Method of manufacturing a vacuum interrupter

A method for manufacturing a vacuum interrupter, including, a vacuum enclosure composed of an insulating tube and a pair of metal flanges including a fixed-side flange and a movable-side flange, both ends of said insulating tube being sealed by said metal flanges, respectively, a pair of electrodes including a fixed electrode and a movable electrode provided in said vacuum enclosure which are able to make and break contact, at least one contact joined to a facing surface of at least one of said electrodes, and a pair of conducting shafts including a fixed-side conducting shaft and a movable-side conducting shaft, each of said conducting shafts being electrically connected at one end thereof to a back surface of one of said pair of electrodes and being outside of said vacuum enclosure at another end thereof for connecting one of said pair of electrodes to said outside, respectively, said method comprising the steps of:

• preparing a fixed-side subassembly composed of said fixed-side conducting shaft and a fixed-side flange jointed as one unit;
• preparing a movable-side subassembly composed of said movable-side conducting shaft and a movable-side flange jointed as one unit;
• preparing an insulating tube subassembly composed of at least said insulating tube;
• preparing a fixed electrode subassembly composed of at least said fixed electrode;
• preparing a movable electrode subassembly composed of at least said movable electrode;
• preparing an assembly such that said movable-side subassembly, said movable electrode subassembly, said insulating tube subassembly, said fixed electrode subassembly and said fixed-side subassembly are superimposed with first solders for gas-tight sealing inserted between said movable-side subassembly and one end surface of said insulating tube subassembly and between another end surface of said insulating tube subassembly and said fixed-side subassembly, and with second solder for electrode soldering inserted between said movable-side subassembly and said movable electrode subassembly and between said fixed electrode subassembly and said fixed-side subassembly;
• and
• heating and evacuating said assembly in a vacuum furnace to evacuate inside said vacuum enclosure and to solder by said first solders and said second solders, thereby to obtain said vacuum interrupter;
• whereby gas-tight soldering of said insulating tube and said metal flanges and soldering of said electrodes and said conducting shafts being carried out simultaneously in said heating and evacuating step.