Vehicle counter and identification apparatus

Claim 1

AN AUTOMATIC VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING AND COUNTING VEHICLES HAVING TWO TRUCKS EACH WITH EACH TRUCK INCLUDING NO MORE THAN THREE AXLES, AS SAID VEHICLES TRAVERSE A GIVEN PATH SECTION, SAID SYSTEM COMPRISING: SCANNING MEANS FOR SCANNING INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFICATION MEMBERS ON VEHICLES TRAVERSING SAID GIVEN PATH SECTION; A PAIR OF SENSING MEANS, EACH FOR SENSING PASSAGE OF A VEHICLE AXLE, SPACED FROM EACH OTHER ALONG SAID PATH SECTION BY A DISTANCE GREATER THAN THE MAXIMUM SPACING BETWEEN AXLES OF A SINGLE TRUCK BUT LESS THAN THE MINIMUM SPACING BETWEEN TRUCKS; A REVERSIBLE COUNTER HAVING A CAPACITY OF AT LEAST TWO; A UNIDIRECTIONAL COUNTER HAVING A CAPACITY OF AT LEAST FOUR; DIRECTION LOGIC MEANS, COUPLED TO SAID SENSING MEANS, FOR DETERMINING THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES TRAVERSING SAID PATH SECTION; PROGRAM MEANS, COUPLED TO SAID SCANNING MEANS AND TO SAID DIRECTION LOGIC MEANS, FOR COUPLING BOTH SAID SENSING MEANS TO SAID REVERSIBLE COUNTER TO CAUSE SAID REVERSIBLE COUNTER TO COUNT IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS IN RESPONSE TO SIGNALS FROM THE DIFFERENT SENSING MEANS; COUPLING MEANS COUPLING ONE OF SAID SENSING MEANS TO SAID UNIDIRECTIONAL COUNTER; LOGIC MEANS, INCLUDED IN SAID PROGRAM MEANS, FOR SIGNALLING PASSAGE OF A VEHICLE TRUCK WHENEVER THE COUNT IN SAID REVERSIBLE COUNTER IS ZERO AND THE COUNT IN SAID UNIDIRECTIONAL COUNTER IS GREATER THAN ZERO AND LESS THAN FOUR; MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID SCANNING MEANS THE FIRST TIME SAID LOGIC MEANS SIGNALS THE PASSAGE OF A VEHICLE TRUCK; AND MEANS FOR SUBSEQUENTLY ACTUATING SAID SCANNING MEANS EACH TIME SAID LOGIC MEANS SIGNALS THE PASSAGE OF TWO ADDITIONAL TRUCKS.