Synchronous semi-automatic parallel sorting

An apparatus for identifying and designating an article for sorting by an operator, comprising:

• a conveyor positioned to transport said article to said operator;
• an optical reader positioned to capture destination indicia affixed to each of said articles;
• a controller operative to receive a signal from said optical reader corresponding to said destination indicia, assign a destination location to each of said articles based on said signal, and generate a destination signal associated with said destination location;
• a switching unit configured to divert said articles selectively between said conveyor and an adjacent conveyor in response to said destination signal;
• and
• a detached indicator configured to present a first perceptible signal, representative of said destination location associated with each of said articles, said indicator moving in a manner corresponding to the motion of said associated article;
• and
• said destination location being configured to transmit a second perceptible signal when said associated article is substantially close to said destination location.

A method of designating and sorting articles, comprising the steps of:

• conveying said articles from a plurality of sources toward a plurality of destination locations;
• determining a related destination location for each of said articles;
• presenting a detached first perceptible signal which relates each of said articles to each of said related destination locations;
• moving said first signal in a manner corresponding to the motion of each of said articles;
• and
• sorting each of said articles to said related destination location.