Information storage apparatus

Claim 1

INFORMATION STORAGE APPARATUS FOR STORING CODED COMBINATIONS OF INDICIA COMPRISING: A RECORD MEDIUM INCLUDING A SHEET OF INSULATIVE MATERIAL AND MULTITUDE OF INDICIUM STORAGE ELEMENTS AFFIXED TO SAID SHEET OF INSULATIVE MATERIAL IN GROUPS HAVING A GIVEN PATTERN WHEREIN THE INDICIUM STORAGE ELEMENTS IN EACH GROUP ARE INSULATIVELY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER, EACH OF SAID INDICIUM STORAGE ELEMENTS BEING AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL AND COMPRISING FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD SERIALLY CONTIGUOUS REGIONS, SAID SECOND REGION BEING INTERMEDIATE SAID FIRST AND THIRD REGIONS, SAID FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD REGIONS EACH HAVING DELIMITED SURFACES AREAS, THE TRANSVERSE DIMENSION OF THE SURFACE AREA OF SAID SECOND REGION BEING LESS THAN THE TRANSVERSE DIMENSION OF THE SURFACE AREA OF SAID FIRST REGION AND OF SAID THIRD REGIONS TO PROVIDE A CONSTRICTED PATH OF CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL FOR THE FLOW OF ELECTRIC CURRENT FROM SAID FIRST REGION, VIA SAID SECOND REGION, TO SAID THIRD REGION SO THAT WHEN ELECTRIC CURRENT GREATER THAN A GIVEN MAGNITUDE IS CAUSED TO FLOW FROM SAID FIRST REGION, VIA SAID SECOND REGION, TO SAID THIRD REGION ONLY SAID SECOND REGION IS VAPORIZED; A MULTITUDE OF ELECTRICAL CONTACTS MEANS EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF INDICIUM STORAGE ELEMENTS IN A GROUP OF INDICIUM STORAGE ELEMENTS; MEANS FOR STATIONARILY DISPOSING SAID ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS FOR RESPECTIVELY CONTACTING THE FIRST AND THIRD REGIONS OF THE INDICIUM STORAGE ELEMENTS IN A GROUP SIMULTANEOUSLY; AN ELECTRIC CURRENT SOURCE MEANS SELECTIVELY CONNECTABLE TO SAID ELECTRICAL CONTACT MEANS WHEREBY CODED COMBINATIONS OF INDICIA ARE RECORDED BY VIRTUE OF THE VAPORIZATION OF SAID THIRD REGIONS.