Patent GB-700667-A (GB)
Title: Sorting machine for paper forms having data-representing perforations
Inventor: KUSTERS NORBERT LEO
IPC: G06K7/02
Filed: 1952-05-26
Abstract: 700,667. Statistical apparatus. NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL. May 26, 1952, No. 13331/52. Class 106 (1) A machine for sorting thin flexible documents according to data representing perforations therein, comprises a driven roller having suction applied during a part of each revolution to ports in contact with the document to hold it against the roller. The roller ports correspond to the index positions on the document and means are provided to render the suction inoperative to hold a document having the index positions thereof aligned with the roller holes both lengthwise and circumferentially of the roller when the document is perforated at the corresponding index position. As shown in Fig. 3 a stack of cheques 20 is arranged on a holder 21 and the stack is held up against a plate 22 by a weight 23 in such position that the cheque immediately against the plate 22 is engaged by suction mouths 24 of the feeder device 25, and is carried thereby to a position to be engaged between the driven roller 26 and spring pressed roller 27. The driven roller 26 advances the cheque as indicated by the arrows so as to be engaged between the selector roller 28 and spring pressed roller 29. If the cheque is punched at a given index position in a row of index positions, it is advanced, without following the periphery of the selector roller 28, so as to strike the top surface of the guide plate 30 which guides the cheque into the nip between the driven roller 31 and the spring pressed roller 32. The driven roller 31 thus advances the cheque so that it drops into a bin A mounted in support 33. If, however, the cheque is not punched at a given position it is held by the selector roller for a portion of one revolution of the selector roller such that the cheque is lifted on to the guide plate 34 and is then engaged by the driven roller 35 and spring pressed roller 36. The cheque is then advanced under guide plate 42 to be engaged between driven rollers 37 and spring pressed roller 38 whereby the cheque is passed to a bin B mounted on support 39. The selector roller 28 is provided with a rubber sleeve 52 formed with a flat 53 Figs. 5 and 7. A row of holes 55 preferably 20 in number extend through the rubber sleeve 52 and the wall of the roller 28 into the chamber 54. Each of the holes 55 is adapted to be closed off by a valve 57 carrying a gasket 57A mounted on a stem 58 sliding in a bore 59. Each valve member is normally urged by a spring 60 to the closed position shown in Fig. 7. Secured to the base of the chamber 54 is a locking-plate which will retain any valve member in open position against the spring 60 by means of pins 65 which engage with the locking plate, so that any selected combination of holes 55 may be actively connected to the suction chamber. As shown in Fig. 2 a cheque 20 may be provided with holes 79 in any of the index positions marked X, a second set of holes may also be provided at the lower edge as shown at 80. If none of the holes 55<SP>1</SP> is open the suction ports 56 pull the cheque against the flat 53 and hold it until the suction roller has passed through an angle such that the bore 70 and port 71, Fig. 5, are no longer in communication, whereupon the suction is cut off and the cheque is released to pass to rollers 35, 36 over guide 34. If some or all of the ports 55 are open but there are no perforations in the cheque it will be carried to rollers 35, 36 in similar manner. If one of the holes is open, any cheque not having a corresponding perforation will also be passed to rollers 35, 36, into bin B, but if a cheque has a perforation in that position air entering the chamber 54 through the open hole prevents a vacuum building up sufficient for the ports 56 to hold the cheque, it therefore passes down to rollers 31, 32 over guide 30 and drops into bin A. The cheques are preferably punched according to a binary code in which the absence or presence of a perforation at each position represents 0 and 1 or vice versa. The valves closing ports 55 are then adjusted for each run through the machine so as to sort the cheques into numerical order or to locate a particular cheque from the batch.