METHOD OF SELECTED CONVERGING COMMUNICATION AND THE COMBINATION THEREOF WITH SELECTED DIVERGING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A GROUP OF POPULATION TO A REMOTE CENTER, AND A SYSTEM FOR CARRYING OUT THE METHOD

摘要

A voting system for compiling a vote on alternative questions distributed by a mass medium. A vote is placed by the manual connection of a load to a public supply system, by a voter at an instant and during a period determined by a control signal transmitted from a remote center. The total load measured during this period is compared with the background load measured immediately before and/or after the period, so that the relationship of the two measurements is a measure of the number of votes. In a simple form, the device for voting may be a small box comprising the load in series with the manual switch, and a photocell controlling a relay having a switch in series with the manual switch and the load. The control signals are transmitted by television and displayed on the screen of the television receiver to activate the photocell so that the load is automatically connected to the supply if the manual switch is on.