Patent ID: 8803708

Claim:
A method for using an apparatus for the continuous detection of the presence of a vehicle in a predetermined area, wherein the method is carried out from the ground and uses a dual principle of measurement based on a passive optical sensor and a magnetic field sensor, comprising said passive optical sensor and said magnetic field sensor are connected to a digital controller, from which the sensors are activated and powered; in a stand-by state, said digital controller remains in a low power consumption state and supplies power to said passive optical sensor, whereas said magnetic field sensor does not receive any power supply; in said stand-by state, said passive optical sensor detects a level of illumination, and when said detected level of illumination is below a predefined value, said passive optical sensor awakens said digital controller from the low power consumption state and said digital controller activates and powers said magnetic field sensor to confirm the presence of a vehicle by detecting and quantifying a magnetic disturbance in a direction in which the Earth's magnetic field is large in accordance with the latitude of the area where said apparatus is used.