Table look-up system

Claim 1

IN A DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM HAVING A STORAGE DEVICE CAPABLE OF STORING A PLURALITY OF GROUPS OF DATA MANIFESTATIONS REPRESENTING NUMERICAL QUANTITIES WHEREIN EACH OF SAID GROUPS OF DATA MANIFESTATIONS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A UNIQUE ADDRESS, TABLE LOOK-UP APPARATUS FOR LOCATING THE ADDRESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GROUP OF DATA MANIFESTATIONS WHICH REPRESENTS THE LOWEST NUMERICAL QUANTITY CONSISTING OF: A FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER CAPABLE OF STORING ADDRESS INFORMATION; SELECTIVE READ OUT MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER FOR SELECTIVELY READING OUT A GROUP OF DATA MANIFESTATIONS FROM SAID STORAGE DEVICE UNDER CONTROL OF THE ADDRESS INFORMATION STORED IN SAID FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER; A FIRST DATA REGISTER CONNECTED TO SAID STORAGE DEVICE FOR RECEIVING THE GROUP OF DATA MANIFESTATIONS READ OUT FROM SAID STORAGE DEVICE UNDER CONTROL OF SAID SELECTIVE READ OUT MEANS; A SECOND DATA REGISTER CAPABLE OF STORING A GROUP OF DATA MANIFESTATIONS REPRESENTING A NUMERICAL QUANTITY; A FIRST COMPARATOR CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST DATA REGISTER AND SAID SECOND DATA REGISTER FOR COMPARING DATA MANIFESTATIONS STORED IN SAID FIRST DATA REGISTER WITH THE DATA MANIFESTATIONS STORED IN SAID SECOND REGISTER, SAID FIRST COMPARATOR HAVING A: FIRST OUTPUT WHICH IS ENERGIZED EACH TIME A COMPARISON IS EFFECTED BY SAID COMPARING MEANS, AND A SECOND OUTPUT WHICH IS ENERGIZED WHEN THE DATA MANIFESTATIONS STORED IN SAID FIRST DATA REGISTER REPRESENT A NUMERICAL QUANTITY SMALLER THAN THE NUMERICAL QUANTITY REPRESENTED BY THE DATA MANIFESTATIONS STORED IN SAID SECOND DATA REGISTER; MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF GATES OPERATED BY SAID SECOND OUTPUT OF SAID FIRST COMPARATOR, TO TRANSFER THE DATA MANIFESTATIONS STORED IN SAID FIRST DATA REGISTER TO SAID SECOND DATA REGISTER; MEANS INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF GATES OPERATED BY SAID SECOND OUTPUT OF SAID FIRST COMPARATOR TO TRANSFER THE ADDRESS INFORMATION STORED IN SAID FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER TO A SECOND ADDRESS REGISTER; AN ADDER OPERATED BY SAID FIRST OUTPUT FROM SAID FIRST COMPARATOR TO ADD A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY TO THE ADDRESS INFORMATION STORED IN SAID FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER WHEN SAID FIRST OUTPUT IS ENERGIZED; A THIRD ADDRESS REGISTER CONTAINING PREDETERMINED ADDRESS INFORMATION; A SECOND COMPARATOR CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER AND SAID THIRD ADDRESS REGISTER, SAID SECOND COMPARATOR HAVING A: FIRST OUTPUT WHICH IS ENERGIZED WHEN THE ADDRESS INFORMATION STORED IN SAID FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER REPRESENTS A NUMERICAL QUANTITY WHICH IS SMALLER THAN THE NUMERICAL QUANTITY REPRESENTED BY THE ADDRESS INFORMATION STORED IN SAID THIRD ADDRESS REGISTER; AND A SECOND OUTPUT WHICH IS ENERGIZED WHEN THE ADDRESS INFORMATION STORED IN SAID FIRST ADDRESS REGISTER REPRESENTS A NUMERICAL QUANTITY WHICH IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN THE NUMERICAL QUANTITY REPRESENTED BY THE ADDRESS INFORMATION STORED IN SAID THIRD ADDRESS REGISTER; MEANS CONNECTING SAID FIRST OUTPUT OF SAID SECOND COMPARATOR TO SAID STORAGE READ OUT MEANS TO ACTUATE SAID STORAGE READ OUT MEANS WHEN SAID FIRST OUTPUT OF SAID SECOND COMPARATOR IS ENERGIZED; AND AN INDICATOR CONNECTED TO SAID SECOND OUTPUT OF SAID SECOND COMPARATOR TO INDICATE THAT THE ADDRESS ASSOCIATED WITH THE GROUP OF DATA MANIFESTATIONS REPRESENTING THE LOWEST NUMERICAL QUANTITY IS STORED IN SAID SECOND ADDRESS REGISTER.