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Claim 1

AN ARRANGEMENT FOR DIGITALLY ENCODING THE POSITIONS OF A MOVABLE MEMBER COMPRISING AN ENCODER HAVING AN ELEMENT WITH A PLURALITY OF BINARY CODED SEGMENTS THEREON TO DEFINE A PLURALITY OF DISCRETE ENCODING POSITIONS AND MEANS FOR SENSING THE CODED SEGMENTS AND PROVIDING A PLURALITY OF BINARY CODED ELECTRICAL SIGNALS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE POSITIONS OF A MEMBER TO BE DIGITIZED UPON THE PRODUCTION OF RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID ENCODING ELEMENTS, MEANS FOR PRODUCING RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID ELEMENT AND SAID SENSING MEANS, ELECTRICAL GEARING COUPLED TO A MOVABLE MEMBER TO BE DIGITIZED AND MOVABLE THEREWITH TO PROVIDE AN ELECTRICAL OUTPUT SIGNAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE POSITION OF THE MOVABLE MEMBER, SAID ELECTRICAL OUTPUT SIGNALS INCLUDING PREDETERMINED ERROR SIGNALS INHERENT IN THE OPERATION OF THE GEARING, MEANS COUPLED TO SAID ENCODER FOR PROVIDING AN ELECTRICAL INDICATION OF THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF SAID ENCODING ELEMENTS, COMPARISON MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID GEARING AND THE ELECTRICAL INDICATION OF THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF SAID ENCODING ELEMENTS FOR DERIVING AN ERROR SIGNAL INDICATIVE TO THE DIFFERENCE IN POSITION THEREBETWEEN AND CONNECTED TO SAID MEANS FOR PRODUCING RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID ENCODING ELEMENTS FOR DRIVING SAID ENCODER IN UNISON WITH SAID MOVABLE MEMBER, AND MEANS COUPLED TO SAID ENCODER FOR COMPENSATING FOR THE PREDETERMINED INHERENT ERRORS OF SAID GEARING TO PROVIDE THE CORRECT DIGITAL INDICATION OF THE POSITION OF THE MOVABLE MEMBER THEREFROM.