Identification system

Claim 1

AN IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM ADAPTED TO GIVE POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION OF INDIVIDUAL OBJECTS MOVING SEQUENTIALLY ALONG A PREDETERMINED PATH, SAID SYSTEM COMPRISING AN INTERROGATING UNIT LOCATED AT A FIXED POSITION ALONG SIDE SAID PATH, SAID INTERROGATING UNIT INCLUDING A LIGHT SOURCE AND AN OPTICAL SYSTEM, SAID LIGHT SOURCE EMITTING A BROAD SPECTRUM OF LIGHT INCLUDING AT LEAST TWO DISTINCT AND DISTINGUISHABLE BANDS OF LIGHT, SAID OPTICAL SYSTEM DIRECTING SUCH LIGHT IN A NARROW ORIENTED BEAM INTERCEPTING THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF SAID OBJECTS; LIGHT REFLECTING MARKINGS POSITIONED ON SAID MOVING OBJECTS IN POSITION TO INTERCEPT SAID BEAM OF LIGHT, EACH SAID MARKING FORMED OF A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED STRIPS OF RETRO-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL ADAPTED TO REFLECT LIGHT SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE SAME AXIS AS THE AXIS OF LIGHT INCIDENT THEREON, SAID STRIPS ORIENTED PARALLEL TO THE ORIENTATION OF SAID LIGHT BEAM AND ARRANGED AS TO BE SUCCESSIVELY ILLUMINATED BY SAID BEAM, THE MATERIAL IN SAID STRIPS BEING SELECTED FROM RETRO-REFLECTIVE MATERIAL HAVING REFLECTION-ABSORPTION CHARACTERISTICS OF A PLURALITY OF TYPES, SAID TYPES REFLECTING VARIOUSLY EACH OF SAID BANDS WHILE ABSORBING THE OTHER OF SAID BANDS AND REFLECTING A PLURALITY OF SAID BANDS SIMULTANEOUSLY, SAID STRIPS ARRANGED BY TYPE IN A PREDETERMINED CODE PATTERN, WHICH CODE PATTERN MAY INCLUDE OPERATIONALLY NON-REFLECTOR STRIPS AS WELL AS STRIPS HAVING SAID DIFFERING REFLECTION CHARACTERISTICS; A SENSING UNIT LOCATED AT A FIXED POSITION ALONGSIDE SAID PATH IN CLOSE ASSOCIATION WITH SAID INTERROGATING UNIT AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE RETRO-REFLECTIVE LIGHT BEAM EMITTED FROM SAID INTERROGATING UNIT AND REFLECTED FROM SAID LIGHT REFLECTING MARKINGS, SAID SENSING UNIT INCLUDING A LIGHT MASK, A LIGHT SPLITTING MEANS AND A PLURALITY OF PHOTO-ELECTRIC LIGHT SENSING MEANS, SAID LIGHT MASK HAVING AN ELONGATED LIGHT PASSING SLIT ORIENTED PARALLEL TO THE ORIENTATION OF SAID LIGHT BEAM, AND OF SAID CODED STRIPS, SAID SLIT HAVING A WIDTH SUCH THAT ONLY LIGHT OF A BEAM WIDTH NARROWER THAN THE IMAGE OF ANY GIVEN STRIP IN SAID LIGHT REFLECTING MARKING IS PASSED THERETHROUGH, SAID LIGHT SPLITTING MEANS COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE DICHROIC MIRROR POSITIONED IN THE PATH OF SAID REFLECTED BEAM AND ADAPTED TO REFLECT LIGHT OF ONE SAID BAND AND TO TRANSMIT LIGHT OF ANY OTHER SAID BAND TO ONE OF SAID PHOTO-ELECTRIC LIGHT SENSING MEANS POSITIONED IN EACH PATH OF LIGHT EMITTED FROM SAID LIGHT SPLITTING MEANS, EACH SAID PHOTO-ELECTRIC LIGHT SENSING MEANS ADAPTED TO CONVERT AN INCIDENT LIGHT INPUT TO AN ELECTRICAL OUTPUT; AND DATA PROCESSING MEANS OPERATIVE IN RESPONSE TO THE ELECTRICAL OUTPUT OF SAID PHOTOELECTRIC LIGHT SENSING MEANS TO CONVERT AND TRANSMIT SUCH OUTPUT IN INTELLIGENT FORM.