Dispatching control system for conveyors

Claim 1

A DISPATCH SYSTEM FOR A CONVEYOR WHICH PROPELS A PLURALITY OF LOAD CARRIERS ALONG A DEFINED PATH OF TRAVEL, SAID SYSTEM COMPRISING: (A) A PLURALITY OF SIGNAL CARRIERS; (B) ATTACHING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING EACH OF SAID SIGNAL CARRIERS TO A MOVING ELEMENT OF THE CONVEYOR IN DEFINED RELATION TO ONE OF THE LOAD CARRIERS THEREOF; (C) EACH SIGNAL CARRIER BEING CONSTRUCTED OF NON-MAGNETIC MATERIAL AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF MAGNETIZABLE MEMORY ELEMENTS MOUNTED THEREON IN A SPECIFIC PATTERN, AND A PERMANENT MAGNET SIGNAL ELEMENT MOUNTED ON THE SIGNAL CARRIER IN SPACED RELATION TO SAID PATTERN SO AS TO TRAVEL ON A LINE TRANSVERSELY SPACED THEREFROM WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF TRAVEL OF SAID CONVEYOR; (D) AN ERASING ELEMENT HAVING MEANS FOR DEMAGNETIZING ALL MEMORY ELEMENTS ON SAID SIGNAL CARRIER; (E) A RECORDING STATION LOCATED ADJACENT THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID SIGNAL CARRIER SUBSEQUENT TO SAID ERASING ELEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE CONVEYOR, SAID RECORDING STATION INCLUDING ELEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVETHE NUMBER OF MEMORY ELEMENTS ON THE SIGNAL CARRIER AND ARRANGED IN THE SAME PATTERN, A SENSING DEVICE RESPONSIVE TO THE PRESENCE OF SAID SIGNAL ELEMENT AND MOUNTED WITH RESPECT TO SAID RECORDING HEADS IN THE SAME SPACED RELATION AS IS SAID SIGNAL ELEMENT TO SAID MEMORY ELEMENTS, KEY AND CIRCUIT MEANS FOR POTENTIALLY ACTIVATING CERTAIN RECORDING HEADS IN ACCORDANCE WITH A SELECTED DESTINATION OF A DISPATCH CODE, SAID CIRCUIT MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY ENERGIZING SAID CERTAIN RECORDING HEADS BY A RAPIDLY DISCHARGED CURRENT PULSE IN RESPONSE TO THE PASSAGE OF SAID SIGNAL ELEMENT BY THE SAID SENSING DEVICE WHEREBY A MEMORY ELEMENT CORRESPONDING IN POSITION TO EACH OF SAID CERTAIN RECORDING HEADS IS MAGNETIZED WITH THE POLARITY FOR SAID SELECTED DESTINATION; (F) AND A READING STATION MOUNTED ADJACENT TO THE PATH OF CARRIER TRAVEL AT EACH DISPATCH CODE DESTINATION, EACH READING STATION HAVING A DETECTOR RESPONSIVE TO THE POLARITY OF EACH MAGNETIZED MEMORY ELEMENT OF SAID SIGNAL CARRIER UTILIZED IN THE DISPATCH CODE FOR THAT DESTINATION AND SAID MEMORY ELEMENT DETECTORS BEING MOUNTED IN THE SAME SPACED RELATION TO ANY OTHER DETECTOR AS ARE THE MAGNETIED MEMORY ELEMENTS MOUNTED RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER ON THE SIGNAL CARRIER.