Postal system

Claim 1

A machine for sorting articles by collecting them from randomly positioned locations from at least one of a plurality of supply sources, each article being in a respective one of a plurality of destination categories comprising: first generating means station for generating an address code representing the address of each of said articles; a primary sort means comprising a plurality of temporary holding slOts; depositing means for depositing each article in selected respective one of said slots; first discharge means for discharging from said slots the articles contained therein; collecting means for collecting and labeling the articles discharged by said first discharge means; tying means for selectively tying said articles collected by said collecting means; collection stations for storage of those of said articles not selectively tied by said tying means; a control computer, said control computer further comprising: a means for keeping a first running inventory of the number of articles in each address code by slot location and a first running count of the extent to which said plurality of sorting slots is occupied, a second generating means for generating a destination sort code, said destination sort code capable of activating through said computer, said first discharge means to discharge from said plurality of sorting slots all articles of a given destination category, in response to said means for keeping a first running inventory and said first running count said destination sort code being generated when less than an arbitrarily designated number of said plurality of sorting slots is occupied, third generating means for generating a dispatch sort code, said dispatch sort code capable of activating through the computer said first discharge means to discharge from said plurality of sorting slots articles of different destination categories, in response to said means for keeping a first running inventory and first running count, said dispatch sort code being generated when more than an arbitrarily designated number of said plurality of sorting slots is occupied, and first control and switching means responsive to said means for keeping a first running count and said arbitrarily designated number of said plurality of sorting slots filled at a given time, said control computer operatively connected: to said first generating means station for receiving the address codes representing the destination of said articles from said first generating means station, to said depositing means for controlling the deposit of said articles of like address codes in the same ones of said slots, to said first discharge means to control the release of said first discharge means for discharging said articles from said slots, to said collection means for controlling said collection means to accept said articles discharged from said slots by said first discharge means, to said tying means for controlling said tying means to selectively tie said articles in bundles and selectively pass the remainder of said articles into said collection stations, whereby articles deposited by said depositing means in one of a plurality of temporary holding sorting slots are discharged from said slot by said first discharge means under the control of said control computer and is carried by said collection means to a tying means where predetermined quantities of articles having identical codes are tied and diverted from the sorting machine.