US2109834A - Electron discharge apparatus - Google Patents

Description

March 1, 1938. F. c. BLANCHA ELECTRON DISCHARGE APPARATUS Filed Dec. 51, 1936 Patented Mar. 1, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIQE Felix O. Blancha, Manoa, Pa., assignor to Radio Corporationof America, a corporation of Dela ware Application December 31, 1936, Serial No. 118,437

7 Claims.

This invention relates to electron discharge apparatus, particularly to receptacles or jackets for fluid cooled electron discharge tubes, and has special reference to the provision of means providing a fluid-tight seal between a tube and its jacket.

In one form of electron discharge device which comprises a thermionic cathode, a grid and an anode enclosed in an evacuated container, a portion of the container is formed of metal and this metal portion constitutes the anode of the device. In the operation of such a device, particularly when high potentials are employed, a large amount of heat is generated, and in order to dissipate excess heat, which might otherwise destroy the device, it has been customary to provide a water jacket in which the metal anode is seated.

The principal difficulty encountered in assembling and operating cooling arrangements of the type described is that of forming a fluid-tight seal between the discharge device and its water jacket. To this end it has previously been proposed to provide an outwardly extending flange on the metal anode and a cooperating rim and gasket within the. jacket upon which the anode flange rests. The prior art further dictates the use of one or more set screws for exerting a clamping force to the assembly at a plurality of spaced points about the periphery of the said flange. Seals of the type described are not entirely satisfactory, for the reason that it is not always possible to distribute the clamping force with the high degree of uniformity'required to achieve and to maintain, a fluid-tight seal.

A principal object of the. present invention is to obviate the above and other disadvantages of prior art cooling arrangements for electron discharge devices.

Other objects and advantages, together with certain details of construction, will be apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a water jacket constructed in accordance with the principle of the invention,

Figure 2 is a sectional plan View taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Figure 3 is an end view of one of the rotary members of Figs. 1 and 2, and

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

As shown in the drawing, the cooling apparatus comprises a container or jacket ID for water or other cooling fluid, in which the metal portion M of an electron discharge tube T is inserted. The container Ill is preferably made of brass or other non-rusting, heat-conductive material, and comprises a hollow cylindrical body portion 12, a

chambered head l4, and a threaded cap l6. Cooling liquid is supplied to the container ID by means of an inlet pipe IP in the wall of the chambered head l4, and is discharged through an outlet pipe OP in or adjacent the bottom of the hollow cylindrical body portion l2. The flow of cooling liquid may be reversed if desired.

The cylindrical walls of the jacket I0 extend upwardly beyond the chambered head I4, and its outer surface terminates in a threaded portion I8 which engages a complementary threaded portion 20 on the inner surface of cap Hi. The interior wall of the threaded head M of the jacket I!) terminates in a stepped series of concentric shoulders 22, 24 and 26. The surface of the outermost shoulder 22 slopes inwardly and preferably terminates abruptly at the rim 23 of the upstanding side wall of shoulder 24. The base of the innermost shoulder 26 supports a gasket 28, upon which an outwardly extending flange Tf, forming part of the tube T, is seated. The outer periphery of flange T1 extends to, but preferably not beyond, the upstanding side wall of shoulder 24, and the plane of the upper surface of this flange Tf preferably coincides with the plane of rim 23, so that the inwardly sloping surface of shoulder 22, in effect, terminates in a groove 25 which extends entirely around the periphery of flange Ti. 7

The cap it comprises a short cylinder which terminates in an inwardly and downwardly extending flange 3D. The inner wall of the cylindrical cap i6 is provided with a groove 32 which preferably extends entirely around the cylinder, in a plane preferably slightly below the plane of the inner extremity of the flange 3B.

As shown more clearly in Fig. 2, groove 32 accommodates a wire-like arcuate spring member 34, which is free to move around the groove 32. Spring 34 supports a plurality of rollers 36 in spaced relation, irrespective of its exact position in groove 32. For this purpose, spring 34 is provided with three extensions 3411; which extend downwardly and outwardly from the inner wall of cap l6 and are looped respectively about the axles 36a upon which members 36 rotate. The rotary members 36 are of duplicate construction and, as shown in detail in Fig. 4, comprise an orifice 35b for axle 360 an inwardly inclined tread portion 360, and a rounded flange portion 36d. Axle 36a is provided with a head 36a to maintain rotary member 36 thereon, and a second head 36f for retaining the looped extension 34a of spring member 34 around axle 36a.

The tension of the looped extensions 34a of the outer surface of the main body of the jacket, the side walls of rotary members 36 will be substantially parallel to the wall of the cap l6 and out of the way of the tube flange Tf when this flange is passed through the mouth of the jacket prior to being seated on gasket 28. In this position, the lower edges of the rounded flanges 36d of rotary members 36 will be well up on the inwardly inclined surface of the topmost shoulder 22.

As shown in Fig. 1, the under surface of the downwardly extending cap flange 30 constitutes a track for the treads 360 of rotary members 36. When the cap I6 is screwed down more tightly upon the jacket l0, rotary members 36 are inclined inwardly against the tension or biasing force of spring members. 36a, and the rounded flange portions 38d of rotary members 36 slide downwardly on the inwardly sloping surface. of shoulder 22 until they are projected over the rim 23 into the groove 25 about the periphery of the tube flange Tf. With the rounded flange portions 36d of rotary members 36 within the groove 25, the tread portions 360 are in contact with the top surface of flange T). As the cap I6 is screwed down further on the threaded portion of the jacket head M, a rolling force will be applied to the tube flange T at spaced points about the periphery thereof by the rotary members 35. As these members 3'5 rotate, a clamping force will, fact, be applied with increasing intensity around the entire periphery of flange Tf. Members 36 are all of the same diameter, so that, when they eventually come to rest, the clamping force exerted through them is distributed evenly about flange T whereby a fluid-tight seal is provided between the tube and its jacket.

Preferably, the number of points at which the clamping force is simultaneously applied is no less than the minimum number of points required to define the plane of flange T), i. e., three. Thus, in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, three rotary clamping members 36 are employed. It may, however, be desirable, particularly where the Jacket is designed to accommodate a very large tube, to employ more than three rotary members. Such modification is deemed within the scope of the invention.

Other modifications will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art. It is therefore to be understood that the invention is not to be limited except as required by the prior art and the spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a discharge tube having a part to be cooled and an outwardly extending flange on said part, of a hollow fluidreceptacle having a shoulder upon which said flange rests to support said part within said receptacle, and means for applying a rolling force of increasing intensity around the periphery of said flange to establish a fluid-tight seal between said tube and said receptacle.

2. The combination with a discharge tube having a cylindrical metal wall and an outwardly extending flange thereon, of a hollow fluid receptacle having a shoulder upon which said flange rests when said cylindrical metal portion of said tube is seated within said receptacle, means for applying a rolling force at a plurality of circumferentialiy spaced areas around the periphery of said flange, and means for varying the intensity of said rolling force whereby to establish a fluid-tight seal between said tube and said receptacle.

3. In a device of the class described, an annular shoulder having an inwardly inclined surface, a rotary member adapted to contact said surface and means for moving said rotary member inwardly and downwardly over said inclined surface into engagement with a member to be secured.

i. In a receptacle of the class described provided with a shoulder having an inwardly inclined surface, a cap for said receptacle comprising an annular member adapted to be moved with respect to said receptacle, a plurality of rotary members mounted for movement around the inner walls of said cap, and means responsive to movement of said cap with respect to said receptacle for moving said rotary members over said inclined surface into engagement, and by reverse movement out of engagement, with a member to be secured within said receptacle.

5. The combination with a discharge tube having a part to be cooled and an outwardly extending flange on said part, of a hollow fluid receptacle having a shoulder extending outwardly beyond said flange and upon which said flange rests to support said part within said receptacle, a rotary member mounted for movement on said shoulder, biasing means tending to maintain said rotary member in a position on said shoulder whereat it is beyond the periphery of said flange, and means for moving said rotary member inwardly on said shoulder against the force of its biasing means into engagement with said flange.

6. The combination with a discharge tube having a part to be cooled and an outwardly extending flange on said part, of a hollow fluid receptacle having an inwardly inclined shoulder upon which said flange rests to support said part within said receptacle, a rotary member movable on said inclined shoulder, biasing means tending to maintain said rotary member in a position of said inclined shoulder whereat it is out of contact with said flange, means for moving said rotary member inwardly on said inclined shoulder against the force of its biasing means into engagement with said flange, and means including said rotary member for applying a rolling force around the periphery of said flange to estabbetween said tube and said tending to maintain said rotary members on said shoulder beyond the periphery of said flange to permit said flange to be entered upon said shoulder, means for moving said rotary members inwardly on said shoulder against the force of their I biasing means into engagement with said flange,

and means including said rotary members for applying a rolling force about substantially the entire periphery of said flange to establish a fluid tight seal between said tube and receptacle.

FELIX C. BLANCHA.

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