Analog to digital converter

Claim 1

An analog to digital converter for providing a digital representation of analog signals having no greater than a predetermined maximum amplitude, comprising in combination: analog signal sampling means: a plurality of n measuring circuits ordered from 1 to n corresponding to n respective digit positions of said digital representation each said measuring circuit having an output terminal; input means including delay means connected to said n measuring circuits for sequentially applying said analog signal sample to be measured to each said measuring circuit in a given time sequence which corresponds to the time sequence of the digital representation of each analog signal sample, the digital bit rate of said time sequence being n times the analog signal sample rate; reference signal source means for pRoviding a plurality of n different measuring pulse amplitudes ordered from 1 to n, wherein the greatest measuring pulse amplitude is smaller than said predetermined maximum amplitude of the analog signals to be measured and each further measuring pulse amplitude is successively smaller, each said measuring pulse amplitude being successively related to each other and to said predetermined maximum amplitude of said analog signals by a multiplicative factor of two; a plurality of n transmission means, ordered from 1 to n, connecting said reference signal source and said measuring circuits such that, a first of said n measuring pulse amplitudes is sequentially applied to each of said measuring circuits in accordance with said given time sequence, a second of said n measuring pulse amplitudes is sequentially applied to each of said measuring circuits, other than the first, in accordance with said given time sequence, and the remainder of said measuring pulse amplitudes are in like manner sequentially applied to succeedingly lesser numbers of said measuring circuits whereby the nth measuring pulse amplitude is only applied to said nth measuring circuit; each said measuring circuit producing a digital output signal of one or the other binary value if the sum of the analog signal sample and the measuring pulse amplitudes applied thereto exceeds or fails to exceed, respectively, a given threshold, and a plurality of n reference signal inhibiting means, ordered from 1 to n, each being connected to an associated measuring circuit and only an associated one of said plurality of transmission means corresponding to said ordinal number, each inhibiting means being responsive to a one of the binary output signal values from its associated measuring circuit to inhibit further application of the particular measuring pulse amplitude applied thereto to succeeding ones of said measuring circuits, said inhibiting means being nonresponsive to the other of said binary output signal values from its associated measuring circuit thereby permitting further applications of the particular measuring pulse amplitude applied thereto to succeeding ones of said measuring circuits, whereby a digital representation of the analog signal sample is obtained in sequence at said measuring circuits output terminals as a result of successive measurements in said given time sequence.