Automatic sorting machine

Claim 1

AN APPARATUS FOR PHYSICALLY SORTING A QUANTITY OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS HAVING SIMILAR STRUCTURAL BUT DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS, COMPRISING A TESTING STATION, MEANS FOR FEEDING SAID COMPONENTS ONE BY ONE INTO SAID DISPENSING STATION, SAID TESTING STATION BEING ADAPTED TO GUAGE THE FUNCTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF SAID COMPONENTS AND TO PRODUCE A SIGNAL CORRESPONDING TO SAID CHARACTERISTICS, A PLURALITY OF RECEPTACLES ASSOCIATED WITH SAID APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING SAID COMPONENTS, A PLURALITY OF CHUTES DISPOSED RADIALLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID TESTING STATION AND COMMUNICATING WITH SAID RECEPTACLES, A DELIVERY FUNNEL PIVOTALLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID TESTING STATION AND SAID CHUTES, SPACED ABUTMENTS FIXED TO AND EXTENDING IN PARALLEL SPACED RELATION TO THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF SAID FUNNEL, A SERIES OF MOVABLE ACTUATORS SPACED ALONG SAID AXIS IN OPPOSING SPACED RELATION TO SAID ABUTMENTS, EACH OF SAID ACTUATORS BEING FORMED WITH A DISTINCTIVE ABUTMENT-ENGAGING PROFILE CORRESPONDING TO A PARTICULAR ANGULAR POSITION OF SAID MEMBER AND POWER MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID SIGNAL FOR DRIVING SAID ACTUATORS SELECTIVELY INTO ENGAGMEENT WITH SAID ABUTMENTS TO THEREBY ROTATE SAID MEMBER INTO THE ANGULAR POSITION ASSOCIATED WITH THE PARTICULAR DRIVEN ACTUATOR AND INTO ALIGNMENT WITH A PARTICULAR ONE OF SAID CHUTES.