Relay, and method for operating a relay
AssigneeRobert Bosch GmbH
InventorsMatthew Lewis, Bernd Klein, David Bill, Jochen Reinmuth, Johannes Holger Moeck, Michael Krueger, Seyed Amir Fouad Farshchi Yazdi, Stefan Pinter
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A relay. The relay includes a housing and a microelectromechanical (MEMS) component having a MEMS switch that can be switched between two stable states. The relay further comprises an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) component which, along with the MEMS component, is arranged in the housing. The ASIC component is configured to control the MEMS switch and/or to monitor a functionality of the MEMS switch.
Claims16
A relay, comprising:
- a housing;
- a microelectromechanical (MEMS) component including a MEMS switch that can be switched between two stable states;
- and
- an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) component, which is arranged together with the MEMS component in the housing, wherein the ASIC component is configured to control the MEMS switch and/or monitor a functionality of the MEMS switch,
- wherein the ASIC component is configured to monitor a relay current through the MEMS switch.
A method for operating a relay, wherein the relay includes a microelectromechanical (MEMS) component including a MEMS switch that can be switched between two stable states, and wherein the relay includes an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) component arranged together with the MEMS component in a housing, the method comprising:
- controlling and/or monitoring a functionality of the MEMS switch by the ASIC component, wherein the controlling and/or monitoring includes monitoring, by the ASIC component, a relay current through the MEMS switch.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.