Patent ID: 8274348

Claim:
An electromagnetic switch comprising: a conductive coil defining an opening therethrough; a movable armature positioned at least partially within the opening and moveable between maximum fore and aft positions; an attracting member positioned at a first end of the coil; a first permanent magnet positioned at a second, opposite end of the coil; and wherein the armature, attracting member, and first permanent magnet are arranged along a common axis with respect to one another such that, when the conductive coil is de-energized the armature is caused to move to the maximum fore position by the magnet, and when the conductive coil is energized, a repulsive force is generated between the first permanent magnet and the armature which is additive to an attractive force generated between the attracting member and the armature to move the armature to the maximum aft position away from the magnet.