The capacitive semi-permanent information store and its uses in telephone exchanges

A new device is described for storing semi-permanent information, making use of patterns of capacitive couplings at the cross-points between rows and columns of a matrix arrangement. These patterns may easily be changed manually according to the information to be stored. Printed wiring techniques are used throughout, including the capacitive cross-point elements. Basically the new device acts as a code translator, and accordingly it has a wide field of application as a library information store in any data processing systems. Specific examples are given of its adaptability in electronic telephone switching systems, with the object of greatly extending their facilities and generally increasing their flexibility.