Converter devices

Claim 1

IN A CODING DEVICE FOR CONVERTING AN ANALOG QUANTITY TO A DIGITAL QUANTITY, A LIGHT SOURCE, A PAIR OF READING DEVICES RESPONSIVE TO LIGHT FROM SAID SOURCE AND EACH PROVIDING OUTPUT SIGNALS DEPENDENT UPON THE AMOUNTS OF LIGHT APPLIED THERETO, AN INFORMATION MEMBER MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID READING DEVICES IN ACCORDANCES WITH THE MOVEMENT OF A DEVICE THE ANALOG OF WHICH IS TO BE CONVERTED FOR CONTROLLING THE PASSAGE OF LIGHT FROM SAID SOURCE TO SAID DEVICES AND CONTINUOUSLY ILLUMINATED BY SAID SOURCE, SAID MEMBER HAVING A ZONE INCLUDING A SINGLE TRACK INCLUDING ALTERNATE LIGHT-TRANSMITTING AND LIGHTBLOCKING PORTIONS DISPOSED IN END TO END RELATIONSHIP AND WHICH HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL DIMENSIONS IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE MEMBER AND CAUSE THE LIGHT TO BE ALTERNATELY BLOCKED AND TRANSMITTED TO THE RESPECTIVE ONES OF SAID DEVICES, SAID READING DEVICES EACH BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE SAID PORTIONS OF SAID SINGLE TRACK AND DEFINING A READING LINE FOR SAID ZONE AND BEING SPACED BY A DISTANCE WHICH IS AN ODD NUMBER MULTIPLE OF SAID DIMENSION SO THAT THE AMOUNTS OF LIGHT APPLIED TO THE READING DEVICES AND THE OUTPUT SIGNALS THEREFROM CHANGE IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS SUBSTANTIALLY SIMULTANEOUSLY DURING TRANSITIONS OF THE LIGHT-TRANSMITTING AND LIGHT-BLOCKING PORTIONS IN RESPONSE TO MOVEMENT OF THE MEMBER PAST SAID READING LINE, AND ELECTRIC CIRCUIT MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID READING DEVICES FOR PRODUCING AN OUTPUT QUANTITY HAVING A FIRST CONDITION WHEN THE OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM ONE READING DEVICE IS GREATER THAN THE OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM THE OTHER READING DEVICE AND HAVING A SECOND CONDITION DIFFERENT FROM SAID FIRST CONDITION WHEN THE OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM SAID OTHER READING DEVICE IS GREATER THAN THE OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM THE ONE READING DEVICE.