Associative memory with sequential multiple match resolution

Claim 1

AN ARRANGEMENT FOR DETERMINING THE POSITIONS IN A BINARY WORD OF A GROUP OF BITS OF GIVEN VALUE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A MATRIX OF STORAGE ELEMENTS EQUAL IN NUMBER TO THE BITS IN SAID WORD AND ARRANGED IN COLUMNS AND ROWS; MEANS FOR APPLYING, IN PARALLEL, THE BITS IN SAID WORD TO THE RESPECTIVE STORAGE ELEMENTS IN SAID MATRIX; A COLUMN REGISTER HAVING A NUMBER OF STAGES EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF COLUMNS IN THE MATRIX; A ROW REGISTER HAVING A NUMBER OF STAGES EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF ROWS IN THE MATRIX; MEANS FOR CONCURRENTLY SENSING ALL STORAGE ELEMENTS IN SAID MATRIX FOR CONCURRENTLY SETTING THE STAGES OF THE COLUMN REGISTER CORRESPONDING TO THE COLUMNS OF THE MATRIX STORING BITS OF SAID GIVEN VALUE; MEANS RESPONSIVE TO A GIVEN SET STAGE OF THE COLUMN REGISTER FOR CONCURRENTLY READING OUT THE COLUMN OF THE MATRIX CORRESPONDING TO THAT STAGE, INTO THE ROW REGISTER, THEREBY SETTING AT LEAST ONE STAGE IN THE ROW REGISTER; AND MEANS FOR READING OUT, IN TIME SEQUENCE, THE RESPECTIVE SET STAGES OF THE ROW REGISTER.