Patent ID: 8159320

Claim:
A magnetic device comprising: a substrate; a moveable element attached to said substrate and having a rotational axis, said moveable element comprising a soft magnetic material and having a first end and a second end, said moveable element having a first stable position and a second stable position, which correspond to two stable states: a closed state and an open state respectively, and said movable element having a neutral plane corresponding to a neutral position of said moveable element; a first permanent magnet having a first magnetic pole and a second magnetic pole, disposed near said first end of said moveable element to produce a first magnetic force and a first torque about said rotational axis on said moveable element, wherein said first magnetic pole contributes the majority of said first magnetic force and the majority of said first torque compared with said second magnetic pole; a second permanent magnet having a third magnetic pole and a fourth magnetic pole, disposed near said second end of said moveable element to produce a second magnetic force and a second torque about said rotational axis on said moveable element, wherein said third magnetic pole contributes the majority of said second magnetic force and the majority of said second torque compared with said fourth magnetic pole, and wherein said second permanent magnet is disposed such that said third magnetic pole is away from said first magnetic pole of said first permanent magnet by a predetermined greater-than-zero distance, said first permanent magnet and said second permanent magnet being disposed on the same side of said neutral plane of said moveable element; and an electromagnet configured to switch said moveable element between said two stable states, wherein passing a temporary current with predetermined magnitude, duration and direction in said electromagnet induces a temporary switching magnetic field and causes a change of magnetization in said soft magnetic material of said moveable element, said temporary switching magnetic field reversing the direction of a sum of torque on said moveable element, thereby causing said moveable element to rotate about said rotational axis between said two stable states, and wherein the direction of said temporary current in said electromagnet determines the rotation direction of said moveable element; wherein said first permanent magnet, said second permanent magnet and said substrate are arranged with said moveable element to maintain said moveable element in one of said two stable states without the presence of said temporary switching magnetic field.