Character recognition system employing pulse time interval measurement

Claim 1

A CHARACTER RECOGNITION MEASURING SYSTEM COMPRISING: (A) A SENSING DEVICE; (B) MEANS FOR MOVING SAID SENSING DEVICE AND A DOCUMENT RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER AT A SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT VELOCITY TO SUCCESSFULLY PASS EACH CHARACTER TO BE READ ON THE DOCUMENT UNDER SAID SENSING DEVICE. (C) PULSE QUANTIZING MEANS COUPLED WITH SAID SENSING DEVICE AND ADAPTED TO PROVIDE A PLURALITY OF BIT REPRESENTING PULSES OF PLUS AND MINUS POLARITY IN RESPONSIVE TO THE PASSING OF A CHARACTER UNDER SAID SENSING DEVICE, THE PATTERN OF PULSES BEING DIFFERENT FOR EACH DIFFERENT CHARACTER TO BE SENSED, (D) STORAGE MEANS HAVING A FIRST LEVEL INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF STAGES FOR STORING BIT REPRESENTING PULSES OF ONE POLARITY AND A SECOND LEVEL INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF STAGES FOR STORING BIT REPRESENTING PULSES OF THE OPPOSITE POLARITY, (E) GATING MEANS COUPLED WITH THE INPUTS TO THE FIRST AND SECOND LEVELS OF SAID STORAGE MEANS, SAID GATING MEANS BEING NORMALLY CLOSED, (F) A BISTABLE NORMALLY CLOSED, BE SWITCHED FROM A NORMAL STABLE STATE TO THE OTHER STABLE STATE, (G) CONTROL MEANS COUPLED WITH SAID PULSE QUANTIZING MEANS AND RESPONSIVE TO THE LEADING EDGE OF THE BIT REPRESENTING PULSES FOR OPENING SAID GATING MEANS (E), AND RESPONSIVE TO THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE BIT REPRESENTING PULSES FOR SWITCHING SAID BISTABLE BIT INSERT SWITCHINGS MEANS FROM ITS NORMALLY STABLE STATE TO ITS OTHER STABLE STATE WITH THE OUTPUT THEREFROM BEING COINCIDENTLY APPLIED TO SAID GATING MEANS (E) IN ITS OPENED CONDITION FOR INTRODUCING PLUS OR MINUS BIT REPRESENTING PULSES INTO THE FIRST OR SECOND LEVELS, RESPECTIVELY, OF SAID STORAGE MEANS, (H) A PULSE GENERATOR CAPABLE OF PRODUCING PULSES AT A PREDETERMINED FREQUENCY, (I) A BINARY PULSE COUNTER, (J) SECOND GATING MEANS COUPLING SAID PULSE GENERATOR TO THE INPUT OF SAID BINARY PULSE COUNTER, THE SECOND GATING MEANS BEING NORMALLY CLOSED, (K) SECOND CONTROL MEANS COUPLED WITH SAID PLUS QUANTIZING MEANS AND RESPONSIVE TO THE LEADING EDGE OF THE BIT REPRESENTING PULSES FOR OPENING SAID SECOND GATING MEANS (J) AND RESPONSIVE TO THE TRAILING EDGE OF THE BIT REPRESENTING PULSES FOR RESTORING THE GATE TO ITS NORMALLY CLOSED CONDITION, (L) A COINCIDENCE SWITCHING DEVICE COUPLED WITH THE OUTPUT OF SAID BINARY PULSE COUNTER ADAPTED TO BE OPERATIVE WHEN THE PULSE COUNT IN SAID BINARY PULSE COUNTER REACHES A PREDETERMINED QUANTITY AND OPERATIVE TO SWITCH AND BISTABLE BIT INSERT SWITCHING MEANS FROM ITS NORMAL STABLE STATE TO ITS OTHER STABLE STATE WITH THE OUTPUT THEREFROM BEING COINCIDENTLY APPLIED TO THE GATING MEANS (E) IN ITS OPENED CONDITION FOR INTRODUCING A PLUS OR MINUS BIT REPRESENTING PULSE INTO THE FIRST OR SECOND LEVEL, RESPECTIVELY, OF SAID STORAGE MEANS, (M) MEANS CONTROLLED BY SAID BISTABLE BIT INSERT SWITCHING MEANS (F) FOR RESETTING SAID BINARY PULSE COUNTER TO A ZERO QUANTITY, AND (N) CHARACTER EVALUATION MEANS COUPLED WITH THE OUTPUTS OF SAID STORAGE MEANS.