Digital phase measuring apparatus utilizing a counter as a delay means

Claim 1

PHASE DIFFERENCE MEASURING APPARATUS COMPRISING A RELATIVELY HIGH FREQUENCY OSCILLATOR, A FREQUENCY DIVIDER CONNECTED WITH SAID OSCILLATOR AND PRODUCING A FIRST SERIES OF TIMING PULSES AT A RELATIVELY LOW REPETITION RATE, A GATE PULSE GENERATOR CONNECTED WIH SAID FREQUENCY DIVIDER, SAID GENERATOR UPON BEING ACTUATED BY SAID LOW FREQUENCY PULSES PRODUCING TIMED GATE CONTROL SIGNALS, A FREQUENCY PULSE COUNTER INCLUDING MEANS PRODUCING AN OUTPUT PULSE EACH TIME THE COUNTER REGISTERS A PREDETERMINED NUMBER WHICH OCCURS ONCE EACH TIME THE COUNTER IS CYCLED THROUGH ITS ZERO READING, A GATE HAVING AN INPUT CONNECTED TO SAID OSCILLATOR AND AN OUTPUT CONNECTED TO SAID COUNTER, AND A CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID GENERATOR AND SAID GATE WHEREBY SAID GENERATOR UPON PERIODIC ACUATION BY LOW FREQUENCY PULSES OPENS SAID GATE FOR PREDETERMINED TIME INTERVALS SHORTER THAN THE TIME INTERVALS BETWEEN SAID LOW FREQUENCY PULSES TO FEED GROUPS OF OSCILLATOR PULSES TO SAID COUNTER PERIODICALLY TO CYCLE THE COUNTER ONCE THROUGH SAID PREDETERMINED NUMBER AND PRODUCE A SECOND SERIES OF TIMING PULSES, THE NUMBER OF SAID OSCILLATOR PULSES BEING LIMITED TO CAUSE SAID COUNTER TO RETURN AFTER EACH CYCLE SUBSTANTIALLY TO ITS STARTING POSITION AT THE TIME SAID GATE IS CLOSED, THE NUMERICAL INDICATION ON SAID COUNTER AT THE CONCLUSION OF EACH CYCLE BEING A MEASURE OF THE TIME DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND SERIES OF PULSES, AND MEANS ADJUSTING THE NUMBER OF SAID OSCILLATOR PULSES FED TO SAID COUNTER TO SHIFT THE PHASE OF SAID SECOND SERIES OF TIMING PULSES RELATIVE TO SAID FIRST SERIES OF TIMING PULSES, THE READING ON SAID COUNTER BEING AUTOMATICALLY CHANGED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SAID ADJUSTMENT OF THE NUMBER OF OSCILLATOR PULSES FED TO THE COUNTER.