Delay counter phase control system for use in producing a variable direction beam from a fixed transmitting array

Claim 1

A SYSTEM FOR STEERING THE DIRECTIONAL PATTERN OF A TRANSDUCER ARRAY WHEREIN TRANSDUCERS ARE ARRANGED IN ROWS AND COLUMNS, SAID SYSTEM COMPRISING (A) AN ARRAY OF DELAY COUNTER MEANS EACH CORRSPONDING TO A DIFFERENT ONE OF SAID TRANSDUCERS AND ARRANGED IN ROWS AND COLUMNS, (B) MEANS CONNECTING THE COUNTERS IN EACH OF SAID ROWS AND COLUMNS IN SERIES RELATIONSHIP SO THAT AN INPUT PULSE APPLIED TO THE FIRST COUNTER MEANS IN ONE CORNER OF SAID ROWS AND COLUMNS PROPAGATES THROUGH ALL OF SAID COUNTER MEANS, (C) A PLURALITY OF LINE CIRCUITS EACH CORRESPONDING TO A DIFFERENT ONE OF SAID TRANSDUCERS AND EACH BEING RESPONSIVE TO OUTPUT PULSES FROM DIFFERENT ONES OF SAID COUNTER MEANS, SAID LINE CIRCUITS, EACH INCLUDING A BI-STABLE DEVICE FOR PRODUCING A FIRST LEVEL OF POTENTIAL WHEN IN ITS FIRST STABLE STATE AND A SECOND LEVEL OF POTENTIAL WHEN IN ITS SECOND STABLE STATE TO PRODUCE A SQUARE WAVE WHEN SAID BI-STABLE DEVICE IS SWITCHED BETWEEN ITS STABLE STATES AND A LOW PASS FILTER FOR PASSING ONLY THE FUNDAMENTAL OF SAID SQUARE WAVE FOR APPLYING A SINUSOIDAL WAVE TO THE TRANSDUCER TO WHICH THAT LINE CIRCUIT CORRESPONDS,