Machine for sorting articles of different grades

Claim 1

A MACHINE FOR SORTING ARTICLES OF DIFFERENT GRADES, CHIEFLY GRAINS, FRUIT, ORE AND THE LIKE SHOWING DIFFERENT MAGNETIC, RADIOACTIVE, OPTIC AND THE LIKE PROPERTIES, COMPRISING A CYLINDER HAVING A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A PLURALITY OF ROWS OF ARTICLE-CATCHING MEMBERS CARRIED BY SAID CYLINDER ALONG CURVILINEAR LINES EXTENDING FROM ONE END OF THE CYLINDER TO THE OTHER AND IN WHICH SAID MEMBERS ARE DISTRIBUTED SUBSTANTIALLY IN SUCCESSIVE TRANSVERSE PLANES, SAID MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO CATCH THE ARTICLES NEAR THE LOWER END OF THE CYLINDER AND TO FOLLOW THE UPWARD MOVEMENT OF THE UPWARDLY MOVING SECTION OF THE CYLINDER AND THEN THE DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF THE DOWNWARDLY MOVING SECTION OF THE CYLINDER DOWN TO A PREDETERMINED LEVEL, MEANS CONSTRAINING SAID MEMBERS TO RELEASE THE ARTICLES WHEN THEY REACH SAID LEVEL TO CAUSE THEM TO DROP IN SUCCESSION IN A PREDETERMINED PLANE, A ROTARY DISC EXTENDING LATERALLY OF THE CYLINDER AND REVOLVABLE ROUND A HORIZONTAL AXIS SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO THE CYLINDER AXIS, AT LEAST ONE ARM CARRIED BY SAID DISC, SCANNING MEANS CARRIED BY EACH ARM AND INCLUDING TWO INTERCHANGEABLE REFLECTING SURFACES, THE PATHS FOLLOWED BY WHICH LIE TO EITHER SIDE OF THE PLANE IN WHICH THE ARTICLES DROP OFF THE CYLINDER, OPTICAL MEANS INCLUDING A SOURCE OF LIGHT EXTENDING ALONG THE AXIS OF THE DISC, MEANS FORMING WITH THE LIGHT FROM SAID SOURCE TWO BEAMS IMPINGING ON THE CORRESPONDING REFLECTING SURFACES, TWO CHROMATIC SELECTING MEANS SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF THE LIGHT REFLECTED BY THE CORRESPONDING REFLECTING SURFACES, A PHOTO-CELL SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF EACH MONOCHROMATIC BEAM OF LIGHT PRODUCED BY EACH CHROMATIC SELECTING MEANS, A REFERENCE REFLECTIVE SURFACE ILLUMINATED BY SAID SOURCE OF LIGHT, A FURTHER CHROMATIC SELECTING MEANS SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF THE LIGHT REFLECTED BY THE REFERENCE SURFACE, A FURTHER PHOTO-CELL SUBJECTED TO THE ACTION OF EACH MONOCHROMATIC BEAM OF LIGHT PRODUCED BY SAID FURTHER CHROMATIC SELECTING MEANS, AT LEAST ONE ELECTRIC BRIDGE FED BY THE CURRENTS PASSING OUT OF THE CELLS ILLUMINATED BY LIGHT OF A SAME COLOR, MEANS FOR SYNCHRONOUSLY DRIVING THE CYLINDER AND THE DISC, A PLURALITY OF FLAPS REGISTERING SUBSTANTIALLY WITH EACH TRANSVERSE PLANE OF THE CYLINDER AND ADAPTED TO BE SHIFTED EACH OUT OF ITS NORMAL VERTICAL POSITION INTO AN OBLIQUE POSITION FOR WHICH IT SHIFTS THE CORRESPONDING DROPPING ARTICLE OUT OF THE PLANE IN WHICH IT DROPS, AN ELECTROMAGNET CONTROLLING EACH FLAP, MEANS ASSOCIATING AND AMPLIFYING THE CURRENTS PRODUCED BY LACK OF EQUILIBRIUM IN THE BRIDGES AND FEEDING THEM INTO THE ELECTROMAGNETS, AND A ROTARY SWITCH RIGID WITH THE DISC AND CONTROLLING LAST-MENTIONED MEANS TO FEED THAT ELECTROMAGNET WHICH CORRESPONDS TO THE TRANSVERSE PLANE IN WHICH THE SCANNING OF THE DROPPING ARTICLE IS BEING PERFORMED.