Data processing devices and systems

Claim 1

IN AN ELECTRONIC COMPUTER HAVING A MEMORY UNIT COMPRISING A MEMBER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION AND HAVING A MAGNETIZABLE SURFACE; AN INPUT-OUTPUT UNIT COMPRISING A TYPEWRITER HAVING A CARRIAGE MOVABLE IN A STEP-BY-STEP MANNER ACROSS A PRINTING POSITION; AND CIRCUIT MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING A DIGIT ENTERED ON THE TYPEWRITER TO SAID MEMORY UNIT AND FOR TRANSMITTING A DIGIT RETRIEVED FROM SAID MEMORY UNIT TO SAID TYPEWRITER, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: PROGRAM MEANS INCLUDING A SENSING STATION COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL SENSING ELEMENTS AND A CODED RECORD MEMBER HAVING SEPARATE PROGRAMMING INSTRUCTION CHANNELS FOR EACH OF SAID SENSING ELEMENTS AND BEING MOVABLE RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER CONCOMITANTLY WITH STEP-BY-STEP MOVEMENT OF THE CARRIAGE IN EITHER DIRECTION, SAID CODED RECORD MEMBER FUTHER HAVING A PROGRAM FIELD CONTAINING A PLURALITY OF ADJACENT PROGRAM INSTRUCTIONS CORRESPONDING TO ADJACENT CARRIAGE POSITIONS; MEANS EFFECTIVE IN RESPONSE TO EACH OF SAID PROGRAM INSTRUCTION TO CONTROL THE LOCATION INTO WHICH EACH DIGIT OF A PLURAL DIGIT NUMBER ENTERED ON THE TYPEWRITER IS STORED IN SAID MEMORY UNIT; AND MEANS FOR RECORDING DIGITS ON THE SURFACE OF SAID MEMORY UNIT BY A NON-RETURN-TO-ZERO METHOD WHEREBY AN ERRONEOUS DIGIT ENTRY MAY BE CORRECTED IN THE MEMORY UNIT BY REPOSITIONING THE TYPEWRITER CARRIAGE AT THE LOCATION OF THE ERRONEOUS DIGIT ENTRY AND THEN ENTERING THE CORRECT DIGIT.