Color sorting apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SORTING ARTICLES BY COLOR COMPRISING AN ENDLESS CONVEYOR, SAID CONVEYOR COMPRISING ROTATABLE PULLEYS AT EACH END OF SAID CONVEYOR, LATERALLY SPACED FLEXIBLE ENDLESS MEMBERS TRAINED ABOUT SAID PULLEYS AND HAVING HORIZONTAL UPPER REACHES, MEANS FOR DRIVING ONE OF SAID PULLEYS, FLIGHT MEMBERS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED BETWEEN SAID FLEXIBLE MEMBERS, A SHALLOW ARTICLE RECEIVING POCKET FORMED IN EACH FLIGHT MEMBER, A PLURALITY OF TRACKS AT ONE SIDE OF THE UPPER REACH OF FLIGHT MEMBERS, LATERALLY MOVABLE SUPPORT MEANS ON EACH FLIGHT MEMBER FOR RIDING IN ONE OF SAID TRACKS FOR RELEASABLY MAINTAINING SAID FLIGHT MEMBERS IN A HORIZONTAL POSITION AS THEY ARE CARRIED ALONG THE UPPER REACH OF SAID FLEXIBLE MEMBERS, GATES FOR THE ENTRANCE ENDS OF SAID TRACKS, SAID TRACKS TERMINATING AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS ALONG THE CONVEYOR, MEANS FOR OPTICALLY INSPECTING ARTICLES RESTING IN SAID SHALLOW POCKETS OF THE FLIGHT MEMBERS, AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID GATES IN RESPONSE TO THE INSPECTION FOR DIRECTING SAID FLIGHT MEMBER SUPPORT MEANS TO SELECTED TRACKS.

Claim 2

THE METHOD OF SORTING ARTICLES BY COLOR WHICH ARTICLES HAVE THE CHARACTERISTIC THAT THE REFLECTANCES OF EACH OF VARIOUS COLOR GRADES OF THE ARTICLE AT TWO SELECTED WAVE LENGTHS HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT RATIOS, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF ILLUMINATING A HORIZONTALLY MOVING CONVEYOR SUPPORTED ARTICLE, FORMING A COMPOSITE BEAM OF LIGHT MADE UP OF EQUAL PORTIONS OF THE LIGHT REFLECTED BY DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE ARTICLE, DIVIDING SAID COMPOSITE BEAM INTO SUB-BEAMS OF SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL INTENSITIES, FILTERING SAID SUB-BEAMS INTO COLOR BEAMS AT SAID SELECTED WAVE LENGTHS, SENSING THE INTENSITIES OF SAID COLOR BEAMS TO PROVIDE CORRESPONDING ELECTRICAL COLOR SIGNAL VOLTAGES, EQUALIZING THE TWO COLOR SIGNAL VOLTAGES DEVELOPED UPON INSPECTION OF AN ARTICLE HAVING A PREDETERMINED COLOR, COMPARING THE COLOR SIGNAL VOLTAGES DEVELOPED AT ONE OF SAID WAVE LENGTHS BY ARTICLES HAVING COLORS DIFFERENT FROM SAID PREDETERMINED COLOR WITH SEVERAL PRESELECTED FRACTIONS OF THE COLOR SIGNAL VOLTAGES DEVELOPED AT THE OTHER OF SAID WAVE LENGTHS BY THE SAME ARTICLES, AND USING THE RESULTS OF SAID SIGNAL COMPARISIONS TO PRODUCE SORTING SIGNALS FOR SEGREGATING ARTICLES HAVING DIFFERENT COLORS.