US3459984A - Multiplier logic tube - Google Patents

Description

5, 1969 D. R. KOEHLE R 3,459,984

MULTIPLIER LOGIC TUBE Filed Dec. 7, 1966 (ELECTRON GUN) IO A J DEFLECTED ELECTRON (COLLECTOR) 2o l6 (CHOPPER) 22 FIG. I

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W Y W J. 1W )W M algal-8M United States Patent O 3,459,984 MULTIPLIER LOGIC TUBE Dale R. Koehler, 2208 Sockwell Drive SW., Huntsville, Ala. 35803 Filed Dec. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 599,978 Int. Cl. H01j 31/02 US. Cl. 313-73 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE electron logic tubeincluding an electron gun, chopper electrodes, vertical and horizontal deflection plates, and a novel receptor array. An input signal on the deflection plates serves to deflect an electron beam from the electron gun on a particular receptor which represents the product of the numbers represented by the input signal. The chopper electrodes allow the electron beam to pass only when a signal is present on the deflection plates.

The invention described herein is subject to the reservation to the Government of a non-exclusive, irrevocable, royalty-free license in the invention with power to grant licenses for all governmental purposes.

This invention relates in general to electron tubes and more particularly to electron beam logic tubes. A logic tube according to this invention comprises an electron gun for generating an electron beam, a chopper for blocking the beam at desirable times, deflection plates for directing the beam, and a novel receptor array that is responsive to the beam to provide information about input signals applied to the deflection plates.

The electron beam logic tube is an asset in electronic systems requiring low analysis time or high speed of response time. Its use in a multichannel analyzer provides analysis time which is essentially limited only by the information pulse itself. As a multiplier, the logic tube receptor array responds to input signals by activating the appropriate receptor representing the product of the numbers being multiplied.

An object of this invention is to provide an electron beam logic tube having a rapid output response for a given input signal.

Another object of this invention is to provide separate outputs for each different input signal.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be better understood from the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawing illustrating an example of the invention and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diagram of a preferred embodiment of the invention; and

FIGURE 2 illustrates a receptor array utilized as a multiplier.

Referring now to the drawing, FIGURE 1 discloses a diagram representing one embodiment of the invention comprising an electron gun 10, horizontal and vertical deflection plates 12 and 14, a chopper 16, and a receptor array 20. The electron gun fires an electron beam at the receptor array, or beam collector 20 wherein a sheet of insulation 22 has disposed therein a plurality of conductor elements 24 arranged in columns and rows. Horizontal deflection plates 12 and vertical deflection plates 14 are 3,459,984 Patented Aug. 5, 1969 ice located between the electron gun and the receptor array. Input signals are impressed upon the horizontal and vertical deflection plates, thereby causing the electron beam to change trajectories and strike the receptor array 20 at a position corresponding to the amplitude of the input information signal.

The tube can be made to generate one dimensional information by applying signals to only one pair of deflection plates, or two dimensional by applying signals to both pairs of deflection plates. Furthermore, by the addition of chopper 16 between the electron gun 10 and the deflection plates 12 and 14, the continuous beam operation can be converted to pulsed beam operation. In continuous beam operation, the electron beam will constantly bombard a collector of receptor array 20 when there is no input signal. In pulsed beam operation, chopper 16 is used to suppress the electron beam when no signal is present on deflection plates 12 and 14.

This electron beam tube departs in construction from the well-known cathode ray tube in that the array of beam collectors replaces the conventional phosphor screen. The information signal present on the deflection plates deflects the electron beam to make it strike a beam collector or receptor causing a signal to be generated in an external circuit connected to that particular receptor.

One application of this electron beam tube is that of a multichannel analyzer. Present multichannel analyzers are measurers of amplitudes of information signals. They determine the amplitudes in question and also count the number of signals of each amplitude. Present techniques typically require from 1 to microseconds to analyze a given pulse, determine its magnitude, and store this information. The analysis time for the electron beam logic tube described herein is essentially only limited by the information pulse itself. The amplitude of the incoming signal determines the deflection of the electron beam and subsequently which receptor is struck. By connecting fast sealers to each of the receptors, one has the basic components of a multichannel analyzer.

A second application of this electron beam tube is that of a multiplier. A multiplier, in the mathematical sense, as shown in FIGURE 2, utilizes a number array matched to or superimposed on the receptor array 20. For example, the product of X Y is generated by feeding the information signal X into the horizontal deflection plates 12 and the information signal Y into the vertical deflection plates 14. The electron beam will respond by moving in the X direction the distance of X and in the Y direction the distance of Y to arrive at the receptor X Y which corresponds to the mathematical product.

What is claimed is:

1. An electron beam logic tube comprising: an electron gun for providing an electron beam, horizontal and vertical deflection plates for deflecting said electron beam in response to an input intelligence signal, chopper electrodes located between said electron gun and said deflection plates for blocking the electron beam when no signal is on the deflection plates, a beam collector array that comprises a plurality of insulated conductor elements disposed to form a plurality of columns and rows, and a number array superimposed on said receptor array having a number corresponding to each receptor, said number array being divided into 4 quadrants having vertical and horizontal rectangular coordinate axes and all receptors and numbers lying within a quadrant with no receptor or number located on said rectangular coordinate axes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,736,802 2/1956 Cranberg 328-227 3,275,746 9/ 1966 Beltrami 328 231 X OTHER REFERENCES Cochrane, H. W.: Cathode Ray Tube Multiplier, from 5 IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol. 2, No. 4, De-

cember 1959, pp. 46 and 47.

JAMES W. LAWRENCE, Primary Examiner 10 V. LAFRANCHI, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

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