Contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers

Claim 2

A contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers comprising an alloy consisting essentially of a base metal comprising nickel and at least one alloying metal selected from the group consisting of bismuth, tellurium and lead; characterized by containing at least one auxiliary metal selected from the group consisting of cerium, lanthanum, titanium and tin, said auxiliary metal forming a eutectic with said base metal, said eutectic comprising about 15 to about 50% of the total volume of said alloy, said eutectic surrounding crystals consisting mainly of said base metal, said alloying metal being contained in said crystals and comprising not more than 5% by weight of said crystals and being dispersed in said eutectic to an extent of less than 5% by weight of said eutectic.

Claim 3

A contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers comprising an alloy consisting essentially of a base metal comprising nickel, and at least one alloying metal comprising bismuth, characterized by containing at least one auxiliary metal comprising cerium forming a eutectic with said base metal, said eutectic comprising about 15 to about 50% of the total volume of said alloy, said eutectic surrounding crystals consisting mainly of said base metal, said alloying metal being contained in said crystals and comprising not more than 5% by weight of said crystals and being dispersed in said eutectic to an extent of less than 5% by weight of said eutectic, said alloy having an alloying formulation consisting essentially of 0.4% by weight of bismuth and 3.5% by weight of cerium, with the balance being the nickel base metal.

Claim 4

A contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers comprising an alloy consisting essentially of a base metal comprising nickel, and at least one alloying metal comprising bismuth, characterized by containing at least one auxiliary metal comprising cerium forming a eutectic with said base metal, said eutectic comprising about 15 to about 50% of the total volume of said alloy, said eutectic surrounding crystals consisting mainly of said base metal, said alloying metal being contained in said crystals and comprising not more than 5% by weight of said crystals and being dispersed in said eutectic to an extent of less than 5% by weight of said eutectic, said alloy having an alloying formulation consisting essentially of 0.4% by weight of bismuth and 3.5% by weight of cerium, with the balance being the nickel base metal.

Claim 5

A contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers comprising an alloy consisting essentially of a base metal comprising nickel, and at least one alloying metal comprising tellurium, characterized by containing at least one auxiliary metal comprising tin forming a eutectic with said base metal, said eutectic comprising about 15 to about 50% of the total volume of said alloy, said eutectic surrounding crystals consisting mainly of said base metal, said alloying metal being contained in said crystals and comprising not more than 5% by weight of said crystals and being dispersed in said eutectic to an extent of less than 5% by weight of said eutectic, said alloy having an alloying formulation consisting essentially of 1% by weight of tellurium and 10% by weight of tin, with the balance being the nickel base metal.

Claim 6

A contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers comprising an alloy consisting essentially of a base metal comprising nickel, and at least one alloying metal comprising tellurium, characterized by containing at least one auxiliary metal comprising tin forming a eutectic with said base metal, said eutectic comprising about 15 to about 50% of the total volume of said alloy, said eutectic surrounding crystals consisting mainly of said base metal, said alloying metal being contained in said crystals and comprising not more than 5% by weight of said crystals and being dispersed in said eutectic to an extent of less than 5% by weight of said eutectic, said alloy having an alloying formulation consisting essentially of 1% by weight of tellurium and 10% by weight of tin, with the balance being the nickel base metal.

Claim 7

A contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers comprising an alloy consisting essentially of a base metal comprising nickel, and at least one alloying metal comprising bismuth, characterized by containing at least one auxiliary metal comprising titanium forming a eutectic with said base metal, said eutectic comprising about 15 to about 50% of the total volume of said alloy, said eutectic surrounding crystals consisting mainly of said base metal, said alloying metal being contained in said crystals and comprising not more than 5% by weight of said crystals and being dispersed in said eutectic to an extent of less than 5% by weight of said eutectic, and said alloy having an alloying formulation consisting essentially of 0.5% by weight of bismuth and 3.0% by weight of titanium, with the balance being the nickel base metal.

Claim 8

A contact material for high-power vacuum circuit breakers comprising an alloy consisting essentially of a base metal comprising nickel, and at least one alloying metal comprising bismuth, characterized by containing at least one auxiliary metal comprising titanium forming a eutectic with said base metal, said eutectic comprising about 15 to about 50% of the total volume of said alloy, said eutectic surrounding crystals consisting mainly of said base metal, said alloying metal being contained in said crystals and comprising not more than 5% by weight of said crystals and being dispersed in said eutectic to an extent of less than 5% by weight of said eutectic, and said alloy having an alloying formulation consisting essentially of 0.5% by weight of bismuth and 3.0% by weight of titanium, with the balance being the nickel base metal.