US2116672A

US2116672A - Gaseous electric discharge device

Info

Publication number: US2116672A
Application number: US97292A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ewest Hans; Gaidies Georg
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1935-08-31
Filing date: 1936-08-21
Publication date: 1938-05-10
Anticipated expiration: 1955-05-10
Also published as: GB463853A

Description

May 10, 1938. Ew s ET 2,116,672

GASEOUS ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICE Filed Aug. 21, 1936 Fig.1

INVENTORS Hans Ewesc Georg Gaidi 5 ORNEY Patented May 10, 1938 GASEOUS ELECTRIC DISCHARGE DEVICE Hans Ewest, Berlin-[dchterfelde-Ost, and Georg Gaidies, Berlin-Pankow, Germany, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application August 21, 1936, Serial No. 97,292

In Germany August 31, 1935 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to gaseous electric discharge devices generally and more particularly the invention relates to such devices of the cathode glow type useful in television apparatus, or

the like.

The object of the present invention is to provide a cathode glow lamp which is responsive to extremely high frequency currents. Another object of the invention is to provide a cathode glow lamp which is a bright, sharply defined, linear light source. Still further objects and advantages attaching to the device and to its use and operation will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following particular description.

In accordance with these objects the cathode glow lamp comprises a tubular container having an elongated sheet metal cathode mounted therein, which cathode is folded along its length so that the sides thereof are at an acute angle with respect to each other. An anode consisting of a flat plate approximately equal in length to said cathode, having edges overlapping said cathode and a slot or slit in line with the vertex of said cathode is mounted in said container in front of the open 2 side of said cathode. The lamp container has a gaseous atmosphere therein comprising a mixture of neon and helium in which the helium constitutes more than 50% of the neon helium mixture. Preferably the gaseous atmosphere comprises a mixture of 70% helium and 30% neon and a small amount of argon. When desired. the gaseous atmosphere comprises a trace of hydrogen, or water vapor in addition to the argon and the neonhelium mixture. When desired, the water vapor is evolved from a material containing water, such as copper sulphate, mounted in the container. A

lamp having this structure is a brightly luminous,

sharply defined, linear light source and is useful in television receivers in which the number of picture points is in excess of 100,000 per second.

In the drawing accompanying and forming part of this specification an embodiment of the invention is shown in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a cathode glow lamp embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a side elevational, partly sectional view of the lamp shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 3 is a top, sectional view of the lamp shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawing the cathode glow lamp comprises a tubular container 1 having a stem 2 fused thereto at one end thereof and closed at the other end thereof by the seal-off tip 1; :Two

current leads

4 and 5 are hermetically sealed into the pinch 3 of said stem 2. A cathode 6 consisting of an elongated, sheet metal strip folded along its length so that the sides thereof are at an angle of approximately 20 to to each other is mounted on said current lead 4. Said cathode i g is also supported by a wire 8 which is attached to the opposite end of said cathode 6 and extends into the exhaust tip I as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. A plate shaped anode 9 having flanges II on the long sides thereof which overlap the edges of iii the long sides of the cathode 6 is mounted in front of said cathode 6. Said anode 9 has a slit l3 therein running along the length thereof which slit i3 is in line with the vertex of the angular cathode B. The anode 9 is mounted on said cur- I rent lead 5 and is partially supported in said container l by said wire 8 to which it is physically connected by the wires ll having glass heads I! interposed therebetween to electrically separate said anode 9 from said cathode 6. The outer sura face of the cathode 6 is coated with an insulating coating H, such as aluminum oxide, so that the cathode glow discharge is confined to the inner surface of said cathode 6. When desired, the inner surface of the cathode 6 has an activating g5 coating, such as a barium oxide coating, thereon. The luminous, cathode glow discharge concentrates at or adjacent the vertex of said cathode i and is a bright line of light. The anode 9 serves as a screen and the light emitted by the glow dis- '0 charge passes through the slit l3. The discharge device is thus a brightly luminous, sharply defined linear light source.

Said container I has a gaseous atmosphere therein comprising a small quantity of argon and a neon-helium mixture in which the helium preferably constitutes of the mixture and the neon approximately 30% of the mixture. A cathode glow lamp having such a gaseous filling is responsive to currents of higher frequencies than similar devices having a gaseous filling consisting of or comprising a mixture of neon and helium in which the neon is in major proportion and the helium in minor proportion, and is useful in tele- 5 vision receivers in which the number of picture points is in excess of 100,000 a second.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:-

1. A cathode glow lamp comprising a tubular 0 container, a gaseous atmosphere therein, an elongated, angular cathode and an anode sealed therein, said cathode being a rectangular plate folded along its length, the angle between the sides of said cathode being between 50 and 20, said u anode being mounted in front of the open side of said cathode and having a slit therein in line. with the vertex of said cathode.

2. A cathode glow lamp comprising a tubular container, a gaseous atmosphere therein, an elongated, angular cathode and an anode sealed therein, said cathode being a rectangular plate folded along its length, the angle between the sides of said cathode being between 50 and said anode being mounted in front of the open side of said cathode and having a slit therein in line with the vertex of said cathode, said gaseous atmosphere comprising a mixture of neon and helium in which the percentage of helium is greater than about 50%.

' 3. A cathode glow lamp comprising a tubular container, a gaseous atmosphere therein, an elongated, angular cathode and an anode sealed therein, said cathode being a rectangular plate folded along its length, the angle between the sides of said cathode being between 50 and 20, said anode being mounted in front of the open side of said cathode and having a slit therein in line with the vertex of said cathode, said gaseous atmosphere comprising a mixture of neon and helium in which the helium is approximately 70% and the neon approximately of the mixture.

4. A cathode glow lamp comprising a tubular container, a gaseous atmosphere therein, an elongated, angular cathode and an anode sealed therein, said cathode being a rectangular plate folded along its length, the angle between the sides of said cathode being between and 20, said anode being mounted in front of the open side of said cathode and having a slit therein in line with the vertex of said cathode, said gaseous atmosphere comprising a mixture of neon and helium in which the percentage of helium is greater than about 50% and a small quantity of other gas in said container.

HANS EWEST. GEORG GAIDIES.