Circuit arrangements employing charge storage tubes

Claim 1

AN ELECTRICAL STORAGE SYSTEM COMPRISING A CHARGE STORAGE TUBE HAVING A TARGET MEMBER FOR STORING INFORMATION, SAID TARGET HAVING A STORAGE SURFACE COMPRISING AN UNINTERRUPTED LAYER OF SECONDARY-EMISSIVE INSULATING MATERIAL AND AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE BACKPLATE, AN ELECTRON GUN FOR PROJECTING A BEAM OF ELECTRONS ONTO SAID TARGET SURFACE, A COLLECTOR ELECTRODE POSITIONED NEAR SAID TARGET FOR COLLECTING SECONDARY EMISSION ELECTRONS FROM SAID TARGET, MEANS FOR WRITING INFORMATION ON SAID TARGET SURFACE COMPRISING MEANS FOR FOCUSING SAID ELECTRON BEAM, MEANS FOR DEFLECTING SAID FOCUSED BEAM OVER A FIRST PATH ON SAID SURFACE HAVING A CONTOUR WHICH IS DETERMINED BY AN INPUT INFORMATION SIGNAL TO BE STORED, AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID BEAM AT AN EFFECTIVE ELECTRON VELOCITY ABOVE THE FIRST CROSS-OVER POINT OF THE TARGET MATERIAL WHEREBY AN ELECTRIC CHARGE PATTERN IS SET UP IN SAID FIRST PATH, READ-OUT MEANS COMPRISING MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID BEAM IN A CONSTANT CURRENT FOCUSED CONDITION AND AT AN EFFECTIVE ELECTRON VELOCITY ABOVE SAID FIRST CROSS-OVER POINT AND MEANS FOR SCANNING SAID BEAM OVER SAID TARGET SURFACE IN A SECOND PATH COMPRISING A RASTER OF LINES WHICH INTERSECT SAID FIRST AT A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART POINTS, AND AN OUTPUT CIRCUIT RESPONSIVE TO THE TRANSFER OF SECONDARY ELECTRONS FROM THE TARGET TO THE COLLECTOR DURING SAID READ SCAN FOR DERIVING AN OUTPUT SIGNAL DETERMINED BY THE CHARGE PATTERN STORED IN SAID FIRST PATH.