Retractable pin array identification apparatus and method

A method of determining specific identifiers fitted onto an array pins slidably retractable through a base component affixed to a primary device and affixed to a housing unit containing tension springs associated with each pin in the array which exert upward force on said pins to continuously push each pin through said base component, and wherein each of said identifiers has a plurality of holes therethrough with said base component's pins passing through each of their respective holes aligned therewith and has a certain predefined and unique configuration of holes plugged or ‘capped’ such that an associated pin is blocked from passing therethrough thereby causing said pin to retract down through said base component when said identifier is pressed onto said pin array;

• said downward pressure exerted onto said tension springs being sensed by a pressure sensor which communicates back to said primary device certain of pin location and amount of pressure being exerted thereon, and comprising the steps of:
• a) defining for each of said pins in said pin array a format such that each pin has a unique location within said array of pins and defining unique values to each range of pressure values which can possibly be obtained by said pressure sensors;
• b) polling each pin in the array to determine which of said pin locations are detected by said pressure sensors as having exerted pressure thereon and obtaining from said pressure sensors information as to the which specific pressure range the pressure being exerted on each of said detected pin locations falls into;
• c) assembling said detected locations and obtained pressure ranges into a set of detected locations containing individual pin locations in the defined format and associating therewith the value pertaining to the sensed pressure range;
• d) obtaining those locations which have been associated with a first value of a pressure range from the set of detected locations;
• e) comparing the locations of each known identifier in a database of known identifiers and their respective pin locations to find a single identifier whose stored locations match the set locations which were associated with said first pressure range value and retaining information about said matching identifier;
• f) obtaining those locations which have been associated with a next value of a pressure range from the set of detected locations;
• g) repeating steps e through g until all locations in the set of detected locations have been accounted for or alternatively no more identifier locations in said database of stored identifier locations match those locations remaining in the set of detected locations;
• and
• h) in the event wherein no more identifier locations in said database of stored identifier locations comprise a proper subset of those locations remaining in the set of detected locations, initiating a predefined procedure which serves to indicate that an error condition has occurred.