Telegraphic signal distortion monitor

Claim 1

A TELEGRAPHIC SIGNAL MONITORING SYSTEM INCLUDING A FIRST COUNTER FOR COUNTING THE NUMBER OF ELEMENTS OF A RECEIVED TELEGRAPH SIGNAL; ELECTRICALLY-CONTROLLABLE REFERENCE PULSE GENERATING MEANS FOR GENERATING RECTANGULAR REFERENCE PULSES WHOSE EDGES CORRESPOND TO SELECTED ACCEPTANCE LIMITS FOR THE TIMING OF CHANGEOVERS OCCURRING IN THE RECEIVED SIGNAL; CHANGEOVER PULSE GENERATING MEANS FOR GENERATING A CHANGEOVER PULSE AT EACH CHANGEOVER IN THE RECEIVED SIGNAL; COMPARISON MEANS, CONNECTED TO THE REFERENCE PULSE GENERATING MEANS AND TO THE CHANGEOVER PULSE GENERATING MEANS, FOR PROVIDING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL WHENEVER AT LEAST ONE OF THE CHANGEOVERS IN A CHARACTER OF THE RECEIVED SIGNAL IS DISPLACED IN TIME BEYOND ONE OF THE SELECTED ACCEPTANCE LIMITS, AND FOR PROVIDING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL WHENEVER AT LEAST ONE OF THE CHANGEOVER IN A CHARACTER OF THE RECEIVED SIGNAL IS DISPLACED IN TIME BEYOND THE OTHER OF THE SELECTED ACCEPTANCE LIMITS; A SECOND COUNTER, CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF THE COMPARISON MEANS, FOR COUNTING THE OUTPUT SIGNALS FROM THE COMPARISON MEANS; AND SELECTION MEANS, CONNECTED TO THE SAID FIRST AND SECOND COUNTERS AND TO THE SAID REFERENCE PULSE GENERATING MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE PULSE GENERATING MEAN SO THAT THE TIMING OF THE EDGES OF THE REFERENCE PULSES WILL BE ALTERED TO CORRESPOND TO BROADER ACCEPTANCE LIMITS WHENEVER THE PROPORTION OF DISTORTED CHARACTERS COUNTED BY THE SECOND COUNTER TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ELEMENTS COUPLED BY THE FIRST COUNTER BECOMES GREATER THAN A PREDETERMINED RATIO AND WILL BE ALTERED TO CORRESPOND TO NARROWER ACCEPTANCE LMITS WHENEVER THE PROPORTION OF DISORTED CHARACTERS COUNTED BY THE SECOND COUNTER TO THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ELEMENTS COUNTERED BY THE FIRST COUNTER BECOMES LESS THAN A PREDETERMINED RATIO.