Nikola Tesla Patents
388 t amounts of electricity, of the same sign, to be conveyed to each of the plates or electrodes above mentioned, either continuously or at intervals of time which are sufficiently long, the condenser will be charged to a cer tain potential, and, an adequate amount of energy being thus stored during the time determined by the device effecting the discharge of the condenser, the receiver will be periodically operated by the electrical energy so accumulated. But But very often the character of the impulses and the conditions of their use are such that, without further provision, not enough potential energy would be accumulated in the condenser to operate the receiving device. This the case when, for example, each of the plates or terminals receives electricity of rapidly changing sign, or even when each receives electricity of the same sigbut only during periods which are short as compared with the intervals separating them. In such instances I resort to the use of a special device, which I insert in the circuit between the plates and the condenser for the purpose of conveying to each of the terminals of the latter, electrical charges of the proper quality and order of succession to enable the required amount of potential energy to be stored in the condenser. There are a number of well-known deviceseither without any moving parts or terminals, or with elements reciprocated or rotated by the application of a suitable forcewhich offer a more ready passage to impulses of one sign or direction than to those of the other, or permit only impulses of one kind or order of succession to traverse a -9
