Analog to digital converter

Claim 1

IN AN ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERTER, AN ELECTROMECHANICAL TRANSDUCER ADAPTED TO BE ENERGIZED BY A CONSTANT-AMPLITUDE ALTERNATING VOLTAGE AND HAVING AN INPUT SHAFT DISPLACED ACCORDING TO AN ANALOG VALUE, SAID TRANSDUCER PRODUCING A PLURALITY OF SEPARATE ELECTRICAL SPACE-PHASE SIGNALS EACH OF WHICH HAS AN AMPLITUDE OF SUBSTANTIALLY ZERO FOR SOME POSITION OF SAID INPUT SHAFT, MEANS FOR CONVERTING SAID SPACE-PHASE SIGNALS INTO A CORRESPONDING TIMEPHASE SIGNAL HAVING A VARIABLE TIME PHASE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE POSITION OF SAID INPUT SHAFT, PULSE SHAPING MEANS FOR CHANGING SAID TIME-PHASE SIGNAL INTO A PULSE SIGNAL COMPRISING A PULSE OCCURING AT A TIME REPRESENTATIVE OF SAID TIME PHASE OF SAID TIME-PHASE SIGNAL, A PLURALITY OF PULSE SHAPING MEANS FOR CHANGING SAID-PHASE SIGNALS INTO PULSES, MEANS FOR ADDING SAID PULSES DERIVED FROM SAID SPACE-PHASE SIGNALS TO OBTAIN A COMPOSITE PULSE SIGNAL, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID CONSTANT-AMPLITUDE ALTERNATING VOLTAGE TO DERIVE A GATING PULSE THEREFROM, ELECTRONIC GATE MEANS SUPPLIED WITH SAID COMPOSITE PULSE SIGNAL AND WITH SAID GATING PULSE SELECTIVELY TO PASS A REFERENCE PULSE FROM SAID COMPOSITE PULSE SIGNAL UPON THE OCCURRENCE OF SAID GATING PULSE, AND DIGITAL COUNTING MEANS ACTIVATED BY SAID REFERENCE PULSE AND DEACTIVATED BY SAID PULSE SIGNAL DERIVED FROM SAID TIME-PHASE SIGNAL.