Data storage and transfer apparatus for plural-vehicle identification system

Claim 2

In a system including a first object and a second object associated therewith, said first object and said second object each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first object label and in the second object label including features distinguishing the first and second object labels from each other, said first and second objects being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and second objects in the labelreading area to produce a pair of successive signals representative of the information encoded in the object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in the second object label, respectively; means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in the second object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; first means operative after the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label has been stored in the second storage means to transfer the signal to an output connection at a time prior to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area; and second means operative in response to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area to transfer the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label and stored in the first storage means to the output connection.

Claim 3

In a system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means includes: main storage means coupled to the label-reading means and adapted to store the signals produced by the label-reading means; and detector circuit means coupled to the main storage means and to the first and second storage means and adapted to recognize the representations of the distinguishing features and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label from the main storage means to the first storage means and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label from the main storage means to the second storage means.

Claim 4

In a system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the first object is a carrier vehicle and the second object is carried by the carrier vehicle.

Claim 5

In a system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the first object is a carrier vehicle and the second object is a piggyback vehicle carried by the carrier vehicle.

Claim 6

In a system including a first object and a second object associated therewith, said first object and said second object each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first objEct label and in the second object label including features distinguishing the first and second object labels from each other, said first and second objects being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and second objects in the label-reading area to produce a pair of successive signals representative of the information encoded in the first and second object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in the second object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in the second object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; circuit means coupled to the processing means and operative in response to the processing by the processing means of the signal produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the second object label to initiate an output condition and to terminate the output condition at a time subsequent to said processing, said subsequent time being prior to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area; means coupled to the circuit means and to the second storage means and operable in response to the termination of the output condition produced by the circuit means to transfer the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label and stored in the second storage means to an output connection; departure detection means operative in response to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area to produce an output condition indicative of said departure; and means coupled to the departure detection means and to the first storage means and operable in response to the output condition produced by the departure detection means to transfer the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label and stored in the first storage means to the output connections.

Claim 7

In a system including a first object and a second object associated therewith, said first object and said second object each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first objEct label and in the second object label including features distinguishing the first and second object labels from each other, said first and second objects being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and second objects in the label-reading area to produce a pair of successive signals representative of the information encoded in the first and second object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in the second object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in the second object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; circuit means coupled to the processing means and operative in response to the processing by the processing means of the signal produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the second object label to initiate an output condition and to terminate the output condition at a time subsequent to said processing, said subsequent time being prior to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area; means coupled to the circuit means and to the second storage means and operable in response to the termination of the output condition produced by the circuit means to transfer the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label and stored in the second storage means to an output connection; departure detection means operative in response to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area to produce an output condition indicative of said departure; and means coupled to the departure detection means and to the first storage means and operable in response to the output condition produced by the departure detection means to transfer the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label and stored in the first storage means to the output connections.

Claim 8

In a system in accordance with claim 5 wherein the processing means includes: main storage means coupled to the label-reading means and adapted to store the signals produced by the label-reading means; and detector circuit means coupled to the main storage means and to the first and second storage means and adapted to recognize the representations of the distinguishing features and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label from the main storage means to the first storage means and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label from the main storage means to the second storage means.

Claim 9

In a system in accordance with claim 5 wherein the first object is a carrier vehicle and the second object is carried by the carrier vehicle.

Claim 10

In a system including a first object and a second object associated therewith, said first object and said second object each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first object label and in the second object label including features distinguishing the first and second object labels from each other, said first and second objectS being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and second objects in the label-reading area to produce a pair of successive signals representative of the information encoded in the first and second object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in the second object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in the second object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; said processing means being further operable during the processing thereby of the signal produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the second object label to produce a timing control signal; first circuit means adapted to receive the timing control signal produced by the processing means and operable in response thereto to initiate an output condition and to terminate the output condition at a subsequent time, said subsequent time being prior to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area; said first circuit means further being operable to initiate successive output conditions and to prevent termination of an output condition in response to successive timing control signals produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, whereby if the movement of the second object causes multiple signals representative of the information encoded in the second object label to be produced in succession by the label-reading means and multiple successive timing control signals to be produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, the first circuit means operates to terminate an output condition only upon the termination of the last one of the timing control signals produced by the processing means; means coupled to the first circuit means and to the second storage means and operable in response to the termination of an output condition produced by the first circuit means to transfer the signal stored in the second storage means, representative of the information encoded in the second object label, to an output connection; departure detection means operative in response to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area to produce an output condition indicative of said departure; and means coupled to the departure detection means and to the first storage means and operable in response to the output condition produced by the departure detection means to transfer the signal stored in the first storage means, representative of the information encoded in the first object label, to the output connection.

Claim 11

In a system including a first object and a second object associated therewith, said first object and said second object each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first object label and in the second object label including features distinguishing the first and second object labels from each other, said first and second objectS being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and second objects in the label-reading area to produce a pair of successive signals representative of the information encoded in the first and second object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in the second object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in the second object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; said processing means being further operable during the processing thereby of the signal produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the second object label to produce a timing control signal; first circuit means adapted to receive the timing control signal produced by the processing means and operable in response thereto to initiate an output condition and to terminate the output condition at a subsequent time, said subsequent time being prior to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area; said first circuit means further being operable to initiate successive output conditions and to prevent termination of an output condition in response to successive timing control signals produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, whereby if the movement of the second object causes multiple signals representative of the information encoded in the second object label to be produced in succession by the label-reading means and multiple successive timing control signals to be produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, the first circuit means operates to terminate an output condition only upon the termination of the last one of the timing control signals produced by the processing means; means coupled to the first circuit means and to the second storage means and operable in response to the termination of an output condition produced by the first circuit means to transfer the signal stored in the second storage means, representative of the information encoded in the second object label, to an output connection; departure detection means operative in response to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area to produce an output condition indicative of said departure; and means coupled to the departure detection means and to the first storage means and operable in response to the output condition produced by the departure detection means to transfer the signal stored in the first storage means, representative of the information encoded in the first object label, to the output connection.

Claim 12

In a system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the processing means includes: main storage means coupled to the label-reading means and adapted to store the signals produced by the label-reading means; and detecTor circuit means coupled to the main storage means and to the first and second storage means and adapted to recognize the representations of the distinguishing features and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label from the main storage means to the first storage means and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the second object label from the main storage means to the second storage means.

Claim 13

In a system in accordance with claim 8 wherein the first object is a carrier vehicle and the second object is carried by the carrier vehicle.

Claim 14

In a system including a first object and a plurality of other objects associated therewith, said first object and other objects each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first object label and in the other object labels including features distinguishing the first object label from the other object labels, said first and other objects being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and other objects in the label-reading area to produce in succession a plurality of signals representative of the information encoded in the object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in an other object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in an other object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and a signal representative of information encoded in an other object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; first means operative after the storage of each signal representative of information encoded in an other object label and stored in the second storage means to transfer the signal to an output connection at a time prior to the departure of the first and other objects from the label-reading area; and second means operative in response to the departure of the first and other objects from the label-reading area to transfer the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label and stored in the first storage means to the output connection.

Claim 15

In a system including a first object and a plurality of other objects associated therewith, said first object and other objects each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first object label and in the other object labels including features distinguishing the first object label from the other object labels, said first and other objects being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and other objects in the label-reading area to produce in succession a plurality of signals representative of the information encoded in the object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in an other object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in an other object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and a signal representative of information encoded in an other object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; first means operative after the storage of each signal representative of information encoded in an other object label and stored in the second storage means to transfer the signal to an output connection at a time prior to the departure of the first and other objects from the label-reading area; and second means operative in response to the departure of the first and other objects from the label-reading area to transfer the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label and stored in the first storage means to the output connection.

Claim 16

In a system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the processing means includes: main storage means coupled to the label-reading means and adapted to store the signals produced by the label-reading means; and detector circuit means coupled to the main storage means and to the first and second storage means and adapted to recognize the representations of the distinguishing features and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label from the main storage means to the first storage means and to direct each signal representative of information encoded in an other object label from the main storage means.

Claim 17

In a system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the first object is a carrier vehicle and the other objects are carried by the carrier vehicel.

Claim 18

In a system including a first object and a plurality of other objects associated therewith, said first object and other objects each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first object label and in the other object labels including features distinguishing the first object label from the other object labels, said first and other objects being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and other objects in the label-reading area to produce in succession a plurality of signals representative of the information encoded in the object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in an other object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in an other object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and a signal representative of information encoded in an other object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; said processing means being further operable during the processing thereby of each signal produced by the label-reading means representative of information encoded in an other object label to produce a timing control signal; first circuit means adapted to receive each timing control signal produced by the processing means and operable in response thereto to initiate an output condition and to terminate the output condition at a subsequent time, said subsequent time being prior to the departure of the first and other objects from the label-reading area; said first circuit means further being operable to initiate successive output conditions and to prevent termination of an output condition in response to successive timing control signals produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, whereby if the movement of an other object causes multiple signals representative of the information encoded in the label associated therewith to be produced in succession by the label-reading means and multiple successive timing control signals to be produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, the first circuit means operates to terminate an output condition only upon the termination of the last one of the timing control signals produced by the processing means; means coupled to the first circuit means and to the second storage means and operable in response to each termination of an output condition produced by the first circuit means to transfer the signal then stored in the second storage means, representative of information encoded in an other object label, to an output connection; departure detection means operative in response to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area to produce an output condition indicative of said departure; and means coupled to the departure detection means and to the first storage means and operable in response to the output condition produced by the departure detection means to transfer the signal stored in the first storage means, representative of the information encoded in the first object label, to the output connection.

Claim 19

In a system including a first object and a plurality of other objects associated therewith, said first object and other objects each being equipped with an information coded label, the information encoded in the first object label and in the other object labels including features distinguishing the first object label from the other object labels, said first and other objects being arranged to move through a label-reading area, information processing apparatus comprising: label-reading means at the label-reading area operative during the presence of the first and other objects in the label-reading area to produce in succession a plurality of signals representative of the information encoded in the object labels, said signals including representations of said distinguishing features; first and second storage means for storing signals produced by the label-reading means representative of the information encoded in the first object label and the information encoded in an other object label, respectively; processing means coupled to the label-reading means and to the first and second storage means and operable to determine whether each of the signals produced by the label-reading means represents information encoded in the first object label or information encoded in an other object label and to selectively transfer the signals to the first and second storage means in accordance with the determinations, the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label being transferred to and stored in the first storage means and a signal representative of information encoded in an other object label being transferred to and stored in the second storage means; said processing means being further operable during the processing thereby of each signal produced by the label-reading means representative of information encoded in an other object label to produce a timing control signal; first circuit means adapted to receive each timing control signal produced by the processing means and operable in response thereto to initiate an output condition and to terminate the output condition at a subsequent time, said subsequent time being prior to the departure of the first and other objects from the label-reading area; said first circuit means further being operable to initiate successive output conditions and to prevent termination of an output condition in response to successive timing control signals produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, whereby if the movement of an other object causes multiple signals representative of the information encoded in the label associated therewith to be produced in succession by the label-reading means and multiple successive timing control signals to be produced by the processing means having a time spacing therebetween less than the time occurring between the time of initiation and the time of termination of an output condition by the first circuit means, the first circuit means operates to terminate an output condition only upon the termination of the last one of the timing control signals produced by the processing means; means coupled to the first circuit means and to the second storage means and operable in response to each termination of an output condition produced by the first circuit means to transfer the signal then stored in the second storage means, representative of information encoded in an other object label, to an output connection; departure detection means operative in response to the departure of the first and second objects from the label-reading area to produce an output condition indicative of said departure; and means coupled to the departure detection means and to the first storage means and operable in response to the output condition produced by the departure detection means to transfer the signal stored in the first storage means, representative of the information encoded in the first object label, to the output connection.

Claim 20

In a system in accordance with claim 14 wherein the processing means includes: main storage means coupled to the label-reading means and adapted to store the signals Produced by the label-reading means; and detector circuit means coupled to the main storage means and to the first and second storage means and adapted to recognize the representations of the distinguishing features and to direct the signal representative of the information encoded in the first object label from the main storage means to the first storage means and to direct each signal representative of information encoded in an other object label from the main storage means to the second storage means.

Claim 21

In a system in accordance with claim 14 wherein the first object is a carrier vehicle and the other objects are carried by the carrier vehicle.

Claim 22

In a system in accordance with claim 14 wherein the first object is a carrier vehicle and the other objects are piggyback vehicles carried by the carrier vehicle.