Digital recording systems utilizing ternary, n bit binary and other self-clocking forms

Claim 1

A HIGH DENSITY INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM COMPRISING AN INFORMATION STORAGE MEDIUM CAPABLE OF MAINTAINING TWO DISTINCT STATES, TRANSDUCER MEANS FOR RECORDING ON SAID MEDIUM BY CHANGING THE STATE OF SAID MEDIUM FROM ONE OF SAID STATES TO THE OTHER WITHIN A LOCALIZED REGION, MEANS TO PROVIDE RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN SAID STORAGE MEDIUM AND SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS SO THAT SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS IS OPERABLE TO RECORD TRANSITION BETWEEN SAID STATES ALONG A TRACK ON SAID MEDIUM, A SOURCE OF INFORMATION, ENCODING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO INFORMATION FROM SAID SOURCE TO CAUSE SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS TO RECORD A PATTERN OF SAID TRANSITIONS ALONG SAID TRACK TO REPRESENT SAID INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH A CODE INCLUDING (1) MEANS TO SPACE TRANSITION POSITIONS CON TAINING A TRANSITION OR THE ABSENCE OF A TRANSITION AT REGULARLY OCCURRING INTERVALS ALONG SAID TRACK, (2) MEANS TO DIVIDE SAID TRANSITION POSITIONS INTO CELLS OF A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF TRANSITION POSITIONS GREATER THAN ONE AND, (3) MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID INFORMATION FROM SAID SOURCE TO PROVIDE AT LEAST ONE TRANSITION IN EACH CELL IN A PATTERN IN WHICH THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TRANSITION POSITIONS IN A ROW WHICH DO NOT CONTAIN A TRANSITION IS A SMALL DETERMINED NUMBER GREATER THAN ONE, SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS INCLUDING READ-OUT MEANS FOR PRODUCING PULSES IN REPSONSE TO SAID TRANSITIONS AS SAID TRACK IS MOVED RELATIVE TO SAID TRANSDUCER MEANS, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO THE PULES PRODUCED BY SAID READ-OUT MEANS TO PRODUCE CLOCK PULSES OCCURRING AT REGULAR INTERVALS AND TO PRODUCE INFORMATION PULES REPRESENTING THE INFORMATION RECORDED IN SAID TRACK IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID CODE.