Support and spacer assembly for electron discharge tubes

Claim 1

IN AN ELECTRON TUBE WHEREIN A PLURALITY OF ELEMENTS, EACH OF WHICH HAS A PLANE SURFACE PORTION, ARE SPACED IN THE ENVELOPE SO THAT THEIR PLANE SURFACE PORTIONS ARE IN SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL SPACED RELATION, AND EACH OF WHICH CONSTITUTE SOURCES OF VAPORIZED CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL WHEN HEATED DURING FABRICATION AND OPERATION OF THE TUBE, AND WHEREIN SAID ELEMENTS ARE AFFIXEDLY SPACED FROM EACH OTHER BY SLEEVES OF CERAMIC MATERIAL EXTENDING FROM THE PLANE SURFACE PORTIONS OF THE ELEMENTS AND SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL THERETO, EACH OF SAID SLEEVES HAVING A PLANE SURFACE EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE PLANE SURFACE PORTIONS OF THE ELEMENTS AND SIMILAR PLANE SURFACE PORTIONS OF THE OTHER SLEEVES, EACH SAID SLEEVE BEING OF SUCH DIMENSION TO OPERATIVELY RESIST VOLUME CONDUCTIVITY BETWEEN THE ELEMENTS, THE COMBINATION OF, A THIN FLAT METALLIC PLATE MOUNTED BETWEEN AND IN ENGAGEMENT AT OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF WITH EACH OF A PLURALITY OF ADJACENT PLANE SURFACES, AT LEAST ONE PLANE SURFACE OF EACH ADJACENT PLANE SURFACE BEING THE END OF A SLEEVE OF CERAMIC MATERIAL, EACH SAID METALLIC PLATE BEING OF SUCH PERIMETRAL DIMENSION AND SO POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID PLANE SURFACES TO FORM A NARROW ANNULAR RECESS WITH ITS PERIPHERAL EDGE AS THE BASE OF THE RECESS AND EACH OF THE ADJACENT PLANE SURFACES PACED THEREBY BEING THE SIDEWALLS THEREOF, EACH SAID RECESS HAVING A DEPTH TO WIDTH RATIO TO EFFECTIVELY PREVENT A SURFACE LEAKAGE PATH OF VAPORIZED CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL CONTINUOUS FROM ONE ELEMENT DEPOSITED ALONG THE EXTERIOR OF EACH RESPECTIVE SLEEVE TO ANOTHER ELEMENT, WITHOUT INCREASING THE LATERAL DIMENSION OF EAC SLEEVE AND WITHOUT REDUCING THE RESISTANCE OF EACH SLEEVE TO VOLUME CONDUCTIVITY.