Vacuum switch
AssigneeSiemens Aktiengesellschaft
InventorGerhard Peche
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An improved vacuum switch has slotted, flexible, discus-shaped contact discs attached to the current carrying contact bolts. In the open circuit case, a gap exists between each contact bolt and its corresponding contact disc and between the two discs. In the closed circuit case, the contact bolts drive the contact discs against one another, slightly deforming the contact discs, resulting in a low resistance current path. As the switch starts to open, the contact bolts first separate from the adjacent disc surfaces. As the switch opens further, any arc that ignites exists only between the contact discs. Tangential slots in the contact discs guide the arc toward the center of the contact discs. The flexible discs assume their previous undistorted shape when the switch has opened.
Claims17
An improved vacuum switch having a fixed and a movable electrical contact operably mounted in a vacuum housing:
- the improvement comprising a pair of deformable contact disks, one mounted at the contact end of each electrical contact;
- each of said contact disks having an interconnected top and bottom member with said top member being fixedly attached to the body portion of one of the contacts near the contact end and with each said bottom member being adjacent to but not in contact with a contact surface of the contact end to which said contact disk is fixedly attached and adjacent to but not in contact with said other bottom member when the contacts are separated from one another;
- whereby when the contacts are driven toward one another, to close the switch, said bottom members
- are brought into contact with one another and said disks deform slightly to permit each of the contact surfaces to move into contact with a said adjacent bottom member, and as the electrical contacts start to move apart, due to the switch opening, the contact surfaces separate from each of said bottom members of said contact disks before said bottom members of said contact disks separate from one another due to each of said disks returning to its undeformed shape.
In a vacuum switch having a first and a second electrical contact, each having a contact surface, a vacuum housing which operatively supports the electrical contacts and a pair of contact disks affixed to the electrical contacts
- an improvement wherein each contact disk comprises:
- an electrically conductive, flexible disk-shaped hollow member having an interconnected top and bottom surface;
- said top surface having a centered hole therethrough and said bottom surface having a substantially centered, flattened contact region;
- the electrical contact extends through said centered hole and is attached to said contact disk such that there is a gap between the contact surface of the respective electrical contact and said bottom member of said contact disk,
- said disk-shaped member has a plurality of straight slots thereon, each member of said plurality of slots is oriented so as to be tangent to the electrical contact attached to said disk;
- when the switch is closed, the two electrical contacts are driven toward one another so that said respective bottom members of said contact disks are brought into electrical contact with each other and with the contact ends of the electrical contacts and,
- when the switch begins to open, the contact ends of the electrical contacts separate from the said respective bottom members of the said contact disks before the said respective bottom members of the said contact disks separate from one another.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.