US1985035A - Card sorter - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 18, 1934. J T. K'ERMODE r AL" 1,985,035

CARD SORTER Filed Nov. 5, 1950 3 Sheets-Shet l INVENTORS John 7.' Ker/node, Doug/ass A. Young 3' Harr Riparkes B TTORNEY H UH 1366- 1934- J. T. KERMODE ET AL CARD SORTER Filed Nov. 5. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS John TI Kcrmade,

Dqug/ass A. Young 1! Harr I. Spar/re:

AT TORNEY Dec. 18, 1934. I J, T. KERMODE gr AL 1,985,035

' CARD SOR'I'ER Filed Nov. 1930 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig. 6.

J. 195 E 124 St.

0- 901 THE ELECTRIC ILLUMINATING COMPANY a N I 1115* Min: Rnoms g 5 :11 H I m F291 7' KWH u v KWH Amour" 5 5 Runs; I g

I I /0 N Euzcnuc Slime:

[ION

PLACE STAM P 9 HERE J. Doe 1 105 E 124 St- WH'NESSES INVENTORS John T Ker/no D'au loss A. Youn &

I Ha"? P. Spar/rPs B J ATTCSRNEY Patented Dec. 18, UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE CARD SOBTEB John T. Kermode, Cleveland, Ohio, Douglass A.

Young, East Orange, N. 1., and Harry P.

' Sparkes, Pittsburgh, Pa, alsignors to Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 5, 1930, serial No. 493,508 10 Claims. (01. soc-111) Our invention relatesto sorting machines and particularly to sorting machines which employ photo-electric cells or other light-responsive means for sorting cards, records or the like in response to a code or designation marked thereon, or for tabulating, recording or effecting other controls in accordance with the marks on the cards or records.

An object of our invention is to provide apparatus for sorting cards or similar objects, or

tabulating or recording the data thereon, said cards having code-marks printed thereon instead of being punched or otherwise mutilated in accordance with usual practice.

A further object of our invention is to provide a card or record'which shall have code-marks or designations printed or marked thereon simultaneously with the printing or marking of other data on the card.

A further object of our invention is the provision of a card, or similar instrumentality, which normally is employed as an original record, bill, statement, or the like, of desired data, and which is provided with coded indices, corresponding to the original data, for controlling an automatic recording, tabulating or sorting operation.

A still further object of our invention is to provide a simplified system, of the above-mentioned type, for sorting cards, whereby the cards are selectively deposited at proper stations or compartments in accordance with coded data thereon, and wherein, during the period in which one card is being deposited, a succeeding card is causing a circuit to be set up to select its proper station.

sorted. Each card has one or more marks printed thereon in a row or a plurality of rows; the number or arrangement of the marks being used to determine the station which is to receive the card. A feeding means, which is operated in any suitable manner, as by a member having a reciprocating motion at the bottom of the bin, delivers the cards from the bin, one by one, into engagement with a pair of rollers which operate to move the card toward a beam of light which is adapted to be reflected from the card to a photo-electric cell.

An instant after the first card has travelled completely between the rollers, a second card is pushed between the rollers and it then pushes the first card under the beam of light.

As the code marks pass under the beam of light, impulses from the photo-cell circuit stepup a telephone selector of conventional design. This selector is for the purpose of presetting an electric circuit to control a trap door, or deflector, hinged over the card compartment corresponding to the code mark being scanned. The trap-doors are not opened immediately but are opened just before the first card is pushed between the ilrst of a series of pairs of high-speed rollers which pass the cards over the trap-doors to the proper compartment. Just before the card reaches the first pair of high-speed rollers, a selecting cam closes a pair of contacts to complete the preset electric circuit to cause the proper trap door to open.

The high-speed rollers move the card toward its selected compartment at a much higher speed than that at which it intercepted the beam of light, and the card is positively pushed under the trap-door, or deflector, of the compartment corresponding to the code-mark on the card.

The selecting cam, referred to above, is one of three cams located on,the same shaft as the feeder arm. The feeding means, the low-speed rollers, and the high-speed rollers are all driven from the same drive'shaft.

Other features and advantages of our invention will appear from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of apparatus, drawn to 8/13 of full scale, constructed in accordance with one embodiment of our invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a wiring diagram of the embodiment of our invention,

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the selector employed in our apparatus,

Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the relays shown schematically in Fig.- 3, a

Fig. 6 is face view of a card, drawn to full scale, which may be sorted by our apparatus, and

Figs. 7 and 8 are views of the twosides of a postal card printed in accordanw with our invention.

Our invention may be applied, by way of exthe like, for each of the meters to be read in a particular section. This card "or bill may have the name and address of the consumer printed thereon and a code mark indicating the section of the area wherein the meter is located (see Figs. 6 and 8). The code mark comprises four parallel lines 10, in Figs. 6 and 7, and, obviously, any desired number and arrangement of the lines, or marks of various configurations, may be employed to differentiate between the various sections of the area. The readings of the various meters may be marked on the cards by the meter-reader to constitute an original record of the energy metered.

At the end of the day, the meter-reader turns in the cards at the office of the power company, and the bookkeepers compute, from the meter readings on the cards, the amount of money to be charged each consumer, and marks the cards accordingly. The cards may thereupon be mailed to the consumers, to constitute a bill or statement covering the amount of energy consumed during a billing period, a day or two after the meter has been read.

When the customer mails his check to the pcwer company he may tear off the end, or stub, of the postal card (Fig. 6) having the code mark printed thereon, and enclose it with the check. Since the cards, or stubs thereof, for the various districts are not returned to the power company in the same order in which they are mailed to the customers, they must be sorted, upon receipt, according to the twenty-six districts, so that the cards from a particular district may be assigned to the bookkeeper having charge of that district. When the districts are crowded, a plurality of bookkeepers for each district is necessary, and, in that event, the stubs may be sorted between the bookkeepers, or alphabetically in accordance with the customers name or otherwise, depending upon the code system employed.

In accordance with our invention, all of the cards for one section have the code-mark for that section printed, or otherwise marked, on the cards before they are mailed to the consumer. When the cards from the'diiferent sections are returned, they are placed in a sorting machine, constructed in accordance with our invention, which automatically sorts the cards according to the twenty-six sections. As above indicated, the code markings, and subsequent sorting operations may be altered, as desired,

I to meet more complex, or different, requirements than merely sorting as to sections, but, in general, the code-mark will correspond to, or be a function of, portions of the original data on the card. In other words, the code may represent the geographical location of the customer to whom the card is mailed or an alphabetical index of the customer's name, or the date'of the bill, or amount thereof, as desired.

The code lines may be placed on the cards at the same time that the name and address are printed thereon, they may be printed on the cards by means of a meter which stamps both the meter reading and the code marks thereon, or they may be placed on the cards just before they are mailed to the consumers.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the sorting apparatus comprises a supply bin 12 for holding the cards 11 in stacked relation, and a feeder arm or plate 13 having a notched portion 14 for engaging the end of a card and moving the card between a pair of rollers 15. The stack of cards 11 is preferably held firmly against the feeder arm 13 by means of a weight 16, or other suitable means. A plate 17 constitutes the bottom of the supply bin and. is bifurcated to permit oscillation of the feeder arm. I

A passage through which the cardsare passed is defined by a bottom plate 18, bridging the space between the pair of rollers 15 and a pair of high-speed rollers 19, and a top plate 20 immediately above the bottom plate 18 and spaced therefrom a distance slightly greater than the thickness of a card. The plate 20'has an opening 21 therein for admitting a beam of light 22 from a source 23 to the surface of a card. An optical System24 may be used for focusing purposes, and the direction of the light beam is such that the beam will normally be reflected from the card to a photo-electric cell 25, or other type of light-responsive device.

The feeder arm 13 is driven by means of a connecting rod 26 which is attached toa crank between driving wheels 27 mounted on shaft 28. A photo-cell circuit cam 29, a clearing cam 30 and a selecting cam 31 are attached to the same shaft. Cooperating with these cams are contact arms 32, 33 and 34 and the corresponding contact points 35, 36 and 37. The shaft 28 and the first pair of high-speed rollers 19 are driven, by. means of belts, from a common shaft 38 which is driven by a suitable motor. The remaining rollers 19 are driven by means of worm gears 8 carried by the shaft 9. The slow-speed rollers 15 are driven in a positive relation to the cam shaft 28 by means of gear- wheels 39, 40 and 41.

The relative speed and dimensions of rollers 15 and the driving wheel 27 are such that a card will be removed from the bin 12 before a succeeding card is moved forward by the feederarm 13. This may be accomplished by employing the design illustrated, in which the circumference of the rollers 15 is one-half the length of a card 11, and in which rollers 15 rotate at three times the speed of driving wheels 2'7.

As the feeder arm 13 moves forwardfa card 11 is pushed between the rollers 15 and, while the feeder arm 13 is completing its forward stroke and returning, the rollers 15 move the card forward between the plates 18 and 20. By the time the feeder arm 13 has engaged a second card and started it in motion, the first card has left the bin. A short time before the second card has reached the rollers 15, the first card has passed through them and they are free to receive the second card. The second card then pushes the first card forward between the plates 18 and 20 so that the code marks, which are positioned approximately in the middle of the card, as shown in Fig. 6, are exposed through the opening 21 in plate 20 to intercept the light beam 22.

Since the slow-speed rollers 15 and the first pair of high-speed rollers 19 have their centers spaced by a distance less than twice the length of a card, the first card is pushed into the highspeed rollers 19 by the second card and the first card is moved forward at a rapid rate.

It should be noted that the earns 29, 30 and 31 always operate when a card is in a definite position up to the time that the card reaches the first high-speed roller. After this point, there need not be a definite relation between the position of the card and the operation of the cams, although, of course, there remains a definite relation between the succeeding card and the cams. For this reason, a certain amount of slippage in driving the high-speed rollers 19 may be permitted.

The first pair of high-speed rollers 19 is one of a series of pairs of rollers for moving the cards forward to the compartments 42 which correspond to the code marks on the cards. In Fig. 1, only three of these compartments are shown, for simplicity of illustration, although a circuit for one additional compartment has been provided for in Fig. 3.

Thecenters of the high-speed rollers 19 are spaced by a distance less than the length of a card so that one pair of rollers will positively feed a card between the next pair of rollers. The trap doors, or deflectors, 43 are positioned between adjacent pairs of rollers, and each is hinged at the rear edge thereof, in thedirection of movement of the card, so that, when a trap is lifted, a card will pass thereunder into one of the compartments 42, instead of passing over the trap to the next pair of rollers.

A stationary deflecting plate 44 is secured to the under side of the trap door to guide the card away from the rollers as it enters the compartment. Plates 45 at the bottoms of the compartmen'ts are set at an angle because the compartments have a length less than the length of a card.

The trap-doors 43 are raised by means of distributing electromagnets 46, which include windings 47 and pivoted armatures 48 connected to the trap-doors 43 by means of links 49.

In Fig. 3, is shown a complete wiring diagram of our sorting apparatus, including an amplifier 50, a selector and certain relays not shown in Fig. 1.

Before the complete circuit is considered, the

construction of the selector 51,' the clearing relay 52 and resetting relay 53 will be described. The selector 51 and selector reset mechanism are shown in detail in Fig. 4. This apparatus is of conventional form and comprises an armature 54 pivoted at 55 to a suitable support, and an electromagnet 56 positioned adjacent to the armature to attract it, when the winding 57 is energized, to move the spring leaf 58 attached to the upper end of the armature. This causes the notched wheel 59 to be moved forward one notch by the spring 6 as soon as the armature is released. The arm 60, secured to the notched wheel, is moved forward to another one of the contact points 61. A second arm 79 is movable with the arm 60 to cooperate with a series of contacts these elements being omitted from Fig. 4, for clearness, but are shown schematically in Fig. 3.

A contact point 62 is secured to the armature 54 for cooperation with a contact point 63 to complete a buzzer circuit through the winding 57, the conductor 64, the armature 54, the contact points 62 and 63 and the conductor 65. When the buzzer circuit is closed, therefore, the armature 54 will,vibrate rapidly to notch the selector arm 60 /over the contacts 61, and, simultaneously, to notch the contact arm 79 over the contacts 80.

The general character of the clearing and resetting relays is shown specifically in Fig. 5. These are telephone relays of conventional construction and comprise contact arms 66, upper contact points 6'7 and lower contact points 68.

The contact arms 66 are supported and electri-' cally separated by blocks-"69 and pillars 70 of insulating material. The contact arms 66 in actuated positionmake contact with all three upper contact points 67 simultaneously, and in biased position make contact with all three lower contact points 68 simultaneously, in response to the energization of a coil 71. The relays, indicated as 52 and 53 in Fig. 3, correspond to the structure just described. The contacts 89, 97 and 109 of relay 52 correspond to the contact armatures 66 of Fig. 5, and the upper and lower sets of contacts 110 and 90, 98, respectively, correspond to the upper contacts 67' and lower contacts 68 of Fig. 5. Similarly, relay 53 comprises contact armatures and-94 which selectively engage upper contacts 102 or lower contacts 93.

- Referring to Fig. 3, the photo-cell 25 is so connected to the amplifier 50 that, when light is refiected from the surface of a card 11 to the photo-cell, current is caused to flow through the winding 72 of a primary relay to attract the armature 73 thereof to make contact with the contact point 74. When a code-mark on a card in-.

tercepts the light beam, no light is reflected to the photo-cell, the current flow to the relay winding 72 is interrupted, and the armature 73 breaks contact with the contact point 74.

The armature 73 is connected to one terminal of a direct-current source through a conductor 75, and the contact point 74 is connected, through a conductor 76, the photo-cell cam contact poirrts 35 and a conductor 77, to the lefthand terminal of the winding 57 of the selector 51. The right-hand terminal of the selector winding 57 is connected, by means of a conductor 78, to the other terminal of the direct-current source.

It is apparent that, if the primary-relay contact points 73 and 74 are closed by the flow of current in'the winding 72 (if the photo-cell cam contact points 35 are also closed), the winding 57 will be energized and selector arms 60 and 79 will be stepped up one notch as soon as the contact points 73 and 74 open.

The selector contact points 80 are connected to the lower terminals of the distributing electromagnet windings 47 by conductors 81. Thus, when the-armatures of the clearing relay 52 and anotherrelay SR, which'will be referred to as the selector relay, are in the up position, the armature 48 of one of the distributing electromag nets 46 will be actuated to open a trap-door 43.

Since, in the actual structure, the rows of selector contact points 61 and 80 are arranged in a circle, and since the selector arms 60 and I9 always rotate together in one direction, zero contact points are provided at each end of each row. The two zero contact points of the upper row of contacts 61 are connected together and connected by a conductor 83 to one. terminal of the coil 84 of resetting relay 53. This terminal of the coil 84 is also connected to the contact arm 85 of the resetting relay to form a holding circuit.

When the armature of a distributing electromagnet 46 is attracted, a holding circuit for the electromagnet is completed from the right-hand terminal of the direct current source, the conductor 86, the winding 47, the armature 48, the

rent source, providing the armature of the clear- I ingrelay 52 is in its down position.

a The resetting circuit for the selector may be its down position), and the conductors 99 and 92 to the otherv terminal of the directcurrent source. It will be noted that, if the contact arm of either the resetting relay or the clearing relay is in its up position, the resetter mechanism is inactive.

A holding circuit for the resetting relay 53 is provided and it may be traced from the righthand terminal of the direct-current source through the conductor 100, the resetting-relay winding 84, the conductor 101, the resetting contact-arm 85 and contact point 102, when the relay 53 is closed and in the up position, the conductors 103, 87, and 88, the contact arm 89 and the contact point 90 of the clearing relay, when the clearingrelay 52 is open and in the down position, through the conductors 99 and 92 to the other terminal of the direct-current source.

A relay SR is provided for completing a circuit through a distributing electromagnet at the instant that the selecting-cam 31 closes its contacts 3'7. The circuit through the winding 104 of relay SR may be traced from the left-hand .terminal of the direct-current source through the conductor 92, the winding 104, the conductor 105, and the selecting-cam contacts 37 to the right-hand terminal of the direct-current source.

When the contacts of relay SR. are closed, the circuit through a distributing electromagnet winding may be traced from the left-hand terminal of the direct-current source, through the conductor 92, the armature 106 of relay SR, upper contact point 107, conductor 108, clearingrelay contacts 109 and 110, conductor 111, selector arm '79, contact point 80, conductor 81, distributing electromagnet winding 47, and conductor 86, to the right-hand terminal of the direct-current source.

The operation of the apparatus will now be explained. Since the actual cooperation of the card feeding mechanism and the electrical control system does not begin until the front edge of the first card reaches a point which may be indicated as D in Fig. 1, the operation of the apparatus will be traced beginning with the card at that position.

When the front edge of the first card has als most reached the light beam 22, as at point D,

the photo-cell cam 29 opens its contact points 35 and the circuit of selector winding '7 is opened so that when the edge of a card 11 passes under the light beam, the dark edge will not cause the selector to notch forward. This circuit remains open until the front edge of the card has passed the light beam, until it has reached the point A, for example, at which point the photo cell cam contacts 35 are closed.

The first card is now pushed forward by the second card, and the condition of the circuit, just preceding the interception of the light beam by the code marks is as follows:

The clearing-cam contact points 36 are open so that the clearing relay 52 is in its down position.

The selecting-cam contact points 37 are open so that the selecting relay SR. is in its down position.

The selector arms 60 and '79 are on zero contact points.

The armature of resettingqelay 53 is in its up position, since the armature of clearing relay 52 is in its down position to close contact arm 97 and contact point 98, and since selector arm 60 is on zero contact point. Also, the resetting relay is held in its up position by the resetting holding circuit.

The resetting means is inactive because the resetting relay contact arm 94 and contact point 93 are open.

The distributing armatures 4'7 are. all on down position because no current impulse has yet come through the selector winding 5'7 to move the selector arm '79 off the zero contact, or because the holding circuit for the distributing electromagnet has been opened.

The first card is now pushed through by the second card and the light spaces which are separated by the code lines cause the primary relay contact points 73 and '74 to close each time a white space passes underneath the light beam. After all the code lines have intercepted the light beam, the condition of the circuit is as follows:

Selector arm 60 has moved oif the zero contact, but this does not change the position of the contacts of the resetting relay 53 because its holding circuit is energized to maintain its armature in the up position.

Selector arm '79 has been stepped-up to conbeing at position B, for example) the clearing-cam contact points 36 close to cause the armature of the clearing relay 52 to go to its up position. If any trap-door 43 is open, the immediate effect of this action of the clearing relay will be to deenergize the electromagnet 47 associated therewith to effect closure of the trap-door. The condition of the circuit is now as follows:

One portion of the circuit, through the distributing electromagnet winding 4'7 connected to arm 79, is closed by contact arm 109 and contact point 110 of clearing relay 52, but the selecting circuit is still open, since the selector relay SR is still in its down position.

Breaking the connection between the contact arm 89 and contact point 90 broke the resetting relay holding circuit of resetting relay 53 and caused the armature thereof to drop.

Simultaneously with the breaking of the resetting relay holding-circuit, the resetting circuit was broken at the contact arm 97 and contact point 98, thereby preventing the resetting relay from becoming energized.

When the armature of the resetting relay 53 dropped to close the resetting circuit through contact arm 94 and contact point 93, no change was made in the circuit because, at the same instant, or an instant sooner, the resetting circuit was broken at contact arm 97 and contact point 98 of the clearing relay 52, as noted above.

Breaking the circuit at the contact arm 89 and contactpoint 90 ofthe clearing relay 52 also i re the distributor relay holding circuit of th electromagnets 46, and thereby eifected the c came of any of the trap-doors that may have been open.

An instant after the clearing-cam contact points 36 have closed, and before the front edge of the first card has reached the first pair of high-speed rollers l9'(when the front edge of the first card is in position C for example), the selecting-cam contact points 37 close and the armature of the selecting relay SR is actuated to its up position. The condition of the circuit is now as follows:

The distributing electromagnet 46, electrically connected to selector arm '79, has been energized to open the corresponding tra -door 43. It is now held to up position by the selector-cam contact points 3'? remaining closed until after the ...earing cam contact points 36 open, at which. time the clearing relay drops-down to close the distributor relay holding circuit.

The first card is now pushed into the first pair of high-speed rollers 19 and, from this point, until it enters its proper compartment 42, it moves forward with a speed that is at least equal to the speed of the second card multiplied by the number of sorting compartments. This is necessary in order to give the first card time to reach its compartment, which may be the last compartment of the series, before the second card has caused another trap-door to open to receive the second card.

After the selecting-cam contact points 37 have closed, and a short time before the photocell cam contact points 35 have closed (before the code spaces of the second card are permittedto step-up the selector arms 60 and 79), the clearing cam contact points 36 open and the armature of clearing relay 52 is moved to its down position. This operation has two effects: it brings the clearing relay 52 back to its original position and it puts the resetter into operation. The clearing-cam contact points 36 must open before the photo-cell cam contact points 35 close, in order to give the resetter time to return arms 60 and '79 to zero contact before they are stepped up by the secondcard. It will be noted that one impulse goes to the selector as soon as the photo-cell cam contact points 35 close. The condition of the circuit is as follows:

The selecting circuit is broken at the contact arm 109 and contact point 110 of the clearing relay 52, but either the distribution electromagnets 46 are sufllciently slow-acting to hold their armatures 48 in raised position until the armature of the clearing relay 52 drops to complete the holding circuit, or the contact arm 89 is so adjusted that the contact arm 89 and contact 'point 90 close before the contact arm 109 and contact point 110 open.

The armature of the clearing relay 52, when down. closes a holding circuit for the electromagnets 46 at the contact arm 89. and contact point 90. The trap-door 43, that was opened by one of the electromagnets "46, is maintained open until the front edge of the second card reaches the position 3, at which time the holding circuit for the electromagnet will be opened. At the same time that the holding circuit is closed at the contact arm 89 and contact point 90, the resetting circuit is closed at the contact arm 97 and-contact point 98. Since the resetter relay 53 is on down position, the resetting opcrates to bring selector arms 60 and 79 back to the zero contact. As previously pointed ou the clearing cam contact points 36 must open long enough before the second card begins to step up the selector to give the resetter time to bring arms 60 and '19 to zero contact. When the selector arm 60 reaches zero contact, the resetter circuit is broken so that the resetter becomes inactive, and, at the same time, the resetter relay 53 is pulled to up" position.

Some time before the clearing-cam contact points 36 close again the selecting-cam contact points 3'7 open. The circuit is not affected in any way by this break in the selecting circuit, but this puts the circuit in its original condition, provided the resetter has had time to bring the arms 60 and 79 back to zero.

Meanwhile, the first card is being moved forward to a compartment 42 that has its trap door 43 held open by the holding circuit of the distributor relays 46.

While the first card is moving toward its compartment or after it has reached its compartment (depending upon the speed of the rollers and the position of the compartment), the second card comes into position to step up the, selector arms 60 and l9. I

However before the second card reaches this position, the resetter has had time to bring selector arms 60 and 79 back to zero contact, at which time, the resetter relay 53 is pulled to up position, as previously explained.

The circuit is now back to its original condition, and the second card is passed under the light beam and is moved forward into its compartment the same as the first card was.

Various modifications may be made in our invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and we desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereon as are imposed by the prior art and are set forth in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. Apparatus for sorting cards having coded indications thereon comprising a bin for holding the cards, means for transmitting impulses in response to said coded indications, feeder means for removing the cards from said bin into coacting relation with said first means, a plurality of stations, selector means responsive .to said impulses for selecting the station at which a card shall be deposited, and means including contactor elements for rendering said selector means effectwo after all impulses are transmitted, a cam adjacent said contactor elements for actuating them at proper timed intervals, positive drive means between said cam and said feed means, card distributing means adjacent said stations, and friction driving means for actuating said distributing means.

2. Apparatus for sorting marked cards comprising a bin for holding the cards, means including a light source and light sensitive means for transmitting impulses in response to the ments being controlled in accordance with the position of a card with respect to said first means.

3. Apparatus for sorting cards having dark and light areas thereon in the form of a code comprising a bin for holding the cards, means comprising a photo cell responsive to variations in light intensity for transmitting impulses in accordance with said code, means for removingsaid cards from said bin into moving coacting relation with said first means, a plurality of stations, a relay associated with each one of said stations, means for causing relative motion between said cards and said stations, means responsive to said impulses for connecting a selector member to one of said relays, and means for completing a circuit through said selector member and said one relay at a time controlled according to the .position of a card before it reaches said means for causing relative motion and after it has completed its effect upon the photo cell.

4. Apparatus for sorting cards having dark and light areas thereon in the form of a code comprising a bin for holding the cards, meansfpr directing a beam of light against said cards whereby light is reflected therefrom, means responsive to variations in the intensity of said reflected light for transmitting impulses in accordance with said code, means for moving said cards'from said bin past said beam of light, a plurality of stations, a relay associated with each one of said stations, a selector member, means responsive to said impulses for connecting said selector member to one of said relays,

means for moving said cards into position opposite said stations, means for completing a circuit through said selector member and said one relay just before said last means takes control over a card, and means for returning the apparatus to its original condition before the next card is moved past the light beam.

5. Apparatus for sorting cards having dark and light areas thereon in the form of a code comprising a bin for holding the cards, means for directing a beam of light against said cards whereby light is reflected therefrom, means responsive to variations in the intensity of said reflected light for transmitting impulses in accordance with said code, means for moving said cards from said bin past said beam of light, a plurality of stations, a relay associated with each one of said stations, each of said relays having a holding circuit, a selector member, means responsive to said impulses for connecting said selector member to one of said relays, means for moving said cards into position opposite said stations, means for making said holding circuits inoperative and for then completing a circuit through said selector member and said one relay just before said last means takes control over a card, and means for returning the apparatus to its original condition before the next card is moved past the light beam.

6. Apparatus ,for sorting cards having dark and light areas thereon inv the form of a code comprising a bin for holding the cards, means for directing a beam of light against said cards whereby light is reflected therefrom, means responsive to variations in the intensity of said reflected light for transmitting impulses in accordance with said .code, means for moving said cards from said bin past said beam of light, a plurality of stations, a relay associated with eachone of said stations, a selector member, means responsive to said impulses for connecting said selector member to one of said relays, means for preventing said selector member from being aflfected by the passage ofthe edge of a card past the light beam, means for moving said cards into position opposite said stations, means for completing a circuit through said selector member and saidvone relay just before said last means takes control over a card, and means for returning the apparatus to its original condition before the next card is moved past the light beam.

7. Apparatus for sorting cards having dark and light areas thereon in the form of a code comprising a bin for holding the cards, means for directing a beam of light against said cards whereby light is reflected therefrom, means responsive to variations in the intensity of said reflected light for transmitting impulses in accordance with said code, means for moving said cards from said bin past said beam of light, a plurality of stations, a relay associated with each one of said stations, each of said relays having a holding circuit, a selector member means responsive to said impulses for connecting said selector member to one of said relays, means for preventing said selector member from being affected by the passage of the edge of a card past the light beam, means for moving said cards into position opposite said stations, means for making said holding circuits inoperative and for then completing a circuit through said selector member and. said one relay just before said last means takes control over a card, and means for returningthe ap-. paratus to its original condition before the next card is movedpast the light beam.

8. Apparatus for sorting cards having dark and light areas thereon in the form of a code comprising a bin for holding the cards, means for directing a beam of light against said cards whereby light is reflected therefrom, means responsive to variations in the intensity of said reflected light for transmitting impulses in accordance with said code, means for moving said cards from said bin past said beam of light, a plurality of stations, a relay associated with each one of said stations, each of said relays having a holding circuit, selector means responsive to said impulses for connecting a s lector member to one of said relays, means for preventing said selector member from being affected by the passage of the edge of a card past the light beam, resetting means for returning said selector member to its original position, means for rendering said resetting means inactive while said impulses are being transmitted, means for moving said car s into position opposite said stations, means for rendering said holding circuits inoperative and for then completing a circuit through said selector member and said one relay just before said last means takes control'over a card, and means for rendering said resetting means active and for returning the apparatus to its original condition before the next card is moved past the light beam.

9. Apparatus for sorting cards having dark and light areas thereon in the form-of a code comprising a bin for holding the cards, means for directing a beam of light against said cards whereby light is reflected therefrom, means responsive to variations in the intensity of said reflected light for transmitting impulses in accordance with said code, means for moving said cards from said bin past said beam of light, a plurality of stations, a relay associated with each one of said stations, each of said relays having a holding circuit, selector means responsive to said impulses for connecting a selector member to one of said relays, resetting means for returning said selector member to its original position, means for making said resetting means inactive while said impulses are being transmitted, means for moving said cards into position opposite said stations, means for making said holding circuits inoperative and for then completing a circuit through said selector member and said one relay just before said last means takes control over a card, and means for making said resetting means active and for returning the apparatus to its original condition before the next card is -moved past the light beam.

10. An apparatus for sorting cards comprising a plurality of stations, means for moving the cards toward said stations, a distributing means relay for each station for causing a card to be deposited at the station, a selecting mechanism through which a distributing means may be connected to a source of current in accordance with electrical impulses transmitted to said mechanism, means for transmitting electrical impulses to said mechanism in accordance with codedindications on the cards as they move toward the stations, resetting means for returning the mechanism to its zero position, resetting relay means including two contact points for making said resetting means inactive during the transmission of said impulses so long as said contact points are open, means for releasing all of said distributing means after all the impulses caused by one card have been transmitted and for closing the contact points of said resetting relay means and for simultaneously opening othercontact points thereby maintaining said resetting means inactive, means for connecting a distributing means through said selecting mechanism to said source of current whereby said distributing means is operated, and means operative an instant later for holding said distributing means closed and for simultaneously causing said resetting means to become active.

JOHN T. KERMODE.

DOUGLASS A. YOUNG.

HARRY P. SPARKES.

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