Apparatus for recording analog data in digital form

Abstract

Abstract THIS APPARATUS TRANSLATES A MECHANICAL FUNCTION INTO AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL WHICH IS IN SUCH A FORM THAT IT CAN BE RECORDED ON MAGNETIC TAPE AND OPERATED ON BY A DIGITAL COMPUTER. THE APPARATUS INCLUDES A TRACKING DEVICE INCLUDING SHAFT ENCODERS OPERATED IN RESPONSE TO THE POSITION OF A STYLUS SO THAT THEIR OUTPUTS CORRESPOND TO X AND Y COORDINATES, RESPECTIVELY, OF THE POSITION OF THE STYLUS. THE SHAFT ENCODER OUTPUTS ARE DELIVERED THROUGH GATES TO A CODE TRANSLATING CIRCUIT FROM WHICH OUTPUTS ARE SELECTED IN GROUPS AND DELIVERED SEQUENTIALLY TO A MAGNETIC TAPE RECORDING CIRCUIT. A SELECTABLE AMOUNT OF MOVEMENT OF ONE OF THE ENCODERS INITIATES OPERATION OF A MAIN CONTROL COUNTER FROM WHICH OUTPUTS ARE TAKEN TO CONTROL THE CIR- CUITRY BY WHICH GROUPS OF OUTPUTS ARE SEQUENTIALLY SELECTED AND DELIVERED TO THE RECORDING CIRCUIT. THE TAPE TRANSPORT MECHANISM IS CONTROLLED BY THE MAIN CONTROL COUNTER AS ARE THE GATES ASSOCIATED WITH THE SHAFT ENCODER OUTPUTS. MEANS ARE PROVIDED FOR MANUAL INTRODUCTION OF EITHER X OR Y DATA OR BOTH IN PLACE OF DATA DERIVED THROUGH THE ENCODERS. A CIRCUIT IS PROVIDED BY WHICH THE RANGE OF THE X ENCODER IS EXTENDED BY COUNTING THE NUMBER OF ITS ROTATIONS.

Inventors

• 👤 Jack Weir Jones
• 👤 Clarence Braun
• 👤 Preston E Chaney
• 👤 John D Bennett

Bibliographic Details