Patent US 3,976,863

The decoder is a real time electronic device for processing, decoding and classifying data whose optimally achievable format of encoding is not known a prioristically but is desired to become known for either future optimal encoding, transmission, decoding for classificational discrimination or for storage. The decoder operates on rawdata inputs. The decoder may be manifested in either of two forms, namely a complete decoder for use as a laboratory research tool or an incomplete decoder which consists of all and only that subset of a complete decoder which is relevant for decoding a particular class of inputs whose application limits are well defined in the information theoretic sense. In general, the input to be processed is a non-stationary signal in analog form. The output of the decoder is usually sampled at most twice the cut-off frequency of the highest frequency component contained within the signal being analyzed. In the complete decoder form, the 2.sup.N -1 outputs serve as a means for recognizing all components within the frequency spectrum of the unknown analog signal being decoded. The derived outputs may be scaled and quantized or be left in their normal output form. In either form the outputs represent all possible classes of characteristics which could be of value for optimal coding. In particular, the totality of outputs represents diverse information theoretic and physical qualities and dimensions.