The present disclosure is directed to a for manufacturing a switching apparatus for electric systems. The method includes (i) providing a first housing shell of the switching apparatus; (ii) providing a second housing shell of the switching apparatus; (iii) assembling the first and second housing shells and a number of operating components of the switching apparatus, thereby obtaining a preliminary assembly of the switching apparatus; and (iv) joining first and second coupling edges of the first and second housing shells through a vibration welding process, thereby forming a junction between the first and second housing shells and obtaining a sealed outer casing for the switching apparatus.

A vacuum interrupter having a structure to trap running cathode tracks is disclosed. The interrupter includes a first electrode assembly and a second electrode assembly, at least one of which is moveable. The interrupter also includes a sidewall having a longitudinal axis. One or more trench structures are formed in at least one of the electrode assemblies. Each trench structure has an opening that faces the other electrode assembly in a direction that is parallel to the longitudinal axis, to trap the running cathode tracks to prevent them from getting close to the sidewall.

An arc shield surrounding an outer peripheral side of a fixed electrode and a movable electrode is provided, in addition to a fixed-side insulating unit in which a fixed-side insulator is provided to be connected coaxially with the arc shield on the fixed side in the axial direction of the arc shield, and a movable-side insulating unit in which movable-side insulators are provided to be connected coaxially with the arc shield on the movable side in the axial direction of the arc shield. The movable-side insulating unit has an insulator group in which movable-side insulators are provided to be connected in the axial direction, an insulator-group-side sub shield surrounding the outer peripheral side of a movable-side energizing shaft, and an insulator-group-side sub shield support part which is on the outer peripheral surface of the insulator-group-side sub shield and interposed between two adjacent movable-side insulators of the insulator group.

A vacuum interrupter has a toroidal portion at one or both ends that achieves higher dielectric levels and hence higher interruption levels.

A switching apparatus includes one or more electric pole units, each electric pole unit comprising a fixed contact, a movable contact, a first pole terminal, a second pole terminal, and a motion transmission arrangement to reversibly move the movable contact. The motion transmission arrangement includes a conductive motion transmission member coupled to the movable contact. The first pole terminal is in electrical connection to the fixed contact while the second pole terminal includes a first coupling region in electrical connection with a second coupling region of the conductive motion transmission member. Each electric pole unit further includes a shielding element formed by a conductive hollow body and arranged in a relative fixed position with respect to the second pole terminal and the motion transmission member. The shielding element is arranged to at least partially surround the first coupling and the second coupling region.

A gas insulated high voltage electrical device comprising: at least one conductor for conducting a high voltage current; a longitudinal enclosure for enclosing the at least one conductor, the longitudinal enclosure comprising an interior wall extending along a longitudinal axis; a particle trap formed on the interior wall and extending along the longitudinal axis, the particle trap comprising a part of the interior wall and a longitudinal shielding cover extending along the longitudinal axis to delimit a dielectrically shielding area in the enclosure for trapping particles; the shielding cover being made of an electrically conducting material and comprising at least two electrical connections to the interior wall spaced from each other along the longitudinal axis, the shielding cover comprising a mechanical resonating frequency that makes the shielding cover longitudinally oscillate when the high voltage current passes through the conductor.

A vacuum interrupter includes a housing having at least one annular ceramic insulating element which forms a vacuum chamber. A contact system has two contacts which are movable relative to one another. A capacitive element has two electrodes and a dielectric material disposed between the electrodes. The capacitive element is form-lockingly mounted on the insulating element and has a capacitance between 400 pF and 4000 pF. A high-voltage switching assembly including the vacuum interrupter is also provided.

A shield element for a vacuum interrupter for installation between an electrically conductive wall element and an electrically insulating wall element of a vacuum interrupter includes a connection region, a shield inner region and a shield outer region. The shield outer region can be disposed outside of and the shield inner region can be disposed within the vacuum interrupter. The connection region has a first structure and a second structure which prevent the formation of mechanical stresses after soldering of the vacuum interrupter. A vacuum interrupter, a method for producing a shield element and a method for producing a vacuum interrupter are also provided.

Described herein is a VI assembly that includes a VI having a stationary contact on a stationary contact potential, a moveable contact on a moveable contact potential, and a vapor shield. The stationary and moveable contacts define a contacting area. The moveable contact is moveable relative to the stationary contact along an axis of the VI. The VI assembly further includes at least one field coupler. The stationary contact and the vapor shield have a predetermined stationary contact-vapor shield capacitance with respect to each other. The moveable contact and the vapor shield have a predetermined moveable contact-vapor shield capacitance with respect to each other. The field coupler is configured such that it adds a field coupler capacitance to at least one of the stationary contact-vapor shield capacitance and the moveable contact-vapor shield capacitance to make the stationary contact-vapor shield capacitance and the moveable contact-vapor shield capacitance substantially equal.

A vacuum interrupter including a cylindrical insulator, a first end cap sealed to one end of the insulator and a second end cap sealed to an opposite end of the insulator to provide a vacuum chamber. The vacuum interrupter further includes a fixed contact stem extending through the first end cap and having a contact positioned within the chamber, and a movable contact stem extending through the second end cap and having a contact portion positioned within the chamber. A first vapor shield is formed around the fixed contact stem so as to define a gap between the fixed contact and the insulator and a second vapor shield is formed around the movable contact so as to define a gap between the movable contact and the insulator.