relation across said path to contact the leading edge of the form and divert such form from said path into said particular pocket.

5. The combination according to claim 4, including means for moving substantially all the side-wall-defining members downpath of said particular pocket in unison relatively to the remaining members to increase the width of a pocket each time a form is selected for such pocket.

6. In a machine for sorting cut forms, the combination of means for advancing the forms successively along a predetermined path, at least one set of spaced members, those of each set defining the side walls of a respective form-receiving pocket, other means for moving one of the members of a set relative to the other member of said set and into said path to intercept a form and divert it into the particular pocket defined between said one member and other member, and means automatically operative upon such movement of said one member toward intercepting position to move said members relatively apart to increase the size of said particular pocket.

7. In a machine for sorting out forms, the combination of means for advancing the forms successively along a predetermined path, at least one set of spaced members, those of each set defining the side walls of a respective form-receiving pocket, other means for moving one of the members of a set relative to the other member of said set and into said path to intercept a form and divert it into the particular pocket defined between said one member and other member, means operatively responsive to a control signal to initiate operation of said other means, and means automatically responsive to movement of said one member to intercepting position to move said one member away from said other member to increase the Width of said particular pocket by an amount at least equal to the thickness of such form.

8. The combination according to claim 7, wherein the last-introduced means comprises cam means carried by said one member, and clutch means actuated by said cam means as said member moves to intercepting position to move said one member a small incremental distance away from said other member.

9. In a machine for sorting cut forms, the combination of a plurality of spaced members forming at least part of the side walls of respective pockets, means for advancing forms successively along a predetermined path past said pockets, and means for moving the member at the downpath end of a selectable one of the pockets into blocking relation across said path to contact the leading edge of the form and divert such form from said path into the selected pocket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,973,246 Bryce Sept. 11, 1934 2,454,628 Braun Nov. 23, 1948 2,745,493 Furman May 15, 1956 2,795,328 Tyler June 11, 1957

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