Article Classifying Apparatus.

摘要

1,154,122. Endless conveyers; sorting letters FMC CORP. 25 Nov., 1966 [17 Jan., 1966] No. 52765/66. Heading B8A. [Also in Division G4] Letter sorting apparatus comprises an easel conveyer TE which has a movable surface on which letters L can be displayed in a position in which they are inclined to the vertical, the letters L being fed individually from a tray by a singulator Si on to the band 10 of the conveyer TE where they are engaged by lugs 12 (see L8 at station (a)), the conveyer TE being actuated intermittently by a read and code operator through a pedal P. The letter is carried past a spray control photo-cell PC-1 (L7 at (b)) and is sprayed with a strip of magnetic material m by a spray unit Sp. The letter continues to a read and code station (c) (L6) where the operator transfers address information w from the letter to a keyboard K and after selecting a key X, Y or Z (e.g. out of town; local or air mail) the operator presses the pedal P closing switch S. When a lobe on a continuously driven " start " synchronizing cam 26 on a main drive shaft 20 closes a start switch S1 a clutch Cl is magnetically engaged causing shafts 18, 16 to advance the easel band 10 by one increment. Letter L6 is thus transferred to a continuously running vacuum conveyer belt 30 which is shown advancing a letter L5 across a write station (d) where a write head W imparts the coded information w and x, y or z on the strip m. A letter L4 is shown crossing a read station (e) where the code x, y or z is sensed by a magnetic read head R. A letter L3 is shown (in phantom line) at station (f ) as the letter is about to be picked up by a lug 42 on a band 40 of a transport conveyer TC. It is at this station (f) that the synchronizing action of the cam 26 and the start switch S1 are important so as to ensure that a letter at station (f ) is advanced on to the band 40 in a zone between a pair of lugs 42 and preferably adjacent the trailing lug of the pair. On the transport conveyer TC a letter L2 is shown at a station (g) one lug pitch or increment downstream of station (f) and a letter L1 is shown at station X opposite a remotely controlled discharge device DX, part of a stacker St. The coded information from the read station (e) is fed to a shift register BR which is fed with a shift signal by a shift cam 70 on the main drive shaft 20 closing a shift switch S3 in synchronism with the advance of the lugs 42 on the transport conveyer TC. On successive shift pulses the information is shifted from register section "e " to "f ", " g ", "x", " y " and " z ". Comparators x1, y1 and z1 are connected to sense the coded information x, y and z and when a match occurs the associated discharge device receives a discharge signal from the relevant comparator. As shown L6 is assumed to be information code x and is discharged at station X.