Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-21
2003-06-10
Arbes, Carl J. (Department: 3729)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
C029S876000, C029S878000, C029S879000, C228S258000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06574864
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a contact arrangement for a vacuum switching tube having a contact carrier and a contact piece that is joined to the contact carrier in a vacuum using a soldering material.
RELATED TECHNOLOGY
A method for manufacturing a contact arrangement for a vacuum chamber is described in German Patent Document No. 196 32 573 A1, in which the contact carrier in a vacuum is coated with a contact layer through sintering an appropriate powder and its subsequent solidifying. It is further known to solder a contact carrier to a contact piece in a vacuum using a soldering material that is arranged in between, by melting the soldering material and pressing contact carrier and contact piece together. Mechanical, frictional-locking bonds between contact piece and contact carrier are also known, reference being made, by way of example, to German Patent Document No. 44 47 391 C1 and German Patent Document No. 195 34 398 A1.
In
FIGS. 1
a
and
1
b
, there is a schematic illustration of a known method for producing a soldered connection between a contact carrier
1
and a contact piece
10
using an intermediate layer of a soldering material
11
, for example a soldering disk. In this context, contact piece
10
is preferably provided with a saucer-shaped recess
101
, into which are set soldering disk
11
and then contact carrier
1
at its mounting end. After being heated in the vacuum, soldering disk
11
melts and produces soldered connection
30
between contact carrier
1
and contact piece
10
. In this method, it is disadvantageous that in the hanging arrangement of contact piece
10
on contact carrier
1
, a sufficient positive locking between contact piece and contact carrier must be present during the production of the soldered connection in order to prevent contact piece
10
from falling away in the melting of the soldering disk. In the hanging arrangement, in the case of larger contact pieces, it is frequently necessary, during the soldering process in the vacuum, to employ auxiliary structures in order to prevent the contact piece from falling away or, on the other hand, to provide for a supplementary positive locking of contact piece
10
on contact carrier
1
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An objective of the present invention is to provide a method by which a contact arrangement having soldered bonding sites can be manufactured reliably and more simply using a smallest possible optimal quantity of soldering material.
The present invention provides a method by which the contact piece is directly pressed flat onto the contact carrier, leaving a gap along the contact surface, and the soldering material is arranged in areas directly bordering on the gap of the contact surface between the contact piece and the contact carrier, and subsequently, in a vacuum, through applying heat, the soldering material is brought to the melting point and the melted soldering material penetrates into the gap of the contact surfaces between the contact carrier and the contact piece.
The method according to the present invention can be applied with particular advantage to the manufacture of contact arrangements for vacuum switching tubes. The method according to the present invention makes it possible for the contact surface between contact carrier and contact piece to be wetted with soldering material on virtually its entire surface, i.e., sufficiently. In addition, the bond between contact carrier and contact piece is strengthened through the melted soldering material rising in the gap—the annular gap—between contact carrier and contact piece, the gap being mainly vertical and, towards the exterior, adjoining the contact surface between contact carrier and contact piece. Depending on the type of configuration, an optimal dosing is possible of the quantity of soldering material that is required to achieve the sufficient soldered connection between contact carrier and contact piece. In particular, the method according to the present invention makes it possible, in a simple manner, to produce a contact carrier having a contact piece hanging from it, i.e., in the hanging position. Applying the method according to the present invention to the production of vacuum switching tubes makes it possible to manufacture, for example, all of the soldering points of a preassembled vacuum switching tube in one processing step, i.e., in one oven cycle.
According to one version of the present invention, a contact piece is used that has a planar, saucer-shaped recess, into which the contact carrier at its mounting end is set, an annular gap between contact piece and contact carrier being formed at the planar gap of the contact surface, and the soldering material being placed in ring-like fashion around the contact carrier at the annular gap emerging between contact carrier and contact piece, so that after the melting, the soldering material is pulled by gravity and capillary action into the annular gap and the gap along the saucer-shaped recess. In this variant of the method according to the present invention, a virtually full-surface wetting of the contact surface between the contact carrier and the contact piece is achieved by the molten soldering material flowing and pressing into the gap from the sides. In addition, however, as a result of the solder collecting in the lateral vertical gaps, a good bond of great stability is achieved between contact carrier and contact piece.
According to a further version of the present invention, however, it is also possible to introduce the soldering material via bore holes that lead through the contact carrier to the contact surface between the contact carrier and contact piece. According to one version of the present invention, a contact piece is used that has a planar, saucer-shaped recess, into which the contact carrier at its mounting end is set, and, additionally, a contact carrier is used, which has at least one bore hole running through the contact carrier to the contact surface having the saucer-shaped recess, and the soldering material is poured into the bore holes of the contact carrier so that, after the melting, due to gravity and capillary action, the soldering material presses into the gap along the saucer-shaped recess, including into the circumferential annular gap.
For these process techniques, the solder can be placed into the bore holes of the contact carrier in the form, for example, of wire. In addition, these bore holes make possible an improved degasification of the space between the contact piece and contact carrier.
In a further embodiment of the method, it is proposed that a contact piece may be used that has a planar, saucer-shaped recess, into which the contact carrier at its mounting end is set, and a contact carrier be used, which, at its contact surface adjoining the saucer-shaped recess, has at least one recess, and the soldering material be poured into the recess of the contact carrier, so that, after the melting, the soldering material penetrates, due to gravity and capillary action, into the gap along the saucer-shaped recess, including into the peripheral annular gap.
In all of these cases, during the soldering, an oversupply of soldering material rises up again through the vertical gaps and bore holes, so that an optimal wetting and dosing of the soldering material is possible.
A further example of a method according to the present invention provides setting a contact piece into a saucer-shaped recess of a contact carrier and applying the soldering material in the form of a soldering paste onto the contact piece and over the annular gap end between the contact carrier and contact piece, so that, after the melting, the soldering material is pulled by gravity and capillary action into the gap along the saucer-shaped recess.
Here, too, it is possible to fix the contact piece on the contact carrier without a positive-locking or frictional connection. This variant is designed especially for securing contacts in the non-hanging position. As a solder paste, it is preferred t
Lietz Alfredo
Lipperts Jerrie
Meissner Johannes
Rossmann Gerhard
Arbes Carl J.
Kenyon & Kenyon
Moeller GmbH
Phan Thiem D.
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