Patent ID: 7781694

Claim:
A vacuum interrupter, comprising: an electrode assembly comprising an electrical contact; an insulator comprising electrically-insulating material disposed substantially around the electrode assembly; and a shield disposed between the insulator and the electrode assembly and configured to prevent arc plasma from the electrical contact of the electrode assembly from depositing on at least a portion of a surface of the insulator, the shield comprising a first segment configured to align the shield with the insulator, a second segment that extends away from the insulator, and a final segment that extends towards the insulator and comprises a tip of the shield, the final segment not extending towards the second segment, wherein an axial distance between the first segment and the final segment is greater than an axial distance between the first segment and the second segment; and wherein a line perpendicular to and extending through a longitudinal axis of the electrode assembly extends through the tip and intersects the shield in only two locations in a cross-section of the shield.