US3916132A - Switching device having contacts - Google Patents

Switching device having contacts Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US3916132A
US3916132A US466714A US46671474A US3916132A US 3916132 A US3916132 A US 3916132A US 466714 A US466714 A US 466714A US 46671474 A US46671474 A US 46671474A US 3916132 A US3916132 A US 3916132A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
contacts
switching device
thickness
layer
metal
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
US466714A
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Anthony Steinmetz
Hidde Walstra
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.)
US Philips Corp
Original Assignee
US Philips Corp
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 US Philips Corp filed Critical US Philips Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3916132A publication Critical patent/US3916132A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

Links

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

Definitions

  • the contacts members generally at the ends of resilient conductors are jointly present in a closed space filled with a shield gas.
  • the conductors consist of magnetic material by which the contact can be opened or closed with the aid of coils or permanent magnets placed outside the envelope.
  • This non-metal-containing layer may entirely consist of carbon, graphit, phosphorus, sulphur, silicon or metal oxide and may have a thickness of between 0.001 and atm and the outer layer consists of ruthenium and rhodium.
  • the non-metal is present in a finely divided form in a metal having a melting point of less that l500C in a total layer thickness of at least 0.] ,um.
  • the relevant layers on the contacts according to this patent application may be provided by cathodic sputtering of the relevant materials, by electrolytic coprecipitation, by vapour deposition or by electrophoresis,
  • plane contact erosion can be realized in a simple manner in a contact device in a hermetically closed envelope filled with a shield gas, which device is characterized by the presence on the surface of the moving contacts of separate particles having a size of from 0.01 to pm of a material having a specific resistance of not more than 10 Qcm in a quantity of at least 1 particle per sq.mm while the surface of the contact members consists of metal having a thickness of at least 1 pm and a hardness of at least 100 Vickers.
  • the particles in a method of manufacturing the switching device may be formed in a non-adherent manner on the surface of the contact members by effecting at their surface hydrolysis of chlorides which form compounds of the desired kind.
  • the size of the particles exceeds 10 am they are pulverized during the initial period by switching the switching device so that after a relatively small number of switching operations the required quantity of particles is formed.
  • Reed contacts are coated with a 3 ,um thick molybdenum layer by cathodic sputtering at a voltage of 1,500 V, a current intensity of 1.2 A and subsequently coated with a 0.1 pm thick layer of ruthenium at a voltage of 1,500 V and a current intensity of 0.4 A under an argon pressure of 10 mm Hg. Subsequently carbon particles are provided by immersion in a freon suspension. The reed contacts are subsequently sealed pairwise in a glass envelope and lifetested. This lifetest is effected in an unloaded condition and under the socalled crosspoint load in which cable discharges over 45, 75 and Ohm with cable lengths of 1, 2, 20 and 100 meters are performed under a direct voltage of 50 Volt. The contact coating exhibits in all these experiments a plane erosion and a low resistance of less that mOhm at at least 100 X 10 switching operations in the unloaded condition. The requirement of at least 0.5 3 X 10 switching operations in a loaded condition is easily satisfied.
  • Reed contacts are coated in the same manner as in example 1 with a 0.1 pm thick gold layer and subsequently provided with ruthenium particles by immersion in a suspension of ruthenium powder in freon (particle size 0.l 1 am).
  • the contacts sealed in an envelope equipped with these materials have properties which are equivalent to those of example 1.
  • Reed contacts whose parts to be sealed within the envelope is approximately 7 mm long and 0.5 mm wise and which consist of nickel iron are coated in a cathode sputtering device with a film of gold having a thickness of 0.1 pm.
  • the argon pressure during sputtering is 10" mm Hg, the voltage is 1,500 V and the current is 0.5 A.
  • a loose layer of carbon particles is provided by immersion in a suspension of carbon particles in freon.
  • This cantata: coating has plane erosion and a low resistance in case 0f loaded switching. The results obtained are also equivalent to those with the contacts of example 1.
  • a switching device as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that a film having a thickness of 0.01 1.0 pm is present on the hard surface layer and that this layer consists of metal having a specific resistance which is less that 10 Qcm.

Landscapes

  • Contacts (AREA)
  • Switch Cases, Indication, And Locking (AREA)
  • Manufacture Of Switches (AREA)
US466714A 1973-05-09 1974-05-03 Switching device having contacts Expired - Lifetime US3916132A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
NL7306444A NL7306444A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-05-09 1973-05-09

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3916132A true US3916132A (en) 1975-10-28

Family

ID=19818821

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US466714A Expired - Lifetime US3916132A (en) 1973-05-09 1974-05-03 Switching device having contacts

Country Status (11)

Country Link
US (1) US3916132A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
JP (2) JPS5015065A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
BE (1) BE814677A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
CH (1) CH600524A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE2419043C3 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
ES (1) ES426027A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2229127B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1451124A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
IT (1) IT1010436B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
NL (1) NL7306444A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
SE (1) SE393215B (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4399339A (en) * 1981-03-02 1983-08-16 Cherry Electrical Products Corporation Electrical contact

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS5577320A (en) * 1978-12-06 1980-06-11 Meidensha Electric Mfg Co Ltd Analoggtoodigital converter for protection relay
GB2169748B (en) * 1985-01-11 1988-07-27 Stc Plc Electrical contacts
US4790674A (en) * 1987-07-01 1988-12-13 Printronix, Inc. Impact printer having wear-resistant platings on hammer springs and pole piece tips
JPH01286214A (ja) * 1988-05-13 1989-11-17 Fujitsu Ltd 電気接点

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1395269A (en) * 1917-05-17 1921-10-25 Charles L Gebauer Metallic article
US2121180A (en) * 1935-11-21 1938-06-21 Siemens Ag Method for gettering vacuum tubes
US3670129A (en) * 1970-08-17 1972-06-13 Westinghouse Electric Corp Electrical contact members

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1395269A (en) * 1917-05-17 1921-10-25 Charles L Gebauer Metallic article
US2121180A (en) * 1935-11-21 1938-06-21 Siemens Ag Method for gettering vacuum tubes
US3670129A (en) * 1970-08-17 1972-06-13 Westinghouse Electric Corp Electrical contact members

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4399339A (en) * 1981-03-02 1983-08-16 Cherry Electrical Products Corporation Electrical contact

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES426027A1 (es) 1976-07-01
DE2419043C3 (de) 1981-10-22
JPS5763713A (en) 1982-04-17
FR2229127A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-12-06
NL7306444A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-11-12
AU6864874A (en) 1975-11-06
BE814677A (fr) 1974-11-07
IT1010436B (it) 1977-01-10
JPS5015065A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1975-02-17
GB1451124A (en) 1976-09-29
FR2229127B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1977-06-24
DE2419043B2 (de) 1981-02-12
SE393215B (sv) 1977-05-02
CH600524A5 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1978-06-15
DE2419043A1 (de) 1974-12-05

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