System for synchronizing punched card readers

Claim 1

IN A SYSTEM FOR SYNCHRONIZING THE TRANSFER OF INFORMATION FROM A READER OF PUNCHED CARDS TO A DATA PROCESSOR, EACH CARD HAVING INFORMATION STORED THEREON IN UNIFORMLY SPACED COLLUMNS, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A READ STATION INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF ELECTRIC MEANS FOR TRANSLATING INFORMATION SIGNALS FROM RESPECTIVE ROWS OF A GIVEN CARD BEING READ COLUMN BY COLUMN AS SAID GIVEN CARD IS FED PAST SAID READ STATION; A FIRST MEANS FOR FEEDING SAID GIVEN CARD PST SAID READ STATION; A SECOND MEANS FOR GENERATING TIMING PULSES; A THIRD MEANS FOR SYNCHRONIZING SAID SECOND MEANS WITH SAID FIRST MEANS TO CAUSE SAID SECOND MEANS TO GENERATE A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF TIMING PULSES IN THE TIME SAID FIRST MEANS REQUIRES TO FEED SAID CARD PAST SAID READ STATION DISTANCE EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE CENTERS OF ADJACENT COLUMNS; A TIMING-PULSE COUNTING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID SECOND MEANS FOR COUNTING TIMING PULSES, SAID COUNTING MEANS HAVING A BASE EQUAL TO SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF TIMING PULSES GENERATED IN THE TIME SAID A FOURTH MEANS COUPLED TO SAID COUNTING MEANS FOR DETECTING A SPECIFIED COUNT APROXIMATELY EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF TIMING PULSES GENERATED IN THE TIME SAID FIRST MEANS REQUIRES TO ADVANCE SAID GIVEN CARD PAST SAID READ STATION A DISTANCE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL TO HALF THE WIDTH OF A PUNCHED HOLE; A FIFTH MEANS COUPLED TO SAID READ STATION AND RESPONSIVE TO ANY SIGNAL TRANSMITTED THEREFROOM WHEN THE LEADING EDGE OF A HOLE PUNCHED IN A COLUMN BEING READ IS DETECTED BY AN ELECTRIC MEANS OF SAID READ STATION FOR RESETTING SAID COUNTING MEANS, THEREBY RE-SYNCHRONIZING THE ACTUATION OF SAID COUNTING MEANS; AND A SIXTH MEANS COUPLED TO SAID FIFTH MEANS FOR GENERATING A SIGNAL ADAPTED TO BE EMPLOYED TO EFFECT A TRANSFER OF INFORMATION FROM THE COLUMN BEING READ TO A DATA PROCESSOR.