Analog-to-digital converter

Claim 1

A SUPERCONDUCTIVE CIRCUIT FOR CONVERTING AN ANALOG INPUT SIGNAL INTO A CORRESPONDING DIGITAL OUTPUT SIGNAL, SAID CIRCUIT COMPRISING: AN ARRAY OF SERIES INTERCONNECTED THIN FILM SUPERCONDUCTIVE CIRCUIT ELEMENTS CONSTRUCTED TO HAVE, RESPECTIVELY, DIFFERENT CRITICAL CURRENT SWITCHING CHARACTERISTICS, WITH EACH OF SAID ELEMENTS HAVING AN ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE IN ITS RESISTIVE STATE OF A VALUE CALCULATED TO DEVELOP, IN CONJUCTION WITH ITS RESPECTIVE CRITICAL CURRENT SWITCHING CHARACTERISTIC, A PREDETERMINED VOLTAGE IN SAID ELEMENT WHEN IT IS SWITCHED FROM SUPERCONDUCTIVE TO RESISTIVE STATE; INPUT TERMINAL MEANS ACROSS WHICH SAID ELEMENTS ARE CONNECTED IN SERIES AND ADAPTED TO FEED SAID ANALOG INPUT SIGNAL THERETO; AND OUTPUT TERMINAL MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID ARRAY; SAID DIFFERENT CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH OF THE ELEMENTS OF SAID ARRAY BEING SUCH THAT, UPON APPLICATION OF SAID ANALOG INPUT SIGNAL TO SAID ELEMENTS, EACH OF SAID ELEMENTS RESPONDS TO CHANGE ITS SUPERCONDUCTIVE RESISTIVE STATE AT A RESPECTIVELY DIFFERENT CURRENT LEVEL OF SAID ANALOG INPUT SIGNAL, WHEREBY TO DEVELOP AT SAID OUTPUT TERMINAL MEANS A VOLTAGE REPRESENTING ONE CONDITION OF A DIGITAL OUTPUT SIGNAL CORRESPONDING TO SAID ANALOG INPUT SIGNAL WHEN SAID INPUT SIGNAL ATTAINS A PREDETERMINED CURRENT LEVEL, AND WHEREBY TO EXTINGUISH SAID VOLTAGE AT SAID OUTPUT TERMINAL MEANS WHEN SAID ANALOG INPUT SIGNAL FALLS BELOW SAID CURRENT LEVEL, THEREBY TO REPRESENT ANOTHER CONDITION OF SAID DIGITAL OUTPUT SIGNAL.