Counting circuits

Claim 1

A PULSE COUNTING CIRCUIT COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A PREDETERMINED PLURALITY OF COUNTING GROUPS, EACH OF SAID COUNTING GROUPS CONSISTING OF A PREDETERMINED PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL CIRCUIT BRANCHES CONNECTED IN PARALLEL, EACH OF SAID CIRCUIT BRANCHES CONSISTING OF A SERIES COMBINATION OF AN ELECTRICAL ISOLATING DEVICE AND A TWO-TERMINAL NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE AND A LOAD IMPEDANCE, SAID NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICES EXHIBITING A NEGATIVE RESISTANCE CHARACTERISTIC OVER A PORTION OF THEIR OPERATING RANGE WHEREIN AN INCREASE IN CURRENT FLOW THROUGH THE DEVICE RESULTS IN A DECREASE IN THE VOLTAGE DROP ACROSS THE DEVICE, SAID NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICES BEING SELECTIVELY OPERABLE THROUGH A PORTION OF THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE REGION OF THEIR VOLTAGE CURRENT CURVES BETWEEN INACTIVE AND COUNTING STATES, EACH OF SAID COUNTING GROUPS BEING COUPLED TO A SOURCE OF DIRECT-CURRENT OPERATING POTENTIAL, THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY SUPPLIED TO SAID COUNTING GROUPS FROM SAID SOURCE OF DIRECT CURRENT OPERATING POTENTIAL NORMALLY BIASING ALL EXCEPT ONE OF SAID NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICES IN THE COUNTING CIRCUIT IN THE INACTIVE STATE, THE REMAINING NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE BEING BIASED IN THE COUNTING STATE; DIRECT-CURRENT COUPLING MEANS INTERCOUPLING THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICES OF SAID CIRCUIT BRANCHES IN A COUNTING RING WHEREIN THE COUNT PROGRESSES SUCCESSIVELY FROM GROUP TO GROUP IN A PREDETERMINED ORDER, THE JUNCTION BETWEEN THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE AND THE LOAD IMPEDANCE OF THE XTH CIRCUIT BRANCH OF ONE GROUP BEING COUPLED TO THE JUNCTION BETWEEN THE ELECTRICAL ISOLATING DEVICE AND THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE OF THE XTH CIRCUIT BRANCH OF THE NEXT GROUP WITH THE EXCEPTION THAT THE JUNCTION BETWEEN THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE AND THE LOAD IMPEDANCE OF THE XTH CIRCUIT BRANCH OF THE LAST GROUP IS COUPLED TO THE JUNCTION BETWEEN THE ELECTRICAL ISOLATING DEVICE AND THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE OF THE (X+1)TH CIRCUIT BRANCH OF THE FIRST GROUP AND WITH THE FURTHER EXCEPTION THAT THE JUNCTION BETWEEN THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE AND THE LOAD IMPEDANCE OF THE LAST CIRCUIT BRANCH OF THE LAST GROUP IS COUPLED TO THE JUNCTION BETWEEN THE ELECTRICAL ISOLATING DEVICE AND THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE OF THE FIRST CIRCUIT BRANCH OF THE FIRST GROUP, WHERE X IS A POSITIVE INTEGER NOT IN EXCESS OF SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF CIRCUIT BRANCHES, THE DIRECT-CURRENT POTENTIAL DROP APPEARING ACROSS THE LOAD IMPEDANCE IN THE CIRCUIT BRANCH CONTAINING THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE IN THE COUNTING STATE BEING COUPLED TO THE NEXT NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE TO COUNT TO PRIME IT WITH A VOLTAGE ADVANTAGE WHEREBY UPON APPLICATION OF A PREDETERMINED ELECTRICAL INPUT PULSE TO THE COUNTING GROUPS THE PRIMED NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE WILL BE SELECTIVELY SWITCHED FROM THE INACTIVE STATE TO THE COUNTING STATE; AND, SWITCHING MEANS COUPLING EACH OF SAID COUNTING GROUPS TO SAID SOURCE OF DIRECT-CURRENT OPERATING POTENTIAL, SAID SWITCHING MEANS BEING RESPONSIVE TO EACH PULSE TO BE COUNTED BY APPLYING A SAID PREDETERMINED ELECTRICAL INPUT PULSE SIMULTANEOUSLY TO EACH OF SAID COUNTING GROUPS TO THEREBY CAUSE ADVANCEMENT OF THE COUNT AND BY SELECTIVELY ALTERING THE ELECTRICAL ENERGY SUPPLIED TO THE COUNTING GROUP CONTAINING THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE JUST SWITCHED TO THE COUNTING STATE TO MAINTAIN THAT PARTICULAR COUNT UNTIL APPLICATION OF THE NEXT SUCCEEDING PREDETERMINED ELECTRICAL INPUT PULSE, SAID SWITCHING MEANS FURTHER INTERCOUPLING SAID COUNTING GROUPS TO MOMENTARILY COUPLE SAID ALTERATION IN ELECTRICAL ENERGY OCCURRING UPON ADVANCEMENT OF THE COUNT TO THE COUNTING GROUP CONTAINING THE NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE INDICATING THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING COUNT TO SELECTIVELY SWITCH THAT NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DEVICE FROM THE COUNTING STATE TO THE INACTIVE STATE.