US3645392A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Document sorting system
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1970-08-26
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Granted: 1972-02-29
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Expires: 1990-08-26
Abstract
Abstract A magnetic ink character reader/sorter having improved means for processing the character signals, storing the pocket selection control signals derived therefrom, and checking the overall operation of the machine. The documents are read by an improved single-gap recognition system, and the sorting information derived therefrom is supplied to a plurality of buffers in accordance with control signals derived from the motion of a document transport.
Inventors
- 👤 Rudy M Chittenden
- 👤 Stephen Deskevich
- 👤 Norman R Plummer
- 👤 Gene D Rohrer
- 👤 Louis F Zaman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-02 19:08
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06F; G06F7/00; G06F7/06; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/10; G06V30/00; G06V30/10; G06V30/14; G06V30/144; G06V30/19; G06V30/192; G06V30/22; G06V30/224; G06V30/2253
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 12
Claim 1
Independent Claim
217 words
In a document sorting system for sorting documents having sorting information thereon, comprising one or more characters and including scanning means for scanning said sorting information and developing therefrom analog signals representative of the scanning information, a document transport system for transporting said documents from a document feed device past said scanning means and delivering said documents to a selected one of a plurality of stacker pockets, a recognition system connected to said scanning means and effective to analyze said analog signals and provide digital character output signals unique for each character in said sorting information, and sort control means connected to said recognition system for selecting a stacker pocket in accordance with sorting information desired from said document, the combination with the foregoing of first checking means for checking the operation of said recognition system, comprising analyzing means connected to said scanning means for deriving a supplemental set of character signals from said analog inputs, comprising means connected to said analyzing means and effective to provide an error signal when the digital character output signals from said recognition system do not match the supplemental signals from said analyzing means, and document reject control means governed by said sort control means comprising means for inhibiting the selection of a stacker pocket when an error signal is produced.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
217 words
In a document sorting system for sorting documents having sorting information thereon, comprising one or more characters and including scanning means for scanning said sorting information and developing therefrom analog signals representative of the scanning information, a document transport system for transporting said documents from a document feed device past said scanning means and delivering said documents to a selected one of a plurality of stacker pockets, a recognition system connected to said scanning means and effective to analyze said analog signals and provide digital character output signals unique for each character in said sorting information, and sort control means connected to said recognition system for selecting a stacker pocket in accordance with sorting information desired from said document, the combination with the foregoing of first checking means for checking the operation of said recognition system, comprising analyzing means connected to said scanning means for deriving a supplemental set of character signals from said analog inputs, comprising means connected to said analyzing means and effective to provide an error signal when the digital character output signals from said recognition system do not match the supplemental signals from said analyzing means, and document reject control means governed by said sort control means comprising means for inhibiting the selection of a stacker pocket when an error signal is produced.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
37 words
The combination as claimed in claim 1, in which the number of criteria for deriving the supplemental set of character signals from said analog signals is less than the criteria for deriving said digital character output signals.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
34 words
The combination as claimed in claim 2, in which the criteria for deriving the supplemental set of character signals includes the presence or absence of peak signals at predetermined times in said analog signals.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
188 words
In a document sorting system for sorting documents in accordance with sorting information thereon, and including document handling means for feeding said documents singly, from a document feeder and separator transporting said documents past a reading station and thence to a selected one of a plurality of document stackers, the combination with the foregoing of control means for the document handling means including first latch means for governing said document transport means including manual means for setting said latch in an on condition to thereby energize said transport, a start time delay means, second latch means connected to said first latch means via said start time delay means for energizing the document separator after a predetermined time interval following the energization of said first latch means, including manual means for resetting said second latch means, transport emitter means effective to produce repetitive pulses in accordance with the operation of said transport means, document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document in said transport at different locations, and circuit means governed by said transport emitter means and said document sensing means for resetting said second latch means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
188 words
In a document sorting system for sorting documents in accordance with sorting information thereon, and including document handling means for feeding said documents singly, from a document feeder and separator transporting said documents past a reading station and thence to a selected one of a plurality of document stackers, the combination with the foregoing of control means for the document handling means including first latch means for governing said document transport means including manual means for setting said latch in an on condition to thereby energize said transport, a start time delay means, second latch means connected to said first latch means via said start time delay means for energizing the document separator after a predetermined time interval following the energization of said first latch means, including manual means for resetting said second latch means, transport emitter means effective to produce repetitive pulses in accordance with the operation of said transport means, document sensing means for sensing the presence of a document in said transport at different locations, and circuit means governed by said transport emitter means and said document sensing means for resetting said second latch means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
70 words
The combination as claimed in claim 4, further including counter and decoding means connected to said transport emitter means, and first jam detector circuit means combining selected outputs of said counter and decoding means and said document sensing means for detecting a document jam between said separator means and said reading stations, said first jam detector means being connected to said second latch means for resetting said second latch means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
47 words
The combination as claimed in claim 5, further including second jam detector means connected to reset said first and said second latch means simultaneously, said second jam detector means being rendered operative by a document jam in said transport between said reading station and said document stackers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
200 words
In a document sorting system for sorting documents having sorting information thereon, comprising one or more characters and including scanning means for scanning said sorting information and developing therefrom analog signals representative of the scanning information, a document transport system for transporting said documents from a document feed device past said scanning means and delivering said documents to a selected one of a plurality of stacker pockets, a recognition system connected to said scanning means and effective to analyze said analog signals and provide digital character output signals unique for each character in said sorting information, the combination with the foregoing of sort control means connected to said recognition system for selecting a stacker pocket in accordance with sorting information desired from said document, comprising a plurality of storage buffers, connected in cascade, means for supplying sorting information to the first of said buffers in accordance with sorting information desired from said document, means governed by said document transport means for advancing the sorting information from buffer to buffer in synchronism with the motion of the documents in said transport, and circuit means governed by said buffers for controlling the movement of said documents to selected ones of said pockets.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
200 words
In a document sorting system for sorting documents having sorting information thereon, comprising one or more characters and including scanning means for scanning said sorting information and developing therefrom analog signals representative of the scanning information, a document transport system for transporting said documents from a document feed device past said scanning means and delivering said documents to a selected one of a plurality of stacker pockets, a recognition system connected to said scanning means and effective to analyze said analog signals and provide digital character output signals unique for each character in said sorting information, the combination with the foregoing of sort control means connected to said recognition system for selecting a stacker pocket in accordance with sorting information desired from said document, comprising a plurality of storage buffers, connected in cascade, means for supplying sorting information to the first of said buffers in accordance with sorting information desired from said document, means governed by said document transport means for advancing the sorting information from buffer to buffer in synchronism with the motion of the documents in said transport, and circuit means governed by said buffers for controlling the movement of said documents to selected ones of said pockets.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
The combination as claimed in claim 7, in which more than one sorting pocket is selected by each buffer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
41 words
The combination as claimed in claim 8, further including two-position pocket deflection mechanisms associated with each pocket, and connected to said buffers to be positively operated to their two positions by first and second pocket control signals supplied from said buffers.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-02-28 | 1975-08-30 | 1976-02-29 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-02-28 | 1979-08-30 | 1980-02-29 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-02-28 | 1983-08-30 | 1984-02-29 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |