Incremental code block apparatus

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONVERTING BLOCK OF CODE IN A FIRST FORMAT TO A BLOCK OF CODE IN A SECOND FORMAT IN RESPONSE TO A TRAIN OF ELECTRICAL PULSES APPLIED THERETO THAT CORRESPONDS TO THE BLOCK OF CODE IN SAID FIRST FORMAT, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING: AN OPTICAL BLOCK THAT INCLUDES A PLURALITY OF LIGHT-PROPAGATING RODS STACKED TO PASS LIGHT FROM ONE END THEREOF TO THE OTHER END THEREOF IN THE SECOND FORMAT; A PAIR OF SPACED MASKING PLATES MOUNTED PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND HAVING EQUAL NUMBERS OF HOLES THERETHROUGH THAT ARE IN REGISTRATION WITH EACH OTHER, THE NUMBER OF HOLES THROUGH EACH OF SAID PLATES BEING EQUAL TO THE NUMBER OF LIGHT-PROPAGATING RODS IN SAID OPTICAL BLOCK AND ARRANGED IN THE SAME FORMAT, SAID PLATES BEING POSITIONED SO THAT ONE OF THEM IS CONTIGUOUS TO SAID OPTICAL BLOCK WITH THE HOLES THEREOF IN REGISTRATION WITH SAID LIGHTPROPAGATING RODS A SOURCE OF LIGHT MOUNTED ADJACENT THE OTHER OF SAID PAIR OF MASKING PLATES AND ON THE OUTSIDE THEREOF; AND SHUTTER MEANS MOUNTED IN THE SPACE BETWEEN SAID MASKING PLATES FOR PERMITTING LIGHT FROM SAID LIGHT SOURCE TO PASS THROUGH SELECTED REGISTERED HOLES, WHEREIN SAID SHUTTER MEANS INCLUDES A FIRST LAYER OF ROTATABLE RODS MOUNTED PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER AND A SECOND LAYER OF ROTATABLE RODS MOUNTED PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER, THE RODS IN SAID FIRST LAYER CRISS-CROSSING WITH THE RODS IN SAID SECOND LAYER WITH THE CROSSOVER POINTS THEREBETWEEN BEING IN REGISTRATION WITH THE HOLES THROUGH SAID MASKING PLATES, SAID CRISS-CROSSING RODS RESPECTIVELY HAVING HOLES THROUGH THEM AT EACH OF SAID CROSSOVER POINTS FOR SELECTIVELY PASSING SAID LIGHT IN RESPONSE TO THE ROTATION OF SAID RODS; AND APPARATUS FOR SELECTIVELY ROTATING SAID RODS IN RESPONSE TO THE ELECTRICAL PULSES TO MOVE THE HOLES THEREOF INTO ALIGNMENT.