Data transfer device

Claim 1

A TWO WAY DATA TRANSFER DEVICE FOR SERIALLY TRANSFERRING DIGITS OF A MULTI-DIGIT NUMBER BETWEEN A UTILIZATION DEVICE WHEREIN EACH DIGIT OF SAID NUMBER IS EXPRESSED AS NRP, WHERE N IS THE VALUE OF A DIGIT, R IS A FIRST RADIX AND P IS A POWER OF THE FIRST RADIX, AND A STORAGE DEVICE ADAPTED TO STORE SAID NUMBER ACCORDING TO A SECOND RADIX NOTATION COMPRISING A RADIX CONVERTER FOR PRODUCING AND STORING SECOND RADIX EQUIVALENTS OF THE RADIX R RAISED TO DIFFERENT POWERS, AN ARITHMETIC UNIT FOR ARITHMETICALLY COMBINING NUMBERS IN SAID SECOND RADIX NOTATION, A COUNTER FOR COUNTING THE NUMBER OF COMBINING OPERATIONS PERFORMED BY SAID ARITHEMETIC UNIT, MEANS FOR REPETITIVELY SCANNING SAID RADIX CONVERTER AND SAID STORAGE DEVICE TO READ THE RESPECTIVE CONTENTS THEREOF INTO SAID ARITHMETIC UNIT AND TO CAUSE SAID ARITHMETIC UNIT TO COMBINE SAID RESPECTIVE CONTENTS, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO EACH COMBINING OPERATION OF SAID ARITHMETIC UNIT FOR CHANGING THE VALUE OF THE CONTENTS OF SAID STORAGE DEVICE TO CORRESPOND TO THE RESULTS OF THE COMBINATION, MEANS FOR SPECIFYING THE DIRECTION OF TRANSFER OF A NUMBER BETWEEN SAID UTILIZATION DEVICE AND SAID STORAGE DEVICE, FIRST CONTROL MEANS RESPONSIVE TO ONE SPECIFICATION OF SAID SPECIFYING MEANS AND RESPONSIVE TO PRESENTATION OF A DIGIT OF SAID NUMBER BY THE UTILIZATION DEVICE TO CONTROL SAID RADIX CONVERTER TO PRODUCE AND STORE THE SECOND RADIX EQUIVALENT OF R RAISED TO THE POWER P PRESENTED BY SAID UTILIZATION DEVICE AND FOR INITATING OPERATION OF SAID REPETITIVE SCANNING MEANS, SAID FIRST CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID ARITHMETIC UNIT TO PERFORM ADDITIVE COMBINING OPERATIONS, SAID FIRST CONTROL MEANS FURTHER INCLUDING MEANS FOR STOPPING SAID REPETITIVE SCANNING MEANS WHEN THE COUNTER INDICATES A NUMBER OF COMBINING OPERATIONS EQUAL TO THE VALUE OF THE DIGIT N OF THE DIGIT NRP PRESENTED BY SAID UTILIZATION DEVICE, AND SECOND CONTROL MEANS RESPONSIVE TO ANOTHER SPECIFICATION OF SAID SPECIFYING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID RADIX CONVERTER TO PRODUCE AND STORE IN SEQUENCE THE SECOND RADIX EQUIVALENTS OF THE RADIX R RAISED TO SUCCESSIVE POWERS IN ORDER OF DECREASING SIGNIFICANCE AND TO INITIATE OPERATION OF SAID REPETITIVE SCANNING MEANS IN RESPONSE TO PRODUCTION AND STORAGE OF EACH SAID SECOND RADIX EQUIVALENT, SAID SECOND CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING SAID ARITHMETIC UNIT TO PERFORM SUBTRACTIVE OPERATIONS, SAID SECOND CONTROL MEANS FURTHER INCLUDING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO PRODUCTION OF AN OVERDRAFT BY SAID ARITHMETIC UNIT DURING OPERATION OF SAID REPETITIVE SCANNING MEANS FOR EACH SUCCESSIVE SECOND RADIX EQUIVALENT OF R RAISED TO A POWER FOR DISABLING THE COUNTER FROM COUNTING THE OPERATION WHICH PRODUCED AN OVERDRAFT AND FOR INITIATING A SINGLE SCANNING CYCLE WHEREIN THE ARITHMETIC UNIT PERFORMS AN ADDITIVE COMBINATION, SAID SECOND CONTROL MEANS ALSO INCLUDING MEANS OPERABLE FOR EACH SUCCESSIVE SECOND RADIX EQUIVALENT OF R RAISED TO A POWER FOR SIGNALLING THE NUMBER OF OPERATIONS INDICATED BY THE COUNTER TO SAID UTILIZATION DEVICE.