Multimode and multistate ladder oscillator and frequency recognition device

A ladder oscillator composed of capacitive and inductive impedances connected together to form a ladder network which has a chosen number N oscillation modes at N different frequencies. Each oscillation mode is characterized by a unique standing wave voltage pattern along the nodes of the ladder oscillator, with the mode in which the ladder oscillator is oscillating being determinable from the amplitudes or phase of the oscillations at the nodes. A logic circuit may be connected to the nodes of the oscillator to compare the phases of selected nodes and thereby determine which mode the oscillator is oscillating in. A ladder oscillator composed of passive capacitive and inductive impedances can be utilized as a frequency recognition device, since the passive ladder oscillator will display the characteristic standing wave patterns if an input signal impressed upon the ladder oscillator is close to one of the mode frequencies of the oscillator. A CL ladder oscillator having series capacitive impedances and shunt inductive impedances can exhibit sustained and autonomous oscillations if active nonlinear devices are connected in parallel with the shunt inductive impedances. The active CL ladder oscillator can be synchronized to input frequencies impressed upon the oscillator, and will continue to oscillate after the input signal has been removed at a mode frequency which is, in general, nearest to the input signal frequency. Autonomous oscillations may also be obtained as desired from the active CL ladder oscillator at the mode frequencies.