Patent ID: 8040654

Claim:
Relay controller for controlling an excitation current of a relay, comprising: a first terminal for connection to an excitation winding of the relay, a second terminal, for connection to a commutation device of the relay, wherein the relay controller is designed, upon the energization of the relay by means of a switch, to control the excitation current through the excitation winding of the relay in such a way that through the excitation winding there flows firstly a pull-in current and, after a pull-in time has elapsed, there flows a holding current that is lower than the pull-in current, and wherein the relay controller ( 500 ) is designed, upon the switching-off of the relay by means of the switch, to feed a commutation current that flows through the excitation winding to the commutation device through the first terminal and through the second terminal of the relay controller, and wherein for the operation of the relay controller a current is drawn from the second terminal.