Patent ID: 7383688

Claim:
A superconducting device having a cryogenic system with a medium cooled by a cooling plant thermally coupled to the cryogenic medium, the superconducting device comprising: superconductors of at least one superconducting unit; a superconducting switch; a superconducting switching path formed of a superconducting material, to electrically connect the superconductors to the superconducting switch; and a heater assigned to the superconducting switching path for a controlled transition of the superconducting material of the switching path into the normally conducting state; the superconducting switching path comprising: a first pipeline connected to a refrigerant space for a first refrigerant cryogenic medium, to cool the superconductors of the at least one unit, the first pipeline having an end thermally coupled to the switching path, the first pipeline having a cross sectional constriction between the cooling plant and the switching path such that dissipated losses caused upon activation of the heater are greater than the cooling power delivered from the cooling plant by the first refrigerant; and a second pipeline thermally coupled to the switching path of the superconducting switch, the second pipeline providing cooling to a temperature above the temperature of the first refrigerant in the first pipeline.