Apparatus for electronically analysing particle aggregates by scanning a mosaic capacitor and counting and discriminating pulses responsive to mosaic electrodes

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR ELECTRONICALLY ANALYSING A PARTICLE AGGREGATE OF WIDELY VARYING PARTICLE SIZE AND CONSTITUTED BY A MOSAIC CAPACITOR COMPOSED OF A LARGE-SURFACE CONDUCTING BASE ELECTRODE, A HIGHLY INSULATING DIELECTRIC LAYER OF UNIFORM THICKNESS OVERLYING SAID BASE ELECTRODE AND A MULTIPLICITY OF DISCRETE MUTUALLY SPACED MOSAIC ELECTRODES OVERLYING SAID DIELECTRIC LAYER AND FORMING WITH SAID BASE ELECTRODE AND DIELECTRIC LAYER A MULTIPLICITY OF CAPACITOR ELEMENTS PROVIDING A REPLICA AS TO SIZE, CONFIGURATION AND SPACING OF THE PARTICLES TO THE AGGREGATE TO BE ANALYSED, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (1) A FIRST LARGE-SURFACE CONDUCTING SUPPORT MOVABLE ALONG A FIRST SCANNING TRACE AND ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING THEREON A CAPACITOR TO BE ANALYSED WITH ITS BASE ELECTRODE IN ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL CONNECTION WITH SAID SUPPORT, (2) A SECOND SUPPORT MOVABLE ALONG A SECOND SCANNING TRACE COORDINATED WITH SAID FIRST TRACE, (3) A CONDUCTING SCANNING STYLUS CARRIED BY SAID SECOND SUPPORT IN EFFECTIVE CURRENT PICKUP RELATION TO SAID MOSAIC ELECTRODES IN THE MOUNTED POSITION OF SAID CAPACITOR, (4) AN ELECTRIC CIRCUIT INCLUDING A SOURCE OF SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT DIRECT CURRENT VOLTAGE CONNECTED TO SAID FIRST SUPPORT AND SAID STYLUS, AND (5) OPERATING MECHANISM TO SIMULTANEOUSLY DISPLACE SAID FIRST AND SECOND SUPPORTS ALONG SAID FIRST AND SECOND SCANNING TRACES, RESPECTIVELY, TO CONSECUTIVELY SCAN SAID MOSAIC ELECTRODES BY SAID STYLUS, SAID SOURCE HAVING A VOLTAGE SUCH AS TO PRODUCE A CHARGING CURRENT FLOW BETWEEN SAID STYLUS AND SAID FIRST SUPPORT, SAID CURRENT FLOW RESULTING IN A PULSE SEQUENCE IN SAID CIRCUIT WITH THE NUMBER OF PULSES THEREOF CORRESPONDING TO THE NUMBER OF MOSAIC ELECTRODES SCANNED AND WITH THE HEIGHT OF THE PULSES BEING PROPORTIONAL TO THE SIZE OF THE RESPECTIVE ELECTRODES, SUBSTANTIALLY INDEPENDENTLY OF THE RELATIVE SIZE AND CONFIGURATION OF SAID ELECTRODES.