Digital counter employing logic gating network independent of counter stage (s) control to effect reset operation

Claim 1

A DIGITAL COUNTER STAGE INCLUDING AT LEAST TWO SWITCHING DEVICES HAVING AT LEAST TWO STABLE POSITIONS AND HAVING INPUTS ARRANGED TO RECEIVE INPUT PULSES FROM A COMMON INPUT LINE THROUGH GATING MEANS WHICH DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF AN INPUT PULSE ON THE RESPECTIVE SWITCHING DEVICES AND WHICH ARE ARRANGED TO BE SET EACH IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE STATE OF AT LEAST ONE OF THE SWITCHING DEVICES IN SUCH A WAY THAT A SUCCESSION OF INPUT PULSES CAUSES THE COUNTER TO PROGRESS THROUGH A REPEATED SERIES OF COUNTING STATES, THE COUNTER INCLUDING ALSO RECOGNITION MEANS FOR RECOGNISING WHEN THE COUNTER HAS ARRIVED AT A SELECTED ONE OF ITS POSSIBLE STATES AND FURTHER GATING MEANS FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RECOGNITION AND TO VARIABLE SIGNALS APPLIED TO SAID GATING MEANS IN DEPENDENCE UPON ANY SELECTED COUNTING STATE TO WHICH THE COUNTER IS TO BE RESET IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE NEXT CONSECUTIVE INPUT PULSE IS EMPLOYED AS A RESETTING PULSE FOR RESETTING THE COUNTER TO RECOMMENCE COUNTING FROM SAID SELECTED RESET STATE.