Data transmission system with control character insertions

Claim 1

IN A SYSTEM FOR PREPARING DATA IN DIGITAL CODED FORM FOR TRANSMISSION BETWEEN TWO REMOTE LOCATIONS, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING MEANS FOR RECEIVING DATA CHARACTERS AT ONE LOCATION IN THE FORM OF A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL BITS, MEANS TO PREPARE THE DATA CHARACTERS FOR TRANSMISSION AS A SYNCHRONOUS BIT STREAM OF INTERLACED DATA AND CONTROL CHARACTERS, MEANS TO GENERATE A SIGNAL IN THE ABSENCE OF A DATA CHARACTER, MEANS RESPONSIVE TO SAID LAST NAMED SIGNAL FOR GENERATING A CONTROL CHARACTER REPRESENTATIVE OF EITHER THE STATUS OF A DEVICE AT THE ONE LOCATION OR OF A COMMAND FROM A DEVICE AT THE ONE LOCATION TO A DEVICE AT THE REMOTE LOCATION, MEANS TO INHIBIT THE GENERATION OF A CONTROL CHARACTER REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STATUS OF A DEVICE WHENEVER A CHARACTER REPRESENTATIVE OF A COMMAND CAN BE GENERATED WHEREBY A TRANSMISSION PRIORITY IN THE BIT STREAM IS ESTABLISHED SO THAT A DATA CHARACTER IS GIVEN PRIORITY OVER BOTH STATUS AND COMMAND CHARACTERS AND A COMMAND CHARACTER IS GIVEN PRIORITY OVER A STATUS CHARACTER, MEANS FOR RECEIVING AND PROCESSING A SYNCHRONOUS BIT STREAM OF INTERLACED DATA AND CONTROL CHARACTERS, INCLUDING MEANS TO IDENTIFY AND DISTINGUISH BETWEEN DATA AND CONTROL CHARACTERS, MEANS TO SEPARATE THE DATA AND CONTROL CHARACTERS, MEANS TO CONVERT THE DATA CHARACTERS TO PARALLEL FORM, MEANS TO FURTHER IDENTIFY AND SEPARATE THE CONTROL CHARACTERS INTO STATUS AND COMMAND CHARACTERS, AND MEANS TO GENERATE ELECTRICAL SIGNALS IN RESPONSE TO SAID STATUS AND COMMAND CHARACTERS.