Machine for sorting and retrieval of flat objects

Claim 1

In a machine for sorting and retrieval of flat objects, comprising a cylindrical housing on whose walls storages of objects are arranged in several decks over the periphery thereof, and means designed for conveying the objects and fashioned as a squirrel-cage return drum accommodated inside the housing, said drum carrying on its spokes, for movement along the latter, object holders designed to convey the objects to the storages, containers for delivering the objects from the storages and cams for moving storage platforms upon the extraction of objects, which cams cooperate by means of selector modules with a respective distributing channel of a stationary vertical cylindrical master form, said machine further comprising means for feeding the objects into the machine having a mechanism for feeding an array of objects with a mechanism for separating the objects one-by-one from the array and means for identifying a distinguishing feature of each object, a conveyer for conveying the objects out of the machine and means for automatic control of the machine, an improvement consisting in that the machine further comprises a means for transferring a group of objects from a preset storage mounted on the cylindrical housing to the means designed for feeding the objects into the machine and including a platform which cooperates with a container adapted to deliver a group of objects from the storage and with a mechanism for delivering the objects to a separator of the means for feeding the objects into the machine, the stationary cylindrical master form being provided with additional selector modules and distributing channels closed over the circumference of the master form in the top and bottom portions of the latter.