Switching circuit utilizing bistable semiconductor devices

Claim 1

AN ELECTRONIC SWITCH COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: A PLURALITY OF BISTABLE SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES, EACH OF SAID DEVICES HAVING AN ANODE, A CATHODE AND A GATE ELECTRODE, MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE ANODE OF EACH DEVICE TO THE CATHODE OF THE NEXT SUCCEEDING DEVICE, MEANS FOR CONNECTING A VOLTAGE SOURCE AND UTILIZATION MEANS BETWEEN THE CATHODE OF A FIRST OF SAID DEVICES AND THE ANODE OF A LAST OF SAID DEVICES, A VOLTAGE DIVIDER NETWORK CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID CATHODE OF SAID FIRST DEVICE AND SAID ANODE OF SAID LAST DEVICE, MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE CATHODES OF THE REMAINING DEVICES BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SAID LAST DEVICE TO PROGRESSIVELY HIGHER POTENTIAL POINTS ALONG SAID VOLTAGE DIVIDER NETWORK, MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE GATE ELECTRODE OF SAID LAST AND SAID REMAINING DEVICES TO POTENTIAL POINTS ALONG SAID VOLTAGE DIVIDER NETWORK LOWER THAN THE RESPECTIVE POTENTIALS OF THEIR CORRESPONDING CATHODES, MEANS FOR REVERSE-BIASING SAID FIRST DEVICE, MEANS FOR APPLYING TRIGGER PULSES TO THE GATE ELECTRODE OF SAID FIRST DEVICE, AND CAPACITANCE MEANS SHUNTING ELEMENTS OF SAID VOLTAGE DIVIDER NETWORK, SAID CAPACITANCE MEANS ADAPTED FOR PROVIDING TRIGGERING CURRENT TO SAID GATE ELECTRODES OF SAID REMAINING AND LAST DEVICES IN RESPONSE TO SAID TRIGGER PULSES.