Film scanning for television reproduction

Claim 2

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames moving relative to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first signal having a first frequency equal to the detected rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a regular, periodic, wave form of a second frequency, said second frequency being related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means for providing a fourth signal having a regular, periodic, wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being equal to said repetitive frequency of said scanning means; g. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said fourth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said second and third signals, respectively, with said fourth signal for producing a fifth signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said third frequency; and i. control means for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to control the position of the scanning raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 3

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said information bearing medium consists of a motion picture film.

Claim 4

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said scanning means comprises: a. a flying spot scanning device having horizontal and vertical deflection circuit means for repetitively generating said raster pattern at said predetermined repetitive frequency, said predetermined repetitive frequency being equal to the standard television field rate frequency; b. optical means for correcting said raster pattern on the surface of said image frames moving relative to said scanning station; and c. photosensitive means arranged with respect to said scanned image frames for providing an image signal representative of the information on said scanned image frame.

Claim 5

The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said control means is connected to said vertical deflection circuit means to apply said fifth signal thereto.

Claim 6

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said information bearing medium consists of motion picture film having sprocket holes associated with each image bearing frame thereon and wherein said detecting means is disposed with respect to the path of movement of said film for producing said first signal upon the movement of each sprocket hole past said detecting means.

Claim 7

The apparatus of claim 5 wherein said detecting means comprises: a. means for directing radiation towards the path of movement of said sprocket holes; and b. means responsive to the radiation modulated by the sprocket holes for producing said first signal.

Claim 8

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said information bearing medium consists of motion picture film having radiation modulating indicia disposed relative to the image frames thereon and said detecting means comprises: a. means for directing radiation towards the path of movement of said indicia; and b. means responsive to the radiation modulated by said indicia for producing said first signal.

Claim 9

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said image frames have a first dimension along the length of said information bearing medium, said raster pattern has a second dimension along the length of said information bearing medium, and said control means is responsive to said fifth signal to compress said second dimension by an amount sufficient to compensate for movement of the scanned image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 10

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second frequency is equal to one-half said first frequency and the wave form of said third signal is out of phase by 180* with respect to the wave form.

Claim 11

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames moving relative to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station for producing therefrom a first signal having a first frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a regular, periodic, wave form of a second frequency, said second frequency beiNg related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means for providing a fourth signal having a regular, periodic, wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being equal to said repetitive frequency; g. means responsive to each occurrence of said fourth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for producing first and second clamping signals having respective complementary periods equal to integral multiples of the period of said fourth signal; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said second and third signals, respectively, with said fourth signal for producing a fifth signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said third frequency; and i. control means for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said predetermined repetitive frequency and to control the position of said raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station;

Claim 12

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames moving relative to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station for producing therefrom a first signal having a first frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a regular, periodic, wave form of a second frequency, said second frequency beiNg related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means for providing a fourth signal having a regular, periodic, wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being equal to said repetitive frequency; g. means responsive to each occurrence of said fourth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for producing first and second clamping signals having respective complementary periods equal to integral multiples of the period of said fourth signal; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said second and third signals, respectively, with said fourth signal for producing a fifth signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said third frequency; and i. control means for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said predetermined repetitive frequency and to control the position of said raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station;

Claim 13

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames moving relative to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first signal having a frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a regular sawtooth wave form of a second frequency, said second frequency being related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means for providing a fourth signal having a regular sawtooth wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being equal to said predetermined repetitive frequency; g. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said fourth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said second and third signals, respectively, with said fourth signal for producing a fifth signal having a complex sawtooth wave form and a frequency equal to said third frequency; and i. means for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said predetermined repetitive frequency and to control the position of said raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 14

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames moving relative to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first signal having a frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a regular sawtooth wave form of a second frequency, said second frequency being related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means for providing a fourth signal having a regular sawtooth wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being equal to said predetermined repetitive frequency; g. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said fourth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said second and third signals, respectively, with said fourth signal for producing a fifth signal having a complex sawtooth wave form and a frequency equal to said third frequency; and i. means for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said predetermined repetitive frequency and to control the position of said raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said second frequency is equal to one-half said first frequency and the sawtooth wave form of said third signal is out of phase by 180* with respect to the sawtooth wave form of said second signal.

Claim 16

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said scanning means comprises: a. a flying spot scanning device having horizontal and vertical deflection circuit means for repetitively generating said raster pattern at said predetermined repetitive frequency, said predetermined repetitive frequency being equal to the standard television field rate frequency; b. optical means for directing said raster pattern upon the surface of each image frame moving relative to said scanning station; and c. photosensitive means arranged with respect to Said scanned image frames for providing an image signal representative of the information on said scanned image frame.

Claim 17

The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said control means is connected to said vertical deflection circuit and is effective to apply said fifth signal to said vertical deflection circuit.

Claim 18

The apparatus of claim 14 wherein said image frames have a first dimension along the length of the information bearing medium, said raster pattern has a second dimension along the length of said information bearing medium, and said vertical deflection circuit is responsive to said fifth signal to compress said second dimension by an amount sufficient to compensate for movement of each scanned image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 19

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means for moving the image frame of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames and moving relative to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first signal having a first frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a second frequency related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means responsive to said second and third signals for producing respective fouth and fifth signals each having regular periodic wave forms of said second frequency; g. means for providing a sixth signal having a regular periodic wave form of a fourth frequency equal to said predetermined repetitive frequency; h. means operative in a first or second state, responsive to each occurrence of said sixth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said second and third signals, respectively, for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; i. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said fourth and fifth signals, respectively, with said sixth signal for producing a seventh signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said fourth frequency; and j. control means for applying said seventh signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to control the position of said raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 20

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means for moving the image frame of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames and moving relative to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first signal having a first frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a second frequency related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means responsive to said second and third signals for producing respective fouth and fifth signals each having regular periodic wave forms of said second frequency; g. means for providing a sixth signal having a regular periodic wave form of a fourth frequency equal to said predetermined repetitive frequency; h. means operative in a first or second state, responsive to each occurrence of said sixth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said second and third signals, respectively, for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; i. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said fourth and fifth signals, respectively, with said sixth signal for producing a seventh signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said fourth frequency; and j. control means for applying said seventh signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to control the position of said raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 21

The apparatus of claim 16 wherein: a. said fourth and fifth signals each have a regular sawtooth wave form, the sawtooth wave form of said fifth signal being out of phase by 180* with respect to the sawtooth wave form of said fourth signal; b. said sixth signal has a regular sawtooth wave form; and c. said seventh signal has a complx sawtooth wave form.

Claim 22

The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said means for producing first and second clamping signals comprises: a. first means operative in a first or second state in response to said second signal and said sixth signal, respectively, for producing an eighth signal when said first means is rendered operative in said second state; b. second means operative in a first or second state in response to said third signal and said sixth signal, respectively, for producing a ninth signal when said second means is rendered operative in said second state; and c. third means operative in a first or a second state in response to said eIghth and ninth signals, respectively, for establishing the respective complementary periods of said first and second clamping signals.

Claim 23

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means operable, in a first mode, for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station and operable, in a second mode, for locating a single image frame in a stationary relationship with respect to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames moving relative to said scanning station and said single image frame in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting in said first mode of operation of said moving means, the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first signal having a frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a regular, periodic, wave form of a second frequency, said second frequency being related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means for providing a fourth signal having a regular periodic wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being equal to said predetermined repetitive frequency; g. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said fourth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said second and third signals, respectively, with said fourth signal for producing a fifth signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said third frequency; i. means responsive to the operation of said moving means in said second mode for producing a third clamping signal; j. means responsive to said third clamping signal for preventing the combination of said second and third signals with said fourth signal; and k. control means responsive to the operation of said moving means in said first mode for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to control the position of the raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station and responsive to the operation of said moving means in said second mode for applying said fourth signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to position said raster pattern on said stationary image frame.

Claim 24

In apparatus for deriving an image signal from an information bearing medium having a plurality of successive image frames disposed thereon, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means operable, in a first mode, for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station and operable, in a second mode, for locating a single image frame in a stationary relationship with respect to said scanning station; c. means for scanning, at a predetermined repetitive frequency, said image frames moving relative to said scanning station and said single image frame in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frames; d. means for detecting in said first mode of operation of said moving means, the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first signal having a frequency equal to the detected actual rate; e. means responsive to said first signal for producing second and third signals each having a regular, periodic, wave form of a second frequency, said second frequency being related to said first frequency as a submultiple thereof; f. means for providing a fourth signal having a regular periodic wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being equal to said predetermined repetitive frequency; g. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said fourth signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said second and third signals, respectively, with said fourth signal for producing a fifth signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said third frequency; i. means responsive to the operation of said moving means in said second mode for producing a third clamping signal; j. means responsive to said third clamping signal for preventing the combination of said second and third signals with said fourth signal; and k. control means responsive to the operation of said moving means in said first mode for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to control the position of the raster pattern in synchronism with the movement of each image frame relative to said scanning station and responsive to the operation of said moving means in said second mode for applying said fourth signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to position said raster pattern on said stationary image frame.

Claim 25

The apparatus of claim 19 wherein: a. said second and third signals each have a regular sawtooth wave form, the sawtooth wave form of said third signal being out of phase by 180* with respect to the sawtooth wave form of said second signal; b. said fourth signal has a regular sawtooth wave form; and c. said fifth signal has a complex sawtooth wave form.

Claim 26

In apparatus for deriving an image signal selectively from a series of moving image frames or a single stationary image frame, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means operative in a first mode for moving the series of image frames at a nominal image frame rate relative to said scanning station and operative in a second mode for locating a single image frame in stationary relationship with respect to said scanning station; c. means for providing a first signal having a regular peRiodic wave form of a first frequency; d. means responsive to said first signal for repetitively scanning at said first frequency both the stationary and the moving image frames disposed with respect to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frame; e. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station when said moving means is operative in said first mode and for producing therefrom a second signal having a second frequency equal to the detected rate; f. means responsive to said second signal for producing third and fourth signals each having a regular periodic wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being related to said second frequency as a submultiple thereof; g. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said first signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said second signal for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said third and fourth signals, respectively, with said first signal for producing a fifth signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said first frequency; and i. control means for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to control the position of the scanning raster pattern in synchronism with the movement in said first mode, of each image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 27

In apparatus for deriving an image signal selectively from a series of moving image frames or a single stationary image frame, the combination comprising: a. means for defining a scanning station; b. means operative in a first mode for moving the series of image frames at a nominal image frame rate relative to said scanning station and operative in a second mode for locating a single image frame in stationary relationship with respect to said scanning station; c. means for providing a first signal having a regular peRiodic wave form of a first frequency; d. means responsive to said first signal for repetitively scanning at said first frequency both the stationary and the moving image frames disposed with respect to said scanning station in a raster pattern comprising a plurality of spaced line scans and for providing an image signal of the scanned image frame; e. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station when said moving means is operative in said first mode and for producing therefrom a second signal having a second frequency equal to the detected rate; f. means responsive to said second signal for producing third and fourth signals each having a regular periodic wave form of a third frequency, said third frequency being related to said second frequency as a submultiple thereof; g. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said first signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said second signal for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; h. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said third and fourth signals, respectively, with said first signal for producing a fifth signal having an irregular wave form and a frequency equal to said first frequency; and i. control means for applying said fifth signal to said scanning means to establish said repetitive scanning frequency and to control the position of the scanning raster pattern in synchronism with the movement in said first mode, of each image frame relative to said scanning station.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said series of moving image frames and said single stationary image frame comprises a motion picture film having a plurality of image frames disposed thereon.

Claim 29

The apparatus of claim 22 wherein said means operative in a first and second mode is normally operative in said first mode for moving the image frames a nominal image frame rate relative to said scanning station and selectively operative in a second mode for locating one of said image frames in stationary relationship with respect to said scanning station.

Claim 30

The apparatus of claim 23 including: a. means responsive to the selective operation of said moving means in said second mode for producing a third clamping signal; and b. means for applying said third clamping signal to said combining means to prevent the combination of said third and fourth signals with said first signal.

Claim 33

In apparatus for generating a vertical deflection signal having a complex sawtooth wave form for controlling the vertical deflection of the scanning beam of the flying spot scanning device upon the image frames of an information bearing medium moving relative to a scanning station, the combination comprising: a. means for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; b. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first and a second signal each having a first frequency equal to a submultiple of the detected rate of movment; c. first sawtooth generating circuit means responsive to said first signal for producing a first sawtooth wave form signal having a frequency equal to said first frequency; d. second sawtooth wave form signal generating means responsive to said second signals for producing a second sawtooth wave form signal having a frequency equal to said first frequency; e. means for providing a third signal having a sawtooth wave form and a television field rate frequency; f. logic means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said third signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for changing the operate state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to periods of said first and second state; and g. gating means responsive to said first and second clamping signals and said first and second sawtooth wave form signals for combining respective, complementary periods of said first and second sawtooth wave form signals, respectively, with said third signal for producing a vertical deflection signal having a complex sawtooth wave form and a frequency equal to said television field rate frequency.

Claim 34

In apparatus for generating a vertical deflection signal having a complex sawtooth wave form for controlling the vertical deflection of the scanning beam of the flying spot scanning device upon the image frames of an information bearing medium moving relative to a scanning station, the combination comprising: a. means for moving the image frames of the information bearing medium at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station; b. means for detecting the actual rate of movement of said image frames relative to said scanning station and for producing therefrom a first and a second signal each having a first frequency equal to a submultiple of the detected rate of movment; c. first sawtooth generating circuit means responsive to said first signal for producing a first sawtooth wave form signal having a frequency equal to said first frequency; d. second sawtooth wave form signal generating means responsive to said second signals for producing a second sawtooth wave form signal having a frequency equal to said first frequency; e. means for providing a third signal having a sawtooth wave form and a television field rate frequency; f. logic means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said third signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said first signal for changing the operate state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to periods of said first and second state; and g. gating means responsive to said first and second clamping signals and said first and second sawtooth wave form signals for combining respective, complementary periods of said first and second sawtooth wave form signals, respectively, with said third signal for producing a vertical deflection signal having a complex sawtooth wave form and a frequency equal to said television field rate frequency.

Claim 35

The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said moving means is operable in a first mode for moving said image frames at a nominal rate relative to said scanning station and is operable in a second mode for locating a single image frame in stationary relationship with respect to said scanning station, the combination further comprising: a. means responsive to the operation of said moving means in said second mode for producing a third clamping signal; and b. means responsive to said third clamping signal for preventing the combination of said first and second sawtooth wave form signals with said third signal and for emPloying said third signal as said vertical deflection signal.

Claim 36

In apparatus for providing a resultant signal having a complex sawtooth wave form, the combination comprising: a. means for providing a first signal having a first stable frequency; b. means responsive to said first signal for producing a second signal having a sawtooth wave form of said first stable frequency; c. means for providing a third and fourth signals each having a second semi-stable frequency, said fourth signal being out of phase by 180* with respect to said third signal; d. means responsive to said third and fourth signals for producing respective fifth and sixth signals each having a sawtooth wave form of said second frequency; e. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said first signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said third and fourth signal, respectively, for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; and f. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said fifth and sixth signals, respectively, with said second signal for producing a seventh signal having a complex sawtooth wave form and a frequency equal to said first stable frequency.

Claim 37

In apparatus for providing a resultant signal having a complex sawtooth wave form, the combination comprising: a. means for providing a first signal having a first stable frequency; b. means responsive to said first signal for producing a second signal having a sawtooth wave form of said first stable frequency; c. means for providing a third and fourth signals each having a second semi-stable frequency, said fourth signal being out of phase by 180* with respect to said third signal; d. means responsive to said third and fourth signals for producing respective fifth and sixth signals each having a sawtooth wave form of said second frequency; e. means operative in a first or a second state, responsive to each occurrence of said first signal that immediately succeeds, in time, each occurrence of said third and fourth signal, respectively, for changing the operative state and for producing first and second clamping signals, respectively, having respective complementary periods equal to the periods of said first and second state; and f. means responsive to said first and second clamping signals for combining respective complementary periods of said fifth and sixth signals, respectively, with said second signal for producing a seventh signal having a complex sawtooth wave form and a frequency equal to said first stable frequency.

Claim 38

The apparatus of claim 28 wherein said fifth and sixth signal providing means comprises: a. first and second respective sawtooth wave form generating circuits responsive to each occurrence of said third and fourth signals, respectively, for producing said fifth and sixth sawtooth wave form signals, the sawtooth wave forms of said fifth and sixth signals having equal amplitudes and durations; and b. means for equalizing the amplitude and duration of said sawtooth wave forms of said fifth and said sixth signals.

Claim 39

The apparatus of claim 29 wherein said equalizing means comprises a negative feedback network including: a. first differential circuit means responsive to said fifth and said sixth signals for producing a first potential equal to the absolute value of the instantaneous potential difference between the sawtooth wave forms of said fifth and sixth signals; b. means for providing a reference potential; c. second differential circuit means responsive to said absolute difference potential and said reference potential for producing a second different potential; and d. a current source control means connected at its output to said first and second sawtooth wave form generating circuits and responsive to said second difference potential for controlling the amplitude of said fifth and sixth signals.

Claim 40

The apparatus of claim 30 wherein said second signal providing means comprises a third sawtooth wave form generating circuit and the sawtooth wave form of said second signal has an absolute amplitude equal to the amplitude of the sawtooth wave forms of said fifth and sixth signals.