Digitally responsive pattern recognition systems

Claim 1

IN A LIGHT DEFLECTING APPARATUS OF THE TYPE INCLUDING A SOURCE OF DIVERGENT PLANE POLARIZED LIGHT AND A PLURALITY OF ALIGNED CASCADED BEAM-DEFLECTING STAGES, EACH HAVING IN THE ORDER OF THE INCOMING BEAM OF LIGHT MEANS FOR ROTATING THE PLANE OF POLARIZATION OF THE BEAM OF LIGHT TRANSMITTED INTO ONE OF TWO MUTUALLY ORTHOGONAL PLANES AND BIREFRINGENT MEANS FOR TRANSMITTING THE BEAM OF LIGHT ALONG ONE OF TWO DIFFERENT PATHS DEPENDENT ON THE PLANE OF POLARIZATION OF THE LIGHT, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PARTIALLY TRANSMISSIVE SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR PATTERNS ARRANGED TO BE ILLUMINATED BY SAID DIVERGENT LIGHT BETWEEN SAID SOURCE AND SAID PLURALITY OF STAGES, OUTPUT MEANS HAVING A FIXED APERTURE PROPORTIONED TO ADMIT LIGHT FROM ONLY ONE OF SAID PATTERNS, MEANS FOR APPLYING SIGNALS TO SAID ROTATING MEANS IN SAID PLURALITY OF STAGES TO SELECT THE LIGHT TRANSMITTED THROUGH ONE OF SAID PATTERNS TO BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH SAID APERTURE, AND A CONVERGING LENS DISPOSED BETWEEN THE PLURALITY OF PATTERNS AND THE OUTPUT MEANS TO FOCUS LIGHT FROM SAID PATTERNS ONTO SAID OUTPUT MEANS, SAID COMBINATION BEING CHARACTERIZED IN THAT THE PLURALITY OF PARTIALLY TRANSMISSIVE PATTERNS FORM AN ARRAY IN A COMMON PLANE THAT IS TILTED WITH RESPECT TO THE NORMAL TO THE DIRECTION OF THE BEAM IN A SENSE AND BY AN AMOUNT THAT PROVIDES SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME MAGNIFICATION OF EVERY ONE OF SAID PATTERNS WHENEVER SAID ONE PATTERN IS DEFLECTED TO PASS THROUGH SAID APERTURE.