Traffic counting apparatus

Claim 1

A SYSTEM FOR COUNTING VEHICLES PASSING OVER AN ACCESS ROADWAY OF A PARKING GARAGE OR THE LIKE, THE ROADWAY BEING SUFFICIENTLY WIDE TO ACCOMODATE AT LEAST TWO VEHICLES ABREAST, SAID SYSTEM COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF VEHICLE DETECTORS ARRANGED IN TWO LONGITUDINALLY SPACED, LATERALLY EXTENDING ROWS ADJACENT TO THE ROADWAY FOR DETECTING VEHICLES PASSING THEREALONG, THE LATERAL SPACING BETWEEN SAID DETECTORS BEING LESS THAN THE WIDTH OF A VEHICLE TO BE COUNTED, THE NUMBER OF DETECTORS IN EACH ROW BEING GREATER THAN THE NUMBER OF VEHICLES THE ROADWAY WILL ACCOMMODATE ABREAST, THE LONGITUDINAL SPACING BETWEEN SAID ROWS BEING SUCH THAT AT LEAST ONE OF SAID DETECTORS OF EACH ROW IS ACTIVATED FOR A COMMON INTERVAL DURING THE PASSAGE THEREBY OF EACH VEHICLE TO BE COUNTED YET SUCH THAT CORRESPONDING DETECTORS OF THE DIFFERENT ROWS MAY BE ACTIVATED FOR A COMMON INTERVAL BY DIFFERENT VEHICLES, A COUNTER, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID DETECTORS FOR ACTUATING SAID COUNTER, SAID DETECTOR RESPONSIVE MEANS BEING OPERATIVE TO ACTUATE SAID COUNTER TO INDICATE ONLY A SINGLE COUNT IN RESPONSE TO A PREDETERMINED SEQUENCE OF ACTIVATION AND DEACTIVATION OF SAID DETECTORS WHEN ONLY TWO ADJACENT DETECTORS OF EACH ROW ARE SEQUENTIALLY ACTIVATED AND DEACTIVATED, AND BEING OPERATIVE TO ACTUATE SAID COUNTER TO INDICATE A DOUBLE COUNT WHEN TWO NON-ADJACENT DETECTORS OF EACH ROW ARE ACTIVATED AND DEACTIVATED IN SAID PREDETERMINED SEQUENCE, SAID DETECTOR RESPONSIVE MEANS BEING FURTHER OPERATIVE WHILE ONE OF SAID DETECTORS REMAINS CONTINUOUSLY ACTIVATED AND ALSO WHILE ONE OF SAID DETECTORS IN ONE ROW AND A CORRESPONDING DETECTOR IN THE OTHER ROW REMAIN CONTINUOUSLY ACTIVATED TO ACTUATE SAID COUNTER IN RESPONSE TO ACTIVATION AND DEACTIVATION IN SAID PREDETERMINED SEQUENCE OF ONE OF SAID DETECTORS NONADJACENT TO SAID ONE DETECTOR AND OF ONE OF SAID DETECTORS NON-ADJACENT TO SAID CORRESPONDING DETECTOR, WHEREBY SAID SYSTEM CONTINUES TO COUNT VEHICLES PASSING ALONG A CLEAR LANE OF THE ROADWAY WHILE ANOTHER VEHICLE REMAINS PARKED BLOCKING A LANE.