Method and apparatus for automatic control

Claim 2

Apparatus for smoothly moving a member between discrete positions under the control of discrete numerical data quantities representing the differential displacement between successive adjacent positions comprising in combination: a register, means coupled to said register for repeatedly adding for one direction of movement of said member and subtracting for the opposite direction of movement of said member a numerical data quantity, to or from a quantity stored in said register, Rs times where R is the constant radix of the predetermined number of digits which constitute said numerical data quantity and s is a positive integer greater than zero, means coupled to said register for causing accumulation in said register of the overflow of orders higher than s, and means coupled to said register for utilizing said overflow as it is accumulated one bit at a time for controlling the movement of said member.

Claim 3

Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each data quantity has been increased by a number H such that all data is positive, and said means for adding and subtracting comprises means for adding to said register each time a data quantity is added thereto, the twos complement of said number H, said register being binary in nature and R being equal to 2.

Claim 4

Apparatus according to claim 2, wherein H equals 256, s equals 8, and said predetermined number of digits are 9 in number.

Claim 5

Apparatus for smoothly moving a member between discrete positions under the control of discrete numerical data quantities of P binary digits representing the differential displacement between successive adjacent positions comprising in combination: a binary full adder having (P + Q) stages where both P and Q are positive whole numbers; a first register having a plurality of individual D-flip-flops with respective signal inputs coupled to a corresponding sum output of each of the stages of said adder; a second register having a plurality of individual D-flip-flops with respective signal inputs coupled to a corresponding output of each of said D-flip-flops in said first register and having a respective output individually coupled to an input of a corresponding stage in said adder; means coupled to said D-flip-flops in said first and second register for supplying gating signals sequentially thereto; means for feeding said P binary digits in parallel repeatedly to respective second inputs of the P lowest order stages of said adder; means forr supplying a 1 bit to the second inputs of the (Q + 1) highest order stages of said adder for each time that said P binary digits are fed to said adder; a second binary full adder having (Q + 1) stages; means for feeding the outputs from the corresponding (Q + 1) highest order flip-flops in said first register to a respective first input of each stage of said second adder; means for supplying the respective second inputs of said second adder with a (Q + 1) digit binary coded feedback signal representative of the position of said member; and means for contRolling the position of said member as a function of the sum output from said second adder.

Claim 6

Apparatus for smoothly moving a member between discrete positions under the control of discrete numerical data quantities of P binary digits representing the differential displacement between successive adjacent positions comprising in combination: a binary full adder having (P + Q) stages where both P and Q are positive whole numbers; a first register having a plurality of individual D-flip-flops with respective signal inputs coupled to a corresponding sum output of each of the stages of said adder; a second register having a plurality of individual D-flip-flops with respective signal inputs coupled to a corresponding output of each of said D-flip-flops in said first register and having a respective output individually coupled to an input of a corresponding stage in said adder; means coupled to said D-flip-flops in said first and second register for supplying gating signals sequentially thereto; means for feeding said P binary digits in parallel repeatedly to respective second inputs of the P lowest order stages of said adder; means forr supplying a 1 bit to the second inputs of the (Q + 1) highest order stages of said adder for each time that said P binary digits are fed to said adder; a second binary full adder having (Q + 1) stages; means for feeding the outputs from the corresponding (Q + 1) highest order flip-flops in said first register to a respective first input of each stage of said second adder; means for supplying the respective second inputs of said second adder with a (Q + 1) digit binary coded feedback signal representative of the position of said member; and means for contRolling the position of said member as a function of the sum output from said second adder.

Claim 7

Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein P 9 and Q 7.

Claim 8

Apparatus according to claim 4, wherein both said means for supplying said second adder with a feedback signal and said means for controlling the position of said member are interrelated such that as the numerical value of the sum from said second adder increases, the numerical value significance of said feedback signal will decrease and vice versa tending to maintain said sum at a predetermined value.

Claim 9

Apparatus for controlling the position of a member in accordance with a pre-recorded schedule wherein a datum unit of only the n least significant digits of each data quantity is recorded and the maximum difference in value between successive data quantities is less than one-half the total capacity of an n digit number, comprising in combination: means for storing data, means for entering into said storing means one datum unit at a time, separate means for storing the next higher ordered t digits after said n digits for defining a data quantity corresponding to a datum unit to (t + n) digits, means coupled to said first storing means for comparing the value significance of each newly entered datum unit with that of the immediately preceding datum unit entry to determine the presence or absence and direction of any carry to the (n + 1) order, means coupled between said last mentioned means and said separate storing means for algebraically adding any said carry to the said t digits in said separate storing means from a preceding entry to provide a new t digit entry corresponding to the newly entered datum unit, and means coupled to an output from both of said storing means for controlling the position of said member as a function of said entered (t + n) digits.

Claim 10

Apparatus for controlling the position of a member in accordance with a pre-recorded schedule wherein a datum unit of only the n least significant digits of each data quantity is recorded and the maximum difference in value between successive data quantities is less than one-half the total capacity of an n digit number, comprising in combination: means for storing data, means for entering into said storing means one datum unit at a time, separate means for storing the next higher ordered t digits after said n digits for defining a data quantity corresponding to a datum unit to (t + n) digits, means coupled to said first storing means for comparing the value significance of each newly entered datum unit with that of the immediately preceding datum unit entry to determine the presence or absence and direction of any carry to the (n + 1) order, means coupled between said last mentioned means and said separate storing means for algebraically adding any said carry to the said t digits in said separate storing means from a preceding entry to provide a new t digit entry corresponding to the newly entered datum unit, and means coupled to an output from both of said storing means for controlling the position of said member as a function of said entered (t + n) digits.

Claim 11

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein n 6 and t 3.

Claim 12

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein coupled to said separate means for storing t digits are means for manually pre-setting said t digits to the most significant figures applicable to the commencement of controlled operation.

Claim 13

Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the datum unit is in binary form and said means for determining any carry comprises a logic circuit for carrying out the following logical operations in comparing the newly entered datum unit with the preceding one: a. if the highest order of the datum unit has experienced no change, there is no carry; or b. if the highest order has changed from 1 to 0, then if the next highest order in which the digits are not alike has changed from 1 to 0 there is a positive carry, if from 0 to 1 there is no carry; or c. if the highest order has changed from 0 to 1, then if the next highest order in which the digits are not alike has changed from 0 to 1 there is a negative carry, if from 1 to 0, there is no carry.

Claim 14

Apparatus for controlling the position Y of one member relative to the position Z of a second member in accordance with a pre-recorded schedule such that Y f (Z) where Z is subject to independent control and data is recorded representative of the slope of the function for successive equal increments of Z, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for selectably reading said recorded data from a recording media in one sequential direction or the opposite sequential direction, means coupling said selectable reading means to said second member for correlating the direction of controlled movement of said second member with the selected direction of reading said recorded data, and means coupled to said selectable reading means under the control thereof for controlling the position of said one member as a function of said recorded data which has been read from said recording mediA.

Claim 15

Apparatus for controlling the position Y of one member relative to the position Z of a second member in accordance with a pre-recorded schedule such that Y f (Z) where Z is subject to independent control and data is recorded representative of the slope of the function for successive equal increments of Z, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for selectably reading said recorded data from a recording media in one sequential direction or the opposite sequential direction, means coupling said selectable reading means to said second member for correlating the direction of controlled movement of said second member with the selected direction of reading said recorded data, and means coupled to said selectable reading means under the control thereof for controlling the position of said one member as a function of said recorded data which has been read from said recording mediA.

Claim 16

Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the data is recorded on punched tape, said selectable reading means comprises two reading heads positioned side-by-side displaced by the distance between adjacent tape entries, and said controlling means includes means for selecting the output from one of said heads when said tape is being read in one direction and for selecting the output from the other of said heads when said tape is being read in the other direction.

Claim 17

Apparatus according to claim 11, wherein means are provided in said controlling means for inverting the signs of the slope data as it is utilized in the apparatus when the direction of reading the data is reversed.

Claim 18

Apparatus for controlling the position Y of one member relative to the position Z of a second member in accordance with a pre-recorded schedule such that Y f(Z) where Z is subject to independent control and data is recorded representative of the slope of the function for successive equal increments of Z, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for reading one datum unit at a time in succession from a source of recorded data in which a datum unit of only the n least significant digits is recorded for each data quantity with the maximum difference in value between successive data quantities being kept less than one-half the total capacity of an n digit number, means for storing data coupled to said reading means for storing data read by the latter, means for entering in said data storing means prior to the reading of the first datum unit the value of the next higher ordered t digits after said n digits for defining the data quantity to (t + n) P digits, means for comparing each datum unit after it is read with the last previously read datum unit and ascertaining whether or not a carry is inferred from the highest order of said n digits to the lowest order of said t digits and means for updating said t digits in said data storing means accordingly, and means for controlling said one member in accordance with said schedule by utilizing the slope information contained in P digits stored in said storing means.

Claim 19

Apparatus for controlling the position Y of one member relative to the position Z of a second member in accordance with a pre-recorded schedule such that Y f(Z) where Z is subject to independent control and data is recorded representative of the slope of the function for successive equal increments of Z, said apparatus comprising in combination: means for reading one datum unit at a time in succession from a source of recorded data in which a datum unit of only the n least significant digits is recorded for each data quantity with the maximum difference in value between successive data quantities being kept less than one-half the total capacity of an n digit number, means for storing data coupled to said reading means for storing data read by the latter, means for entering in said data storing means prior to the reading of the first datum unit the value of the next higher ordered t digits after said n digits for defining the data quantity to (t + n) P digits, means for comparing each datum unit after it is read with the last previously read datum unit and ascertaining whether or not a carry is inferred from the highest order of said n digits to the lowest order of said t digits and means for updating said t digits in said data storing means accordingly, and means for controlling said one member in accordance with said schedule by utilizing the slope information contained in P digits stored in said storing means.

Claim 20

Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said means for controlling said one member comprises a data storage device, means for repeatedly adding for a postive slope or subtracting for a negative slope to or from an accumulated ordinate representation in said storage device, Rs times, the quotient resulting from dividing each P digit data quantity by Rs where the P digits are of constant radix R and s is a positive integer greater than zero, means for determining the overflow in the accumulated ordinate in said storage device to orders higher than s, and means for utilizing said overflow from said storage device as it is received one bit at a time to control the movement of said one member.

Claim 21

Apparatus of claim 15, wherein said storage device is a register having (s + K) places where K is a positive integer other than zero and the said quotient is obtained by means for performing the addition or subtraction of the P digit data quantity shifted down s places in said register.

Claim 22

Apparatus of claim 16, wherein P 9; R 2; s 8; and K 8.