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US 4,063,126 AGranted
Vacuum arc discharge device with tapered rod electrodes
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsJoseph A. Rich, Willem F. Westendorp
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Abstract
In a vacuum arc discharge device of the rod array type, improved arc diffuseness and enhanced ability to hold off voltage during the recovery period are obtained by tapering the rods, with the maximum diameter occurring near the free ends. A higher threshold current for rod anode spot formation and melting also results.
Claims17
A vacuum arc discharge device comprising:
- a hermetically sealed, evacuated envelope having first and second opposed, conductive end walls;
- a first plurality of electrically conducting rods contained in said envelope, each rod of said first plurality being mechanically and electrically coupled to said first conductive end wall;
- a second plurality of electrically conducting rods contained in said envelope, each rod of said second plurality being mechanically and electrically coupled to said second conductive end wall, the rods of said second plurality being interdigitally spaced in alternating fashion with respect to said first plurality of rods;
- each rod of said first and second pluralities being tapered along at least the arcing surfaces of longitudinally overlapped portions thereof, each rod of said first and second pluralities exhibiting an increasing diameter toward the free end and terminating the substantially hemispherical surface;
- and
- means within said envelope coupled to said first conductive end wall for initiating an arc discharge in the vicinity of said rods.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.