Clad material for electric contacts and method for producing the clad material

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11094478-B2
Application number	US-201716095217-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 19, 2017
Priority date	May 23, 2016
Publication date	Aug 17, 2021
Grant date	Aug 17, 2021

Abstract

The present invention is a clad material for an electric contact, including a base material composed of a Cu-based, precipitation-type age-hardening material, and a contact material composed of an Ag alloy bonded to the base material. On a bonded interface between the contact material and the base material, a width of a diffusion region including Ag and Cu is 2.0 μm or shorter. The clad material is produced by bonding each other the contact material and the base material having undergone solutionizing and age-hardening beforehand, suppressing the diffusion region from expanding after bonding. The present invention is capable of providing an electric contact, which achieves higher conductivity, without sacrificing property of the Cu-based, precipitation-type age-hardening material.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A clad material for an electric contact, comprising:
a base material composed of a Cu-based, precipitation-based age-hardening material; and
a contact material composed of an Ag alloy bonded to the base material,
whereinafter, on a bonded interface between the contact material and the base material, a width of a diffusion region including Ag and Cu is from 0.1 μm to 2.0 μm.

2. The clad material for an electric contact according to claim 1 , whereinafter the Ag alloy constituting the contact material has an Ag concentration ranging from 10 mass % to 95 mass % inclusive, and contains at least one element selected from a group composed of Ni, Pd, Cu, Au, and Pt.

3. The clad material for an electric contact according to claim 2 , whereinafter the Cu-based, precipitation-based age-hardening material is one of a Cu—Ni—Si based alloy, a Cu—Ni—Si—Mg based alloy, a Cu—Be based alloy, a Cu—Fe based alloy, a Cu—Fe—Ni based alloy, a Cu—Sn—Cr—Zn based alloy, and a Cu—Cr—Mg based alloy.

4. The clad material for an electric contact according to claim 2 , whereinafter the Ag alloy constituting the contact material is one of an Ag—Cu—Ni based alloy, an Ag—Ni based alloy, an Ag—Pd based alloy, an Ag—Pd—Cu based alloy, an Ag—Pd—Cu—Pt—Au based alloy, and an Ag—Au—Cu—Pt based alloy.

5. The clad material for an electric contact according to claim 4 , whereinafter the Cu-based, precipitation-based age-hardening material is one of a Cu—Ni—Si based alloy, a Cu—Ni—Si—Mg based alloy, a Cu—Be based alloy, a Cu—Fe based alloy, a Cu—Fe—Ni based alloy, a Cu—Sn—Cr—Zn based alloy, and a Cu—Cr—Mg based alloy.

6. The clad material for an electric contact according to claim 1 , whereinafter the Cu-based, precipitation-based age-hardening material is one of a Cu—Ni—Si based alloy, a Cu—Ni—Si—Mg based alloy, a Cu—Be based alloy, a Cu—Fe based alloy, a Cu—Fe—Ni based alloy, a Cu—Sn—Cr—Zn based alloy, and a Cu—Cr—Mg based alloy.

7. The clad material for an electric contact according to claim 1 , wherein the width of the diffusion region including Ag and Cu is from 0.9 μm to 2.0 μm.

8. A method for producing the clad material for an electric contact according to claim 1 , the method comprising the steps of:
bonding the base material and the contact material to produce a rough clad material;
subjecting the rough clad material to an anneal-heat treatment at a temperature falling within a range from −200° C. to −100° C. inclusive from a recrystallization temperature of the base material; and
processing the heat-treated rough clad material.

9. A method for producing the clad material for an electric contact according to claim 2 , the method comprising the steps of:
bonding the base material and the contact material to produce a rough clad material;
subjecting the rough clad material to an anneal-heat treatment at a temperature falling within a range from −200° C. to −100° C. inclusive from a recrystallization temperature of the base material; and
processing the heat-treated rough clad material.

10. A method for producing the clad material for an electric contact according to claim 4 , the method comprising the steps of:
bonding the base material and the contact material to produce a rough clad material;
subjecting the rough clad material to an anneal-heat treatment at a temperature falling within a range from −200° C. to −100° C. inclusive from a recrystallization temperature of the base material; and
processing the heat-treated rough clad material.

11. A method for producing the clad material for an electric contact according to claim 6 , the method comprising the steps of:
bonding the base material and the contact material to produce a rough clad material;
subjecting the rough clad material to an anneal-heat treatment at a temperature falling within a range from −200° C. to −100° C. inclusive from a recrystallization temperature of the base material; and
processing the heat-treated rough clad material.

Assignees

• Tanaka Precious Metal Ind

Inventors

• Niitsuma Takumi
• Aoyama Yoshinori
• Takeuchi Junichi
• Ido Ryuta
• Takahashi Hideya

Classifications

• H01H1/04 Primary

  Co-operating contacts of different material · CPC title

• H01H11/04

  of switch contacts · CPC title

• C22C5/08

  with copper as the next major constituent · CPC title

• C22C30/02

  containing copper · CPC title

• C22C21/00

  Alloys based on aluminium · CPC title