Abstract
A sorting apparatus and method for sorting units into a unit storage structure in accordance with a pre-determined order, the sorting apparatus comprising a unit search structure containing a record of units in the unit storage structure, and a unit location pointer structure containing location pointers for units in the unit storage structure, wherein the sorting apparatus receives a unit being sorted, the unit search structure reads the unit being sorted, uses its record of units in the unit storage structure to search for a closest matching unit to the unit being sorted, accesses the unit location pointer structure and retrieves a location pointer for the closest matching unit, and the sorting apparatus uses the location pointer of the closest matching unit to access the unit storage structure and to place the unit being sorted into the unit storage structure in an appropriate position in accordance with the pre-determined order.
| Original language | English |
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| Patent number | PCT/GB2006/004526 |
| IPC | US20090182714 A1 |
| Priority date | 06/12/2005 |
| Publication status | Published - 16 Jul 2009 |