Electromechanical printing system for digital systems

Claim 1

SYMBOL SELECTION APPARATUS COMPRISING, MEANS DEFINING A CONTINUOUS SURFACE HAVING A SUCCESSION OF SYMBOLS THEREON IDENTIFIABLE BY A CONSECUTIVE SERIES OF ORDER NUMBERS, MEANS DEFINING A SYMBOL SELECTION AREA, MEANS FOR SUPPORTING SAID CONTINUOUS SURFACE DEFINING MEANS RELATIVELY MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA SO THAT ANY ONE OF SAID SYMBOLS MAY BE SELECTIVELY POSITIONED OPPOSITE SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA, PULSATING MOTIVE MEANS FOR MOVING SAID CONTINUOUS SURFACE IN PULSES TO POSITION SUCCESSIVELY IN STEP-WISE INCREMENTS EACH OF SAID SYMBOLS OPPOSITE AND RELATIVELY STATIONARY TO SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA FOR AT LEAST A FIRST DURATION LESS T HAN THE TIME INTERVAL, BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE ONES OF SAID PULSES, MEANS FOR PULSING SAID PULSATING MOTIVE MEANS TO ADVANCE THE NEXT OF SAID SYMBOLS OPPOSITE SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA ON EACH PULSATION, MEANS FOR PROVIDING AN INDEXING SIGNAL INDICATIVE OF THE FIRST OF SAID SYMBOLS BEING OPPOSITE SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA, MEANS FOR PROVIDING A COUNT SIGNAL REPRESENTATIVE OF ONE OF SAID SYMBOL SELECTED FOR RETENTION OPPOSITE SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO EACH PULSATION OF SAID PULSATING MOTIVE MEANS FOR PROVIDING A POSITION SIGNAL REFERENCED TO SAID INDEX SIGNAL REPRESENTATIVE OF WHICH OF SAID SYMBOLS IS THEN OPPOSITE SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO CORRESPONDENCE OF SAID POSITION SIGNAL WITH SAID COUNT SIGNAL FOR INTERRUPTING THE PULSATION OF SAID MOTIVE MEANS WITH SAID SYMBOL SELECTED FOR RETENTION THEN OPPOSITE SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA AND FOR MAINTAINING SAID CONTINUOUS SURFACE AND SAID SYMBOL SELECTION AREA RELATIVELY STATIONARY FOR A SECOND DURATION GREATER THAN THE TIME INTERVAL BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE ONES OF SAID PULSES.