US3311857A - Relay matrix comprising polarized relays - Google Patents

Description

M r 1967 H. v. ALEXANDERSSON 3,311,857

RELAY MATRIX COMPRISING POLARIZED RELAYS Filed April 21, 1965 r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llllll llllll "'"NVENTOR. flmnzo /9LOFN9R Hz Exnwotnssow firramvir's March 1967 H. v. ALEXANDERSSON 3,

RELAY MATRIX COMPRISING POLARIZED RELAYS Filed April 21, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (@IGJIQX r 1 VENTOR. Hmemo l/moume umomw United States Patent 3,311,857 I RELAY MATRIX COMPRISING POLARIZED I RELAYS Harald Valdemar Alexandersson, Lidingo, Sweden, assignor to Telefonaktiebolaget L M Ericsson, Stockholm, Sweden Filed Apr. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 449,740 Claims priority, application Sweden, July 14, 1964, 8,567/ 64, 8,568/64 13 Claims. ((Il. 335107) The present invention refers to a relay matrix provided with a contact system of conductors crossing one another and with polarized relays at the crossing points to actuate the contacts of these conductors.

A great difiiculty in the designing of electronic telephone systems resides in the want of an electronic contact element that is suited for the voice circuits of the system. Therefore, one has to use electro-mechanical devices with metallic contacts. However, the connection means used up to the present in automatic switching are not adequate forthe purpose in all respects.

Special relay structures, that are suited for electronically controlled selectors, have been proposed; examples thereof are the so called ferreed relays of different designs that usually comprise reed contacts with an external magnetic circuit including one or several remanent magnetic elements, which relays can be combined in selectors of desired capacity. However, these structures ar usually clumsy and expensive.

An object of the invention is to eliminate these disadvantages and to achieve a relay matrix, that constitutes a simple and compact connection means suited for electronic control. The invention is specially characterized by a magnet system for polarization of the relays, comprising a plurality of parallel permanent magnets provided with pole pieces. The pole pieces are in the form of parallel bars of magnetic material, that are located in two parallel planes through the ends of the permanent magnets. The permanent magnets are so oriented that in each plane the pole pieces have alternately south pole and north pole magnetization. Each of the relays comprises a core of a material with two stable states of remanent magnetization and a winding. The cores are placed in parallel relationship to the permanent magnets, whereby each end of the cores is located in an opening between two bars in the respective plane. The relays are provided with movable elements in the form of balls disposed at the ends of the cores to contact the bars.

The contact system of the relay matrix comprises partly the bars and the balls and partly a number of metal contact strips placed perpendicularly to the bars. Each one of the metal strips is arranged to cover the ends of a number of the relay cores in oneof the planes. The halls are movably located on the contact strips.

The invention will be further described by means of an embodiment shown in the attached drawing in which FIG. 1 shows in schematic form a relay matrix in plane view,

FIG. 2 shows the same device in a side view,

FIG. 3 shows another side view, wherein the cores of the permanent magnets have been deleted to give a more clear view of the relay cores, and

FIG. 4 shows a single relay in a somewhat large scale. J

In the FIGURES 2-4 the windings of the relay cores have been indicated but in schematic form; the way the windings are located in the matrix is shown in FIGURES The matrix shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 comprises, for example, 24 relay cores 1 of a bi-stable remanent magnetic material. The relay cores are arranged in rows and 3,3 l 1,85? Patented Mar. 28, 1967 columns, where each row contains four, each column six cores. For polarizing of the relays a number of permanent magnets 2 are provided each one having a pair of elongated pole pieces 3 of magnetic material.

The permanent magnets with their poles pieces are so arranged, that the pole pieces are located in parallel relationship to each other along the core rows, and that, on each side of the matrix, the pole pieces have alternately north pole and south pole magnetization. The distance between the pole pieces is substantially equal to the diameter of the cores, and the end surfaces of the cores are located in the center of the opening between the pole pieces (see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4).

Along each core column, contact metal strips 4 are placed below the pole pieces 3 covering the end surfaces of the relay cores 1. On these contact strips a ball 5 of soft magnetic material is placed opposite each end surface of the relay cores. The contact system of the matrix comprises partly the rigidly mounted pole pieces and the contact strips, which are insulated from the permanent magnets and from the relay cores as well as from each other, and partly the balls that, by the attraction force of the cores are always in electric contact with the respective contact strips. According to the magnetization polarity of the relay cores, are pulled against one or the other of the two adjacent poles pieces. All the pole pieces are on the one side provided with an insulating layer 6 against which the balls are pulled in their inactive position.

The relay functions in the following manner (see FIG. '4). When the lower end of the relay core 1 has north pole magnetization and the upper end south pole magnetization, the magnetic field closes from the upper left hand pole piece, that has north pole magnetization, through the relay core 1 to the lower left hand pole piece. The balls of the relay are attracted by the left 'hand pole pieces and rest against the insulating layer 6 of the pole pieces. The field closes through the balls and the relay core, while the field from the right hand pole piece pair is repelled from the core. If the relay core is remagnetized by a current pulse through its Winding, so that the upper end of the core has north pole magnetization and the lower end south pole magnetization, the balls 6 roll over to the position indicated by dotted lines, where they close a contact between the contact strips 4 and the right hand pole pieces. The magnetic field consequently closes from the lower right hand pole piece to the upper through the balls and the relay core, and the field between the upper and lower left hand pole pieces is repelled from the relay core.

The windings of the relay matrix are so designed, that the individual relays may be actuated through so called additive coincidence. Each core row is provided with a winding that encircles the cores of the row and each column is provided with a winding that encircles all the cores of the column as shown in FIG. 5. For magnetization of a certain relay core it is necessary, that current simultaneously flows in the same direction through both windings that encircle the core in question i.e. through the winding of the row as well as through that of the column within which the core is located. Other relays in the same row or column are not magnetized, because they are only influenced by current through one of their windings.

Because the pole pieces have alternately north pole and south pole magnetization (see FIG. 1), the magnetization direction for operating of the relays are different according to whether the cores are placed in rows With .even or odd numbers.

In windings for additive coincidence it is of importance, that both the row and the column windings are evenly distributed along the whole axial length of the cores. This is achieved according to the invention by dividing the row windings as well the column windings in a plurality of fractional windings each one with low number of turns, preferably a single turn, and that the fractional windings corresponding to rows and also columns are alternately located along the axial direction of the core. Thus, in FIG. 7 there is shown the outer core row with its row winding 7 and its column windings 8. Such a winding may easily be manufactured by means of a machine, that mounts alternately fractional row windings and fractional column windings. If so desired, the whole winding may be impregnated eventually together with the cores in a thermosetting resin.

I claim:

1. A relay switching device comprising a core of bistably remanent material, said core having at least a first end, a conductor member of electrically conductive material disposed near said first end of said core, a permanent magnet means including at least first and second oppositely polarized pole pieces straddling said first end of said core and adjacent said conductor member, a rollable member of electrically conductive ferromagnetic material disposed on said conductor member and rollable to selectively contact one of said pole pieces, and a winding inductively coupled to said core and adapted to receive a switching current for controllably establishing the polarity of the remanent magnetization in the core and thereby control the contacting of said rollable member with a selected one of said pole pieces so that an electrical path is established from said conductor member via said rollable member to the selected pole piece.

2. A relay switching device comprising a core of bistably remanent magnetic material, said core having first and second ends, a conductor member of electrically conductive material disposed near one end of said core, a first permanent magnet means including first and second pole pieces adjacent, respectively, the first and second ends of said core, a second permanent magnet means including first and second pole pieces adjacent respectively the first and second ends of said core, the first .pole pieces of each of said permanent magnet means being spaced from each other and adjacent said conductor member, said permanent magnet means being so polarized that their first pole pieces are oppositely polarized and their second pole pieces are oppositely polarized, a rollable member of conductive material disposed on said conductor member and rollable to contact at any given time one of said first pole pieces, and a winding disposed about said core and adapted to receive a switching current for controllably establishing the polarity of the remanent magnetization in the core and thereby control the contacting of said rollable member to a selected one of said first pole pieces.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said rollable member is a ball. a

4. A relay switching device comprising a core of bistably remanent magnetic material, said core having first and second ends, first and second conductor members of electrically conductive material disposed near the first and second ends, respectively, of said core, first and second permanent magnet means, each of said permanent magnet means comprising a permanent magnet and first and second pole pieces, said first pole pieces being disposed adjacent to the first end of said core in mutually spaced relationship, said second pole pieces being disposed adjacent to the second end of said core and in mutually spaced relationship, said permanent magnets being magnetized with respect to each other so that the first pole piece of said first permanent magnet means and the second pole piece of said second permanent magnet means have the same polarization, said same polarization being opposite to the polarization of the first pole piece of said second permanent magnet means and the second gpole piece of said first permanent magnet means, a first rollable conductor of ferromagnetic material disposed on said first conductor member and being rollable to selectively contact one of said first pole pieces at a time, a second rollable conductor of ferromagnetic material disposed on said second conductor member and being rollable to selectively contact one of said second pole pieces at a time, and a win-ding inductively coupled to said core and adapted to receive a switching current for controllably establishing the polarity of the remanent magnetization in the core and thereby control the contact of said rollable members to a selected one of said first pole pieces and a corresponding one of said second pole pieces.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said controllable members are balls.

6. A relay switching matrix comprising a plurality of cores of bi-stably remanent magantic material, said cores being arrayed in rows and columns, each of said cores having first and second ends aligned in planes, a plurality of first conductive elements, each of said first conductive elements being disposed opposite the first ends of the cores in one of the rows, respectively, a plurality of permanent magnet means, each of said permanent magnet means including at least a first linear and electrically conductive pole piece extending in a plane parallel to the plane of the first ends of said cores, said first pole pieces extending along lines orthogonal to said first conductive elements and disposed laterally to a column or cores whereby the first end of each core in the rows of cores is straddled by portions of two adjacent first pole pieces and the portion of the associated first conductive element opposite the first end of the core is similarly straddled, said permanent magnet means being so polarized that said first pole pieces sequentially alternate in polarity, a plurality of first rollable electrically conductive elements of ferromagnetic material, each of said first rollable elements being disposed on a portion of a first conductive element directly opposite the first end of a core and rollable to selectively contact the portion of either of the first pole pieces stradd'ling said portion of said first conductive element, winding means associated with each of said cores for changing its remanent magnetic state to cause the associated first rollable element to simultaneously contact a preselected first pole piece and the associated first conductive element.

7. The relay switching matrix of claim 6 wherein each of said pole pieces has first and second sides contactable by said rollable members and further comprising means for electrically insulating the first side of each of said pole pieces. 7

8. The relay switching matrix of claim 6 wherein said winding means includes a plurality of first windings, each of said first windings being inductively coupled to each core in one of said rows, respectively, and a plurality of second windings, each of said second windings being inductively coupled to each core in one of said columns, respectively.

9. The relay switching matrix of claim 8 wherein each of the second windings inductively couples alternate cores of its associated column of cores in magnetically opposite directions.

10. The relay switching matrix of claim 6 wherein said first rollable element are balls.

11. The relay switching matrix of claim 6 further comprising a plurality of second conductive elements, each of said second conductive elements being disposed opposite the second ends of the cores of one of the rows, respectively; wherein each of said permanent magnet means further includes a second linear and electrically conductive pole piece extending in a plane parallel to the plane of the second ends of said cores, each of said second pole pieces extending along a line parallel to one of said first pole pieces, respectively, whereby the second end of each core in the rows of cores is straddled by portions of two adjacent second pole pieces and the portion of the associated second conductive element opposite the second end of the core is similarly straddled; and further comprosing a plurality of second rollable electrically conductive elements of ferromagnetic material, each of said second rollable elements being disposed on a portion of a second conductive element directly opposite the second end of a core and rollable to selectively contact the portion of either of the sec-0nd pole pieces straddling said portion of said conductive element, said second rollable magnetic elements being similarly influenced by the remanent magnetization of said cores to simultaneously contact a pre-selected second pole piece and the associated second conductive element.

12. A relay matrix comprising a plurality of relay means, each of said relay means including a relay core, said relay cores being arrayed in rows and columns, a plurality of row Winding means, each of said row winding means being inductively coupled to each of the cores in a row, respectively, and a plurality of column winding means, each of said column winding means being inductively coupled to each of the cores in column respectively, each of said row winding means comprising a plurality of row windings, each of said row windings including at least a portion 'of the row turn disposed about each core of the row, respectively, and each of said column winding means comprising a plurality of column windings, each of said column windings including at least a portion of a column turn disposed about each of the cores of the column, re-

spectively, with respect to each core the row and column turns associated therewith being interleaved along the axial direction of the core.

13. A relay switching device comprising a first core, said first core having at least a first end, a conductor member of electrically conductive material disposed near said first end of said first core, a second core, said second core including first and a second pole pieces straddling said first end of said first core and adjacent said conductor member, one of said cores being of a by-stably remanent magnetic material and including a winding for changing the state of remanent magnetization of said core, the other of said cores being a permanent magnet, and a rollable member of electrically conductive ferromagnetic material disposed on said conductor member and rollable to simultaneously contact said conductor member and one of said pole pieces, said one of said pole pieces being determined by the state of remanent magnetization of said one of said.

cores.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,175,062 3/1965 Bobeck 20087 BERNARD A. GILHEANY, Primary Examiner. R. N. EVALL, Assistant Examiner.

Claims (1)

1. A RELAY SWITCHING DEVICE COMPRISING A CORE BISTABLY REMANENT MATERIAL, SAID CORE HAVING AT LEAST A FIRST END, A CONDUCTOR MEMBER OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL DISPOSED NEAR SAID FIRST END OF SAID CORE, A PERMANENT MAGNET MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST FIRST AND SECOND OPPOSITELY POLARIZED POLE PIECES STRADDLING SAID FIRST END OF SAID CORE AND ADJACENT SAID CONDUCTOR MEMBER, A ROLLABLE MEMBER OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE FERROMAGNETIC MATERIAL DISPOSED ON SAID CONDUCTOR MEMBER AND ROLLABLE TO SELECTIVELY CONTACT ONE OF SAID POLE PIECES, AND A WINDING INDUCTIVELY COUPLED TO SAID CORE AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE A SWITCHING CURRENT FOR CONTROLLABLY ESTABLISHING THE POLARITY OF THE REMANENT MAGNETIZATION IN THE CORE AND THEREBY CONTROL THE CONTACTING OF SAID ROLLABLE MEMBER WITH A SELECTED ONE OF SAID POLE PIECES SO THAT AN ELECTRICAL PATH IS ESTABLISHED FROM SAID CONDUCTOR MEMBER VIA SAID ROLLABLE MEMBER TO THE SELECTED POLE PIECE.

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