Delayed warm-up filament power supply for mass spectrometer with emission current regulation

Claim 1

AN EMISSION CURRENT REGULATED POWER SUPPLY FOR THE FILAMENT OF A MASS SPECTROMETER HAVING A THERMIONIC ELECTRON EMISSIVE FILAMENT AND AN ELECTRON COLLECTING ELECTRODE, SAID POWER SUPPLY COMPRISING: (A) AN ELECTRIC POWER REGULATOR INCLUDING A SOURCE OF ELECTRIC POWER AND HAVING ELECTRIC POWER OUTPUT MEANS AND CONTROL MEANS, REGULATOR BEING RESPONSIVE TO VARIATIONS IN THE MAGNITUDE OF ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLIED TO SAID CONTROL MEANS TO PROVIDE A VARIATION IN THE SAME DIRECTION IN THE MAGNITUDE OF ELECTRIC POWER DELIVERED BY SAID OUTPUT MEANS; (B) ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MEANS CONNECTING SAID FILAMENT TO SAID ELECTRIC POWER MEANS FOR ENERGIZATION THEREBY, SAID FILAMENT PROVIDING A QUANTITY OF ELECTRONS WHICH VARIES IN MAGNUTUDE IN THE SAME DIRECTION AS VARIATIONS IN THE MAGNIDUDE OF POWER FROM SAID OUTPUT MEANS; (C) AN AUXIALLY SOURCE OF ELECTRIC POWER HAVING OUTPUT MEANS, SAID AUXILIARY SOURCE PROVIDING A DELAY BETWEEN THE TIME OF ENERGIZATION THEREOF AND A PREDETERMINED TIME AT WHICH FULL OUTPUT POWER CAPABILITY IS REACHED, SAID OUTPUT POWER CAPABILITY INCREASING GRADUALLY TO FULL OUTPUT POWER CAPABILITY AND THEREAFTER BEING ESSENTIALLY CONSTANT; AND (D) CONDUCTIVE MEANS CONNECTING SAID ELECTRON COLLECTING ELECTRODE AND THE OUTPUT MEANS OF SAID AUXILIARY SOURCE TO SAID CONTROL MEANS, SAID AUXILIARY SOURCE BEING ARRANGED TO PROVIDE AN ELECTRIC POWER INPUT TO SAID CONTROL MEANS WHICH EFFECTS A GRADUAL INCREASE IN THE POWER SUPPLIED TO SAID FILAMENT UNTIL SAID PREDETERMINED TIME ELAPSES AND THEREAFTER PROVIDE A CONSTANT MAGNITUDE POWER INPUT TO SAID CONTROL MEANS, SAID ELECTRON COLLECTING ELECTRODE BEING ARRANGED TO PROVIDE VARIATIONS IN THE MAGNITUDE OF POWER TO SAID CONTROL MEANS WHICH ARE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO VARIATIONS IN THE QUANTITY OF ELECTRONS EMITTED BY SAID FILAMENT AND RECEIVED BY SAID ELECTRON COLLECTING ELECTRODE TO EFFECT SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT EMISSION CURRENT FROM SAID FILAMENT AFTER SAID PREDETERMINED TIME HAS ELAPSED.