CA1308151C - Electrical contact - Google Patents
Electrical contactInfo
- Publication number
- CA1308151C CA1308151C CA000540669A CA540669A CA1308151C CA 1308151 C CA1308151 C CA 1308151C CA 000540669 A CA000540669 A CA 000540669A CA 540669 A CA540669 A CA 540669A CA 1308151 C CA1308151 C CA 1308151C
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- intermediate layer
- layer
- outer layer
- contact
- electrical contact
- 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
Links
- PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N gold Chemical compound [Au] PCHJSUWPFVWCPO-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 229910052737 gold Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 239000010931 gold Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 11
- 238000005299 abrasion Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- SWELZOZIOHGSPA-UHFFFAOYSA-N palladium silver Chemical compound [Pd].[Ag] SWELZOZIOHGSPA-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 229910001252 Pd alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 229910017052 cobalt Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000010941 cobalt Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- GUTLYIVDDKVIGB-UHFFFAOYSA-N cobalt atom Chemical compound [Co] GUTLYIVDDKVIGB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 3
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 abstract description 3
- 229910045601 alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 239000000956 alloy Substances 0.000 description 3
- BASFCYQUMIYNBI-UHFFFAOYSA-N platinum Chemical group [Pt] BASFCYQUMIYNBI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Nickel Chemical compound [Ni] PXHVJJICTQNCMI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 238000005260 corrosion Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000007797 corrosion Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910052709 silver Inorganic materials 0.000 description 2
- 239000004332 silver Substances 0.000 description 2
- 229910001020 Au alloy Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000003353 gold alloy Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229910052759 nickel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 229910052763 palladium Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- KDLHZDBZIXYQEI-UHFFFAOYSA-N palladium Substances [Pd] KDLHZDBZIXYQEI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229910052697 platinum Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
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
-
- 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
- H01H1/023—Composite material having a noble metal as the basic material
Landscapes
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Composite Materials (AREA)
- Materials Engineering (AREA)
- Contacts (AREA)
Abstract
ABSTRACT OF THE INVENTION
"ELECTRICAL CONTACT"
In an electrical contact comprising an intermediate layer (2), applied to a carrier (1), and an outer layer (3) applied to the intermediate layer, in order to provide a contact with which very low to high electrical loads can be switched, the intermediate layer (2) consists of a highly abrasion-resistant contact material (e.g. a silver-palladium alloy), and the outer layer (3) consists of a non-corroding, hard and electrically highly conductive contact material (e.g. hard gold) having a relatively small thickness.
Fig. 1
"ELECTRICAL CONTACT"
In an electrical contact comprising an intermediate layer (2), applied to a carrier (1), and an outer layer (3) applied to the intermediate layer, in order to provide a contact with which very low to high electrical loads can be switched, the intermediate layer (2) consists of a highly abrasion-resistant contact material (e.g. a silver-palladium alloy), and the outer layer (3) consists of a non-corroding, hard and electrically highly conductive contact material (e.g. hard gold) having a relatively small thickness.
Fig. 1
Description
130~151 "ELECTRICAL CONTACT"
The present invention relates to an electrical contact comprising an intermediate layer, which is applied to a carrier, and an outer layer applied to the intermediate layer.
An electrical contact of this kind is described, for example, in German Specification No. AS 10 78 774. In the arrangement described in this publication,,the intermediate layer either consists of at least one metal of the platinum group, to which in some cases up to 50% nickel i8 added, or consists entirely of silver. To this intermediate layer an outer layer is applied which is formed of a gold alloy, of which 8 - 30% is silver, O.5 to 5% is platinum, and the remainder is gold.
This electrical contact is basically suitable only for those applications in which it i8 not necessary for the outer layer to have a hlgh abrasion ~esistance. The reason for the low abrasion resistance of the known contact resldes ln the relatively soft golt-silvor alloy which with frequent contact operationsl wears away relatlvely rapidly. This ln turn means that because Or wear, the palladium-silver intermedlate layer provides the contacting.
However, this intermediate layer is not adequately re~istant to corrosion, leading to a high contact resistance, and therefore cannot be used universally, for example, lt cannot be used in the tropics.
It is accordlngly an ob~ect of the present inventlon to provlde an electrical contact whlch can be used for swltching very low to hlgh electrlcal loads.
, : ; :
, ' ~".`' ~'"' ' .:
`- 1308151 According to the invention, there is provided an electric switch contact comprising a carrier, an intermediate layer applied to the carrier and an outer layer applied to the intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer consists of a highly abrasion-resistant silver-palladium alloy and the outer layer consists of a non-corroding, highly conductive hard gold layer of small thickness which is electrodeposited onto the intermediate layer with about 0.2 to 0.4% cobalt added to the gold.
At low electric loads, the relatlvely thin outer layer results in a good electric connection with a negligible resistance (in the mllli-ohms range), so that this contact is particularly suitable for electric circuits in which low currents flow, e.g.
electronic circuits. In the ca~e of high electric loads, e.g. in the case of the disconnection of inductances, spark formatlon cau~es thls outer layer to burn through relatlvely rapldly so that the underlying intermediate layer provides the contacting. In thi~ ca~e, the contact reslBtance iB not so slgniflcant.
The electrical contact of the inventlon can be used over a wide field. Consequently the number of dlfferent contact~
having dlfferent constructlons whlch were prevlously reguired can be reduced, which, on the one hand, substantially simpllfles storage and, on the other hand, reduces the danger of mlstakes ln the assembly of the devlce~ uslng the contacts. Thls reductlon ln the number of the contact types also leads to a reduction in production costs.
~30~151 2a 20365-2731 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the intermediate layer consists of a silver-palladium alloy, whilst the outer layer consists of an electrodeposited hard gold layer.
The hard gold outer ,~......
. .
''`` l3n~lsl layer represents a hard, electrically highly conductive, and corrosion-resistant contact material, whilst the intermediate layer which consists of silver-palladium is particularly resistant to - abrasion. It has been found to be particularly expedient for the .
thickness of the intermediate layer to be about 15 ~m and the thickness of the outer layer about 2 ~m. The hard gold outer layer can be formed by an alloy in which about 0.2 to 0.4% cobalt is added to the gold.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the drawing, in which:-Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first form ofelectrical contact according to the invention, and Figure 2 i8 a schematic perspective view of a second form of electrical contact according to the invention.
Tho electrlcal contact lllustrated in Figure 1 consists of a carrler 1, an lntermediate layer 2 and an outer layer 3. The carrler 1 c~n ¢on~l~t o~ a non-ro~lllent materlal, ~u¢h a~ lron, whllst tho lntermodlato layor 2 ¢on~lsts Or a sllver-palladium allog and the outer layer ¢on~lsts Or hard eold.
The embodlment illustratsd ln Flgure 2 is of fundamentally ldentical constru¢tlon to the electri¢al ¢ontact of Figure 1.
However, in thls caso the carrier 1 ¢onsi~ts of sprlng wire, to the ~urra¢o Or whl¢h 18 appllod an lntermodlate layer 2 made of ~llvor-palladlum alloy and an outer layer 3 made of hard gold.
A
`, '''.,..'~" ' . ~.
' '.
The present invention relates to an electrical contact comprising an intermediate layer, which is applied to a carrier, and an outer layer applied to the intermediate layer.
An electrical contact of this kind is described, for example, in German Specification No. AS 10 78 774. In the arrangement described in this publication,,the intermediate layer either consists of at least one metal of the platinum group, to which in some cases up to 50% nickel i8 added, or consists entirely of silver. To this intermediate layer an outer layer is applied which is formed of a gold alloy, of which 8 - 30% is silver, O.5 to 5% is platinum, and the remainder is gold.
This electrical contact is basically suitable only for those applications in which it i8 not necessary for the outer layer to have a hlgh abrasion ~esistance. The reason for the low abrasion resistance of the known contact resldes ln the relatively soft golt-silvor alloy which with frequent contact operationsl wears away relatlvely rapidly. This ln turn means that because Or wear, the palladium-silver intermedlate layer provides the contacting.
However, this intermediate layer is not adequately re~istant to corrosion, leading to a high contact resistance, and therefore cannot be used universally, for example, lt cannot be used in the tropics.
It is accordlngly an ob~ect of the present inventlon to provlde an electrical contact whlch can be used for swltching very low to hlgh electrlcal loads.
, : ; :
, ' ~".`' ~'"' ' .:
`- 1308151 According to the invention, there is provided an electric switch contact comprising a carrier, an intermediate layer applied to the carrier and an outer layer applied to the intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer consists of a highly abrasion-resistant silver-palladium alloy and the outer layer consists of a non-corroding, highly conductive hard gold layer of small thickness which is electrodeposited onto the intermediate layer with about 0.2 to 0.4% cobalt added to the gold.
At low electric loads, the relatlvely thin outer layer results in a good electric connection with a negligible resistance (in the mllli-ohms range), so that this contact is particularly suitable for electric circuits in which low currents flow, e.g.
electronic circuits. In the ca~e of high electric loads, e.g. in the case of the disconnection of inductances, spark formatlon cau~es thls outer layer to burn through relatlvely rapldly so that the underlying intermediate layer provides the contacting. In thi~ ca~e, the contact reslBtance iB not so slgniflcant.
The electrical contact of the inventlon can be used over a wide field. Consequently the number of dlfferent contact~
having dlfferent constructlons whlch were prevlously reguired can be reduced, which, on the one hand, substantially simpllfles storage and, on the other hand, reduces the danger of mlstakes ln the assembly of the devlce~ uslng the contacts. Thls reductlon ln the number of the contact types also leads to a reduction in production costs.
~30~151 2a 20365-2731 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the intermediate layer consists of a silver-palladium alloy, whilst the outer layer consists of an electrodeposited hard gold layer.
The hard gold outer ,~......
. .
''`` l3n~lsl layer represents a hard, electrically highly conductive, and corrosion-resistant contact material, whilst the intermediate layer which consists of silver-palladium is particularly resistant to - abrasion. It has been found to be particularly expedient for the .
thickness of the intermediate layer to be about 15 ~m and the thickness of the outer layer about 2 ~m. The hard gold outer layer can be formed by an alloy in which about 0.2 to 0.4% cobalt is added to the gold.
The invention will now be further described with reference to the drawing, in which:-Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of a first form ofelectrical contact according to the invention, and Figure 2 i8 a schematic perspective view of a second form of electrical contact according to the invention.
Tho electrlcal contact lllustrated in Figure 1 consists of a carrler 1, an lntermediate layer 2 and an outer layer 3. The carrler 1 c~n ¢on~l~t o~ a non-ro~lllent materlal, ~u¢h a~ lron, whllst tho lntermodlato layor 2 ¢on~lsts Or a sllver-palladium allog and the outer layer ¢on~lsts Or hard eold.
The embodlment illustratsd ln Flgure 2 is of fundamentally ldentical constru¢tlon to the electri¢al ¢ontact of Figure 1.
However, in thls caso the carrier 1 ¢onsi~ts of sprlng wire, to the ~urra¢o Or whl¢h 18 appllod an lntermodlate layer 2 made of ~llvor-palladlum alloy and an outer layer 3 made of hard gold.
A
`, '''.,..'~" ' . ~.
' '.
Claims (2)
1. An electric switch contact comprising a carrier, an intermediate layer applied to the carrier and an outer layer applied to the intermediate layer, wherein the intermediate layer consists of a highly abrasion-resistant silver-palladium alloy and the outer layer consists of a non-corroding, highly conductive hard gold layer of small thickness which is electrodeposited onto the intermediate layer with about 0.2 to 0.4% cobalt added to the gold,
2. An electric contact according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the intermediate layer is about 50 um and the thickness of the outer layer is about 2 um.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEP3621920.7 | 1986-06-30 | ||
| DE3621920 | 1986-06-30 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1308151C true CA1308151C (en) | 1992-09-29 |
Family
ID=6304057
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA000540669A Expired - Lifetime CA1308151C (en) | 1986-06-30 | 1987-06-26 | Electrical contact |
Country Status (9)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| EP (1) | EP0251204A1 (en) |
| JP (1) | JPS6310415A (en) |
| KR (1) | KR880001002A (en) |
| AR (1) | AR240630A1 (en) |
| AU (1) | AU580916B2 (en) |
| BR (1) | BR8703290A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1308151C (en) |
| IN (1) | IN166545B (en) |
| ZA (1) | ZA874676B (en) |
Families Citing this family (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE19809450A1 (en) * | 1998-03-06 | 1999-09-23 | Inovan Stroebe | Electrical multi-layer contact profile |
| DE102005047799A1 (en) * | 2005-10-05 | 2007-05-24 | W.C. Heraeus Gmbh | Slip ring body for continuous power transmission |
Family Cites Families (6)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DE2540943B2 (en) * | 1975-09-13 | 1978-02-02 | W.C. Heraeus Gmbh, 6450 Hanau | CONTACT BODY FOR AN ELECTRIC CONNECTOR |
| DE2540944C3 (en) * | 1975-09-13 | 1978-10-12 | W.C. Heraeus Gmbh, 6450 Hanau | Contact body for an electrical plug contact |
| DE2604291C3 (en) * | 1976-02-04 | 1981-08-20 | Siemens AG, 1000 Berlin und 8000 München | Material arrangement for electrical low-current contacts |
| US4337133A (en) * | 1979-06-20 | 1982-06-29 | Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated | Hard gold surfaces |
| DE3214989A1 (en) * | 1982-04-22 | 1983-11-10 | Doduco KG Dr. Eugen Dürrwächter, 7530 Pforzheim | ELECTRIC CONTACT PIECE COATED WITH PRECIOUS METAL OR A PRECIOUS METAL ALLOY |
| AU577287B2 (en) * | 1984-05-29 | 1988-09-22 | Burlington Industries, Inc. | Amorphous transition metal alloy, thin gold coated, electrical contact |
-
1987
- 1987-05-11 IN IN378/CAL/87A patent/IN166545B/en unknown
- 1987-05-26 AR AR30765287A patent/AR240630A1/en active
- 1987-06-23 JP JP62154609A patent/JPS6310415A/en active Pending
- 1987-06-23 KR KR1019870006353A patent/KR880001002A/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1987-06-25 EP EP87109130A patent/EP0251204A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1987-06-26 CA CA000540669A patent/CA1308151C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1987-06-29 AU AU74799/87A patent/AU580916B2/en not_active Ceased
- 1987-06-29 BR BR8703290A patent/BR8703290A/en unknown
- 1987-06-29 ZA ZA874676A patent/ZA874676B/en unknown
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| IN166545B (en) | 1990-06-02 |
| AR240630A1 (en) | 1990-06-30 |
| AU580916B2 (en) | 1989-02-02 |
| BR8703290A (en) | 1988-03-15 |
| ZA874676B (en) | 1988-01-08 |
| JPS6310415A (en) | 1988-01-18 |
| EP0251204A1 (en) | 1988-01-07 |
| KR880001002A (en) | 1988-03-30 |
| AU7479987A (en) | 1988-01-07 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| MKLA | Lapsed |