Transfer devices

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR SORTING A COLLECTION OF ARTICLES INTO ANY ONE OF A PLURALITY OF RECEIVER BAGS, WHICH APPARATUS COMPRISES A PLURALITY OF STATIONARY RECEIVER BAGS ARRANGED VERTICALLY IN A CIRCLE ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS, A PLURALITY OF STATIONARY LOADING TRAYS ARRANGED AT SPACED-APART POINTS ABOVE THE CIRCLE OF RECEIVER BAGS, A PLURALITY OF MOVING TRAYS MOUNTED FOR CONTINUOUS MOVEMENT IN A CIRCULAR PATH BENEATH EACH LOADING TRAY AND ABOVE EACH RECEIVER BAG, SAID MOVING TRAYS HAVING A LATCH THEREON AND BEING OPENABLE ON RELEASE OF SAID LATCH, DRIVING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID TRAYS AND DRIVING THE MOVING TRAYS, AS A SINGLE UNIT, AROUND THE CIRCULAR PATH WHEREBY EACH MOVING TRAY PASSES UNDER EACH OF THE LOADING TRAYS AND ABOVE EACH OF THE RECEIVER BAGS, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH LOADING TRAY FOR SELECTING A PARTICULAR RECIEVER BAG INTO WHICH IT IS REQUIRED TO DEPOSIT AN ARTICLE BEING SORTED, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH EACH LOADING TRAY FOR INITIATING AND CONTROLLING THE TRANSFER, BY DROPPNG, OF AN ARTICLE FROM EACH LOADING TRAY WHEN LOADED TO ONE OF THE MOVING TRAYS, A MECHANICAL MEMORY MECHANISM ATTACHED TO EACH MOVING TRAY FOR REMEMBERING A PRE-SELECTION OF A RECEIVER BAG FOR AN ARTICLE TRANSFERRED TO THE MOVING TRAY, AND MEANS FOR INITIATING AND CONTROLLING THE TRANSFER, ALSO BY DROPPING, OF AN ARTICLE FROM A LOADED MOVING TRAY TO THE PRESELECTED RECEIVER BAG, THE MEANS FOR INITIATING THIS SECOND TRANSFER COMPRISING MEANS ABOVE SAID CIRCULAR PATH AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID MECHANICAL MEMORY MECHANISM TO RELEASE THE RELEASABLE LATCH ON THE MOVING TRAY TO OPEN THE MOVING TRAY WHEN THE POSITION OF THE MOVING TRAY RELATIVE TO THE PRE-SELECTED RECEIVER BAG IS SUCH THAT THE ARTICLE THEREON WILL FALL INTO THE BAG.