Apparatus for storing and processing numerical information

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR THE STORAGE AND PROCESSING OF INFORMATION COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF STORAGE ELEMENTS ARRANGED IN SEVERAL RANKS, A PLURALITY OF GATES AND A PLURALITY OF LOCAL CONTROL UNITS, AT LEAST TWO STORAGE ELEMENTS OF ZERO RANK BEING CONNECTED OVER A GATE TO A SINGLE STORAGE ELEMENT OF FIRST RANK, AT LEAST TWO STORAGE ELEMENTS OF FIRST RANK BEING CONNECTED OVER A GATE TO A SINGLE STORAGE ELEMENT OF SECOND RANK AND SO ON, SO AS TO FORM A TRANSFER ARRANGEMENT OF PYRAMID FORM, EACH LOCAL CONTROL UNIT BEING ASSOCIATED WITH EACH GROUP OF SAID STORAGE ELEMENTS OF THE SAME RANK WHICH ARE CONNECTED OVER A GATE TO A SINGLE STORAGE ELEMENT OF THE NEXT HIGHER RANK, EACH LOCAL CONTROL UNIT OF A RANK, EXCEPT THOSE OF ZERO RANK, COMPRISING MEANS FOR INDICATING THAT THE STORAGE ELEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOCAL CONTROL UNIT ARE FREE OR OCCUPIED, AND MEANS FOR COMPARING AT LEAST APPROPRIATE PORTIONS OF INFORMATION STORED IN AN ASSOCIATED STORAGE ELEMENT WITH CORRESPONDING PORTIONS OF INFORMATION STORED IN ANOTHER ASSOCIATED STORAGE ELEMENT, EACH LOCAL CONTROL UNIT OF ZERO RANK COMPRISING MEANS FOR COMPARING AT LEAST APPROPRIATE PORTIONS OF INFORMATION STORED IN AN ASSOCIATED STORAGE ELEMENT WITH CORRESPONDING PORTIONS OF INFORMATION STORED IN ANOTHER ASSOCIATED STORAGE ELEMENT, EACH SAID MEANS FOR INDICATING OF A LOCAL CONTROL UNIT OF AN ARBITRARILY DETERMINED RANK, WHICH CANNOT BE ZERO RANK, BEING CONNECTED TO THE SAID MEANS FOR COMPARING OF A LOCAL CONTROL UNIT OF THE NEXT LOWER RANK, FOR ACCORDINGLY CAUSING THIS LOCAL CONTROL UNIT OF THE LOWER RANK TO CONTROL A TRANSFER OF INFORMATION FROM THE STORAGE ELEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOCAL CONTROL UNIT OF LOWER RANK IN THE DIRECTION OF THE STORAGE ELEMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID LOCAL CONTROL UNIT OF THE ARBITRARILY DETERMINED RANK.