GB1094403A - Voltage-controlled adjustable counter - Google Patents

Abstract

1,094,403. Circuits employing magnetic storage elements. GENERAL TIME CORPORATION. March 30, 1965 [April 29, 1964], No. 13529/65. Heading H3B. [Also in Division G4] In an electronic counter 20, which provides a single output for a predetermined number of pulses " n " received from a pulse former 10, each pulse enables a transistor Q103 to draw current pulses through a coil CN1, CN2, CN3 from a fixed voltage supply E and a variable supply Ea, each current pulse gradually saturating a core 22 in a direction opposite to its initial state, and the nth pulse over-saturating the core in this direction. The saturation of the core then falls to its residual level and the resulting change in flux in the coil CN2 produces a trigger signal to render a second transistor Q104 conductive, which thus allows current to be drawn through the coil CN3 to reset the core 22 to its initial saturation state. This reset operation produces a single output pulse in coil CN5. The number of pulses " n " required to over saturate the core 22 and thus produce an output pulse, is determined by the voltsecond content of each pulse and this may be varied by adjusting the voltage supply Ea. A number of such counters may be incorporated in a counting system (Fig. 3, not shown) in which the units, tens and hundreds values are preset on variable 1 to 9 counters (U20, A20T and A20H). When the units value has been counted a signal shuts off this counter and activates a decade counter (AF20T) whose output pulses, corresponding to 10 input pulses, are applied to (1 to 9) counter (A20T) which has been set to a value corresponding to the number of " tens " to be counted. Upon completion of the tens count a signal diverts the output of the decade counter (AF20T) to a further decade counter (AF20H) and variable (1 to 9) counter A20H), each output of the latter corresponding therefore to the number of " hundreds " counted together with the tens and units count already recorded by the other sections (U20) and (A20T). Each such onput is applied to a terminating module which transmits the working output pulses to a relay and which also resets the flip-flops that control activation of the various counter stages. If a predetermined count number contains zeroes and if a zero is a higher order zero the corresponding section is by-passed, the output of the previous counter-stage being applied to the next higher order stage or to the terminating module, as appropriate. If a zero is a lower order zero the next higher order section is activated simultaneously with the zero stage, the latter being thus effectively ignored.