Voltage doubling power supply

Claim 1

AN ION VACUUM PUMP APPARATUS UTILIZING THE PRINCIPLE OF CATHODE ATOMIZATION BY PARTICLE BOMBARDMENT AND A VOLTAGE DOUBLING POWER SUPPLY CIRCUIT FOR CONVERTING ALTERNATING CURRENT POWER FROM AN ALTERNATING CURRENT SOURCE TO DIRECT CURRENT POWER AND SUPPLYING SAID DIRECT CURRENT POWER TO SAID ION VACUUM PUMP APPAATUS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A STRING OF DIODES ALL CONDUCTING IN ONE DIRECTION; SAID STRING OF DIODES INCLUDING A CENTRAL TAP, COUPLING MEANS FOR SHUNTING SAID ALTERNATING CURRENT SOURCE BETWEEN THE BACKWARD END AND THE CENTRAL TAP OF SAID DIODE STRING, A CAPACITOR SHUNTED BETWEEN THE ENDS OF SAID DIODE STRING, AN ION VACUUM PUMP APPARATUS, COUPLING MEANS ADAPTED TO CONDUCT CURRENT FROM THE FORWARD END OF SAID DIODE STRING TO SAID ION VACUUM PUMP APPARATUS AND FROM SAID ION VACUUM PUMP APPARATUS TO THE BACKWARD END OF SAID DIODE STRING, AND A CURRENT LIMITING CAPACITOR CONNECTED IN SERIES CIRCUIT WITH THE SOURCE, SERVING AS AN ACTIVE ELEMENT OF THE VOLTAGE DOUBLING POWER SUPPLY, SAID CURRENT LIMITING CAPACITOR HAVING A VALVE OF CAPACITANCE SUCH AS TO LIMIT SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENT THROUGH THE POWER SUPPLY TO A PREDETERMINED VALUE THEREBY PREVENTING POWER DISSIPATION THAT MIGHT DAMAGE SAID ION VACUUM PUMP APPARATUS AND SUCH AS TO PREDOMINATE OVER ANY OTHER IMPEDANCE IN SAID CIRCUIT IN LIMITING THE DIRECT CURRENT IN SAID ION VACUUM PUMP APPARATUS OVER THE ENTIRE RANGE OF OPERATION OF SAID ION VACUUM PUMP APPARATUS, SAID RANGE OF OPERATION INCLUDING OPEN CIRCUIT AND SHORT CIRCUIT CONDITIONS OF OPERATION.