Improvements relating to the reading of characters

927,082. Automatic character reading. ELECTRIC & MUSICAL INDUSTRIES Ltd. Aug. 20, 1959 [Aug. 23, 1958], No. 27126/58. Class 106 (1). Magnetic characters of the kind shown in Figs. 1 and 2 are passed beneath a group of magnetic reading heads which sense strips A-G &c., Fig. 1, to produce corresponding A.C. signals which are sampled at points a-e and applied to a threshold device to derive binary signals, the binary signals on the several strips being combined to produce a further binary signal at each sample point, and identifying the character from these sample point signals. In the form described there are ten strips, the character being covered by 5. This compensates for vertical misalignment. The ten read heads 7a-7j, Fig. 5, are connected to transistor amplifiers 8a-8j and impedances 9a-9c connected between adjacent pairs compensate for cross-talk between heads, alternate coils being oppositely poled. After passing through variable gain amplifiers 10a-10j, peak rectifiers 11a and further amplifiers 12a-12j the signals pass to threshold devices 13a-13j. The threshold value is set by a device 14 which is controlled by a diode detector 15 which provides a signal equal to the highest signal on any of the lines. Adjacent lines are gated together, an Or gate 17 giving an output when a signal appears on any pair of adjacent lines. The drive mechanism for the cheque feed includes a disc 39, Fig. 6, having holes round the circumference photo-electrically sensed to produce clock pulses on lead 29 (Fig. 7c). The first output from gate 17 sets a bi-stable device 22 which remains set as shown in Fig. 7b. Gate 27 is thereby controlled to pass a group of pulses which are applied to counter 24, 25, 26. The successive states of these stages are shown in Fig. 7d, 7e, 7f. A three-input gate 20 receives the output of gate 17 on line 18 and the outputs of counter stages 25 and 26, the presence of a signal on line 18 at a count of eight causing a " 1 " to be entered into stage 30 of the shift register store 32. Successive samples, five in number, are entered into the stages of the shift register. The samples for the character " 5 " are shown in Fig. 7h. If a spurious signal sets trigger 22 and starts the counter 24-26, this signal will not last long enough to cause a " 1 " to enter the shift register at the count of eight. The " 0 " in the first stage allows the first sampling pulse to pass through gates 36, 37 to reset the trigger 22 and the counter. The presence of a " 0