Patent ID: 8605405

Claim:
A method of increasing speed of an electro-mechanical relay, the method comprising the steps of: providing an electro-mechanical relay having a coil and at least one contact, providing a first resistor and a second resistor, each in series with the coil, with the second resistor being in parallel with a first switch, providing a voltage to the first switch, with the first switch being ON, thereby shorting out the second resistor and providing a first, constant current through the first resistor and to the coil, to move the contact to a closed position, thereby establishing a closing time of the contact to be about 1 mS, and after a certain amount of time, turning the first switch OFF, so that a second constant current is provided through the first and second resistors and to the coil, maintaining the contact in the closed position, thereby minimizing bouncing of the contact, wherein the electro-mechanical relay is provided as an output relay of a protective relay.