Digital gray code to analog converter utilizing stage transfer characteristic-techniques

Claim 1

TRANSLATING APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING INFORMATION IN THE FORM OF A GROUP OF N DIGITS INTO AN ELECTRICAL QUANTITY WHOSE AMPLITUDE IS RELATED TO THE VALUE OF SAID GROUP OF DIGITS WHICH COMPRISES, IN COMBINATION, N TRANSLATING STAGES, EACH BEING PROVIDED WITH A DIGIT INPUT, AN ANALOG INPUT AND AN ANALOG OUTPUT AND EACH BEING CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE SIGNAL APPEARING AT THE ANALOG OUTPUT OF EACH STAGE IS FUNCTIONALLY RELATED TO THE SIGNAL APPLIED TO THE ANALOG INPUT BY A FIRST RELATIONSHIP WHENEVER THE DIGIT APPLIED TO SAID DIGIT INPUT IS A FIRST SYMBOL AND BY A SECOND RELATIONSHIP WHENEVER THE APPLIED DIGIT IS A SECOND SYMBOL, CIRCUIT MEANS FOR CONNECTING SAID STAGES IN A TANDEM CONFIGURATION, THE ANALOG OUTPUT OF ONE STAGE BEING CONNECTED TO THE ANALOG INPUT OF THE NEXT STAGE, INPUT MEANS FOR APPLYING EACH OF SAID N DIGITS TO THE DIGIT INPUT OF THE RESPECTIVE ONE OF SAID N STAGES, AND OUTPUT MEANS CONNECTED TO THE ANALOG OUTPUT OF THE LAST STAGE IN SAID TANDEM CONFIGURATION OF STAGES FOR DELIVERING A SIGNAL WHOSE AMPLITUDE IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE VALUE OF SAID GROUP OF N DIGITS.