Student's computer

Claim 1

A data processing apparatus, comprising: a plastic disk on at least one face of which a sequentially organized combination of synchronization signals, processor instructions, and related data has been stored as undulations in aspiral groove; transducer means for transforming the undulations into an electrical signal having a corresponding pattern of pulses; detection means for identifying certain pulse patterns as said synchronization signals, each occurrence of which representing a predetermined reference point in the organized sequence of said instructions and data; clocking means synchronized to said pattern of pulses; serial register means responsive to said clocking means and said detection means for assembling subsequent portions of said pattern of pulses into binary words; decoding means for identifying which portions of said pulse patterns represent addresses, processor instructions, digital data, or data in other forms; data processor means for performing data processing operations; first interfacing means responsive to said decoding means for selectively transferring each assembled binary word which represents a processor instruction from said serial register means to said data processor means; second interfacing means responsive to said decoding means and said processor means for selectively transferring each subsequently assembled binary word, representing the data related to said transferred instruction, from said serial register means to said data processor means; said data processor means performing the operations indicated by each said instruction upon its related data immediately upon completion of the respective transfers by said first and second interfacing means; and output means for reporting the results of the operations performed on said transferred data.