Tunnel diode switching circuit triggerable by single polarity input

Claim 1

THE COMBINATION COMPRISING: A PAIR OF NEGATIVE RESISTANCE DIODES CONNECTED IN SERIES AND BEING POLED IN THE SAME DIRECTION; EACH OF SAID DIODES HAVING A FORWARD VOLT-AMPERE CHARACTERISTIC DEFINED BY A FIRST REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE AT RELATIVELY LOW VOLTAGE, A SECOND REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE AT RELATIVELY HIGH VOLTAGE, AND A REGION OF NEGATIVE RESISTANCE JOINING THE TWO REGIONS OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE; MEANS FOR APPLYING A FORWARD VOLTAGE ACROSS SAID DIODES TO BISTABLY BIAS SAID DIODES, SAID VOLTAGE HAVING SUCH A VALUE THAT ONLY ONE OF THE DIODES CAN BE BIASED IN THE SECOND REGION OF POSITIVE RESISTANCE FOR ANY QUIESCENT OPERATING CONDITION; A TRANSISTOR HAVING AN EMITTER-BASE JUNCTION CONNECTED IN A PATH ACROSS ONE OF THE DIODES, AND HAVING A COLLECTOR; MEANS CONNECTING SAID COLLECTOR TO A POINT ON THE SERIES CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID DIODES, SAID TRANSISTOR BEING OF SUCH CONDUCTIVITY TYPE THAT A CURRENT I1 FLOWS IN THE CONNECTING MEANS IN A FIRST DIRECTION RELATIVE TO SAID POINT WHEN SAID ONE OF SAID DIODES IS BIASED IN A FIRST OF ITS TWO STABLE STATES; SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT CURRENT MEANS CONNECTED AT SAID POINT AND SUPPLYING A CURRENT I2$I1 IN A SECOND, OPPOSITE DIRECTION RELATIVE TO SAID POINT; AND SIGNAL INPUT MEANS CONNECTED ACROSS SAID DIODES.