Patent ID: 8013698

Claim:
A magnetic actuator, comprising: at least one coil surrounded by a magnetic circuit; three legs comprising two outer legs on either side of the coil and an intermediate leg passing through the coil, the three legs having no direct mechanical contact with one another; and two facing end plates magnetically interconnecting the three legs, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises a moving armature comprising at least one of the end plates, wherein the magnetic circuit comprises a stationary portion including a yoke having at least an other one of the end plates, at least one permanent magnet, and a flux guide part inserted in the intermediate leg between the permanent magnet and the armature, the permanent magnet being placed at one end of the intermediate leg beside the end plate of the yoke, wherein a magnetic flux is established between the armature and the stationary portion to move the armature between an open position and a closed position, and wherein the two outer legs are parallelepipeds and extend substantially perpendicularly to the two end plates so that the magnetic flux extends in a moving direction of the armature.