Electronic multiplexer system for converting multi-channel data into a single channel composite signal

Claim 1

MEANS FOR CONVERTING MULTI-CHANNEL DATA INTO A SINGLE CHANNEL COMPOSITE SIGNAL COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF GATES, EACH DATA SIGNAL BEING FED TO THE INPUT OF ONE OF SAID GATES, A COMMON LOAD AND A COMMON D.-C. POWER SOURCE TO WHICH THE OUTPUT OF SAID GATES ARE APPLIED, A RING COUNTER COUPLED TO SAID GATES FOR CONSECUTIVELY OPENING SAID GATES IN A CONTINUOUS MANNER SO THAT THERE IS ALWAYS ONLY ONE GATE OPEN AT ANY ONE TIME, EACH OF SAID GATES ADAPTED TO DRAW SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME CURRENT FROM SAID COMMON D.-C. SOURCE, THE OUTPUT SIGNAL OBTAINED ACROSS SAID COMMON LOAD THEREBY PRODUCING A CONSTANT PEDESTAL SINGLE CHANNEL COMPOSITE SIGNAL IN WHICH EACH DATA SIGNAL IS PRESENT FOR A PREDETERMINED TIME, AMPLIFICATION MEANS FOR AMPLIFYING SAID SINGLE CHANNEL COMPOSITE SIGNAL, A MIXER GATE TO WHICH THE AMPLIFIED COMPOSITE SIGNAL IS FED, A D.-C. REFERENCE SIGNAL ALSO FED TO SAID MIXER GATE, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID RING COUNTER FOR GENERATING A GATING SIGNAL WHICH HAS A TIME DURATION LESS THAN THE OPEN TIME OF ONE OF SAID GATES, AND MEANS FOR CONNECTING LAST SAID GATING SIGNAL GENERATING MEANS TO SAID MIXER GATE SO AS TO PERMIT ONLY THE MIDDLE PORTION OF EACH INPUT DATA SIGNAL TO BE RETAINED.