Trace identifying means for multiple trace recorder

Claim 2

In a recording system including a recording means having control means therefor for recording a plurality of data traces on a record member, the improvement comprising first means for placing a series of data trace identifying indicia along a margin of said record member, and second means connected to said first means and to said control means and responsive to the control effected by the latter, and to the placing by said first means of each of said indicia on said record member, for producing a transverse indentifying trace starting at a point adjacent that indicia and ending at a point of juncture with the corresponding data trace.

Claim 3

The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said second means includes; a bistable element operable to either of a first or second stable condition, means for generating a first control signal connected to said first means, to said control means, and to said bistable element to actuate said bistable element to said first condition upon the placement of one of said indicia on said record member, and means connected to said control means and to said bistable element for generating a second control signal to actuate said bistable element to said second condition upon the operation of said recording means to record the data trace corresponding to said one of said indicia, said second means being responsive to the actuation of said bistable element to said first condition to initiate the production of said transverse identifying trace and responsive to the actuation of said bistable element to said second condition to terminate the production of said transverse identifying trace.

Claim 4

The system as set forth in claim 1 wherein said recording means includes: a cathode ray tube having a controllable cathode ray beam, connections between said tube and said control means for enabling the latter to selectively blank and unblank said beam, means for periodically transversely deflecting said beam across the face of said tube, means responsive to said beam in its unblanked condition for producing record traces on said record member, and meAns included in said control means and responsive to each of a plurality of input signals individual to corresponding signal channels for selectively unblanking said beam at positions along the transverse deflection thereof representative of the magnitudes of said input signals to effect said recording of said data traces.

Claim 5

The system as set forth in claim 3 wherein said second means include: means responsive to the production of each of said indicia for selectively unblanking said beam starting at a position along said transverse deflection adjacent that indicia, correlating means for correlating the produced indicia with the corresponding one of said signal channels, and means responsive to said correlating means for terminating the last mentioned selective unblanking of said beam upon the unblanking of said beam by said control means for the signal channel corresponding to said produced one of said indicia, thereby to produce a corresponding one of said transverse identifying traces.

Claim 6

The system as set forth in claim 4 wherein each signal channel includes: a signal input terminal, a comparator connected to said input terminal for comparing the corresponding input signal with a predetermined ramp signal provided by a ramp generator, and gating means responsive to output signls from said comparator; wherein said correlating means comprises dividing and decoding means having a plurality of output leads corresponding in number to the number of signal channels, said dividing and decoding means including means for energizing said output leads singly and in sequence correlated with said production of said indicia, and a plurality of AND gate means, one for each signal channel, said AND gate means being actuated, respectively, by the coincidence of a signal on said output leads and a signal from a corresponding one of said gating means of said signal channels; and wherein the output signals of said AND gate means control said termination of the selective unblanking produced by said second means.

Claim 7

The system as set forth in claim 5 wherein said second means further includes: a bistable element selectively operable to either of a first or a second stable condition, a signal generator connected and responsive to said first means for producing a first control signal each time one of said indicia is placed on said record member, means responsive to said first control signal to actuate said bistable element to said first condition, means responsive to said output signals from said AND gate means to actuate said bistable element to said second condition, and means responsive to the actuation of said bistable element to said first condition to unblank said cathode ray beam and responsive to the actuation of said bistable element to said second condition to terminate the last-mentioned unblanking of said cathode ray beam.

Claim 8

The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said recording means includes a recording element for recording said data traces under the control of said control means, and wherein said second means has an additional connection to said recording means to control said recording element to cause said transverse identifying traces to be produced by said recording element under the control of said second means.

Claim 9

The system as set forth in claim 7, wherein said recording means includes means for repeatedly sweeping said recording element transversely of said record member in successive sweeps to record said data traces, and wherein said second means controls said recording element to make the latter operative to produce one of said transverse identifying traces during a selected one of said sweeps from the beginning thereof only to the point therealong at which said recording element records the corresponding one of said data traces.

Claim 10

The system as set forth in claim 8, wherein said recording element is a cathode ray beam which is unblanked by said control meAns at appropriate points in each of said sweeps to record said data traces, and wherein said second means, upon the placement of one of said indicia on said record member by said first means, unblanks said beam during one of said sweeps from the beginning thereof adjacent said one indicia only to the point along that sweep at which said beam is unblanked by said control means to record the corresponding one of said data traces.