Patent US3632997A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3632997A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Bidirectional counter
Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1970-11-16
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Granted: 1972-01-04
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Expires: 1990-11-16
Abstract
Abstract A counter including a plurality of triggers changed in condition by signal transitions applied thereto and disposed in a series of tandem connected stages each of which also includes an exclusive OR circuit driven by the trigger and driving an AND circuit, the AND circuit of each preceding stage being connected to drive the AND circuit of the succeeding stage, means providing an alternating clock signal for driving the trigger of the first stage and the AND circuits in the other stages, and a direction control bus constituting an input to the exclusive OR circuits for causing the counter to count up or count down under the influence of the clock signals depending on the potential applied to the direction control bus.
Inventors
- 👤 James W Froemke
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 21:48
CPC Classifications
H; H03; H03K; H03K23/00; H03K23/40; H03K23/50; H03K23/56
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
228 words
Counting mechanism comprising: means providing an alternating clock signal, a direction control lead adapted to have two signal levels applied thereon for the purpose of causing the counter to count in one direction or the other, the counter including a plurality of tandem connected stages and each of the stages including a bistable device changeable in condition by the transition of a control signal applied thereto, each of the lower stages of the counter including a circuit having two inputs providing a certain output level when the inputs are the same and a different output level when the inputs are different, and a circuit driven from said firstnamed circuit and having a plurality of inputs and providing an output only when the inputs are the same, said second-named circuit of each of said lower stages being connected to drive the bistable device and said second-named circuit of the succeeding stage, said clock signal providing means being connected as an input to said bistable device of said first stage and to said secondnamed circuit in each of the lower stages, said direction control lead being connected as an input to each of said first-named circuits whereby the clock signal causes the counter to count up for a certain signal level on said direction control lead and to count down for a different signal level on said direction control lead.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
228 words
Counting mechanism comprising: means providing an alternating clock signal, a direction control lead adapted to have two signal levels applied thereon for the purpose of causing the counter to count in one direction or the other, the counter including a plurality of tandem connected stages and each of the stages including a bistable device changeable in condition by the transition of a control signal applied thereto, each of the lower stages of the counter including a circuit having two inputs providing a certain output level when the inputs are the same and a different output level when the inputs are different, and a circuit driven from said firstnamed circuit and having a plurality of inputs and providing an output only when the inputs are the same, said second-named circuit of each of said lower stages being connected to drive the bistable device and said second-named circuit of the succeeding stage, said clock signal providing means being connected as an input to said bistable device of said first stage and to said secondnamed circuit in each of the lower stages, said direction control lead being connected as an input to each of said first-named circuits whereby the clock signal causes the counter to count up for a certain signal level on said direction control lead and to count down for a different signal level on said direction control lead.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
167 words
Counting mechanism comprising: means providing an alternating clock signal, a direction control lead adapted to have different signal levels applied thereto, the counting mechanism including a plurality of tandem connected counter stages each of which has a trigger changed in condition by a transition of a control signal applied thereto, each of the lower stages in the counting mechanism including an exclusive OR-circuit driven from the trigger of that stage and an AND-circuit driven from the exclusive OR-circuit of that stage, each of said AND-circuits being connected to drive the trigger of the succeeding stage and the AND-circuit of the succeeding stage, said clock-signal-providing means being connected as inputs to the trigger of said first stage and to said AND circuits and said direction control lead being connected as inputs to said OR circuits whereby the Clock signal causes the counting mechanism to count up for one signal level on said direction control lead and to count down for another signal level on said direction control lead.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
167 words
Counting mechanism comprising: means providing an alternating clock signal, a direction control lead adapted to have different signal levels applied thereto, the counting mechanism including a plurality of tandem connected counter stages each of which has a trigger changed in condition by a transition of a control signal applied thereto, each of the lower stages in the counting mechanism including an exclusive OR-circuit driven from the trigger of that stage and an AND-circuit driven from the exclusive OR-circuit of that stage, each of said AND-circuits being connected to drive the trigger of the succeeding stage and the AND-circuit of the succeeding stage, said clock-signal-providing means being connected as inputs to the trigger of said first stage and to said AND circuits and said direction control lead being connected as inputs to said OR circuits whereby the Clock signal causes the counting mechanism to count up for one signal level on said direction control lead and to count down for another signal level on said direction control lead.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
33 words
Counting mechanism as set forth in claim 2, each of said AND circuits being arranged to provide a minus potential output when the inputs to the AND circuits are all at minus potential.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
51 words
Counting mechanism as set forth in claim 2, each of said OR-circuits providing a positive potential output when the inputs to the OR circuit are either both at positive potential or at negative potential and providing a minus potential output when the inputs to the OR circuit are of different polarity.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
46 words
Counting mechanism as set forth in claim 2, said triggers each being responsive to a change of input signal from minus potential to plus potential and providing a positive potential output for one of its conditions and a negative potential output for another of its conditions.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
102 words
Counting mechanism as set forth in claim 2, and including an AND circuit having said alternating clock signal providing means connected thereto as an input and also having a reset lead connected thereto as an input and providing said clock signals as inputs to said AND circuits and to said trigger in said first stage when a certain potential level is applied onto said reset lead, said reset lead also being connected with reset terminals of said triggers so that another voltage level on said reset lead causes a resetting of each of the triggers to a certain state of the trigger.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
109 words
Counting mechanism as set forth in claim 2, the last stage of the counting mechanism also including an exclusive OR circuit driven by the trigger of that stage and connected with said direction control lead and an AND circuit driven by the OR circuit of that stage, said last-named AND circuit also being driven from the AND circuit of the preceding stage and being connected with the alternating clock signal so that the output of this AND circuit indicates an all zero condition of the triggers, in which all of the triggers are in a certain condition, when a certain signal level is applied onto said direction control lead.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
76 words
Counting mechanism as set forth in claim 2, in which each of said OR circuits provides an output of plus potential when the inputs to the OR circuits are either both plus or both minus potential and provides an output of minus potential when the inputs are of different polarity, and in which each of said AND circuits provides a minus potential output when all of the inputs to the AND circuits are of minus potential.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
63 words
Counting mechanism as set forth in claim 8, each of said triggers being arranged to change its state on a transition of a control signal applied thereto from minus potential to plus potential and providing an output signal of minus potential for one of the conditions of the trigger and an output signal of plus potential for the other condition of the trigger.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1975-01-03 | 1975-07-05 | 1976-01-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1979-01-03 | 1979-07-05 | 1980-01-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1983-01-03 | 1983-07-05 | 1984-01-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |