Program changing in electronic data processing

Claim 1

IN AN ELECTRONIC SORTING APPARATUS FOR SORTING ARTICLES WITH SORTING NUMBERS RECORDED THEREON HAVING AN INPUT MEANS TO RECEIVE SAID ARTICLES AND TO DETECT THE SORTING NUMBERS RECORDED THEREON, A PLURALITY OF POCKETS INTO WHICH SAID ARTICLES ARE TO BE SORTED, A ROTATABLE MAGNETIC DRUM TO STORE INFORMATION IN A PLURALITY OF SLOTS ANGULARLY SPACED AROUND SAID DRUM, SAID SLOTS EACH HAVING A DIFFERENT ADDRESS AND ADAPTED TO STORE A SORTING NUMBER AND AT LEAST ONE POCKET ASSIGNMENT, AND MEANS TO COMPARE EACH SORTING NUMBER STORED ON SAID MAGNETIC DRUM WITH THE SORTING NUMBERS DETECTED BY SAID INPUT MEANS AND TO DIRECT THE ARTICLES TO THE POCKETS SELECTED BY THE POCKET ASSIGNMENTS RECORDED AT THE SAME ADDRESSES ON SAID MAGNETIC DRUM WITH THE SORTING NUMBERS COINCIDING WITH THE SORTING NUMBERS ON SAID ARTICLES; THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING MEANS TO RECORD INFORMATION ON SAID MAGNETIC DRUM IN THE SLOTS PASSING IN RECORDING RELATIONSHIP THEREWITH, COUNTING MEANS TO COUNT THE SLOTS AS THEY PASS IN RECORDING RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID RECORDING MEANS, BUFFER STORAGE MEANS TO STORE A SORTING NUMBER, A POCKET ASSIGNMENT AND THE ADDRESS OF A SLOT ON SAID DRUM, A NORMALLY DISABLED GATE CONNECTED TO FEED THE SORTING NUMBER AND THE POCKET ASSIGNMENT STORED IN SAID BUFFER STORAGE MEANS TO SAID RECORDING MEANS, MEANS TO ENABLE SAID GATE WHEN THE COUNT REGISTERED BY SAID COUNTING MEANS COINCIDES WITH THE ADDRESS STORED IN SAID BUFFER STORAGE MEANS, AND MEANS SELECTIVELY OPERABLE TO FEED TO SAID BUFFER STORAGE MEANS A POCKET ASSIGNMENT, A SORTING NUMBER, AND AN ADDRESS DETECTED BY SAID INPUT MEANS AS RECORDED ON A PROGRAM CHANGE ARTICLE FED TO SAID INPUT MEANS.