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Relay

Basics of relay, Relay operation and relay driver circuit.

Relay driver, Basics of relay, How to interface Relay to digital circuits?

Contents

Why are Relay Used?

OPERATION

DESIGNATION

Advantages of Relay

Disadvantages of Relay

RELAY DRIVER

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A RELAY is an Electromagnetic switch that opens & closes when sufficient current & voltage is
applied to it.

Why are Relay Used?

Relays are basically used for

To TURN ON/OFF high voltage or high current circuit using a low voltage signals e.g.
turning ON/OFF motors using a micro controller.

To provide isolation between the control circuit & the output e.g. operating a solenoid.

As circuit Breakers in case of overload or shot circuit.

OPERATION
A Relay consists of four parts:

1.

Electromagnet also called as coil.

2.

Armature.

3.

Spring.

4.

Electrical Contacts.

When current flows through the coil a magnetic field is generated, if the current is sufficient i.e.
if it is equal to or greater than the PULL IN current then the magnetic field generated is strong
enough to attract the armature which is linked mechanically to a moving contact. This movement
of armature makes or breaks the contact. When the current is turned off the spring pulls back the
armature to its default position. The Armature is connected to a POLE; a relay can have more
than one pole & the contacts of these poles can be thrown in two ways:


Normally Closed (NC) contact is made when the relay is deactivated i.e. when there is no
current flowing through the coil.

Normally Open (NO) contact is made when the relay is activated.

The COMMON (COM) is connected to the ARMATURE & is in contact with either NO or NC.

DESIGNATION
Relays are commonly designated on basis of number of poles & throws e.g.

SPST: Single Pole Single Throw. Other that two terminals for coil, there are two more
terminals which are either of Normally Open or Normally Closed type.

SPDT: Single Pole Double Throw. Total five terminals are there which includes two for
coil & one common, one normally open & a normally closed contact.

DPST: Double Pole Single Throw. It is equivalent to TWO SPST relays which are
controlled by a single coil.

DPDT: Double Pole Double Throw. It is equivalent to TWO DPDT relays which are
controlled by a single coil.
For higher number of poles the S or D is replaced by the number of poles.
Other variables to be considered while purchasing a relay:

Voltage and Current required for activating the coil.

The Maximum rating of the contacts.

The Switching Time i.e. time required to TURN ON/ACTIVATE the relay.

Type of packaging/enclosure.

Type of Mounting.

Insulation Resistance.

Temperature Range.

Advantages of Relay

Relays can Turn ON/OFF both AC as well as DC signals.

Relays are cheaper when used for larger current.

Relays can be used to switch on high voltages.

More than one contact can be switched at a time.

Relays are resistant to nuclear radiation.

Disadvantages of Relay

Bulkier than transistors.

Costlier when used for switching small current/voltage.

Consume power when the relay is ON.

Cannot be switched rapidly as in case of transistors.

Most of the digital circuits cannot provide sufficient current to TURN ON a relay
so a transistor circuit is required to TURN ON a relay.

RELAY DRIVER
Digital ICs cannot provide the necessary current & voltage to TURN ON a Relay. So a Relay
Driver Circuit is required. The basic function of the driver circuit is to provide the necessary
current to energize the relay coil.

Generally relay coils operate from 5V to 24V & require about 25mA to 100mA current to
energize the coil, the current required to Turn ON a relay is called as the PULL IN or
HOLDING current. This PULL IN Current depends upon the Relay used.
The simplest of relay driver circuit consist of a NPN or a PNP transistor. Almost all the digital
circuits can

provide enough base current to TURN ON a Transistor. In the adjoining figure you can see an
NPN transistor BC 547 is being used to drive the relay. The relay has a 12V coil i.e. it can be
turned ON only when the operating voltage i.e. the Vcc is 12V. The Resistor R1 is used to set the
base current for the transistor, the value of R1 should be such that when Vin is applied the
transistor is driven into saturation i.e. it is fully turned ON & the Relay is energized. Its
important that the transistor is driven into saturation so that the voltage drop across the transistor
is minimum thereby dissipating very little power.
Now we have to calculate the value of R1. Suppose the relay requires a PULL IN current of
80mA. So the collector current has to be at least 80mA. The minimum DC current gain of BC
547 is 100, so the minimum base current should be
IB= IC/Hfe
i.e.

IB=80mA/100

So the minimum base current is 0.8mA. But to be on the safer side i.e. just to make sure that the
transistor is in saturation region, we approximately double this value to say 1.5mA. Now if the
Vin is switching from 0V to 12V. Then the base resistor
R1 = Vin/IB
VIN= 12V & IB=1.5mA So R1= 8K
So we can use 8K resistor to provide base current of 1.5mA, which is sufficient to TURN ON
the relay & activate the Relay.
Most of the digital circuits require 5V to operate in that case VIN will be 5v so the base resistance
R1 will be 3.33K.

A diode (1N4007) is connected across the relay coil; this is done so as to

protect the transistor from damage due to the BACK EMF generated in the
relay's inductive coil. When the transistor is switched OFF the energy stored
in the inductor is dissipated through the diode & the internal resistance of
the relays coil.
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Amol Shah
Electronics Engineer,
Mumbai/Nasik, India
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Last edited: Jul 29, 2008 12:42 PM.

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