Patent ID: 7301426

Claim:
Electromagnetic actuator for operating at least one movable contact of a switch into a switched-on position or a switched-off position, wherein the electromagnetic actuator has a first magnetic circuit with a switching-on coil for making a movable and a fixed pole body move towards one another until the switched-on position is reached, a second magnetic circuit, separate from the first magnetic circuit, with a permanent magnet and a retaining plate joined to the movable pole body, for holding the actuator in the switched-on position against any spring or other forces when the switching-on coil is not energised, and a switching-off coil that operates to counteract the magnetic field in the second magnetic circuit so that the actuator can return to a switched-off position, characterised in that in the axial direction of the actuator, the switching-off coil is positioned closer to the retaining plate than the permanent magnet, and in that the second magnetic circuit comprises the permanent magnet, an adapter body, a fixing body for mounting the permanent magnet to the adapter body and the retaining plate, and in which the permanent magnet is positioned radially outside the adapter body.