US3598283A — Gasoline pump computer

Claim 1

Independent Claim 293 words

In apparatus that dispenses liquid at a money price per unit volume of liquid dispensed, the combination comprising means to supply a shutoff signal to said dispensing apparatus when said dispensing apparatus has dispensed a preset and variable quantity of liquid determined in terms of units of volume of said liquid or in terms of money value of said liquid, first signal supplying means to supply a signal proportional to a variable preset number of units of volume of liquid to be dispensed, second signal supplying means to supply a signal proportional to a variable preset money amount of liquid to be dispensed, third signal supplying means to supply a signal proportional to the variable money price per unit volume of liquid being dispensed, means to serially supply a predetermined number of pulses per unit volume of liquid dispensed, computation means receiving all of said pulses and said signal from said third signal supplying means and comprising means to produce an output signal which changes in response to receipt of each of said pulses and which is proportional to the increasing money value of the quantity of liquid being dispensed as it is being dispensed, first coincidence gate means to receive all of said pulses and the signal from said first variable signal supplying means and comprising means to produce said shutoff signal when the accumulated number of pulses is equal to the signal from said first variable signal supplying means, and second coincidence gate means to receive the output signal of said computation means and the signal from said second variable signal supplying means and comprising means to produce said shutoff signal when the output signal of said computation means is equal to said signal from said second variable signal supplying means.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 293 words

In apparatus that dispenses liquid at a money price per unit volume of liquid dispensed, the combination comprising means to supply a shutoff signal to said dispensing apparatus when said dispensing apparatus has dispensed a preset and variable quantity of liquid determined in terms of units of volume of said liquid or in terms of money value of said liquid, first signal supplying means to supply a signal proportional to a variable preset number of units of volume of liquid to be dispensed, second signal supplying means to supply a signal proportional to a variable preset money amount of liquid to be dispensed, third signal supplying means to supply a signal proportional to the variable money price per unit volume of liquid being dispensed, means to serially supply a predetermined number of pulses per unit volume of liquid dispensed, computation means receiving all of said pulses and said signal from said third signal supplying means and comprising means to produce an output signal which changes in response to receipt of each of said pulses and which is proportional to the increasing money value of the quantity of liquid being dispensed as it is being dispensed, first coincidence gate means to receive all of said pulses and the signal from said first variable signal supplying means and comprising means to produce said shutoff signal when the accumulated number of pulses is equal to the signal from said first variable signal supplying means, and second coincidence gate means to receive the output signal of said computation means and the signal from said second variable signal supplying means and comprising means to produce said shutoff signal when the output signal of said computation means is equal to said signal from said second variable signal supplying means.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 97 words

The combination of claim 1, said apparatus comprising a retail marketing gasoline pump, means to stop the flow of gasoline through said pump in response to said shutoff signal, and means to select the shutoff mode comprising means to selectively connect said shutoff signal responsive means to the output of said first coincidence gate means or to the output of said second coincidence gate means or to neither of said first and second coincidence gate means whereby the flow of gasoline through said pump may be stopped by other flow stopping means in said gasoline dispensing apparatus.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 38 words

The combination of claim 1, and accumulating means to accumulate the signals received from said computation means and to hold a signal proportional to said accumulated signals until the next succeeding signal is received from said computation means.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 141 words

The combination of claim 3, said accumulating means comprising a bistable latch comprising a first normally closed stage and a second normally closed stage arranged in series circuit, means to create first one pulse and then another pulse from each pulse supplied to said computation means, means to utilize the first created of said pair of pulses to momentarily open the first stage of said bistable latch, means to utilize the last created of said pair of pulses to momentarily open said second stage of said bistable latch, means to feed back the output of said bistable latch to the input of said computation means, and wherein the time required for the first stage of said bistable latch to open and then reclose is less than the time elapsed between creation of the first and the last of said two pulses.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 94 words

The combination of claim 4, said pulse creating means comprising a seriEs circuit arrangement of a plurality of one-shot multivibrators, means to transmit a pulse of said series of pulses after it has passed through some of the multivibrators of said plurality of multivibrators less than all of them to thereby create said first created pulse, and means to transmit the same said pulse of said series of pulses after it has passed through all of the multivibrators of said plurality of multivibrators to thereby create the last created pulse of said two pulses.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 33 words

The combination of claim 3, means to display the increasing money value of the liquid being dispensed as it is being dispensed, and means to connect said display means to said accumulating means.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 75 words

The combination of claim 1, said computation means and said first and second coincidence gate means comprising a solid-state electronic circuit, said pulses comprising electrical pulses, and said signals between the various last-mentioned means comprising electrical signals, said first, second and third signal supplying means comprising digiswitches adapted to supply a signal proportional to the numerical value of the various variable quantities supplied by each of said first, second and third signal supplying means, respectively.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 86 words

The combination of claim 1, said dispensing apparatus comprising a retail marketing gasoline pump having a flow meter shaft which rotates at a predetermined number of revolutions per unit volume of liquid dispensed, said pulse supplying means comprising speed changer means having input means, output means, and internal connecting means between said input means and said output means, means to connect said flow meter shaft to said speed changer means input means, and pulse-generating means in operative cooperation in with said speed changer means output means.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 26 words

The combination of claim 8, said pulse-generating means comprising a magnet on said speed changer means output means in operative cooperation with an electrical reed switch.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 216 words

Pulse-generating apparatus for use with machinery which produces an output measured in units, said machinery having a member which moves in a cycle and which completes a predetermined number of cycles per unit output, the improvement comprising means to convert said predetermined number of cycles of movement of said member to a predetermined number of pulses, said converting means comprising a speed changer, said speed changer having input means and output means, means to connect said input means of said speed changer to said cyclically moving member of said machinery, said speed changer comprising means to interconnect said input means and said output means of said speed changer, said output means of said speed changer comprising means operatively cooperable with pulse generating means and including means to prevent the creation of spurious pulses; and the speed relationship of the connecting means between said input means of said speed changer and said cyclically moving member, the speed relationship internal to said speed changing means interconnecting said input means and said output means both being selected so as to change said predetermined number of cycles to said predetermined number of pulses at said pulse generating means, said machinery comprising a retail marketing gasoline pump, and said cyclically moving member comprising the rotating flow meter shaft of said pump.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 216 words

Pulse-generating apparatus for use with machinery which produces an output measured in units, said machinery having a member which moves in a cycle and which completes a predetermined number of cycles per unit output, the improvement comprising means to convert said predetermined number of cycles of movement of said member to a predetermined number of pulses, said converting means comprising a speed changer, said speed changer having input means and output means, means to connect said input means of said speed changer to said cyclically moving member of said machinery, said speed changer comprising means to interconnect said input means and said output means of said speed changer, said output means of said speed changer comprising means operatively cooperable with pulse generating means and including means to prevent the creation of spurious pulses; and the speed relationship of the connecting means between said input means of said speed changer and said cyclically moving member, the speed relationship internal to said speed changing means interconnecting said input means and said output means both being selected so as to change said predetermined number of cycles to said predetermined number of pulses at said pulse generating means, said machinery comprising a retail marketing gasoline pump, and said cyclically moving member comprising the rotating flow meter shaft of said pump.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 37 words

The combination of claim 10, said predetermined number of cycles of said flow meter shaft comprising 2 revolutions per gallon of gasoline dispensed, and said predetermined number of pulses comprising 100 pulses per gallon of gasoline dispensed.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 13 words

The combination of claim 10, said speed changing means comprising a gear box.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 55 words

The combination of claim 12, said pulse-generating means comprising a reed switch, and said means on the output means of said gear box comprising a magnet operatively cooperable with said reed switch to close and then open said reed switch to thereby produce a pulse each time said magnet is aligned wiTh said reed switch.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 182 words

The combination of claim 13, said means to prevent the creation of spurious pulses comprising means to prevent creation of pulses at said reed switch other than when said magnet passes through the aligned position with said reed switch, said preventing means comprising a second reed switch operatively cooperable with a pair of magnets, said output means of said gearbox comprising a cylindrical mounting block which carries said first mentioned magnet in an end face thereof and said pair of magnets on the cylindrical face thereof with the pair of magnets offset from each other by about 180* and located on said mounting block so that each magnet of said pair of magnets leads an end of the aligned position of said first mentioned magnet with its associated reed switch by an acute angle in the direction of rotation of said mounting block, a flip-flop, means to connect the output of said first mentioned reed switch to the SET terminal of said flip-flop, and means to connect the output of said second mentioned reed switch to the RESET terminal of said flip-flop.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1974-08-09	1975-02-08	1975-08-10	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1978-08-09	1979-02-08	1979-08-10	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1982-08-09	1983-02-08	1983-08-10	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Gasoline pump computer

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