Patent GB-872020-A (GB)
Title: Electrical sorting apparatus
IPC: G06F7/24
Filed: 1959-04-16
Abstract: 872,020. Cheque sorting. NATIONAL CASH REGISTER CO. April 16, 1959 [April 28, 1958], No. 12930/59. Class 106 (1). Electrical sorting apparatus for sorting record media, as described cheques, each having a plurality of areas on which control data is recorded, includes data analysing means for generating control data-signifying signals in response to analysis of the control data, preselector apparatus for selecting a particular area with respect to which a sorting operation is to be performed and to provide a synchronizing signal for each medium whenever the particular area is analysed and sorting control apparatus responsive to coincidence of a synchronizing signal and a control data-signifying signal in said particular area to provide a sorting control signal for each medium, and sorting apparatus including distributing means controlled by the sorting control signals for distributing each medium to that one of a plurality of sorting locations determined by the significance of the control data recorded in the particular area of the medium. A cheque (Fig. 1) is overprinted in magnetic ink, the characters appearing in five major fields a to e separated and bounded by cue symbols 1 to 7 each of characteristic shape. The fields are the dollar amount field a, preceded by the amount e.g. cue symbol 1, the transaction field b, preceded by a transaction cue symbol 2, the account number c 1  and branch number c 2  field, preceded by a primary cue symbol 3 and subdivided by a secondary cue symbol 4, the American Bankers Association (ABA) number field d, preceded by a primary cue symbol 5, and the Federal Reserve Banks (FRD) number field e, between a secondary cue symbol 6 and primary cue symbol 7. Fields a, d and e are zero-filled fields i.e. are composed of a fixed number of characters, zeros being provided to the left of the highest significant digit. Field b is subdivided into transaction No. 1 and No. 2 fields, No. 1 being defined as any digit character in the field b as selected by counting from the right, and No. 2 as the digit character appearing in the left hand side of field b. Cheques are not sorted on the amount field, but this may be checked that it is zero-filled. General description.-Cheques are fed from a magazine by rotary mechanism on to a belt and pass a photo-electric sensing device which produces a signal 36 (Fig. 4) while the cheque is sensed. The rising edge of signal 36 triggers a flip-flop to start a signal 47, the flip-flop being switched off by a timing signal 45 produced by a shaft in synchronism with the feed mechanism. The signal 47 is passed to character identification system 21 (Fig. 3) where it is developed into signal 49 which begins when the cheque is adjacent the reading head of the apparatus and is concluded by the absence of further characters on the cheque. Signal 49 unblocks the output of the character identification system. Signal 49 is entered on line 50 into sorting control system 22 where it provides first and second timing control signals, and to a second flip-flop which produces a third timing control signal 59 which issues while the succeeding cheque is being read and is entered into the sorting control system over line 60. The character reading and identification system may be of the kinds described in Specification 786,466 or 785,853, or ina paper "Automatic Input for Business Data-processing Systems" (Eldridge et. al.) published in the Proceedings of the Eastern Joint Computor Conference, December 1956, the contents of which are summarized in the Specification. The character identification system is connected to the sorting control system 22 by lines 71 to 74 carrying signals representing symbolic characters, and lines 75 to 84 carrying signals representing digits. A control panel 86 has switches e.g. 89 on which the field to be sorted is set up by closing an appropriate switch, and switches 69 on which the area or character position within a field on which sorting is to take place is set up. The field and area are entered into the sorting control system 22, the output from which on one of lines 115 to 125 is a signal, representing the digit value of the character in the area being searched, which opens a corresponding sorting pocket, or an error signal routing the cheque to an error pocket. An additional pocket for cheques developing a special sorting control signal is provided. Operation.-The sorting control system is shown in Figs. 6(a) to 6(g). Terminals 150 to 153 receive respectively, primary cue, secondary cue, amount and transaction symbol-signifying signals. The primary cue symbols, three in number, actuate a counter 281. The control signals 49 are received at terminal 155 and the signals 59 at terminal 156. First, second and third timing control signals issue from circuits 395, 397 and 368 respectively. A field selection signal marks one of the terminals 157 to 162 and opens certain gates of the systems 163 to 165. An area selection signal marks one of the terminals 200 to 213 and opens one of the gates in the system 214 as well as gates 171 and 177. For example if the second area in the ABA field d is to be sorted terminals 158 and 201 are marked and gates 168, 174 and 179, together with gate 216, are opened. The ABA field is preceded by the second primary cue symbol 5 so that the output of flip-flop 284 of counter 281 is gated through 168 to set a trigger 295 which opens gates 296, 297. Digit character signals are thereafter passed through OR circuit 244 and gate 296 to a counter 299. The output of flip-flop 302 operated by the second character sensed is gated to OR circuit 315 and circuit 316 produces a signal opening the gates of system 270. The terminal of 250 to 259 appropriate to the value of the digit in the second area of the ABA field is simultaneously marked by the character identification system and the signal gated to set one of the triggers 320 forming a primary memory network. The second timing control signal gates the signal stored in the primary network to a secondary memory network 334 and the third timing control signal from circuit 368 clears the secondary network to mark one of the terminals 370 to 380. The first timing control signal of the next cycle clears counters 281 and 299 and primary network 320. Error detection.-An error trigger 400 is actuated by signals from OR circuit 401 and operates to clear the counter 299, and by closing gate 399, inhibit the transfer of second timing control signals. The following errors result in the actuation of trigger 400. (a) Wrong primary cue symbol count. If there are other than three such symbols, the last stage of counter 281 is off when the second timing control signal issues and this is gated to circuit 401; (b) Missing amount cue symbol. Flip-flop 410 records the presence of this symbol. If the flip-flop is off the first primary cue symbol signal is gated to circuit 401; (c) Missing digit in zero amount field. This field is zero filled and, unless switch 108 (Fig. 3) is actuated, a check is made that the field is complete. A single shot multivibrator 418 charges as each digit is sensed but if a digit is missing the multivibrator discharges triggering flip-flop 420 to gate the next digit signal to circuit 401. The flip-flop is reset by the transaction cue symbol identifying signal; (d) Double reading of a character is signalled from the identifying circuit 21 to the sorting circuit on line 85 (Fig. 3) to terminal 154 and is gated to circuit 410; (e) Missing digit in FRD or ABA fields. The first four stages of counter 299 are used to count the digits in these zero-filled fields and if the fourth stage is off at the end of the count gates 178 or 179 pass a signal to circuit 401. Special decision pocket.-A cheque is routed to this pocket when flip-flop 321 is triggered, to mark terminal 370. In zero-suppressed fields, b, c 1  and c 2 , cheques are sorted into the special decision pocket if the digit character count in the field does not reach the number of the area on which the sort is being made, e.g. if the sort is on the third digit position, cheques having characters only in the first two positions will be routed to the special decision pocket. In the zero-filled ABA and FRD field, d and e, the special sorting pocket distinguishes between significant and non-significant zeros. A zero in the selected area of the field triggers flip-flops 322 and 435 and if there are further signals indicating non-zero digits flip-flop 435 is reset through OR circuit 437 and the terminal 371 is marked. If however further signals from the field are all zeros, flip-flop 435 remains on with the result that at the end of the field sensing, flip-flop 321 is switched on to mark the special decision terminal and flip-flop 322 reset. Sorting-timer (Fig. 5).-A timer is associated with each of the terminals 370 to 380 and consists of a rotating wheel 135 carrying a number of pins 136 normally extending upward of the plane of the wheel. Marking the corresponding terminal energizes a solenoid 137 which moves a cam 139 into the path of the pins 136 and causes one to be pressed to extend below the plane of the wheel. After an interval the pin contacts a star wheel 143 actuating a switch to open the sorting pocket. The star wheel mounting 145 is rotatable to vary the distance between the cam 139 and the star wheel and thus the interval between marking the terminal and the opening of the sorting pocket.