Variable time delay sequencing arrangement

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE TIMING AND SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF DEVICES COMPRISING, A SOURCE OF POWER FOR ACTUATING SAID DEVICES, AN ADJUSTABLE IMPEDANCE NETWORK INCLUDING A REACTANCE ELEMENT AND A PLURALITY OF INDEPENDENTLY VARIABLE RESISTANCE ELEMENTS, A SOLID STATE PULSE GENERATOR OF THE RELAXATION OSCILLATOR TYPE HAVING ITS OUTPUT PULSE SPACING DETERMINED BY THE CONSTANTS OF SAID IMPEDANCE NETWORK, ADDITIONAL IMPEDANCE MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE DURATION OF THE OUTPUT PULSES OF SAID PULSE GENERATOR, A STEPPING SWITCH HAVING TWO SIMULTANEOUSLY OPERATED SETS OF SWITCHING CONTACTS, MEANS COUPLING EACH OF SAID DEVICES TO SAID POWER SOURCE THROUGH A DIFFERENT CONTACT IN ONE OF SAID SETS, MEANS FOR INSERTING EACH OF SAID VARIABLE RESISTANCE ELEMENTS IN SAID IMPEDANCE NETWORK THROUGH A DIFFERENT CONTACT IN THE OTHER OF SAID SETS, AND RELAY MEANS OPERABLE IN RESPONSE TO EACH PULSE FROM SAID PULSE GENERATOR TO SWITCH FROM A FIRST SET OF CONTACT POINTS COUPLING SAID POWER SOURCE THROUGH ONE OF SAID CONTACTS IN SAID ONE SET TO ITS ASSOCIATED DEVICE, TO A SECOND POSITION WHICH BREAKS THE CIRCUIT BETWEEN SAID POWER SOURCE AND SAID DEVICE, CONNECTS A POINT IN SAID IMPEDANCE NETWORK TO A REFERENCE POTENTIAL, AND ENABLES SAID STEPPING SWITCH TO ADVANCE TO ITS NEXT POSITION, SAID STEPPING SWITCH HAVING A DELAYED OPERATING CHARACTERISTIC TO ENABLE SAID RELAY MEANS TO SWITCH TO ITS SECOND POSITION PRIOR TO THE ADVANCE OF SAID STEPPING SWITCH TO ITS NEXT POSITION, SAID RELAY MEANS RETURNING TO SAID FIRST SET OF CONTACT POINTS AT THE CONCLUSION OF EACH PULSE.