Magnetodiode pulse initiator

Claim 1

A pulse initiator for generating pulses at a rate proportional to the rate of power consumption in an electrical circuit comprising: a watt-hour meter having a movable member which is rotated at a rate dependent upon the rate of electrical power consumption in the electrical circuit; a shaft connected to the movable member for rotation at a rate proportional to the rate of rotation of the movable member; a magnetic field source connected to said shaft for rotation in synchronism therewith; two magnetodiode devices mounted with respect to said magnetic field source so that at any given instant they are oppositely affected by the magnetic field; a bridge circuit having two input terminals, two output terminals and a voltage source, wherein the magnetodiode devices have both a p region and an n region, wherein the voltage source is connected across the input terminals, wherein the first magnetodiode device is connected between a first input terminal and a first output terminal with the p region connected to said first input terminal, and wherein the second magnetodiode device is connected between the second input terminal and the first output terminal with the n region connected to said second input terminal, and wherEin said bridge circuit generates first and second signals of opposite polarities across said input terminals when said magnetodiode devices are mutually exposed to opposite orientations of said magnet field source; first and second electronic switches each having a control circuit and a power circuit, wherein said control circuits of said electronic switches are connected in parallel across the output terminals of the bridge circuit, and wherein said power circuits are connected in parallel with each other; a bistable translating means operative to a first stable condition in response to a current of a first polarity and operative to a second stable condition in response to a current of the opposite polarity; and an alternating current source connected in series with the bistable translating means and the parallel connected power circuits of the electronic switches, whereby said first electronic switch is operative to gate half cycles of current of said first polarity from the alternating current source to the bistable translating means in response to the generation of said first signal by the bridge circuit and said second electronic switch is operative to gate half cycles of alternating current of the opposite polarity to the bistable device in response to the generation of said second signal by said bridge circuit.