Photo-responsive clock for card reader

Claim 1

IN A CARD READER FOR READING DATA-BEARING CARDS OF GENERALLY RECTANGULAR SHAPE, SAID CARDS HAVING A PLURALITY OF COLUMNS SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE SHORT SIDE OF SAID CARD, IN WHICH DATA CAN BE PROVIDED, A CARD PLATFORM OF GENERALLY RECTANGULAR SHAPE ON WHICH EACH CARD IS PLACED IN RECTANGULAR CONFORMANCE THEREWITH PRIOR TO READING, A READING STATION ADJACENT A SHORT END OF SAID PLATFORM, MEANS FOR CAUSING SAID CARD TO MOVE ACROSS SAID PLATFORM SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE LONG DIMENSION THEREOF SO THAT THE COLUMNS ON SAID CARD SEQUENTIALLY TRAVERSE SAID READING STATION, SAID PLATFORM HAVING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES POSITIONED ALONG THE LONG DIMENSION THEREOF AND SPACED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COLUMNS ON SAID CARD SO THAT AT LEAST A PLURALITY OF SAID APERTURES ARE UNCOVERED IN A PREDETERMINED RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO THE TRAVERSAL OF THE COLUMNS ON EACH CARD PAST SAID READING STATION, A RADIATION SOURCE PROVIDED ON ONE SIDE OF SAID APERTURES FOR ILLUMINATING SAID APERTURES AS THEY ARE UNCOVERED BY SAID CARD, RADIATION SENSITIVE MEANS PROVIDED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID APERTURES FOR RECEIVING THE RADIATION FROM SAID SOURCE WHICH PASSES THROUGH SAID APERTURES AND FOR PRODUCING ELECTRICAL SIGNALS IN RESPONSIVE THERETO, SAID RADIATION-SENSITIVE MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS ARRANGED CONTIGUOUSLY SIDE BY SIDE SO AS TO EXTEND THE FULL LENGTH OF SAID PLURALITY OF APERTURES, EACH PHOTO-VOLTAIC CELL ACTING AS A CURRENT SOURCE IN RESPONSE TO ILLUMINATION FROM SAID RADIATION SOURCE AND BEING SUFFICIENTLY LONG SO AS TO RECEIVE RADIATION FROM AT LEAST FIVE OF SAID APERTURES WHICH ARE DIFFERENT FOR EACH CELL, AND ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT MEANS TO WHICH SAID ELECTRICAL SIGNALS ARE FED FOR PRODUCING CLOCK PULSES HAVING A PREDETERMINED RELATIONSHIP WITH RESPECT TO THE TRAVERSING OF THE COLUMNS ON SAID CARD PAST SAID READING STATION, SAID ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT MEANS COMPRISING A SEPARATE TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER TO WHICH THE OUTPUT OF EACH CELL IS FED AND MEANS FOR COMBINING THE OUTPUTS OF SAID AMPLIFIERS FOR PRODUCING SAID CLOCK SIGNALS.