Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Takehiko Toguchi

Riichi Uotome

Ritsu Yamamoto

Mamoru Tateno

Takaaki Chuzawa

Kiyoshi Goto

Hideki Enomoto

Tsutomu Shimomura

Narutoshi Hoshino

Toshiyuki Suzuki

Hideya Kondo

Yoichi Yokoyama

Kiwamu Shibata

Hideki Kishi

Yoshiyuki Iwami

Hirofumi Fukazawa

Hiromichi Inoue

A contact apparatus is provided having a permanent magnet disposed in a region where a fixing contact point is mounted to a fixing contact and a movable contact to which a movable contact point is mounted. An arc generated between both the contact points is moved in a lateral direction by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet and stretched. An arc-extinguishing member which is heated by the arc for generating arc-extinguishing gas is provided such as to surround the fixing contact point and the movable contact point.

Contactor

A single-pole relay switch capable of effective arc extinction irrespective of the current flowing directions in which the device is connected in a circuit. The switch has a housing and two sets of contacts located in the housing, each set being composed of a fixed contact and a movable contact. A contact carrier is provided to have first and second movable arms which extend commonly from a bridge and are provided respectively with the two movable contacts. An actuator applies a driving force to move the contact carrier between an ON-position of holding the movable contacts simultaneously in contact respectively with the fixed contacts, and an OFF-position of keeping the movable contacts at respective opening gaps from the fixed contacts. The housing includes a casing which is divided into first and second chambers respectively for receiving the contact sets, each of the first and second chambers being surrounded by a dielectric wall. Permanent magnet are disposed around the casing to stretch the individual arcs in opposing directions to each other and towards the dielectric walls of the first and second chambers, respectively. Thus, the individual arcs can be stretched individually within the separate chambers, i.e., in an isolated condition. Therefore, the individual arcs can be free from merging even when the current flows in such a direction as to drive the arcs in the approaching direction.

Single pole relay switch

A sealed switch has a vessel defining therein a hermetically sealed space which receives a pair of fixed contacts and a movable contact bridging the fixed contact. The movable contact is movable between an ON-position of closing with the fixed contact and an OFF-position of separating from the fixed contacts. Hydrogen gas or hydrogen rich gas is filled in the sealed space in order to suppress arc development between the movable and fixed contacts. The plunger carries at its axial one end the movable contact and carrying at the other axial end an actuator which moves the plunger axially for movement of the movable contact from the OFF-position to the ON-position. An over-travel spring is provided to give a bias for moving the movable contact relative to the plunger in order to develop a contacting pressure between the movable and fixed contacts. The over-travel spring is supported to a spring holder secured to the plunger. The plunger is formed with a threaded portion which extends through the actuator to allow the plunger to move axially relative to the actuator for adjustment of a contact gap between the movable and fixed contact, and the spring holder is formed with stopper protrusions which project in abuttable and slidable relation to the interior surface of the vessel such that the movable contact is prevented from rotating together with the plunger. Accordingly, the spring holder is best utilized to restrict the movable contact from rotating together with the actuator to enable an easy adjustment of the contact gap simply by rotating the actuator.

Sealed contact device with contact gap adjustment capability

A sealed contact device includes a sealed contact section having a sealed container defining therein a gas-tight space together with a bellows for housing therein electrodes and sealing therein a gas preferably consisting mainly of hydrogen, the electrodes including fixed electrodes and movable electrodes engageable with and separable from the fixed electrodes, a contact pressure spring biasing the movable electrodes in engaging direction with respect to the fixed electrodes, a resetting spring biasing the movable electrodes in separating direction from the fixed electrodes, and a movable shaft projected at an end out of the sealed container and coupled at the other end to the movable electrodes; a driving member providing at a movable part a drive force for driving the movable shaft in the direction of engaging the electrodes; and a relaying member interposed between the movable shaft of the sealed contact section and the movable part of the driving member and having a regulating element for regulating driving position of the movable shaft, the relaying member being coupled to the movable part and including a coupling element coupled through the regulating element to the movable shaft.

Sealed contact device and operating mechanism

A sealed contact unit that attains stabilized contact switching operation and effective dimensional minimization with an arrangement wherein a switching contact section including opposing movable and stationary contacting members is housed within a sealed container together with an electrically insulating gas, a movable shaft interlocked to the movable contacting member is hermetically passed through a wall of the container to be axially shiftable with an end projected externally while the movable contacting member biased away from the stationary contacting member by a resetting spring is mounted through a contact-pressure spring to the other end of the movable shaft inside the container, the contact-pressure spring being provided to coaxially enclose the movable shaft and biasing the movable contacting member against the biasing force of the resetting spring for attaining a contact-pressure when the movable contact member shifts to engage the stationary contact member fixed inside the container, a driving section for switching ON and OFF between movable and stationary contacts of the movable and stationary contacting members is engaged to the projected end of the movable shaft for axial drive of the shaft.

Plural sealed contact units with common electromagnetic operating

A sealed contact device is formed by disposing a fixed electrode having a fixed contact in an air-tight space defined in a hermetical container in which an electrically insulating gas is sealed at a high pressure, a movable contact of a movable electrode is provided for contact opening and closing with the fixed contact, and means is provided with respect to the movable electrode for allowing it positively movable in the air-tight manner, whereby an optimum contact opening speed of the movable contact and at the same time a proper contact pressure are both obtainable.

Sealed contact device

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Kadoma, Japan

Takehiko Toguchi