Form-reading and informationconverting apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING OPERATION OF AN ELECTRONIC COMPUTATIONAL DEVICE ACCORDING TO CODED INFORMATION REPRESENTED BY PERFORATIONS IN A RECORD, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING MEANS FOR DIRECTING AIR UNDER PRESSURE AGAINST ONE SIDE OF THE RECORD; MEANS AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE RECORD TO RECEIVE SUCH DIRECTED AIR WHENEVER A PERFORATION IS PRESENT ANYWHERE IN A SELECTABLE ONE OF A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL IMAGINARY LINES OF THE RECORD, THE LAST-NAMED MEANS BEING OPERATIVE TO PRODUCE TONES OF DIFFERENT FREQUENCIES EACH CORRESPONDING TO THE PARTICULAR DIGIT POSITION THE PERFORATION OCCUPIES ALONG SUCH LINES; MEANS FOR EFFECTING RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID LAST-NAMED MEANS AND THE RECORD IN A PLANE AT RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID LINES SUCH THAT PERFORATIONS IN ALL DIGIT POSITIONS OF THE SELECTED LINE WILL BE DETECTED CONCURRENTLY AND THOSE IN THE OTHER LINES DETECTED SEQUENTIALLY; AND MEANS PNEUMATICALLY PRODUCING A DISTINCTIVE SPECIAL TONE AS EACH SUCCESSIVE LINE IS READ THEREBY TO APPRISE THE DEVICE THAT SUCH LINE HAS BEEN READ, WHEREBY A PLURALITY OF SEQUENTIAL TONES WILL BE PROVIDED FOR CONTROLLING OPERATION OF THE COMPUTATIONAL DEVICE IN ACCORDANCE THEREWITH.