US3214558A - Contact arrangement exhibiting reduced material migration - Google Patents

Contact arrangement exhibiting reduced material migration Download PDF

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Publication number
US3214558A
US3214558A US218419A US21841962A US3214558A US 3214558 A US3214558 A US 3214558A US 218419 A US218419 A US 218419A US 21841962 A US21841962 A US 21841962A US 3214558 A US3214558 A US 3214558A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
contact
migration
carrier
layer
material migration
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US218419A
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English (en)
Inventor
Huber Christian
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Siemens and Halske AG
Siemens AG
Original Assignee
Siemens AG
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Siemens AG filed Critical Siemens AG
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3214558A publication Critical patent/US3214558A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/02—Contacts characterised by the material thereof
    • H01H1/0201—Materials for reed contacts
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/02—Contacts characterised by the material thereof
    • H01H1/021—Composite material
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01H—ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES
    • H01H1/00—Contacts
    • H01H1/64—Protective enclosures, baffle plates, or screens for contacts
    • H01H1/66—Contacts sealed in an evacuated or gas-filled envelope, e.g. magnetic dry-reed contacts

Definitions

  • the invention disclosed herein is concerned with a contact arrangement comprising a layer of contact material provided upon a carrier.
  • the object of the invention is to improve electrical contacts of the kind used, for example, in the communication arts.
  • Such contacts suffer from the phenomenon of migration of material, resulting, generally after a multitude of switching operations, in the formation of crater-like pits upon the side of a contact from which the material migrates while forming on the other side elevations facing the respective pits.
  • These structures have usually rough surface textures and contacts deformed in this manner therefore tend to interlock or freeze after operative closure thereof, thus making the desired selective contact actuation impossible.
  • deformation is considered by itself very undesirable because it changes the contact spacing which generally must conform to a given amount, thereby introducing the danger of arcing.
  • the contact deformation referred to usually also entails an increase of the contact resistance in the closed position of the respective contact points.
  • the invention described herein shows a way for eliminating the detrimental effects of material migration, whereby material migration as such is, however, purposely tolerated.
  • the contact arrangement according to the invention provides upon a carrier a layer of contact material, the direction of material migration if which is opposed to the direction of material migration of the carrier material, the layer of such contact material being so thin that no crater or elevation formation can result from material migration within the contact material.
  • the principle underlying the invention may also be utilized in the event that the use of a given carrier material is respectively specified or required, which does not have the desired direction of migration of the material, under consideration of the contact material to be employed, by providing upon the carrier a layer which has the desired material migration direction.
  • FIG. 1 shows a contact arrangement plated with appropriate contact material
  • FIG. 2 represents a contact arrangement which had been changed by material migration
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a contact arrangement comprising a carrier provided with a layer having a definite direction of material migration
  • FIG. 4 illustrates how contacts of the type involved, may be assembled in a socalled protective tube.
  • the electrical contact shown in FIG. 1 comprises two contact tongues or springs 1 and 2 the oppositely disposed ends of which are provided with contact material indicated respectively by numerals 3 and 4.
  • This contact material exhibits a material migration direction which is opposed to that of the material of which the carrier springs 1 and 2 are made.
  • the material of which the springs 1 and 2 are made (carrier material) is assumed to be an iron-nickel alloy, such as is used, for example, in connection with sealed-in, socalled protective tube or protective gas contacts, requiring for the operative actuation thereof a magnetic flux which causes the springs to be drawn together.
  • the contact material may in such a case consist of a platinum-tungsten alloy containing approximately 5 percent tungsten and percent platinum. It is likewise possible to use an alloy of palladium and silver in approximately equal amounts of these two materials. Contact materials of these kinds are known and frequently used.
  • FIG. 2 This results in a terminal state such as is illustrated in FIG. 2 in which the contact springs 1 and 2 are shown farther apart so as to make the entire contact area of the spring 2 visible.
  • the contact material has migrated from the spring 2, for the area of contact making, to the contact layer 3 of the spring 1, forming on the layer 3 the plateor table-like accretion 6 shown by shading.
  • the contact spring 2 has lost the corresponding amount of contact material, only a small strip 5 of the original contact layer 4 (FIG. 1) being left thereon.
  • the contact making areas are in this state formed by the part 6 on the spring 1 and the area 7 of the spring 2. Accordingly, the contact material of the part 6 and the oppositely disposed area 7 of the carrier material of the spring 2, constitute the contact making materials. A stable condition is thus reached for the further contact operation, so far as the material migration is concerned.
  • the contact arrangement can be disposed, for example, in a hermetically sealed space containing a protective gas or else, a carrier material can be used which is resistant to detrimental influences, for example, a noble metal or an alloy containing a noble metal.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates how contacts embodying the invention can be disposed in a hermetically sealed tube T which may contain a protective gas, the tube construction illustrated being similar, for example, to that illustrated in Patent No. 2,506,414.
  • the resulting contact structure will thus comprise a carrier which is plated with the appropriate material, the latter carrying the contact material provided thereon.
  • a carrier which is plated with the appropriate material, the latter carrying the contact material provided thereon.
  • the layers 10 and 11 may consist of a material which fulfills not only the requirements relating to the desired orientation of the direction of the material migration, but also serving as a protection against contact contamination and corrosion, respectively.
  • An electrical contact arrangement having contact means between which occurs migration of material incident to the operative actuation thereof, such material migration leading ordinarily respectively to the formation of craters and elevations which detrimentally afiect the contact-making operation, a construction whereby such detriments are avoided, comprising a carrier, a layer of contact material disposed upon such carrier, the contact material of said layer having a direction of migration which is oriented oppositely to that of the carrier material, the thickness of said layer being less than that required for material migration in the formation of craters or elevations which might affect the contact making operation.

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Composite Materials (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Contacts (AREA)
US218419A 1961-08-25 1962-08-21 Contact arrangement exhibiting reduced material migration Expired - Lifetime US3214558A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DES75453A DE1178533B (de) 1961-08-25 1961-08-25 Kontaktanordnung mit einer auf einem Traeger aufgebrachten Schicht aus Kontaktmaterial

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3214558A true US3214558A (en) 1965-10-26

Family

ID=7505362

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US218419A Expired - Lifetime US3214558A (en) 1961-08-25 1962-08-21 Contact arrangement exhibiting reduced material migration

Country Status (8)

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US (1) US3214558A (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
BE (1) BE621720A (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
CH (1) CH416863A (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
DE (1) DE1178533B (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
FI (1) FI40293B (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
GB (1) GB1000478A (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
NL (1) NL282431A (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
SE (1) SE317144B (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3518390A (en) * 1967-07-21 1970-06-30 Nippon Electric Co Multilayer electric contacts
US3668355A (en) * 1971-01-27 1972-06-06 Northern Electric Co Reed material for sealed contact application
US3671702A (en) * 1971-03-15 1972-06-20 Stromberg Carlson Corp An electrical contact structure for a switch reed comprising gold and palladium layers
US4007342A (en) * 1974-06-25 1977-02-08 Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Internal combustion engine distributor having oxidized electrodes or terminals

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3390949A (en) * 1963-10-18 1968-07-02 Universal Oil Prod Co Interfacial polymerization on wool using a polyacid polyhalide and a combination of polyamines
US4790674A (en) * 1987-07-01 1988-12-13 Printronix, Inc. Impact printer having wear-resistant platings on hammer springs and pole piece tips
US5110299A (en) * 1990-02-28 1992-05-05 Hughes Aircraft Company High density interconnect

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2379641A (en) * 1942-07-21 1945-07-03 Baker & Co Inc Electrical contact element
US2506414A (en) * 1947-12-05 1950-05-02 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Sealed wire contact device
US2653199A (en) * 1948-11-05 1953-09-22 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Relay
US2793273A (en) * 1954-04-20 1957-05-21 Baker & Co Inc Electrical contact elements

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2379641A (en) * 1942-07-21 1945-07-03 Baker & Co Inc Electrical contact element
US2506414A (en) * 1947-12-05 1950-05-02 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Sealed wire contact device
US2653199A (en) * 1948-11-05 1953-09-22 Bell Telephone Labor Inc Relay
US2793273A (en) * 1954-04-20 1957-05-21 Baker & Co Inc Electrical contact elements

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3518390A (en) * 1967-07-21 1970-06-30 Nippon Electric Co Multilayer electric contacts
US3668355A (en) * 1971-01-27 1972-06-06 Northern Electric Co Reed material for sealed contact application
US3671702A (en) * 1971-03-15 1972-06-20 Stromberg Carlson Corp An electrical contact structure for a switch reed comprising gold and palladium layers
US4007342A (en) * 1974-06-25 1977-02-08 Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Internal combustion engine distributor having oxidized electrodes or terminals

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CH416863A (de) 1966-07-15
SE317144B (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png) 1969-11-10
DE1178533B (de) 1964-09-24
BE621720A (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
NL282431A (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png)
FI40293B (US20030220297A1-20031127-C00009.png) 1968-09-02
GB1000478A (en) 1965-08-04

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