Inventory interrogating control and read-out system and apparatus

Claim 1

FOR USE WITH A PLURALITY OF CODED AREAS OF STORAGE MEANS CONTAINING THEN PHYSICALLY PRESENT PLURAL ITEMS, THE NUMBER OF ITEMS WITH PREDETERMINED CHARACTERISTICS OF WHICH ARE DESIRED TO BE ASCERTAINED FROM A POINT REMOTE FROM THE STORAGE MEANS, AN ARTICLE INTERROGATING CONTROL AND READ-OUT SYSTEM COMPRISING (A) INTERROGATING MEANS SELECTIVE ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT WITH EACH AREA OF THE STORAGE MEANS, (B) SELECTING MEANS IN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT WITH SAID INTERROGATING MEANS FOR INITIALLY PREDETERMINING WHICH ONE OF SAID PLURALITY OF STORAGE MEANS AREAS IS TO BE INTERROGATED BY SELECTING A PREDETERMINED CODE FROM PLURALITY OF CODES INDENTIFYING AREAS OF THE STORAGE MEANS, (C) MEANS FOR DEVELOPING A SIGNAL REPRESENTATIVE OF PHYSICALLY PRESENT ITEMS, AND (D) READ-OUT MEANS SELECTIVELY IN CIRCUIT WITH AN AREA OF SAID STORAGE MEANS WHICH IS SELECTED BY SAID SELECTING AND INTERROGATING MEANS TO READ OUT THE SIGNALS INDICATIVE OF THEM PHYSICALLY PRESENT ITEMS.