Adjustable frequency divider

Claim 1

AN ADJUSTABLE FREQUENCY DIVIDER COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CASCADE CONNECTED FREQUENCY DIVIDING STAGES, EACH OF SAID STAGES COMPRISING AN INPUT TERMINAL, AND OUTPUT TERMINAL, A PLURALITY OF SETTING CONDUCTORS, AND A SETTING TERMINAL, EACH OF SAID STAGES HAVING A PLURALITY OF STABLE STATES WHEREBY PULSES APPLIED TO AN INPUT TERMINAL OF A STAGE CHANGE THE STATES OF SAID STAGE IN A PREDETERMINED CONTINUOUS SEQUENCE AND A CHANGE FROM ONE PREDETERMINED STATE RESULTS IN THE PRODUCTION OF AN OUTPUT PULSE AT THE OUTPUT TERMINAL OF THE RESPECTIVE STAGE, EACH OF SAID STAGES FURTHER COMPRISING SWITCHING MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONNECTING SAID SETTING TERMINAL TO SAID SETTING CONDUCTORS, WHEREBY A PULSE APPLIED TO A SETTING TERMINAL SETS THE RESPECTIVE STAGE TO A STATE DETERMINED BY THE POSITION OF SAID SWITCHING MEANS, A GIVEN DIVIDING STAGE OTHER THAN THE LAST DIVIDING STAGE COMPRISING MEANS FOR PROVIDING A TIME MARKING PULSE CORRESPONDING TO A PREDETERMINED CHANGE OF STATE OF SAID GIVEN STAGE, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE OCCURRENCE OF AN OUTPUT PULSE AT THE OUTPUT TERMINAL TO THE LAST OF SAID STAGES FOR APPLYING A PULSE TO EACH OF SAID SETTING TERMINALS, SAID LAST MENTIONED MEANS COMPRISING A BISTABLE CIRCUIT, MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID BISTABLE CIRCUIT AND RESPONSIVE TO AN OUTPUT PULSE FROM THE LAST DIVIDING STAGE FOR SETTING SAID BISTABLE CIRCUIT TO ONE STABLE STATE, AND GATE MEANS, MEANS FOR APPLYING SAID TIME MARKING PULSE AND AN OUTPUT OF SAID BISTABLE CIRCUIT TO SAID GATE MEANS AS INPUT SIGNALS, MEANS FOR APPLYING THE OUTPUT OF SAID GATE MEANS TO SAID BISTABLE CIRCUIT FOR SETTING SAID BISTABLE CIRCUIT TO ITS OTHER STABLE STATE, AND MEANS FOR APPLYING SAID OUTPUT OF SAID GATE MEANS TO THE SETTING TERMINAL OF SAID GIVEN DIVIDING STAGE WHEREBY SAID GIVEN DIVIDING STAGE IS RESET IN RESPONSE TO AN OUTPUT PULSE FROM THE LAST DIVIDING STAGE ONLY AT A PREDETERMINED INSTANT IN THE COUNT OF SAID GIVEN DIVIDING STAGE.