Rate limiting apparatus including active elements

Claim 1

A RATE-LIMITING APPARATUS COMPRISING A SIGNAL INTEGRATING MEANS, A PAIR OF OUTPUT TERMINALS, CIRCUIT MEANS CONNECTING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM SAID INTEGRATING MEANS TO SAID OUTPUT TERMINALS, A SIGNAL AMPLIFYING AND COMPARING MEANS FOR COMPARING TWO INPUT SIGNALS APPLIED TO AN INPUT SIGNAL THEREOF AND PRODUCING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL ON AN OUTPUT CIRCUIT THEREOF INDICATIVE OF A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SAID OUTPUT SIGNALS, A REFERENCE SIGNAL MEANS, MEANS CONNECTING A SIGNAL FROM SAID REFERENCE SIGNAL MEANS AS ONE INPUT SIGNAL TO SAID SIGNAL COMPARING MEANS, FEEDBACK MEANS CONNECTING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM SAID INTEGRATING MEANS AS THE OTHER INPUT SIGNAL TO SAID COMPARING MEANS, AND SIGNAL AMPLITUDE REGULATING MEANS CONNECTING SAID OUTPUT SIGNAL FROM SAID COMPARING MEANS AS AN INPUT SIGNAL TO SAID INTEGRATING MEANS WHEREIN SAID SIGNAL REGULATING MEANS INCLUDE A PAIR OF DIOIDES HAVING TWO SIMILAR ELECTRODES CONNECTED TOGETHER AND ONE FREE ELECTRODE CONNECTED TO SAID OUTPUT CIRCUIT OF SAID SIGNAL COMPARING MEANS, A POTENTIOMETER HAVING ITS IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED BETWEEN A SECOND FREE ELECTRODE OF SAID PAIR OF DIODES AND A COMMON SIGNAL RETURN PATH TO SAID SIGNAL COMPARING MEANS, AND CIRCUIT MEANS CONNECTING A SLIDER OF SAID POTIOMETER TO AN INPUT CIRCUIT OF SAID INTEGRATING MEANS.