Data storage system

Claim 1

A RUNNING INVENTORY SYSTEM COMPRISING SIGNAL STORAGE EQUIPMENT HAVING STORAGE SECTIONS FOR STORING CODE SIGNALS RESPECTIVELY REPRESENTING THE CURRENT NUMERICAL QUANTITATIVE VALUES OF A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT INVENTORY ITEMS, AND IN WHICH SAID CODE SIGNALS ARE SELECTABLE IN DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS TO FORM VARIABLE GROUPS OF INVENTORY ITEMS WHICH RESPECTIVELY COMPRISE DIFFERENT WORDS OF INFORMATION, SAID STORAGE EQUIPMENT HAVING A PLURALITY OF OTHER STORAGE SECTIONS FOR STORING DIFFERENT PREDETERMINED GROUPS OF ADDRESS SIGNALS RESPECTIVELY REPRESENTING THE LOCATION OF A PLURALITY OF CODE SIGNALS REPRESENTING MEMORY ITEMS IN DIFFERENT VARIABLE GROUPS THEREOF, A CALLING STATION HAVING MEANS FOR PRODUCING AND TRANSMITTING MESSAGES EACH INCLUDING A GROUPING CODE SIGNAL FOR SELECTING A PREDETERMINED GROUP OF SAID ADDRESS SIGNALS AND A SIGNAL REPRESENTING A DESIRED QUANTITY OF EACH OF THE INVENTORY ITEMS OF THE SELECTED GROUP, MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID SIGNAL STORAGE EQUIPMENT FOR TEMPORARILY STORING THE SIGNALS OF EACH INCOMING MESSAGE, MEANS INCLUDING RECORDING AND READ-OUT DEVICES FOR SCANNING SAID STORAGE SECTIONS IN CONTINUOUS SUCCESSION, MEANS INCLUDING ADDRESS SELECTION CIRCUITS CONTROLLED BY SAID STORED GROUPING SIGNAL FOR LOCATING AND READING OUT FROM THE ADDRESS STORAGE SECTION SIGNALS REPRESENTING THE ADDRESSES OF THE CODE SIGNALS REPRESENTING INVENTORY ITEMS COMPRISING THE PREDETERMINED GROUP, MEANS FOR TEMPORARILY STORING THE ITEM ADDRESS SIGNALS AS THEY ARE READ OUT, INVENTORY ITEM SELECTION AND READ-OUT CIRCUITS CONTROLLED BY SAID TEMPORARILY STORED ITEM ADDRESS SIGNALS FOR LOCATING AND READING OUT FROM SAID DATA STORAGE SECTIONS CODE SIGNALS REPRESENTING THE CURRENTLY STORED INVENTORY VALUES OF THE CORRESPONDING ITEMS, MEANS FOR TEMPORARILY STORING SAID INVENTORY SIGNALS THUS READ OUT, MEANS INCLUDING A COMPUTER JOINTLY CONTROLLED BY EACH OF THE LAST NAMED SIGNALS AND THE SIGNAL REPRESENTING SAID DESIRED QUANTITY IN THE INCOMING MESSAGE FOR DETERMINING IN SUCCESSION WHETHER THE CURRENTLY STORED INVENTORY VALUE OF EACH OF SAID ITEMS OF THE SELECTED GROUP IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO SAID DESIRED QUANTITY OR IS LESS THAN SAID DESIRED QUANTITY, AND MEANS CONTROLLED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RESULTS OBTAINED BY SAID COMPUTER FOR INDICATING AT THE CALLING STATION WHETHER SAID INVENTORY VALUES OF THE ITEMS OF THE GROUP EITHER ARE SUFFICIENT OR ARE INSUFFICIENT TO SUPPLY THE DESIRED QUANTITY SPECIFIED IN THE MESSAGE.