Reed switch From W ikipedia, the free ency clopedia

Reed relay and reed switches

Showing the contacts clearly The reed switch is an electrical switch operated by an applied magnetic field. It was invented at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1936 by W . B. Ellwood. It consists of a pair of contacts on ferrous metal reeds in a hermetically sealed glass envelope. The contacts may be normally open, closing when a magnetic field is present, or normally closed and opening when a magnetic field is applied. The switch may be actuated by a coil, making a reed relay ,[1] or by bringing a magnet near to the switch. Once the magnet is pulled away from the switch, the reed switch will go back to its original position. A n ex ample of a reed switch's application is to detect the opening of a door, when used as a prox imity switch for a burglar alarm. Contents [hide] 1 Description 2 Uses 2.1 Reed relay s 2.2 M agnetic sensors 3 Further reading 4 Ex ternal articles and references [edit] Description The reed switch contains a pair (or more) of magnetiz able, flex ible, metal reeds whose end portions are separated by a small gap when the switch is open. The reeds are hermetically sealed in opposite ends of a tubular glass envelope.

Reed switch diagrams from Ellwood's patent, U.S. Patent 2,264,746, Electromagnetic switch A magnetic field (from an electromagnet or a permanent magnet ) will cause the reeds to come together, thus completing an electrical circuit . The stiffness of the reeds causes them to separate, and open the circuit, when the magnetic field ceases. A nother configuration contains a non-ferrous normally -closed contact that opens when the ferrous normally -open contact closes. Good electrical contact is assured by plating a thin lay er of non-ferrous precious metal over the flat contact portions of the reeds; low-resistivity silver is more suitable than corrosion-resistant gold in the sealed envelope. There are also versions of reed switches with mercury "wetted" contacts. Such switches must be mounted in a pairs Since the contacts of the reed switch are sealed away from the atmosphere, they are protected against atmospheric corrosion. The hermetic sealing of a reed switch make them suitable for use in ex plosive atmospheres where tiny sparks from conventional switches would constitute a haz ard.

One important quality of the switch is its sensitivity , the amount of magnetic field necessary to actuate it. Sensitivity is measured in units of A mpere-turns, corresponding to the current in a coil multiplied by the number of turns. Ty pical pull-in sensitivities for commercial devices are in the 10 to 60 A T range. The lower the A T, the more sensitive the reed switch. A lso, smaller reed switches, which have smaller parts, are more sensitive to magnetic fields, so the smaller the reed switch's glass envelope is, the more sensitive it is. In production, a metal reed is inserted in each end of a glass tube and the end of the tube heated so that it seals around a shank portion on the reed. Infrared-absorbing glass is used, so an infrared heat source can concentrate the heat in the small sealing z one of the glass tube. The thermal coefficient of ex pansion of the glass material and metal parts must be similar to prevent breaking the glass-t o-met al seal. The glass used must have a high electrical resistance and must not contain volatile components such as lead ox ide and fluorides. The leads of the switch must be handled carefully to prevent breaking the glass envelope. [edit] Uses

A TXE-3 reed relay [edit] Reed relays M ain article: Reed relay One or more reed switches inside a coil is a reed relay . Reed relay s are used when operating currents are relatively low, and offer high operating speed, good performance with very small currents which are not reliably switched by conventional contacts, high reliability and long life. M illions of reed relay s were used in mid-20th Century telephone ex changes. They were also used for switching in the British TXE telephone ex changes. The inert atmosphere around the reed contacts ensures that ox idation will not affect the contact resistance. M ercury -wetted reed relay s are sometimes used, especially in high-speed counting circuits. Reliability is compromised by contacts sticking closed either from residual magnetism or welding. [edit] Magnetic sensors In addition to their use in reed relay s, reed switches are widely used for electrical circuit control, particularly in the communications field. Reed switches actuated by magnets are commonly used in mechanical sy stems as prox imity sensors. Ex amples are door and window sensors in burglar alarm sy stems and tamperproofing methods (however they can be disabled by a strong, ex ternal magnetic field). Reed switches are used in modern laptops to put the laptop on sleep/hibernation mode when the lid is closed. Speed sensors on bicy cle wheels and car gears use a reed switch to actuate briefly each time a magnet on the wheel passes the sensor. Reed switches were formerly used in the key boards for computer terminals, where each key had a magnet and a reed switch actuated by depressing the key ; cheaper switches are now used. Electric and electronic pedal key boards used by pipe organ and Hammond organ play ers often use reed switches, where the glass enclosure of the contacts protects them from dirt, dust, and other particles. [