GB1358582A - Gas discharge display panels - Google Patents

Abstract

1358582 Gas discharge display panels BURROUGHS CORP 28 May 1971 [10 June 1970 16 July 1970 5 Oct 1970] 17772/71 Heading HID A display panel comprises a longitudinally extending hermetically sealed gas-filled envelope containing a plurality of anode electrodes 540 to 580 spaced along the length of the envelope and a plurality of conductors 514A extending along the length of the envelope and each carrying a plurality of cathode segment electrodes 516 spaced apart along its length, said segments being positioned on said conductors to form groups, with one segment carried by each conductor being included in each group and each group being in operative relation with a respective one of said anode electrodes. The conductors 514A are mounted in slots 512A to 512J in a base-plate 510 and the segments 516 are supported from the conductors 514A by tabs 526 of which those supporting the vertical segments are twisted through a rightangle and are engaged by slots 524A and 524B in insulating plates 520A and 520B of darkened mica. Plate 520A has holes 529 to accept or expose auxiliary cathodes in the form of conductive discs 530 on conductors 532 and representing decimal points or commas. An insulating glass frame 534 supports the connectors 590 of channel-shaped mesh anodes 540. The assembly is completed by a glass cover-plate 600 and is sealed and filled with neon, argon, or xenon or a mixture thereof, and mercury at a pressure of 20 to 250 torr, preferably 75 torr. In alternative embodiments, instead of nine segments in each group of cathodes there may be seven segments arranged in figure eight formation (Figs. 1-6, not shown) or thirteen segments (Fig. 7, not shown). The plates 520A and 520B may be omitted and the cathode groups separated by members dividing the frame 534 into a plurality of apertures, one for each group, which apertures may be orthogonal or sloping (Figs. 8 and 9, not shown). The base-plate 510 may be replaced by a rectangular frame with slots provided in the shorter sides (Fig. 13, not shown). An auxiliary screen electrode with depressions separating the cathode groups may be provided above the anodes (Figs. 14-16, not shown) which may be planar or "tuning-fork" shape (Figs. 17-19, not shown).