Card processing apparatus

Claim 1

IN A PROCESSOR FOR DOCUMENTS HAVING M LINES OF DATA STORAGE POSITIONS, THE COMBINATION: A TRANSPORT PATH ALONG WHICH DOCUMENTS ARE FED SINGLY IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE LINES OF DATA STORAGE POSITIONS; A ROW OF PROCESSING ELEMENTS TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF FEED FOR PROCESSING THE DOCUMENTS A LINE AT A TIME; A FIRST SET OF M RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS DISPOSED ALONG SAID PATH AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM SAID PROCESSING ELEMENTS ON THE ANTERIOR SIDE THEREOF, EACH OF THE RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS IN SAID FIRST SET BEING FUNCTIONALLY RELATED TO A DIFFERENT ONE OF THE M LINES ON A DOCUMENT BEING PROCESSED; A SECOND SET OF M CORRESPONDING RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS DISPOSED ALONG SAID PATH AT DIFFERENT DISTANCES FROM SAID PROCESSING ELEMENTS ON THE POSTERIOR SIDE THEREOF; A SOURCE OF RADIATION FOR SAID RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS, SAID DOCUMENT PASSING BETWEEN SAID SOURCE AND SAID RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS; EACH OF THE M RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS OF THE FIRST SET AND THE CORRESPONDING RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS OF SAID SECOND SET BEING SO LOCATED RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND TO SAID PROCESSING ELEMENTS THAT BOTH OF THE TWO CORRESPONDING RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS RECEIVE RADIATION FROM SAID SOURCE WHEN THE RELATED LINE ON THE DOCUMENT BEING PROCESSED IS IN POSITION TO BE PROCESSED BY SAID PROCESSING ELEMENTS, AND WITH THAT DOCUMENT INTERRUPTING THE RADIATION PATH TO ONE OF SAID TWO RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS WHEN ANY OTHER LINE ON THAT DOCUMENT IS IN POSITION TO BE PROCESSED; AND M COINCIDENCE GATE MEANS EACH INCLUDING A SEPARATE CORRESPONDING PAIR OF SAID RADIATION RESPONSIVE MEANS.