US1041210A - Amplifying current variations. - Google Patents

Description

E. WEINTRAUB & M. C. A. LATOUR.

AMPLIFYING CURRENT VARIATIONS.

APPLICATION IIL'ED NOV. 26, 1907.

1,041,210, Patented Oct. 15,1912.

3 v Z /Z-/" g8 umglm n 6 J- /0 Witnesses: Inventors UNITED STATES 1 PAT NT oErroE.

EZECHIEL WEIN'IRAULB, or SCHENECTADY, EW YORK, AND MARIUS o. A. LATOUR, or PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNORS TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CoRPonArroN or NEW YORK.

AMFLIFYING CURRENT VARIATIONS.

Patented Oct. 15,1912.

Application filed November'26, 1907. Serial No. 403,868.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EZECHIEL WEIN- TBAUB, a citizen of the United States, resid- France, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amplifying Current Variations,of which the following is a specification.

less telegraphy, and in fact in any situation where weak signals or current impulses are to be registered or detected, it is desirable to have means which will amplify these current impulses or signals to produce amplified variations of current responsive to the signal currents.

Our present invention aims to provide a receiving device or system which will operate in response to small current variations to produce very greatly magnified currents or impulses. The principle of our invention depends upon the fact that in the neighborhood of the polarization voltage of a mercury are or similar device, a small mcrease of "impressed. elcctromotive force I causes the leakage current, or discharge, in

such a device to change into the form of an arcwlth a corresponding enormous morease In current. As 1s well-known, an are (118- charge is characterized by a comparatively low potential drop at the electrodes, and by a high current value. By thus utilizing the signal currents or other weak impulses of current, the voltage in the local circuit, which voltage is normally adjusted in the region of the polarization voltage of they lamp, is caused by the superposed voltages due to the variable currents to exceed the polarization voltage and to produce arc discharges with correspondingly large current variations. These large current variations may readily be observed by the flashes of light in the mercury vapor device, 6r may be utilized to operate a recording device,. or for any other desired purpose.

The features of novelty which characterize our invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The inven tion itself, however, will be better understood by reference to the following description taken in connect-ion with the accompanying drawings which represent diagrammatically one embodimenhof our invention.

though aswitch may be From what we have already said it will be evident that our new receiving device or current amplifying device, taking advantage as it does of the sensitive condition of the mercury vapor lamp or tube at or about the polarization voltage, must be such a form-of device as will produce an are discharge as distinguished froma leakage or sort of Geissler tube discharge, immediately the polarization voltage of the tube is sufli In the arts of telephony, telegraphy, w1reciently' overcome. For this purpose we may use any one of a large variety of forms of apparatus. We have, however, indicated in the drawings, for purposes of illustration, a form ofmercury arc device suitable for the purpose..- This may consist of a highly evacuated glass. envelop or container 1. This-container is provided with electrodes which form the seats, respectively, of two current paths, one a continuously maintained auxiliary arc, and the other a leakage or discharge path through the instrumentality of which the desired current variations are produced. For these two discharge paths a negative electrode 2 of mercury is provided as a common cathode. A platinum wire projects above the surface of the electrode at 3 in order to render the cathode spot of the arc stationary, and also to permit the current in the container to be run at a low value." An electrode 4 of suitable ma-. terial, such as artificial graphite, is locatedabove the cathode2,and between itand the cathode an arc is constantly maintained from some suitable source of current, in this case a direct current generator or battery indicated conventionally at 5. This source of current 5 may be connected through a resistance 6 with the electrode 4.

In order to start the are an auxiliary electrode 7 of mercury, located adjacent to the cathode 2, is provided, and is connected also to the source 5. When the tube or container l-is shaken so that the mercury of the d electrodes 2 and 7 forms a temporary connection, an arcis thus started and this arc then starts the main arc to the electrode 4. A resistance, such as 8, is provided so as to cause the are between 7 and 2 to go out as soon as the main arc between 4 and 2 starts,

used in place thereof if desired.

The path in'which the desired current variations are produced is provided by means of an electrode or anode 9, located in a 1 vice 11, which may be'of any desired form, or may be omitted altogether, a secondary be'readily understood, receievs the weak signal currents or the like from the appropriate and in the case of a telegraph or telephone yery smallvalue.

. current is received by the primary 13 of'the .sation is producedin the secondary 12 and tery or source'lO, produce a momentary voltbranch of the'tube or container 1 and it is between this electrode 9 and the cathode 2 that the phenomena take place which permit us to-obtain greatly magnified current variations in response to weak signals or current fluctuations or pulsations. To se cure the desired results, we provide a local circuit including the anode 9 and the cathode 2. This local circuit includes a battery or other source of readily adjustable electromotive force 10, a current-indicating de-' winding 12 of a, transformer the primary 13 of which receives the weak signals, and a resistance 14 for limiting the current flow.

source, as for example in a wireless telegraph system, from the antennae or the like,

system, from the transmission line or circuit.

In the operation of our new receiving device or current amplifier, the space between the anode 9 and the cathode 2 must always be in condition so that an arc will form as soon as the voltage impressed upon said electrodes is suflicient'to maintain an are. It is for this purpose, therefore, that an auxiliary arc is kept constantly in existence between the auxiliary 3.110(164 and the cathode 2 by means of current from the source 5. Under these conditions, the battery 10, or. other source of current, will always produce a flow of current between the anode 9 and the cathode 2, but the character of thiscurrent flow will depend upon the magnitudeof the voltage of the source 10. If the voltage of the source is such that the difference of potential between the anode 9 and the cathode 2 is substantially equal to or less than the polarization voltage, that is to say, the voltage at which the leakage discharge is about to change into .an arc discharge, there willbe merely a sort of leakage current between the anode 9 and the cathode 2 of relatively "When, now, a current pulsation or Si alreceiving transformer, a corresponding pulthis is superposed, so to speak,up'on the voltage of the battery 10. These voltage pulsationsin the, secondary 12, or at least those portions of the pulsations of the right po larity, b'eing added to the voltage ofthe batage of a magnitude greater than the polaritube 1, and thereby cause the leakage dis-- charge, which continually takes'place in the. tube 1 between the anode 9 and the cathode 2, tov change intoan arc discharge. These are discharges, of course, are only momentary depending upon the duration of the voltage impulses in the secondary 12, but when they occur thereis an enormous increase of current in the local circuit of the. secondary due to the greatly decreased resistance of the tube 1 'to the passage of current between the electrodes mentioned. These current impulses or amplified discharges in the tube 1 may be very readily observed by noting the flashes of light in'the tube itself without any other indicating means being required. If desired, however,

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States.

1. A current receiver consisting of an evacuated envelop, a cathode or negative electrode, means for constantly exciting said electrode, an anode cooperating with said cathode, means adjusted to normally impress between said anode and cathode a voltage less than the polarization voltage of an'arc discharge, and means responsive to current variations for momentarily raising the voltage between said electrodes above the polarization volt-age.

2. The combination of electrodes between which an arc may be, produced, means for enabling such an arc to be produced whenever a voltage in excess of the polarization voltage of an arc is applied tosaid electrodes, means for impressing on sald electrodes a voltage approximating the polarization voltage, a source of current variations, and

means for augmenting said voltage in responseto said current variations to raise the same above the polarization voltage and thereby producean are between said. electrodes.

3. The 'ombination of an evacuated envelop containing electrodesadapted'to form the seat of anarc discharge, means for constantly exciting the cathode or negative electrode, means for impressing .a substantially constant voltage on said electrodes, and means for superposing voltage impulses to produce corresponding arc discharges between said electrodes.

4. The method of amplifying current variations which consists in impressing upon electrodesa voltage just insufficient to produce an arc discharge, and augmenting-said Voltage at recurrent intervals to ,a value sufroduce an arc discharge-in ree fiuctuatlons of a var able curcurrents or impulses, which consists in impressing upon electrodesbetween which an arc may be produced a voltage insuflicient to maintain such an arc, and recurrent-1y augmenting said voltage to the arcing voltage in response to the variable currents or impulsest0 produce corresponding arcdischarges between said electrodes. n 6. The method of amplifying current ariations which consists in maintaining normally between electrodes :1 weak discharge or current flow of the nature of a leakage current, and. causing this leakage current to change into an arc in response to signal currents or other impulses.

7. The method of producing amplified current waves or fluctuations responsive to, varlable currents, which consists in malntaining between suitable electrodes a dis,- charge normally of the nature of al'caka'ge current, and causing this leakage current to develop into an arc in response to variable currents or impulses.

v In witness whereof, WEINTRAUB has hereunto set his hand thisllthday of October,

1907, and-LAToUR has hereunto set his hand thi's,,9th day of November, 1907. g

EZECHIEL VVEINTRAUB- MARIUS C..A. 'LATOUR. Witnesses to Weintraub:

HELEN Onronn, FRA K J. Donn. Witnesses to Latour:

DEAN tB.-"MABQN, ALMA DALMA MARSHALL.

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