Patent ID: 8174343

Claim:
An electromechanical relay, comprising: a substrate, wherein said substrate comprising a first stationary contact; a cavity formed on said substrate and surrounded by a spacer; a movable body placed inside said cavity having a rotational axis; said movable body having a first end and a first movable contact associated with said first end, and said movable body further comprising a first magnet having a permanent magnetization moment; a switching magnet having a coil, wherein said spacer and said coil together encaging said movable body, and wherein passing a current through said coil generating a switching magnetic field which has a main component primarily perpendicular to said permanent magnetization moment in a region where said switching magnetic field goes through said first magnet, whereby a vector-cross product of said switching magnetic field and said permanent magnetization moment producing a torque on said first magnet and causing said movable body to rotate about said rotational axis; wherein said switching magnet is controllable to cause said movable body settling in a stable state related to said substrate wherein said stable state is selected from: a) said first movable contact being in contact with said first stationary contact; or b) said first movable contact being separated from said first stationary contact.