Patent ID: 7386237

Claim:
A wireless object counter comprising: a continuously cycling transmitter circuit and a receiver circuit separated from each other to provide a path therebetween along which objects to be counted move; said transmitter circuit having its operation independent of any activity of said receiver circuit; said transmitter circuit having a continuously operating clock circuit for causing a burst of a predetermined minimum number of infrared pulses as a beam during a predetermined period of time; said receiver circuit having a continuously operating clock circuit of the same frequency as said clock circuit of said transmitter circuit so that said clock circuit of said receiver circuit is synchronized with said clock circuit of said transmitter circuit only when said receiver circuit is to be activated for a cycle of operation to determine if the transmitted burst of a predetermined number of infrared pulses as a beam from said transmitter circuit is received; said receiver circuit being activated prior to said transmitter circuit transmitting a burst of a predetermined number of infrared pulses as a beam when said receiver circuit is to be activated for the cycle of operation; and said receiver circuit having a counter for counting each time that the beam of the infrared pulses of each of the bursts of at least the predetermined minimum number of infrared pulses is interrupted by an object to be counted.