Apparatus for classifying and otherwise handling articles

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CLASSIFYING ARTICLES, COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF DISCRETE COMPARTMENTS ARRANGED ABOUT A CENTRAL AXIS IN A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED TIERS TO FORM A SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCULAR RACK, EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS HAVING A RETRACTILE FLOOR AND MEANS FOR SUBSTANTIALLY INSTANTANEOUSLY RETRACTING SAID FLOOR, CHARGING AND DISCHARGING STATIONS LOCATED AT RESPECTIVE POINTS IN THE CIRCUMFERENCE OF SAID RACK, A TURNTABLE MOUNTED WITHIN SAID RACK FOR ROTATION ABOUT SAID AXIS, AT LEAST ONE TRANSFER UNIT CARRIED BY SAID TURNTABLE AND ADJUSTABLE THEREON IN ELEVATION TO AN OPERATING LEVEL APPROPRIATE TO ANY ONE OF THE TIERS OF THE RACK, MEANS FOR CONTINUOUSLY ROTATING SAID TURNTABLE TO BRING SAID TRANSFER UNIT INTO OPERATIVE POSITIONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH SAID CHARGING AND DISCHARGING STATIONS AND WITH THE DIFFERENT COMPARTMENTS OF A TIER IN TURN, SAID TRANSFER UNIT COMPRISING A DELIVERY CARRIER MEMBER AND A REMOVAL CARRIER MEMBER IN SUCH FIXED VERTICALLY SPACED RELATIONSHIP THAT WHEN SAID TRANSFER UNIT OCCUPIES AN OPERATIONAL POSITION RELATIVE TO ANY TIER OF THE RACK, SAID DELIVERY CARRIER MEMBER IS DISPOSED AT A LEVEL ABOVE SAID TIER AND SAID REMOVAL CARRIER MEMBER IS DISPOSED AT A LEVEL BELOW SAID TIER, SAID DELIVERY CARRIER MEMBER HAVING A RETRACTILE FLOOR AND SAID TRANSFER UNIT HAVING MEANS FOR SUBSTANTIALLY INSTANTANEOUSLY RETRACTING SAID FLOOR, AND SELECTOR MEANS ADAPTED TO ACTUATE SAID FLOORRETRACTING MEANS OF SAID COMPARTMENTS AND OF SAID TRANSFER UNIT SELECTIVELY.