Device for reading signals from a tape

Claim 1

A TAPE READING MECHANISM FOR A SIMPLEX TELEGRAPH CIRCUIT WITH AUTOMATIC ERROR DETECTION AND CORRECTION MEANS, SAID TAPE CONTAINING GROUPS OF THE SAME NUMBER OF SYMBOLS WHICH SYMBOLS ARE INDIVIDUALLY AND SUCCESSIVELY TRANSMITTED BY THE TELEGRAPH CIRCUIT ACCORDING TO A PROTECTED CODE SO THAT ERRORS IN EACH SYMBOL CAN BE IMMEDIATELY DETECTED UPON RECEPTION, SAID GROUPS OF SYMBOLS BEING ASSOCIATED WITH CHARACTERISTIC WHEREBY BETWEEN EACH GROUP ONE OF TWO ANSWER-BACK SIGNALS ARE TRANSMITTED TO INDICATE CORRECT AND INCORRECT RECEPTION OF EACH GROUP FOR CONTROLLING SAID ERROR CORRECTION MEANS, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING: (A) MEANS (TR3) FOR DRIVING SAID TAPE FORWARDLY IN STEPS FOR SUCCESSIVELY READING EACH SYMBOL OF EACH GROUP, (B) MEANS (T1) FOR STOPPING SAID DRIVING MEANS AT THE END OF EACH GROUP FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF ONE OF TWO ANSWER-BACK SIGNALS, (C) A TRAILING READING MEANS (T1) AND AT LEAST ONE FORWARD READING MEANS (T2) FOR READING SAID TAPE, EACH READING MEANS BEING SPACED APART FROM THE OTHER READING MEANS ALONG SAID TAPE A DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO THAT REQUIRED FOR RECORDING ONE GROUP OF SYMBOLS ON SAID TAPE, (D) MEANS (10) FOR COUNTING THE NUMBER OF SYMBOLS IN EACH GROUP, (E) MEANS (TR1) FOR CONTROLLING SAID TRAILING READING MEANS WHEN AN ANSWER-BACK SIGNAL INDICATING CORRECT RECEPTION HAS BEEN RECEIVED, (F) MEANS (HD, G) FOR IMMEDIATELY SWITCHING TO AND CONTROLLING SAID FORWARD READING MEANS WHEN AN ANSWER-BACK SIGNAL INDICATING INCORRECT RECEPTION HAS BEEN RECEIVED, (G) MEANS (HD, F) FOR SWITCHING BACK TO SAID TRAILING READING MEANS AFTER SAID GROUP OF SIGNALS HAS BEEN REPEATED AND THE CORRECT RECEPTION INDICATING ANSWERBACK SIGNAL THEREFOR HAS BEEN RECEIVED, AND (H) MEANS (TR2) FOR CONTROLLING SAID DRIVING MEANS CONTROLLED BY SAID COUNTING MEANS FOR REVERSING SAID TAPE THE DISTANCE CORRESPONDING TO SAID GROUP, SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THE SWITCHING BACK TO SAID TRAILING READING MEANS.