Supervisory control system having repeat message control and count control of the number of repeat messages

Claim 1

A SUPERVISORY CONTROL SYSTEM HAVING A PLURALITY OF REMOTE STATIONS EACH HAVING MESSAGE GENERATING MEANS AND BEING ADAPTED TO TRANSMIT MESSAGES RANDOMLY TO A CENTRAL STATION VIA A COMMUNICATION CHANNEL, SAID CONTROL SYSTEM INCLUDING IN COMBINATION, FIRST TRANSMITTING MEANS AND FIRST RECEIVING MEANS POSITIONED AT THE CENTRAL STATION, SECOND TRANSMITTING MEANS AND SECOND RECEIVING MEANS POSITIONED AT EACH REMOTE STATION, FIRST CIRCUIT MEANS AT EACH REMOTE STATION COUPLING THE MESSAGE GENERATING MEANS TO SAID SECOND TRANSMITTING MEANS FOR CAUSING THE GENERATED MESSAGES TO BE TRANSMITTED TO THE CENTRAL STATION, TIMING MEANS AT EACH REMOTE STATION COUPLED TO SAID SECOND TRANSMITTING MEANS AND SAID FIRST CIRCUIT MEANS THEREAT, EACH OF SAID TIMING MEANS BEING RESPONSIVE TO SAID MESSAGE TRANSMISSION BY SAID SECOND TRANSMITTING MEANS TO BE ACTUATED THEREBY FOR A PREDETERMINED TIME PERIOD AND TO GENERATE A FIRST CONTROL SIGNAL AT THE END OF SAID TIME PERIOD, SAID FIRST CIRCUIT MEANS BEING RESPONSIVE TO SAID FIRST CONTROL SIGNAL TO CAUSE SAID SECOND TRANSMISSION MEANS TO RETRANSMIT THE MESSAGE, SAID TIMING MEANS AT EACH REMOTE STATION HAVING A DIFFERENT TIME PERIOD THAN SAID TIMING MEANS AT THE OTHER REMOTE STATIONS, WHEREBY SAID RETRANSMISSION OCCURS AT DIFFERENT TIMES FOR EACH OF THE REMOTE STATIONS, SAID FIRST RECEIVING MEANS BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE TRANSMITTED MESSAGE TO DEVELOP A VERIFICATION SIGNAL UPON THE RECEIPT OF A CORRECT TRANSMITTED MESSAGE FROM A REMOTE STATION, MEANS COUPLING SAID FIRST RECEIVING MEANS TO SAID FIRST TRANSMITTING MEANS AND BEING RESPONSIVE TO SAID VERIFICATION SIGNAL TO CAUSE SAID FIRST TRANSMITTING MEANS TO TRANSMIT AN ACKNOWLEDGE SIGNAL, SAID SECOND RECEIVER MEANS BEING RESPONSIVE TO SAID ACKNOWLEDGE SIGNAL TO DEVELOP A SECOND CONTROL SIGNAL, SECOND CIRCUIT MEANS AT EACH REMOTE STATION COUPLING SAID SECOND RECEIVING MEANS TO SAID TIMING MEANS THEREAT FOR APPLYING SAID SECOND CONTROL SIGNAL THERETO AND OPERATING TO PREVENT SAID TIMING MEANS FROM GENERATING SAID FIRST CONTROL SIGNAL SO THAT TRANSMISSION OF SAID MESSAGE CEASES.