Self-biased threshold circuit

Claim 1

IN COMBINATION, A SOURCE OF PULSES OF VARIABLE AVERAGE MAGNITUDE, EACH SAID PULSE HAVING A SLOPING LEADING EDGE AND AT LEAST SOME OF SAID PULSES HAVING ASSOCIATED NOISE SKIRTS, A CAPACITOR, A TRANSISTOR HAVING BASE, EMITTER, AND COLLECTOR ELECTRODES, SAID BASE AND EMITTER ELECTRODES HAVING A THRESHOLD AND CONDUCTION AT A PREDETERMINED VOLTAGE AND BEING CONNECTED IN SERIES WITH SAID CAPACITOR TO RECEIVE PULSES FROM SAID SOURCE FOR CHARGING SAID CAPACITOR, SAID TRANSISTOR BEING NORMALLY NONCONDUCTING IN THE ABSENCE OF AN INPUT PULSE OF GREATER MAGNITUDE THAN THE CHARGE VOLTAGE ON SAID CAPACITOR, RESISTANCE MEANS CONNECTED TO SHUNT SAID BASE AND EMITTER ELECTRODES FOR DISCHARGING SAID CAPACITOR, SAID RESISTANCE MEANS INCLUDING BIAS MEANS FOR OFFSETTING SAID PREDETERMINED VOLTAGE, THE MAGNIDUTE OF SAID RESISTANCE MEANS BEING PROPORTIONED WITH RESPECT TO THE MAGNITUDE OF SAID CAPACITOR TO DISSIPATE BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE ONES OF SAID PULSES A SUBSTANTIAL PROPORTION OF THE CHARGE ACCUMULATED ON SAID CAPACITOR DURING A PULSE, SAID PROPORTION BEING ADAPTED SO THAT SAID CHARGE VOLTAGE IS AT LEAST EQUAL TO THE MAGNITUDE OF SAID NOISE SKIRTS BUT LESS THAN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE SMALLEST ONE OF SAID PULSES, AND AN OUTPUT CIRCUIT CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID COLLECTOR AND EMITTER ELECTRODES.