U.S. patent number 3,845,430 [Application Number 05/390,999] was granted by the patent office on 1974-10-29 for pulse latched matrix switches.
This patent grant is currently assigned to GTE Automatic Electric Laboratories Incorporated. Invention is credited to Arvids Emkalns, Khaja M. Jameel, Von W. Mueller, Frank J. Petkewicz.
United States Patent |
3,845,430 |
Petkewicz , et al. |
October 29, 1974 |
PULSE LATCHED MATRIX SWITCHES
Abstract
A pulse-actuated reed switching matrix of the magnetically
latching type in which the reed capsules are mounted flat on a
printed circuit board providing the appropriate speech path
connections, has row and column windings which are respectively
printed on two substrates disposed in planes parallel to that of
the reed capsules. The two substrates are formed by two sections of
a flexible sheet of insulating material which are folded over each
other so that the points of intersection of the column and row
windings -- control locations -- register with one of the two
contact blades of the reed capsule or capsules at the corresponding
crosspoint while the other blade of each reed capsule is provided
in a magnetic bias location of the matrix. Two embodiments are
shown. In the first the reeds are of low-remanence magnetic
material and a plate of semi-hard magnetic material, sandwiched
between the two sections of the above flexible sheet has,
interposed between its rows of control locations, rows of bias
locations in which the plate is magnetically pre-polarized through
its thickness in alternating directions. In the second embodiment
each reed capsule has a reed blade of semi-hard magnetic material
in the corresponding control location of the matrix, whereas the
cooperating reed blade in the respective bias location is of
permanent magnetic material. In both implementations coincident
current selection is employed, and the pulses used for operating
and for releasing a selected crosspoint are of opposite directions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to pulse-actuated
reed switching matrices, particularly for use in the switching
network of communication systems such as telephone systems. The
switching networks of many telephone systems of recent vintage use
crosspoint matrices of reed switches as their principal building
block. These switches employ sealed reed contacts which are opened
and closed by energizing the associated control windings in a
suitable manner. The reed contacts, or sets of reed contacts, when
closed, serve to selectively establish a speech path through the
network. Two different control techniques are available for
bringing about the opening and closing of these contacts, viz.: (1)
the current holding technique, and (2) the magnetically latching,
or, as it is sometimes referred to, the "pulse latched" technique.
The reed contacts used in the current holding technique are made of
low remanence magnetic material such as nickel iron. When the
control winding is energized from a source of continuous direct
current, the nickel iron blades are mutally attracted. The contact
gap is bridged and continuity is established from one reed to the
other. The contacts remain closed as long as the operating winding
-- or else a separate holding winding -- is kept energized. On
deenergization of the winding in question, the reed blades spring
back to their normal position, and the continuity is broken. In the
pulse-latched technique, the reed blades typically are made of a
semi-hard magnetic material of square hysteresis loop
characteristics. The polarity of the semi-hard magnetic material
can be switched from North to South or vice versa by momentarily
subjecting the material to a high intensity magnetizing force of
the required polarity. To generate such a momentary magnetizing
field of high intensity, a pulse is applied to the control windings
which causes the reed blades to be magnetized in the direction
required to effect the opening or closing of the contacts. It may
be mentioned that the reed blades of a pulse-latched switch need
not always be made of a semi-hard switchable material, but that
instead a conventional reed capsule with blades of low-remanence
magnetic material can be used -- provided a separate member made
from a semi-hard magnetic material is used in conjunction with the
reed capsule. In such an arrangement, the semi-hard magnetic member
is disposed externally of the reed capsule in close proximity to
the reed blades. On pulsing the control windings, the semi-hard
member is magnetized and the low-remanence blades of the reed
capsule are closed or opened under the magnetic influence of the
polarized member. In connection with the foregoing, reference is
made for example to the article, "THE FERREED -- A New Switching
Device," which appeared in the January, 1960 issue of the Bell
System Technical Journal. The reed contacts of the pulse-latched
matrix switch are closed by pulsing its control windings in a
predetermined direction, and in order to open the contacts the
windings are pulsed in a reverse direction. In the prior art
arrangements of the foregoing kind this meant that each winding had
to be wound in a specific direction, and that the windings then had
to be interconnected to form rows and columns for the coordinate
addressing of the crosspoint. This procedure is tedious and
time-consuming, notwithstanding the fact that it is usually carried
out under the control of highly specialized computerized machines.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is the
principal object of the present invention to provide a novel
pulse-actuated reed switching matrix of the magnetically latching
type which is of simplified design and less costly to manufacture,
and which therefore avoids the aforementioned shortcomings of the
prior art matrices of this kind. It is another object of the
invention to provide novel components or sub-assemblies which may
be used in such a simplified matrix. The foregoing objects are
attained, by a design which utilizes printed circuit techniques to
replace the wire wound control windings of the known matrices of
the type in question. More specifically, the reed capsules are
mounted flat on a printed circuit board providing the conventional
speech path connections, (in the case of a telephone system); and
there are substrate means superimposed on this board which, in
parallel planes, carry the column and row windings for the
selection of a given crosspoint. The aforementioned substrate means
are preferably formed by two sections of a flexible sheet of
insulating material which are folded over each other so that the
points of intersection of the column and row windings, hereinafter
referred to as the control locations, register with one of the two
cooperating contact blades of the reed capsule or capsules at the
respective crosspoint. The other blade of each reed capsule is
provided in what may be referred to as a bias location of the
matrix. Two principal implementations of this technique are
disclosed. In the first embodiment the reeds are of the
conventional low-remanence magnetic material, such as nickel iron,
and a plate of semi-hard magnetic material, for example Remendur is
sandwiched between the two sections of the above flexible sheet.
Interposed between at least some of its rows of control locations,
this plate has rows of bias locations in which the plate is
magnetically pre-polarized through its thickness in alternating
directions. In the second embodiment each reed capsule has a reed
blade of semi-hard magnetic material in the corresponding control
location of the matrix while the cooperating reed blade in the
respective bias location is itself of permanent magnet material. In
both implementations the polarity of the reed blade at the control
location can be switched -- either through the medium of the
Remendur plate or, in the case of the second embodiment, directly,
by pusling the control windings thereby to bring about contact
opening or closure. Also, in both embodiments coincident current
selection is employed and the pulses used for operating and for
releasing a selected crosspoint are of opposite directions.
Inventors: |
Petkewicz; Frank J. (Chicago,
IL), Mueller; Von W. (Lombard, IL), Jameel; Khaja M.
(Elmhurst, IL), Emkalns; Arvids (Elk Grove Village, IL) |
Assignee: |
GTE Automatic Electric Laboratories
Incorporated (Northlake, IL)
|
Family
ID: |
23544808 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/390,999 |
Filed: |
August 23, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
335/108;
335/152 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01H
67/30 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H01H
67/00 (20060101); H01H 67/30 (20060101); H01h
067/30 () |
Field of
Search: |
;335/108,112,152,153
;317/101,137,139,140 ;179/18A,18AA ;340/166S,166R |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Broome; Harold
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Heid; David W.
Claims
1. A pulse-actuated reed switching matrix of the magnetically
latching type, comprising a planar printed circuit board, a
coordinate array of substantially coplanar reed capsules, each
including a pair of cooperating contact blades of magnetic
material, said reed capsule array being supported by said printed
circuit board and oriented such that the plane of said array is
parallel to the principal plane of said printed circuit board and,
superposed on said reed capsule array, substrate means having a
coordinate array of printed circuit windings formed thereon for
selectively effecting the operation and release of the reed
capsules of
2. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
coordinate array of printed circuit windings comprises a set of
column windings in one plane and a set of row windings in another,
parallel plane, said sets of column and row windings between them
forming a coordinate array of control locations, each registering
with the location of one blade of said cooperating pair of contact
blades of one or more corresponding reed
3. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operating
pulses are time displaced with respect to each other, and wherein
said release pulses are time displaced with respect to each other
and with respect to
4. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 1, wherein said operating
pulses
5. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 2, wherein said column
windings and said row windings are connected together at one end
thereof, whereas the other ends of said column windings and said
row windings are separately terminated for the selective connection
of said pulses thereto.
6. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 2, wherein said one
contact blade of each said reed capsule, which is provided in a
corresponding control location, is of semi-hard magnetic material
having substantially square hysteresis loop characteristics, and
wherein the other blade of each said
7. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 6, wherein said reed
capsules are mounted on a printed circuit board having terminals of
said reed capsules inserted therein, and wherein the substrate
means on which said column windings and said row windings are
formed are sandwiched between said
8. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 1, wherein the terminals
of said reed capsules are inserted in said printed circuit board,
said substrate means is carried by said printed circuit board and
said board at one edge thereof has a connector plug portion
comprising a plurality of tabs, certain of said tabs terminating
the matrix connections to said contact blades and others of said
tabs terminating said other ends of said column
9. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 8, wherein said printed
circuit board adjacent said edge carries a transfer strip of
insulating material having terminal pins inserted therein, said
pins being electrically interposed between said other ends of said
column and row windings and
10. In a reed switching matrix of the magnetically latching type
having a coordinate array of substantially coplanar reed capsules,
each including a pair of contact blades or magnetic material, one
of said blades having a magnetic bias of a predetermined direction
produced thereon while the direction of magnetization of the other
blade is controllable; the improvement comprising:
a flexible sheet of insulating material having two sections, one of
said sections having a set of column windings and the other section
a set of row windings printed thereon, said two sections when
folded over each other, in projection forming a coordinate array of
control locations each disposed for registry with said other blade
of the corresponding reed
11. A pulse-actuated switching matrix of the magnetically latching
type, comprising a coordinate array of substantially coplanar reed
capsules, each including a pair of cooperating contact blades of
low remanence magnetic material; superposed on said reed capsule
array, substrate means having a coordinate array of printed circuit
windings comprising a set of column windings in one plane and a set
of row windings in another, parallel plane, said sets of column and
row windings between them forming a coordinate array of control
locations, each registering with the location of one blade of said
cooperating pair of contact blades of one or more corresponding
reed capsules; and superposed on said reed capsule array in a plane
proximate thereto, a coordinate array comprising first and second
interlaced sets of elemental magnetic areas, said first set of
elemental magnetic areas, which are polarized in a direction normal
to said plane, being provided at said control locations, said
second set of elemental magnetic areas, which are prepolarized in a
direction normal to said plane, being provided at bias locations
registering with the locations of the other blade of said pair of
cooperating contact blades of
12. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 11, wherein said
coordinate array of elemental magnetic areas is formed on a plate
of semi-hard magnetic meterial having substantially square
hysteresis loop
13. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 12, wherein each said
column winding and each said row winding comprises a plurality of
individual winding elements, adjacent winding elements of at least
each of said row windings being wound in mutually opposite sense,
and wherein adjacent elemental magnetic areas in each row and each
column of said second set of
14. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 13, wherein said reed
capsules are provided in first and second pairs, each first and
second pair being disposed so as to share a common bias location
but have a separate control location in the adjacent rows on the
two sides respectively of said bias location, the row winding
elements in said two control locations being
15. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 12, wherein said reed
capsules are mounted on a printed circuit board having terminals of
said reed capsules inserted therein; wherein said plate of magnetic
material is sandwiched between two substrates of insulating
material, on one of which said column windings and on the other of
which said row windings are formed; and wherein said substrates
with said magnetic plate sandwiched therebetween are mounted on
said printed circuit board, in spaced relation thereto, on the side
of the reed capsules opposite that facing said board.
16. A switching matrix as claimed in claim 15, wherein said two
substrates are two sections, respectively, of a single sheet of
flexible insulating material.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above mentioned embodiments of the invention will now be
described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:
FIG. 1A is a top view of the pulse latched matrix switch assembly
according to the first embodiment of the invention, using
conventional reed switches;
FIG. 1B is a side view of this assembly as seen from the left in
FIG. 1A;
FIG. 2 is a top view, drawn at a reduced scale, of the printed
circuit board of the assembly of FIGS. 1A and 1B, with some of the
reed capsules inserted therein;
FIG. 3 is a top view, also drawn at a reduced scale, of the plate
of semi-hard magnetic material used in the assembly of FIGS. 1A and
1B, showing the magnetic pre-polarization pattern generated
therein;
FIG. 4, again drawn at a reduced scale, shows a flexible sheet of
insulating material, prior to folding, to which the control
windings for the matrix switch assembly, FIGS. 1A and 1B, have been
applied by printed circuit techniques;
FIG. 5 is a top view of a sub-assembly comprising the flexible
sheet of FIG. 4 and the polarized magnetic plate, FIG. 3, after the
former has been folded over the latter;
FIG. 6A is an enlarged side view of a reed capsule overlaid by a
section of the sub-assembly FIG. 5, schematically illustrating the
latched condition of the reed capsule;
FIG. 6B is an enlarged side view similar to that of FIG. 6A except
schematically illustrating the unlatched condition of the reed
capsule;
FIG. 7 shows at an enlarged scale, a reed capsule with a
permanently magnetized and a magnetically switchable reed blade,
which may be used in the second embodiment of the invention for
example;
FIG. 8 is a rear view, shown at a reduced scale, of the printed
circuit board used in the second embodiment, omitting the printed
wiring conductors representing the speech path, but indicating the
location of the reed capsules in broken lines;
FIG. 9 shows, for the second embodiment and at a reduced scale, a
flexible sheet of insulating material, prior to folding, to which
the control windings for the corresponding matrix switch assembly
have been applied by printed circuit techniques;
FIG. 10A is a top view of the pulse-latched matrix switch assembly
of the second embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 10B is a side view of this assembly as seen from the right in
FIG. 1A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring first to FIGS. 1A and 1B which show the overall assembly
of an 8 .times. 8 (2 wire) switching matrix according to the first
embodiment of the invention in top view and side view respectively,
the principal components of the matrix are a printed circuit board
more specifically shown in FIG. 2, in which the reed capsules are
inserted in pairs, such as 4, 5 or 6, 7; and superimposed on these
capsules, in a plane or planes parallel to the latter and to the
printed circuit board, is sub-assembly 13 which is specifically
shown in FIG. 5. This sub-assembly contains the flexible circuit
printed sheet 20, shown, prior to folding over, in FIG. 4, and the
magnetic plate 10, FIG. 3, which is sandwiched between the top and
bottom halves of the flexible sheet, FIG. 4. As shown particularly
in FIGS. 1A and 1B, sub-assembly 30 is mounted on printed circuit
board 1 by means of eight tubular spacers 16 and rivets 15 passing
through these spacers.
The terminals such as 43, 46 of the contact blades of the reed
capsules are inserted into printed circuit board 1 through holes 9
in a pattern best seen in FIG. 2. Board 1, FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2, in
addition to serving as a mechanical support for the remainder of
the matrix switch assembly, carries on both sides thereof the
required matrix type printed circuit connections between the
aforementioned terminals of the reed capsules and between these
terminals and the tabs 3 of connector plug portion 2 which extends
from the left edge, FIGS. 1A and 2, of the printed circuit board.
These matrix connections -- which in the assumed example provide
part of the switched transmission path of the telephone network --
are not particularly shown herein as printed matrix connections of
this general kind are known per se, compare for example U.S. Pat.
No. 3,188,423. Suffice it to say that each crosspoint of this
matrix is represented by two reed capsules, each having a normally
open pair of cooperating reed contacts, as best illustrated in FIG.
6B, and each serving to switch a point in the corresponding side,
customarily referred to as "R" and "T," respectively, of the speech
path of the telephone system. If the telephone system is of the
type in which the busy or idle condition of the crosspoints is
stored in a common memory of the system no circuits other than the
two speech circuits just mentioned need to be switched.
From the foregoing it will be appreciated then that by closing a
pair of reed capsule contacts, a unique transmission path can be
established through the matrix switch. As stated earlier, in the
present embodiment, the blades of the reed capsules are made of
low-remanence magnetic material, such as nickel iron. The capsules
are attached to the printed circuitry (not shown) in a conventional
manner.
Inasmuch as the number of tabs 3 of double-sided plug portion 2 is
considerably greater than the number -- in the order of 2 .times.
(8 + 8) equals 32 -- required for the speech path terminations, a
sufficient number of tabs 3 are available for, additionally,
terminating on this plug portion, through the medium of transfer
strip 17, the connections to the control windings as described in
greater detail hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 1B, 4 and 5.
Plug portion 2 is arranged for insertion, in a manner known per se
in a corresponding (female) printed circuit connector. Thus, it
will be seen that a plurality of switching matrix assemblies (FIGS.
1A, 1B) may be removably mounted in upright position and side by
side in a card file for ease in maintenance and replacement and for
maximum compactness.
FIG. 4 illustrates a flexible sheet 20 of insulating material to
which the control windings have been applied by conventional
printed circuit techniques. By way of example, a laminate with a
mylar substrate which is copper clad on both sides and on which the
control windings have been formed by etching, may be employed for
this purpose. The winding pattern is designed for use with
conventional coordinate addressing based on the coincident
half-current principle. Thus, the top half 20a of the laminate as
viewed in FIG. 4 contains the row windings and the bottom half 20b
contains the column windings. As indicated in FIG. 4 in broken
lines, the rear face of the laminate is used to link, by means of a
corresponding printed circuit conductor such as 23, the end of
every other individual winding element, e.g. 21, in each row to the
beginning of the next adjacent individual winding element, e.g. 22,
in that row; similarly, by means of the respective printed circuit
conductor such as 26, the end of every other individual winding
element, e.g. 24, in each column is linked, on the rear face of the
sheet, to the beginning of the next adjacent individual winding
element, e.g., 25, in that column. Each of the individual printed
circuit winding elements or coils has only a relatively small
number of turns as schematically indicated in FIG. 4. In practice
the number of turns of each of these coils may be in the order of,
say, 15 turns.
The two halves of laminate 20 are subsequently folded over each
other along line m-n, with the magnetic plate 10, FIG. 3,
sandwiched therebetween, the result being the subassembly 30
illustrated in FIG. 5. It will be understodd that because of the
double-sided character of laminate 20, insulating layers or
coverings, not shown, are required to insulate the conductive
printing on the rear face of the laminate against the magnetic
plate.
It will be noted from FIG. 4 that each row winding has been brought
out by appropriate printed circuit connections, such as 21', at a
terminating perforation, such as 21", at the left edge of the top
half 20a of laminate 20 so that eight such terminations numbered 1
to 8, respectively, are provided, one for each row winding. The
ends of the individual column windings at the bottom end of the
lower half 20b of the flexible printed circuit have been similarly
brought out -- by generally L-shaped printed circuit connections --
such as 25' -- at a terminating perforation such as 25" at the left
edge of the bottom half 20b of laminate 20, there being eight such
terminations, numbered 1' to 8' respectively, one for each column
winding. As previously indicated, a transfer strip 17, FIG. 1A, is
used to electrically interconnect these terminations 1 to 8 and 1'
to 8' on the flexible sheet 20 with corresponding tabs 3 on the
plug portion 2 of printed circuit board 1. This transfer strip 17
of insulating material which is placed flat on printed circuit
board 1, has sixteen pins extending from both sides thereof, with
the lower end of each pin soldered to a corresponding printed
circuit conductor (not shown) on board 1 which connects this pin
with the respective tab 3; and with the upper end of each pin
extending through the aforementioned perforations such as 21" and
25", FIG. 4, in laminate 20 and being soldered to the corresponding
terminations of row conductors such as 21' and column conductors
such as 25'.
From FIG. 3 which shows the semi-hard remanentlymagnetic plate 10
used in sub-assembly 30 it will be noted that on this plate a
plurality of rows of elemental "permanent" magnets of alternating
polarity are initially produced in what may be termed the bias
locations of the switching matrix, the rows of this array being
spaced as shown. Plate 30 may be of Remendur type of material or it
may be a ferrite impregnated plastic sheet in which the material
has been magnetized through its thickness as shown. Alternatively,
a Remendur plate may be used in which permanent magnets have been
physically inserted in the spaced relationship illustrated. In the
use of the plate the permanent magnetic pole generated thereon will
retain the polarity shown, since in the matrix switch there are no
coils in the positions corresponding to the magnetic bias
positions. More specifically, from an inspection particularly of
FIGS. 1A, 3 and 5, it will be appreciated that each bias location
is in registry with one contact blade of a pair of cooperating
blades of a corresponding reed capsule and each control location is
in registry with the other blade of the pair. Given the reed
capsule pattern assumed in the present embodiment, this means that
a row of control locations is provided on each side of any of the
four rows of bias location -- resulting, of course, in the required
total of eight rows of control locations.
In operation, in order to open or close a cross-point that is, a
pair of reed capsules, it is necessary to establish, by means of
the control windings, a magnetic pole in the semi-hard
remanently-magnetic plate in the appropriate control location. The
polarity of this pole in conjunction with the polarity of the
previously established (adjacent) "permanent" pole determines
whether the corresponding reed capsule contacts will open or close,
as explained in greater detail in conjunction with FIGS. 6A and 6B
below. To establish a pole at a certain control location on the
semi-hard plate, a pulse of sufficient magnitude is directed
through the appropriate row and column windings which intersect
each other at the desired location. By way of example, it will be
noted from an inspection of FIGS. 4 and 5, if a latching pulse "A"
is connected to the matrix as shown, that is, to enter at the
termination of the fourth row winding and leave at the termination
of the fifth column winding, the two winding elements in control
location 4-5 are energized in the same sense and so as to, in
effect, set up a South pole (not shown) in this control location;
therefore, and inasmuch as this magnetization is of an opposite,
and thus series-aiding, direction with respect to the "permanent"
North pole immediately above it, the contacts of the pair of reed
capsules in question will close. Moreover, because of the
square-hysteresis type remanent-magnetic material of plate 10, the
low-remenance blades of these two reed capsules will remain latched
as long as the elemental area of the magnetic plate at control
location 4-5 will retain its South polarity. In connection with the
foregoing it should be understood that in FIGS. 1A, 4 and 5 the
arrows drawn in full lines schematically indicate the winding
direction of the printed coils on laminate 20; and that the arrows
drawn in borken lines in FIG. 5 indicate the winding direction of
the printed coils on the bottom (rear) section 20b of the laminate
after it has been folded over line m-n, FIG. 4.
It will be noted that this operation is based on the coincident
flux principle since the flux from any one coil is not sufficient
to change the magnetic polarization of the plate material: only at
the crosspoint where both the corresponding row winding and the
corresponding column winding are energized will the magnetic
polarization of the plate material at this point be changed from
one state to the other -- or, for that matter, to a particular
state, viz., in the case where there is originally no magnetization
at the crosspoint in question.
The unlatching of a crosspoint has been indicated at control
location 6-2. Thus, if an unlatching pulse "B" is applied to the
matrix in a current direction where it enters at the termination of
the second column winding and leaves at the termination of the
sixth row winding, the two winding elements in control location 6-2
are energized in the same sense; since this magnetization is of the
same direction (North) as that of the "permanent" North pole
immediately above it, the magnetization of the elemental area of
the magnetic plate at the control location 6-2 will be reversed (if
the crosspoint had previously been in latched condition). As a
result, both reed blades of each of the two capsules in question,
being now polarized in the same sense, will repel each other and
the contacts will open.
The pulses used herein are of a magnitude -- such as approximately
15 amperes -- sufficient to effect the switching of the semi-hard
magnetic material of the plate from one polarity to the other,
having regard to the relatively low number of turns used in the
printed coils. The duration of these pulses, however, may be quite
short, since the time required to switch the semi-hard material
from one direction of polarization to the other falls within the
microsecond range; 300 microseconds may be considered typical. As
mentioned, the direction of the contact opening or unlatching
pulses "B" is opposite to that of the contact closing or latching
pulses "A". In spite of this, and notwithstanding the fact that at
one end all row windings and all column windings are multiplied
together at 27, the creation of undesired current paths through the
array of control windings is avoided, since, in the embodiment
disclosed, it is assumed that all the pulses used herein are time
displaced with respect to each other. Common control apparatus
producing such sets of relatively time displaced control pulses are
well known in the art.
In FIGS. 6A and 6B reed capsule 4 has been shown at an enlarged
scale to schematically illustrate the general flux pattern applying
to the closed condition (FIG. 6A) and open condition (FIG. 6B) of
the contacts of this capsule. Reed capsule 4 has an envelope, for
example of glass, carrying at its lower end -- the bias location BL
-- reed blade 44 having a contact portion 42 and terminal portion
43, and carrying at its upper end -- the control location CL --
reed blade 41 having a contact portion 45 and a terminal portion
46. It will be noted that in the bias location the magnetic plate
is pre-polarized so as to exhibit a "permanent" South pole S on the
side of the plate facing the reed capsule. In response to an
operating or latching pulse traversing the row and column coils
(not particularly shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B), plate 10, in control
location CL, assumes a magnetic state of a direction which in this
location gives rise to a North pole N' on the side of the plate
facing the reed capsule. Since the polarization of the control
location and that of the bias location are of opposite direction or
series-aiding, a flux pattern of the general kind shown in FIG. 6A
is set up and the two reeds are mutually attracted, that is, the
pair of contacts closes and it ramains closed as long as the
magnetization in control location CL is not reversed. In response
to a release or unlatching pulse traversing the row and column
coils the magnetic state of plate 10 in control location CL is
reversed so that a South pole S" is set up in this location on the
side of the plate facing the reed capsule. Inasmuch as, in this
condition, the control location and the bias location are polarized
in the same direction, a flux pattern schematically indicated in
FIG. 6B results so that the two cooperating reeds are mutually
repelled and the contact pair opens and remains open until the
magnetic state of the plate in the control location is again
reversed.
The second embodiment of the invention, depicted by FIGS. 7 through
10, employs reed capsules in which, as previously mentioned, one
blade is made from permanent magnet material and is permanently
polarized in a certain direction. This reed will retain its
polarity regardless of the direction of flux in the adjacent
location. The other blade -- which registers with the adjacent
(control) location of the matrix -- is made from a switchable, that
is remanently magnetic material with substantially square loop
hysteresis characteristics such as Remendur. By pulsing the control
windings, the polarity of the semi-hard blade can be switched
directly to accomplish contact opening or closure. A magnetic plate
such as plate 10 of the first embodiment is now required in the
present modification.
FIG. 7 shows the details of reed capsule 50 used in the second
embodiment. As shown in the drawing, mounted at one end of envelope
57 -- the left end in FIG. 7 -- is reed blade 51, of semi-hard,
switchable material, which has a contact portion 52 and a terminal
portion 53. The other blade 54 is made of permanently magnetic
material, for example, CUNIFE as marketed by Indiana General
Corporation, and it is longitudinally magnetized so that, in the
assumed example, a South pole S appears at the free end of the
contact portion 55 of the blade and a North pole N at the free end
of its terminal portion 56. 58 is an identifying band marked on
envelope 57 to insure correct reed capsule orientation during the
assembly of the switching matrix.
The overall assembly of this matrix is shown in FIG. 10A in top
view and FIG. 10B in side view. FIG. 8 shows the printed circuit
board 60 and FIG. 9 the laminate 70 which, as best shown in FIG.
10B in this instance is sandwiched between printed circuit board 60
and the various (8 .times. 8 = 64) pairs of reed capsules such as
64, 65, FIG. 10A. In the present case it is assumed that the
terminal portions such as 56, of the reed blades are connected to
the printed circuit (not shown) on board 60 by means of separate
pins 59 which, as indicated in FIG. 10B, extend through board 60
and laminate 70, and are soldered at one end to the printed circuit
board 60 and at the other end to reed blade portions 56.
The pattern in which all of these reed capsules are mounted in
holes 69 of board 60 will be readily appreciated from FIG. 8 which
shows the rear of the board; as may be seen in FIGS. 9 and 10A,
laminate 70 has corresponding holes 69' to allow the assembly of
the reed capsules. 62, FIGS. 8 and 10A, is the plug portion of the
board, on which a sufficient number of connector tabs are provided
substantially as in the first embodiment described hereinabove.
Again, the printed circuit conductors forming the transmission
paths switched by the reed capsules, have not been shown for the
sake of clarity. Also, in a manner similar to the first embodiment,
a thin transfer strip 67 is mounted near the left edge of the
printed circuit board as viewed in FIG. 10A, as an aid in
terminating the printed row and column windings of flexible
laminate 70 on corresponding ones of tabs 63 of plug portion
62.
As shown in FIG. 9, flexible plastic laminate 70 has the control
windings formed thereon by printed circuit techniques, for example,
by etching. In its left section 70a--which is the top section in
FIG. 10A -- there are formed the row windings, and in its right
section 70b -- the rear section in FIG. 10A -- the column windings,
these two sections being directly folded over each other along line
r-s. In the instant case each of the winding elements used consists
of one straight conductor only -- as indicated by reference numeral
75 for the top element of the first column winding and by numerals
71 and 72 for the first and second row windings. The printed
circuit conductors connecting column winding 1 and row winding 1
with their respective transfer strip terminations 75" and 71" have
been designated as 75' and 71' respectively. At their other ends
all the column windings and all row windings are joined together,
for the purpose of coordinate addressing, by printed conductor
77.
The straight conductors such as 75, 71 and 72, mentioned above,
are, roughly the equivalent of one quarter of a conventional coil
turn. It is for this reason that in the case of the second
embodiment no end-to-end connections of adjacent "coils" are
required, and that accordingly laminate 70 needs only to be
one-sided. On the other hand pulses of larger magnitude, for
example 30 amperes, are required than in the first described
implementation.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the operation of the
switching matrix, FIGS. 7 to 10, is otherwise the same as the
operation of the matrix of the first embodiment. That is, both
actuation and release of any given crosspoint is accomplished by
coincident energization of the corresponding row and column winding
by means of time displaced pulses of a length of approximately 300
microseconds, with the release or unlatching pulses "B" being of a
current direction opposite to that of the operating or latching
pulses "A." As in the first example, the pulses required for the
latching of crosspoint 4-5 and for unlatching the crosspoint 6-2
have been indicated (in FIG. 9).
It should be understood that the embodiments described herein are
merely illustrative of the invention, and are in no sense intended
to be limiting .
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