Apparatus for positioning an indicating element in accordance with a digital code

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR POSITIONING EACH OF A PLURALITY OF CLOSELY SPACED INDICATING ELEMENTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH A DIGITAL CODE COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OF INDICATING ELEMENTS ARRANGED SIDE-BYSIDE IN A COMPACT GROUPING AND INDIVIDUALLY OPERABLE THROUGH RESPECTIVE RANGES OF DISCRETE INDICATING POSITIONS; A PLURALITY OF SETS OF SELECTOR ELEMENTS CORRESPONDING TO SAID INDICATING ELEMENTS, EACH SAID SET INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF THIN SELECTOR ELEMENTS ARRANGED IN A SPACE HAVING A WIDTH COMPARABLE TO THAT OF THE CORRESPONDING INDICATING ELEMENT, THE SELECTOR ELEMENTS OF EACH SAID BEING INDIVIDUALLY OPERABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH A DIGITAL CODE TO FORM AN INTERCEPTING STRUCTURE AT ONE OF A PLURALITY OF DISCRETE POSITIONS CORRESPONDING TO ONE OF SAID DISCRETE INDICATING POSITIONS OF THE CORRESPONDING INDICATING ELEMENT; MEANS CARRIED ON EACH SAID INDICATING ELEMENT AND OPERATIVE IN RESPONSE TO SAID INTERCEPTING STRUCTURE WHEN SAID INDICATING ELEMENT IS MOVED THROUGH SAID RESPECTIVE RANGE OF INDICATING POSITIONS, TO LATCH SAID INDICATING ELEMENT IN THE SAID CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID DISCRETE INDICATING POSITIONS, SAID LATCHING MEANS OCCUPYING A SPACE HAVING A WIDTH COMPARABLE TO THE WIDTH OF SAID CORRESPONDING SET OF SELECTOR ELEMENTS; AND MEANS OPERATIVE RELATIVE TO ALL OF SAID SETS OF SELECTOR ELEMENTS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY SECURING ALL OF SAID SELECTOR ELEMENTS TO A MAIN SUPPORT STRUCTURE OF SAID APPARATUS PRIOR TO EACH OPERATION OF SAID INDICATING ELEMENTS THROUGH SAID RESPECTIVE RANGES.