GB704816A - Improvements in and relating to electronic impulse counters - Google Patents

Abstract

704,816. Electronic counting-apparatus. BRITISH THOMSON-HOUSTON CO., Ltd. Nov. 12, 1952 [Dec. 17, 1951], No. 29484/51. Class 106 (1) In an electric impulse counter having one or more stages each including a multi-cathode counter tube in which a discharge is stepped from one cathode in succession to adjacent cathodes in response to a succession of impulses applied to transfer electrodes, the cathodes in the or each stage are connected to a selector switch which is pre-set to a predetermined member whereby the counter is restored to zero after a predetermined count. As shown, the first counter stage comprises a decimal tube T, having ten cathodes 1 ... 9, 0 and ten pairs of transfer or guide electrodes 12, 13 to which negative impulses are applied in succession in response to a positive input pulse at 14 applied to a " flip-flop " (one-stable-state) circuit V1, V2 and network 20 arranged as described in Specification 691,623, [Group XL (c)]. The cathode 0 is connected through valve V3 (corresponding to V), to the next higher stage (not shown) for tens carry. The cathodes of T1 (except 0) are connected to correspondingly numbered contacts of selector switch 16, similar switches being provided for the higher stages. When the discharges in all the tubes reach the pre-selected cathodes (6 for T1), positive pulses are applied simultaneously from the switches through a resistancerectifier coincidence circuit to line 25, and the resultant signal triggers a flip-flop 19 comprising valves V4, V5, thus producing a wide negative pulse at the anode of V4 which is applied via line 22 to the cathode 9 in each tube to bring the discharge to this cathode. Alternatively all the cathodes other than 9 may be driven positive by the anode output of V5. The pulse from V4 is also differentiated by a circuit including condenser 23 so as to produce a delayed positivegoing pulse which is applied to the counter input thus stepping the counter from 99 to zero. The flip-ftop 19 may be used also to set the counter to zero initially.