Pulse comparing device for digital measurement of signal shape

Claim 1

IN APPARATUS FOR EXAMINING CHARACTERISTICS OF A SIGNAL PRODUCED AT THE OUTPUT OF A DEVICE, WHERE THE DEVICE IS REPETITIVELY OPERABLE TO PRODUCE CONSTANTLY UNIFORM SIGNALS AT SAID OUTPUT, CLOCK MEANS FOR REPETIVIVELY OPERATING SAID DEVICE AND THEREWITH CAUSING SAID DEVICE TO PRODUCE A SERIES OF SIGNALS OF LIKE TIME DURATION AND SHAPE WITH RESPECT TO AN ARBITRARY LEVEL, MEANS OPERATIVE DURING THE INTERVAL MARKED BY A NUMBER OF OPERATIONS OF SAID CLOCK MEANS FOR GENERATING A RAMP SIGNAL OF AMPLITUDE WHICH INCREASES FROM A REFERENCE LEVEL AT A RATE SUBSTANTIALLY LINEAR WITH RESPECT TO TIME, COMPARING MEANS COUPLED TO SAID DEVICE OUTPUT AND TO SAID RAMP MEANS FOR SUBSTRACTING THE AMPLITUDE AT SAID RAMP SIGNAL FROM THE AMPLITUDE OF THE VARIOUS SIGNALS PRODUCED BY SAID DEVICE, AND FOR PRODUCING A CONTINUING SIGNAL OF AMPLITUDE PROPORTIONAL TO THE REMAINDER DERIVED FROM THE SUBSTRACTION, OUTPUT MEANS RESPONSIVE TO A SIGNAL FROM SAID COMPARING MEANS FOR PRODUCING A SIGNAL REPRESENTING THE EXISTENCE OF REMAINDER, GATING MEANS OPERABLE FOR COUPLING SAID COMPARING MEANS TO SAID OUTPUT MEANS, STROBING MEANS COUPLED TO AND OPERATIVE IN SYNCHRONISM WITH SAID CLOSK MEANS FOR RENDERING SAID GATING MEANS EFFECTIVE AT ANY ONE OF A PLURALITY OF TIME INTERVALS WITHIN THE DURATION OF EACH SIGNAL PRODUCED BY SAID DEVICE, AND SELECTING MEANS EFFECTIVE FOR MAKING SAID STROBING MEANS OPERATIVE AT A SELECTED TIME INTERVAL WITHIN THE DURATION OF EACH SIGNAL PRODUCED BY SAID DEVICE, WHEREBY THE INSTANTANEOUS AMPLITUDE AT ANY DESIRED TIME INTERVAL WITHIN THE DURATION OF SIGNALS PRODUCED BY SAID DEVICE MAY BE DETERMINED.