Electronic data processor

Claim 1

IN A SYNCHRONOUS STORED-PROGRAM DIGITAL COMPUTER HAVING AN ADDRESSABLE MEMORY SECTION WITH SEQUENTIALLY ACCESSIBLE LOCATIONS N, N+1, N+2. . . N+Q. . .N+S, WERE N,Q AND S ARE ARBITARY INTEGERS, FOR THE STORAGE OF WORDS CONSISTING OF GROUPS OF DIGITAL SIGNALS REPRESENTATIVE OF INSTRUCTION ADDRESSES, INSTRUCTIONS AND OPERANDS, SAID LOCATIONS BEING SEQUENTIALLY ACCESSIBLE DURING SUCCESSIVE WORD-TIMES AND SAID INSTRUCTIONS COMPRISING A STORED PROGRAM WHICH INCLUDES AN ALTERNATIVE SEQUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS TO BE EXECUTED UNDER CONTROL OF A CONDITIONAL BRANCH INSTRUCTION IN THE MAIN SEQUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS IF A CONDITION SPECIFIED BY THE BRANCH INSTRUCTION IS PRESENT, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A FIRST REGISTER FOR STORING A GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS REPRESENTATIVE OF AN INSTRUCTION; A SECOND REGISTER FOR STORING A GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS WHICH REPRESENTS THE ADDRESS OF THE FIRST INSTRUCTION OF A SEQUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS, THE INSTRUCTIONS OF SAID SEQUENCE BEING STORED IN SUCCESSIVE ALTERNATE MEMORY LOCATIONS; A FIRST MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING TO SAID SECOND REGISTER A GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS REPRESENTING THE ADDRESS OF A MEMORY LOCATION WHEREIN THE FIRST OF A SEQUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS IS LOCATED; A SECOND MEANS FOR SEQUENTIALLY READING INSTRUCTIONS FROM SAID MAIN SEQUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS DURING ALTERNATE WORD-TIMES; A THIRD MEANS COUPLED TO SAID SECOND MEANS FOR TRANSFERRING SAID INSTRUCTIONS READ FROM ALTERNATE MEMORY LOCATIONS TO SAID FIRST REGISTER; A FOURTH MEANS FOR DECODING AND EXECUTING A GIVEN INSTRUCTION DURING A WORD-TIME IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE WORD-TIME DURING WHICH IT IS TRANSFERRED TO SAID FIRST REGISTER; A FIFTH MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID FOURTH MEANS WHEN A CONDITIONAL BRANCH INSTRUCTION READ FROM LOCATION N IS DECODED FOR TRANSFERRING TO SAID SECOND REGISTER A GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS FROM A LOCATION N+1, SAID GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS REPRESENTING THE ADDRESS N+Q OF A LOCATION WHEREIN AN INSTRUCTION IS LOCATED WHICH IS THE FIRST INSTRUCTION OF AN ALTERMATIVE SEQUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS; A SIXTH MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID FIFTH MEANS FOR DETERMINING WHETHER SAID SPECIFIED CONDITION IS PRESENT AND FOR PRODUCING A CONTROL SIGNAL IF THE SPECIFIED CONDITION IS NOT PRESENT; A SEVENTH MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID CONTROL SIGNAL FOR INHIBITING A TRANSFER OF SAID GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS FROM SAID LOCATION N+1 TO SAID SECOND REGISTER, WHEREBY THE NEXT INSTRUCTION OF THE MAIN SEQUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONS IS TRANSFERRED TO SAID FIRST REGISTER FROM A MEMORY LOCATION N+2; MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE ABSENCE OF SAID CONTROL SIGNAL FOR INITIATING A SEARCH FOR THE NEXT INSTRUCTION AT THE LOCATION N+Q AFTER A GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS IS TRANSFERRED TO SAID SECOND REGISTER FROM THE LOCATION N+1; AND MEANS FOR INITIATING A TRANSFER OF A GROUP OF DIGITAL SIGNALS FROM THE MEMORY LOCATION N+Q TO SAID FIRST REGISTER WHEN THE LOCATION N+Q IS FOUND.