Wideband frequency compensation system

Claim 5

Apparatus for compensating an information signal that has been recorded and reproduced simultaneously with a reference signal, comprising a storage register having the capacity to store a plurality of samples of the information signal, means controlled by the reference signal for storing samples of the information signal in said register at a rate determined by the frequency of the reference signal, an output terminal, means for applying samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the sequence in which they were stored at a second rate, means for removing each sample from the memory as the next sample in he storage sequence is applied to said output terminal, and means for discarding a sample when to store a new sample would exceed the capacity of said register.

Claim 6

Apparatus for compensating an information signal that has been recorded and reproduced simultaneously with a reference signal, comprising a storage register having the capacity to store a plurality of samples of the information signal, means controlled by the reference signal for storing samples of the information signal in said register at a rate determined by the frequency of the reference signal, an output terminal, means for applying samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the sequence in which they were stored at a second rate, means for removing each sample from the memory as the next sample in he storage sequence is applied to said output terminal, and means for discarding a sample when to store a new sample would exceed the capacity of said register.

Claim 7

A frequency compensator, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing an information signal and a pilot signal, a register having a predetermined number of storage locations, gating means controlled by said reproduced signals for storing samples of said information signal in said register in an ordered sequence from a first storage location to a last storage location, means responsive to the contents of said register for controlling said gating means to store each sample in the lowest ordered vacant location in said sequence, means for producing an output signal in accordance with the contents of said first storage location, means for shifting the contents of said register to lower ordered locations at a predetermined rate, and means for inhibiting the operation of said shifting means when the second storage location in said sequence is vacant.

Claim 8

A frequency compensator, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing an information signal and a pilot signal, a register having a predetermined number of storage locations, gating means controlled by said reproduced signals for storing samples of said information signal in said register in an ordered sequence from a first storage location to a last storage location, means responsive to the contents of said register for controlling said gating means to store each sample in the lowest ordered vacant location in said sequence, means for producing an output signal in accordance with the contents of said first storage location, means for shifting the contents of said register to lower ordered locations at a predetermined rate, and means for inhibiting the operation of said shifting means when the second storage location in said sequence is vacant.

Claim 9

The frequency compensator of claim 4, in which said gating comprises an analog-to-digital converter for producing an M-bit digital signal corresponding to said information signal, and a set of gates for each storage location enabled at times determined by said pilot signal in the presence of an applied location signal to pass said digital signal, in which said storage register comprises a bank of M one-bit storage registers for each storage location, each bank being connected to a different one of said sets of gates to store signals passed by said gates, and means responsive to the storage of a signal in each bank except the bank comprising said last storage location for applying a location signal to said set of gates for the next highest ordered storage location, and in which said means for producing an output signal comprises a digital-to-analog converter connected to the one-bit registers of said bank comprising said first storage location.

Claim 10

A frequency compensator, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing an information signal and a pilot signal, a first shift register, a second shift register, gating means for loading said second shift register with the contents of said first shift register, means controlled by said reproduced pilot signal for storing samples of said reproduced information signal in said first shift register and shifting the contents of said first shift register at a rate determined by the frequency of said reproduced pilot signal, means for shifting the contents of said second shift register at a predetermined rate, said second shift register having a plurality of stages including a last stage toward which the contents of the other stages are shifted, means connected to said last stage for producing an output signal in accordance with the contents of said last stage, and means for loading the contents of said first shift register into said second shift register each time the contents of said second shift register have been shifted a predetermined number of times.

Claim 11

A frequency compensator, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing an information signal and a pilot signal, a first shift register, a second shift register, gating means for loading said second shift register with the contents of said first shift register, means controlled by said reproduced pilot signal for storing samples of said reproduced information signal in said first shift register and shifting the contents of said first shift register at a rate determined by the frequency of said reproduced pilot signal, means for shifting the contents of said second shift register at a predetermined rate, said second shift register having a plurality of stages including a last stage toward which the contents of the other stages are shifted, means connected to said last stage for producing an output signal in accordance with the contents of said last stage, and means for loading the contents of said first shift register into said second shift register each time the contents of said second shift register have been shifted a predetermined number of times.

Claim 12

A wideband compensator for removing frequency shifts from an analog signal with the aid of a reference signal having analogous frequency shifts from an initially periodic waveform, comprising a storage register, first means for gating samples of said analog signal into said register at a rate determined by the frequency of said reference signal, an output terminal, and second means for applying samples stored in said register to said output terminal at a predetermined rate and in the order in which they were stored to produce an output signal on said terminal.

Claim 13

A wideband compensator for removing frequency shifts from an analog signal with the aid of a reference signal having analogous frequency shifts from an initially periodic waveform, comprising a storage register, first means for gating samples of said analog signal into said register at a rate determined by the frequency of said reference signal, an output terminal, and second means for applying samples stored in said register to said output terminal at a predetermined rate and in the order in which they were stored to produce an output signal on said terminal.

Claim 14

The appaatus of claim 7, in which said predetermined rate is constant and inversely proportional to the initial period of said reference signal.

Claim 15

The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising averaging means controlled by said first and said second means for producing a control signal in accordance with the average difference between the rate at which samples are gated into said register and the rate at which samples are applied to said output terminal, and means responsive to said control signal for controlling said second means to adjust said second rate in accordance with said average.

Claim 16

The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising means for inhibiting the operation of said first means when said register is full.

Claim 17

Apparatus for compensating an information signal recorded on a record simultaneously with a periodic reference signal, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing said information signal and said reference signal, signal generating means for producing a periodic gating signal having a period fixed relative to the period of said reference signal when recorded, a storage register having a predetermined capacity for the storage of samples of a signal, first means controlled by said reproducing means for gating samples of said reproduced information signal into said register at a rate inversely proportional to the instantaneous period of said reproduced reference signal, an output terminal, second means controlled by said signal generating means and responsive to said gating signal for gating samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the order in which they were stored at a rate inversely proportional to the period of said gating signal, and inhibiting means for inhibiting the gating of a sample into said register when the number of samples gated into said register exceeds the number of samples gated to said output terminal by a number determined by the capacity of saiD register.

Claim 18

Apparatus for compensating an information signal recorded on a record simultaneously with a periodic reference signal, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing said information signal and said reference signal, signal generating means for producing a periodic gating signal having a period fixed relative to the period of said reference signal when recorded, a storage register having a predetermined capacity for the storage of samples of a signal, first means controlled by said reproducing means for gating samples of said reproduced information signal into said register at a rate inversely proportional to the instantaneous period of said reproduced reference signal, an output terminal, second means controlled by said signal generating means and responsive to said gating signal for gating samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the order in which they were stored at a rate inversely proportional to the period of said gating signal, and inhibiting means for inhibiting the gating of a sample into said register when the number of samples gated into said register exceeds the number of samples gated to said output terminal by a number determined by the capacity of saiD register.

Claim 19

The apparatus of claim 11, in which said storage register comprises a first shift register and a second shift register, in which said first means comprises means responsive to said gating signal for gating samples into said first shift register, and further comprising means for transferring the contents of said first shift register to said second shift register after a predetermined number of samples have been gated to said output terminal, and in which said inhibiting means comprises means for shifting a sample out of said first shift register before the contents of said first shift register are transferred to said second shift register when the number of samples gated into said first shift register exceeds the number of samples applied to said output terminal by a number determined by the capacity of said second shift register.

Claim 20

The apparatus of claim 11, in which said storage register comprises an ordered sequence of storage locations and means for registering the storage of a sample in each storage location, and in which said inhibiting means comprises switching means controlled by the storage of a sample in each location for selectively storing the next sample in the next higher ordered storage location in said sequence, whereupon no storage location is selected when a sample is stored in the highest ordered storage location in said sequence, said storage register further comprising means interconnecting said storage locations to form a shift register, and in which said second means comprises switching means for shifting the contents of said storage locations toward the lowest ordered one of said locations, and means connecting said lowest ordered location to said output terminal.

Claim 21

An analog information storage and retrieval system, comprising a record on which there have been simultaneously recorded an analog signal and a constant frequency reference signal, means for reproducing said signals, an analog storage register means controlled by said reproducing means for storing samples of said reproduced information signal in said register at a rate determined by the frequency of the reproduced reference signal, a variable frequency oscillator, an output terminal, means controlled by said oscillator for applying samples stored in said memory to said output terminal at a rate controlled by the frequency of said oscillator, means for detecting the difference between the rate at which samples are stored in said memory and the rate at which the samples are applied to said output terminal, means controlled by said detecting means for producing a control signal in accordance with the average of said detected difference over a period that is long with respect to the average interval between the storage of samples in said memory, and means responsive to said control signal for varying the frequency of said oscillator.

Claim 22

An analog information storage and retrieval system, comprising a record on which there have been simultaneously recorded an analog signal and a constant frequency reference signal, means for reproducing said signals, an analog storage register means controlled by said reproducing means for storing samples of said reproduced information signal in said register at a rate determined by the frequency of the reproduced reference signal, a variable frequency oscillator, an output terminal, means controlled by said oscillator for applying samples stored in said memory to said output terminal at a rate controlled by the frequency of said oscillator, means for detecting the difference between the rate at which samples are stored in said memory and the rate at which the samples are applied to said output terminal, means controlled by said detecting means for producing a control signal in accordance with the average of said detected difference over a period that is long with respect to the average interval between the storage of samples in said memory, and means responsive to said control signal for varying the frequency of said oscillator.

Claim 23

The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising means for producing a control signal in accordance with the difference between the number of samples which have been gated into said register and the number of samples which have been applied to said output terminal, means for taking an average of said control signal over time, and means responsive to said control signal for controlling said second means to adjust said second rate in accordance with said average.

Claim 24

Apparatus for compensating an information signal recorded on a record simultaneously with a periodic reference signal, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing said information signal and said reference signal, signal generating means for producing a periodic gating signal having a period fixed relative to the period of said reference signal when recorded, a storage register having a predetermined capacity for the storage of samples of a signal, first means controlled by said reproducing means for gating samples of said reproduced information signal into said register at a rate inversely proportional to the instantaneous period of said reproduced reference signal, an output terminal, second means controlled by said signal generating means and responsive to said gating signal for gating samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the order in which they were stored at a rate inversely proportional to the period of said gating signal, means for producing a control signal in accordance with the difference between the number of samples which have been gated into said register and the number of samples which have been gated to said output terminal, means for taking an average of said control signal over time, and inhibiting means for inhibiting the gating of a sample into said register according as said average exceeds a number determined by the capacity of said register.

Claim 25

Apparatus for compensating an information signal recorded on a record simultaneously with a periodic reference signal, comprising means for simultaneously reproducing said information signal and said reference signal, signal generating means for producing a periodic gating signal having a period fixed relative to the period of said reference signal when recorded, a storage register having a predetermined capacity for the storage of samples of a signal, first means controlled by said reproducing means for gating samples of said reproduced information signal into said register at a rate inversely proportional to the instantaneous period of said reproduced reference signal, an output terminal, second means controlled by said signal generating means and responsive to said gating signal for gating samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the order in which they were stored at a rate inversely proportional to the period of said gating signal, means for producing a control signal in accordance with the difference between the number of samples which have been gated into said register and the number of samples which have been gated to said output terminal, means for taking an average of said control signal over time, and inhibiting means for inhibiting the gating of a sample into said register according as said average exceeds a number determined by the capacity of said register.

Claim 26

A sound signal compensator for removing frequency shifts from an audio frequency signal with the aid of a reference signal having analogous frequency shifts from an initially periodic waveform, comprising a storage register, first means for gating samples of said audio signal into said storage register at a first rate determined by the frequency of said reference signal, an output terminal, second means for applying samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the order in which they were stored and at a second rate substantially determined by the initial period of said waveform to produce an output signal on said terminal, and means for rejecting a sample when the capacity of said register would otherwise be exceeded.

Claim 27

A sound signal compensator for removing frequency shifts from an audio frequency signal with the aid of a reference signal having analogous frequency shifts from an initially periodic waveform, comprising a storage register, first means for gating samples of said audio signal into said storage register at a first rate determined by the frequency of said reference signal, an output terminal, second means for applying samples stored in said register to said output terminal in the order in which they were stored and at a second rate substantially determined by the initial period of said waveform to produce an output signal on said terminal, and means for rejecting a sample when the capacity of said register would otherwise be exceeded.

Claim 28

The apparatus of claim 17 in which said last-recited means is responsive to the difference between said rates.

Claim 29

The apparatus of claim 17 further comprising means responsive to the average difference between said rates over a predetermined period for adjusting said second rate to reduce said average difference.

Claim 30

The apparatus of claim 17 in which said last-recited means additionally includes means for continuing the application of a sample to said output terminal until at least one new sample has been stored.