Patent ID: 8395463

Claim:
A contact device comprising: a sealed receptacle configured to house a fixed contact, a movable contact, and an arc protection member; and a drive unit configured to move said movable contact between an on position where said movable contact is kept in contact with said fixed contact and an off position where said movable contact is kept away from said fixed contact, wherein said sealed receptacle includes: a case made of dielectric materials, said case being provided with an aperture in its first wall; a cylindrical member made of metals, said cylindrical member having its first axial end secured in an airtight manner to a periphery of said aperture of said case; and a closure plate secured in an airtight manner to a second axial end of said cylindrical member, said fixed contact being fixed to a second wall of said case which is opposed to said first wall of said case, said movable contact being interposed between said fixed contact and said closure plate, said arc protection member including a peripheral wall configured to conceal a junction between said case and said cylindrical member from said fixed contact and said movable contact, said arc protection member including a bottom interposed between said movable contact and said closure plate, said drive unit including a contact pressure provision member biasing said movable contact such that said movable contact comes into contact with said fixed contact, and said contact pressure provision member being interposed between said movable contact and said bottom of said arc protection member, said contact provision member being in resilient contact with both said movable contact and said bottom of said arc protection, member irrespective of a position of said movable contact.