Non-saturating direct coupled transistor logic circuit

Claim 1

A TRANSISTOR AMPLIFIER COMPRISING A TRANSISTOR HAVING BASE, EMITTER AND COLLECTOR ELECTRODES, SAID TRANSISTOR CHARACTERIZED BY FAMILY OF OPERATING CURVES HAVING THREE DIFFERENT REGIONS OF COLLECTOR-TO-BASE VOLTAGE VERSUS COLLECTOR CURRENT WHERE EACH CURVE IS FOR AN EMITTER CURRENT, ONE REGION HAVING A CONSTANT COLLECTOR CURRENT FOR EACH EMITTER CURRENT OVER A FIRST PRESELECTED RANGE OF COLLECTOR VOLTAGE POLARITY, A SECOND REGION HAVING USEFUL CURRENT GAIN FOR EACH EMITTER CURRENT OVER A SECOND PRESELECTED VOLTAGE RANGE BUT OF A COLLECTOR POLARITY DIFFERENT FROM THE POLARITY OF THE FIRST PRESELECTED VOLTAGE RANGE AND WHEREIN MINORITY CARRIER DENSITY AT THE COLLECTOR BASE JUNCTION IS ONLY SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN ZERO, A THIRD REGION DEFINED BY THE MINIMUM COLLECTOR VOLTAGE OF THE SECOND REGION AND ALL OTHER COLLECTOR POTENTIALS OF THE SAME POLARITY AND WHEREIN THE MINORITY CARRIER DENSITY AT THE COLLECTOR BASE JUNCTION IS NEARLY THE SAME OR GREATER THAN THAT AT THE EMITTER BASE JUNCTION, MEANS FOR BIASING THE TRANSISTOR FOR SWITCHING OPERATION, MEANS CONNECTED IN THE COLLECTOR CIRCUIT FOR LIMITING OPERATION OF THE TRANSISTOR TO THE FIRST AND SECOND REGIONS OF THE FAMILY OF OPERATING CURVES AND SIGNAL MEANS TO APPLY A SELECTED ONE OF TWO DISTINCT VOLTAGE LEVELS TO THE BASE ELECTRODE SUCH THAT A CHANGE FROM ONE OF SAID VOLTAGE LEVELS TO THE OTHER RESULTS IN SWITCHING OF THE TRANSISTOR FROM OPERATION IN SAID FIRST REGION TO OPERATION IN SAID SECOND REGION OF THE FAMILY OF OPERATING CURVES.