Electrical command storage and distribution system

Claim 1

IN A SYSTEM FOR SORTING DIFFERENT TYPES OF UNIT ARTICLES; AN INDENTIFICATION STATION; INPUT MEANS FOR CONVEYING DIFFERENT TYPES OF UNIT ARTICLES THROUGH THE INDENTIFICATION STATION FOR DEVELOPING DIFFERENT INDENTIFICATION SIGNALS ACCORDING TO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF ARTICLES; MEANS FOR CONVEYING SAID ARTICLES IN UNIT STEPS OF AWAY FROM SAID INDENTIFICATION STATION ALONG A MAIN PATH; A PLURALITY OF BRANCH EXIT PATHS AT DIFFERENT JUNCTION POINTS ALONG SAID MAIN PATH; MEANS FOR DEVELOPING UNIT ELECTRICAL PULSES HAVING A TIMED RELATION TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID ARTICLES THROUGH SAID INDENTIFICATION STATION AND ALONG SAID MAIN PATH; A PLURALITY OF ELECTRONIC MULTU-CELL SHIFT REGISTERS EACH HAVING THE SAME NUMBER OF UNIT CELLS, SAID NUMBER OF CELLS CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMBER OF STEPS ALONG SAID MAIN PATH BETWEEN SAID INDENTIFICATION STATION AND ONE OF THE JUNCTIONS OF SAID BRANCH EXIT PATH WITH SAID MAIN PATH; MEANS FOR APPLYING DIFFERENT INDIFICATION SIGNALS TO DIFGERENT SHIFT REGISTERS AS AN INPUR INFORMATION SIGNAL; MEANS FOR APPLYING SAID DEVELOPED UNIT PULSES TO SAID SHIFT REGISTERS IN PARALLEL AS SHIFT PULSES TO SHIFT THE INFORMATION SIGNALS THROUGH SAID REGISTERS IN TIMED RELATION TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID ARTICLES THROUGH SAID INDENTIFICATION STATION AND ALONG SAID MAIN PATH; MEANS FOR TAKING OUTPUT SIGNALS FROM DIFFERENT CELLS OF SAID SHIFT REGISTERS HAVING CELL POSITIONS IN SAID REGISTERS CORRESPONDING TO THE STEP LOCATIONS OF THE JUNCTIONS OF DIFFERENT BRANCH EXIT PATHS ALONG SAID MAIN PATH; CONTROL MEANS AT THE JUNCTION LOCATIONS OF SAID BRANCH EXIT PATHS FOR CONTROLLING SELECTIVELY THE CONTINUED MOVEMENT OF SAID ATRICLE ALONG SAID MAIN PATH OR ITS DIVERGENCE INTO THE BRANCH EXIT PATH; AND MEANS FOR APPLYING OUTPUT SIGNALS FROM SAID SHIFT REGISTERS TO SAID JUNCTION CONTROL MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE CONTINUED MOVEMENT OF SAID ARTICLE ALONG SAID MAIN PATH OR ITS DIVERGENCE INTO SAID BRANCH PATH.