Accounting and cash-transfer system for filling stations having metered pumps

Abstract

A filling station with several pumps, dispensing various types of fuel, includes an electronic control unit with a counter receiving trains of backward-counting pulses from the outputs of various pulse generators driven by flowmeters installed in the several pump outlets. The counter also receives forward-counting pulses indicating the amount of money deposited by the station attendant in a locked cash box; upon depletion of the available credit balance, as indicated by a zero pulse count, the control unit stops the dispensation of fuel from all pumps. Another counter, receiving only the forward-counting pulses, has a presettable upper limit for preventing deposition of more than a predetermined maximum amount in the cash box; when that limit is reached, the box must be taken to a depositary accessible only to representatives of the station owner or the fuel supplier while an alternate cash box is substituted therefor at the filling station. The cash boxes have code markings, preventing their replacement by unauthorized receptacles, and are also provided with magnetic-core memories communicating with the control unit upon insertion to indicate whether the box is empty (or not more than partly filled) or full.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.