Automatic metering device

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR COUNTING THE TOTAL UNIT VOLUME OF FLUID PASSING THROUGH A CONDUIT OR THE LIKE AND THE TOTAL PRICE OF THAT VOLUME BASED UPON A PRICE PER UNIT VOLUME COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, (A) IMPULSE GENERATING MEANS FOR PRODUCING AN IMPULSE FOR EACH PREDETERMINED VOLUMETRIC QUANTITY PASSING THROUGH SAID CONDUIT OR THE LIKE, (B) BINARY COUNTING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID IMPULSE GENERATING MEANS AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF BISTABLE ELEMENTS CONNECTED IN CASCADE, (C) EACH BISTABLE ELEMENT HAVING AN OUTPUT LINE ON WHICH IMPULSES APPEAR EQUAL IN NUMBER TO ONE HALF THE NUMBER OF IMPULSES APPLIED TO IT BY THE PRECEDING BISTABLE ELEMENT IN THE CABIN OF CASCADE-CONNECTED BISTABLE ELEMENTS, SAID IMPULSES ON THE RESPECTIVE OUTPUT LINES OF SAID BISTABLE ELEMENTS REPRESENTING AT ANY INSTANT BITS IN A BINARY NUMBER, (D) A FIRST IMPULSE COLLECTOR LINE, (E) SWITCH MEANS FOR CONNECTING SELECTED ONES OF SAID OUTPUT LINES TO SAID FIRST IMPULSE COLLECTOR LINE TO THEREBY CONVERT IMPULSES ON SAID OUTPUT LINES REPRESENTATIVE AT ANY INSTANT OF BITS IN A BINARY NUMBER TO IMPULSES ON SAID COLLECTOR LINE WHICH ARE CUMULATIVELY REPRESENTATIVE OF A DIGITAL NUMBER, (F) MEANS FOR COUNTING IMPULSES ON SAID FIRST IMPULSE COLLECTOR LINE AND FOR VISUALLY INDICATING THE TOTAL PRICE OF FLUID DELIVERED THROUGH THE CONDUIT AS A FUNCTION OF THE NUMBER OF IMPULSES COUNTED, (G) A SECOND IMPULSE COLLECTOR LINE CONNECTED TO A PLURALITY OF SAID OUTPUT LINES FROM THE BISTABLE ELEMENTS, AND (H) MEANS FOR COUNTING IMPULSES ON SAID SECOND IMPULSE COLLECTOR LINE AND FOR VISUALLY INDICATING THE TOTAL VOLUME OF FLUID DELIVERED THROUGH THE CONDUIT AS A FUNCTION OF THE NUMBER OF IMPULSES COUNTED BY SAID LAST-MENTIONED COUNTING MEANS.