Frequency divider employing a plurality of decade counters and switches for selecting desired frequency division

Claim 1

A FREQUENCY DIVIDER FOR CARRYING OUT FREQUENCY DIVISION OF A FIXED INPUT PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY, SAID DIVIDER HAVING AN OUTPUT AND COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: (A) A PULSE FORMER HAVING AN INPUT TO WHICH THE PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY IS APPLIED, AND AN OUTPUT; (B) A PLURALITY OF SUCCESSIVE DECADE-TYPE COUNTERS, EACH OF SAID COUNTERS HAVING MULTIPLE OUTPUTS, THE MULTIPLE OUTPUTS OF EACH COUNTER, EXCEPT THE LAST, INCLUDING A CARRY-OUTPUT AS WELL AS A ZERO-OUTPUT AT WHICH A SIGNAL APPEARS WHEN THE COUNT OF THE RESPECTIVE COUNTER IS ZERO, THE FIRST OF SAID COUNTERS HAVING AN INPUT CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID PULSE FORMER AND EACH SUCCEEDING COUNTER HAVING AN INPUT CONNECTED TO THE CARRY-OUTPUT OF THE PRECEDING COUNTER; (C) A PLURALITY OF MULTIPLE AND-GATE MEANS, THE INPUTS OF EACH AND-GATE MEANS BEING CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUTS OF A CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID COUNTERS; (D) A PLURALITY OF MULTIPLE OR-GATE MEANS, THE INPUT OF EACH OR-GATE MEANS BEING CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUTS OF A CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID AND-GATE MEANS; (E) A PLURALITY OF SELECTOR SWITCHES, EACH HAVING A MULTIPLICITY OF INPUTS AND AN OUTPUT WHICH IS SELECTIVELY CONNECTIBLE TO SAID MULTIPLICITY OF INPUTS, SAID MULTIPLICITY OF INPUTS BEING CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUTS OF A CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID OR-GATE MEANS; (F) A PLURALITY OF AND-CIRCUITS EACH HAVING ONE INPUT CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF SAID PULSE FORMER AND ANOTHER INPUT CONNECTED TO THE OUTPUT OF A CORRESPONDING ONE OF SAID SELECTOR SWITCHES, ALL BUT THE FIRST OF SAID AND-CIRCUITS HAVING ADDITIONAL INPUT MEANS CONNECTED TO THE ZERO-OUTPUTS OF COUNTERS CORRESPONDING TO PRECEDING SELECTOR SWITCHES; (G) AN OR-CIRCUIT HAVING A PLURALITY OF INPUTS CONNECTED TO THE RESPECTIVE OUTPUTS OF SAID AND-CIRCUITS, THE OUTPUT OF SAID OR-CIRCUIT CONSTITUTING SAID OUTPUT OF THE FREQUENCY DIVIDER; AND (H) SAID AND-GATE MEANS AND SAID OR-GATE MEANS BEING ARRANGED TO PRODUCE, AT SAID OUTPUT OF THE FREQUENCY DIVIDER, SUBSTANTIALLY EVENLY DISTRIBUTED SQUARE WAVE PULSES WHICH CORRESPOND TO THE ADJUSTED POSITIONS OF SAID SELECTOR SWITCHES.