Patent ID: 6956453

Claim:
A magnetic bi-stable latch comprising: an upper stator and a lower stator, a rotor disposed between the upper stator and lower stator and adapted for limited rotation between a first latched position and a second latched position; each of the upper stator and lower stator comprising a magnetic assembly having at least two inner poles and two outer poles of magnetic material, and at least one stator having coil coupled to the inner poles and the outer poles to form an electromagnet; the stators positioned such that the outer poles of the upper stator align with the inner poles of the lower stator and the inner poles of the upper stator align with the outer poles of the lower stator; the rotor having at least a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet mounted thereon and disposed such that in the first latched position the first permanent magnet is aligned with an outer pole of the upper stator and an inner pole of the lower stator and the second permanent magnet is aligned with an inner pole of the upper stator and an outer pole of the lower stator; thereby forming a magnetic circuit including the first magnet, the outer poles of the upper and lower stators, and the second permanent magnet, the magnetic flux of the circuit thus latching the rotor in a first position.