Counting direction control circuit for use with reversible counters

Claim 1

IN COUNTING APPARATUS FOR RECEIVING INPUT SIGNALS TO BE ALGEBRAICALLY ADDED TO AND SUBTRACTED FROM A COUNT REGISTERED IN A REVERSIBLE COUNTING MEANS HAVING A MAGNITUDE INCREASE TERMINAL AND A MAGNITUDE DECREASE TERMINAL, A COUNTING DIRECTION CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR DIRECTING EACH OF THE INPUT SIGNALS TO THE APPROPRIATE ONE OF THE MAGNITUDE INCREASE AND MAGNITUDE DECREASE TERMINALS OF THE COUNTING MEANS, SAID CONTROL CIRCUIT COMPRISING: AN INPUT FOR RECEIVING THE INPUT SIGNALS TO BE ALGEBRAICALLY ADDED TO THE COUNT REGISTERED IN THE COUNTING MEANS, AND ANOTHER INPUT FOR RECEIVING THE INPUT SIGNALS TO BE ALGEBRACIALLY SUBTRACTED FROM THE COUNT REGISTERED IN THE COUNTING MEANS; A PLURALITY OF GATES CONNECTING EACH OF SAID INPUTS TO EACH OF THE MAGNITUDE INCREASE AND MAGNITUDE DECREASE TERMINALS OF THE COUNTING MEANS; SAMPLING MEANS RESPONSIVE TO OPERATION OF THE REVERSIBLE COUNTING MEANS IN A PRESELECTED STATE FOR INDEPENDENTLY ACTIVATING AT LEAST ONE OF SAID GATES WITHOUT ALTERING THE STATE OF THE REVERSIBLE COUNTING MEANS TO APPLY THE NEXT INPUT SIGNAL RECEIVED AT EITHER OF SAID INPUTS TO THE MAGNITUDE INCREASE TERMINAL OF THE REVERSIBLE COUNTING MEANS;