Phase control system for use in producing a variable direction beam from a fixed transmitting array

Claim 1

PHASE CONTROL APPARATUS FOR INDIVIDUALLY GENERATING A GIVEN PLURALITY OF DIFFERENT SINUSOIDAL SIGNALS ALL HAVING THE SAME FREQUENCY BUT HAVING PREDETERMINED PHASE RELATIONSHIPS, WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING INDIVIDUAL MEANS FOR EACH OF SAID SIGNALS INCLUDINGL A LOW-PASS FILTE, A BISTABLE DIVICE HAVING FIRST AND SECOND INPUTS AND AN OUTPUT, SAID DEVICE BEING SWITCHED FROM A FIRST STABLE CONDITION THEREOF TO A SECOND STABLE CONDITION THEREOF IN RESPONSE TO A PULSE BEING APPLIED TO THE FIRST INPUT THEREOF AND BEING SWITCHED FROM SAID SECOND STABLE CONDITION THEREOF TO SAID FIRST STABLE CONDITION THEREOF IN RESPONSE TO A PULSE BEING APPLIED TO THE SECOND INPUT THEREOF, THE OUTPUT OF SAID DEVICE HAVING A FIRST GIVEN SIGNAL LEVEL WHEN SAID DEVICE IS IN ITS FIRST STABLE CONDITION AND HAVING A SECOND GIVEN SIGNAL LEVEL WHEN SAID DEVICE IS IN ITS SECOND STABLE CONDITION, AND MEANS FOR APPLYING THE OUTPUT OF SAID BISTABLE DEVICE AS AN INPUT TO SAID FILTER, AND COMMON CONTROL MEANS INCLUDING A CLOCK PULSE SOURCE FOR GENERATING PERIODIC TRIGGER PULSES AT A GIVEN REPETITION RATE, COMMUTATOR MEANS INCLUDING A CYCLICALLY-OPERATED COUNTER COUPLED TO SAID CLOCK PULSE SOURCE FOR SEQUENTIALLY APPLYING SUCCESSIVE TRIGGER PULSES FROM SAID SOURCE TO SEPARATE ONES OF A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF OUTPUT TERMINALS OF SAID COMMUTATOR MEANS, AND COUPLING MEANS FOR CONNECTING BOTH THE FIRST AND SECOND INPUTS OF EACH RESPECTING BISTABLE DEVICE TO A RESPECTIVE PRESELECTED ONE OF SAID OUTPUT TERMINALS IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PREDETERMINED PHASE PATTERN, WHERBY EACH OF SAID BISTABLE DEVIVES PRODUCES A SQUARE-WAVE OUTPUT SIGNAL HAVING A FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY EQUAL TO SAID PULSE REPETITION RATE OF SAID CLOCK PULSE SOURCE DIVIDED BY TWICE SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF SAID OUPUT TERMINALS OF SAID COMMUTATOR MEANS AND HAVING A RELATIVE PHASE WHICH DEPENDS ON THE INITIAL STABLE CONDITION OF THAT BISABLE DEVICE AND ON THAT PRESELECTED ONE OF SAID OUTPUT TERMINALS OF SAID COMMUTATOR MEANS TO WHICH THE FIRST AND SECOND INPUT TERMINALS OF THAT DEVICE ARE CONNECTED, SAID LOW-PASS FILTER OF EACH INDIVIDUAL MEANS PASSSING ONLY THE FUNDAMENTAL FREQUENCY OF TH SQUAREWAVE OUTPUT SIGNAL APPLIED AS AN INPUT THERETO.