A method and apparatus for the classification of articles which are in a state of motion.

摘要

Randomly distributed pieces of piece goods in a state of translatory movement are identified and classified on the basis of a physical property thereof. The travel path of the piece goods is observed with a detector (1) which scans the path transversely and is suitable for the physical property in question, said detector delivering an electric signal analogous with the observed physical quantity at each point of the scanning line, as determined by the resolution of the detector. Thereupon, the electric signals are processed continuously in real time by a line analyser (2) and converted into binary key number groups belonging individually to each piece in the scanning line. The key number groups are processed recursively during the passage of the pieces in classifying units (3) reserved for each piece during the passage thereof and the classification is carried out on the basis of the key number group. Finally, upon completion of the classification of the piece, the corresponding classifying unit (3) is released by a main processor (4) in order to perform the classification of a new piece which has arrived in the scan line of the detector and is randomly situated therein.