Frequency-dividing circuit arrangement

Claim 1

A FREQUENCY DIVIDER CIRCUIT COMPRISING A SOURCE OF FIRST SIGNALS TO BE DIVIDED, A MIXING CIRCUIT HAVING FIRST AND SECOND INPUT TERMINALS, FIRST CHANNEL MEANS FOR APPLYING SAID FIRST SIGNALS TO SAID FIRST TERMINAL, A POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP CIRCUIT CONNECTED BETWEEN THE OUTPUT ON SAID MIXING CIRCUIT AND SAID SECOND TERMINAL, SAID FEEDBACK LOOP CIRCUIT COMPRISING MEANS FOR MULTIPLYING SIGNALS AT THE OUTPUT OF SAID MIXER CIRCUIT BY A FACTOR M-1 WHEREBY SAID SIGNALS AT SAID OUTPUT OF SAID MIXER CIRCUIT HAVE A FREQUENCY 1/M TIMES THE FREQUENCY OF SAID FIRST SIGNALS, A SOURCE OF STARTING SIGNALS OF A FREQUENCY EQUAL TO THE FREQUENCY OF SIGNALS AT A PREDETERMINED POINT IN SAID LOOP CIRCUIT, SAID STARTING CHANNEL MEANS FOR APPLYING SAID STARTING SIGNALS TO SAID POINT, THE TRANSIT TIME OF SAID STARTING CHANNEL BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE TRANSIT TIME OF SAID FIRST CHANNEL, PLUS THE TOTAL TRANSIT TIME OF SAID LOOP CIRCUIT DIVIDED BY M, AND MINUS THE TRANSIT TIME OF THE POSITION OF SAID FEEDBACK LOOP CIRCUIT BETWEEN SAID POINT AND SAID SECOND TERMINAL.