THE OCCURRENCE AND EFFECT OF LOCKOUT 



279 



/ the response will be blocked by /?,,. until the time represented by K 

 and it will then be transmitted to the end of the circuit as shown by 

 the line JKLM. If now E resumes at any time after P the resumption 



Fig. 11 — Time relations in four-wire circuit for determination of limits of integration. 



will be blocked by hj since H^will have obtained control of the circuit. 

 A resumption in the interval IP will result in lockout since W will 

 control hiJ and E will control hr. If W responds at some time after /, 

 say at Q, a similar argument can be used to show that E must resume 

 in the interval SR to cause lockout. If we let 



/// = a, 

 AI = b, 

 AP = c, 



it can be shown that 



AS - 3' - a + b, 

 AR = y — a + c, 



and therefore the region of integration is defined by 



b < X < c, 

 a -\- b < X < y 



— -x < y < a, 



a -\- c, a < V < '^ , 



in which a is the time interval the speaker not in control must wait 

 after hearing the other speaker pause in order to enable the response 

 to get through the circuit; b is the time interval after the speaker in 

 control pauses, during which he can gain control by resuming, regard- 

 less of what the other speaker does; c is the time interval the speaker 

 in control must pause in order to make it possible for the other speaker 

 to get a response through the circuit. 



