Brief Description:
The reed switch is an electrical switch operated by an applied magnetic field. It consists of a pair of contacts on ferrous metal reeds in a hermetically sealed glass envelope. MEDER electronic designs and manufactures innovative reed switch based products that serve a broad range of markets, including Automotive, Aviation, Agriculture, Test & Measurement, Medical, Telecommunications, Industrial, Household, Security and Marine. Reed Sensors can be used in an infinite number of sensing applications. The key component in the reed sensor is the reed switch. The other major component is the magnet or electro-magnet used to open or close the reed switch. They have become the design-in choice in several critical applications where quality, reliability and safety are paramount.
Perhaps the most dramatic application and testimony of the reed's quality and reliability is its use in Automatic Test Equipment (ATE). Here this technology is used exclusively. The reed switches are used in reed relays, switching in the various test configurations for integrated circuits, ASICs, wafer testing and functional printed circuit board testing. For these applications up to 20,000 reed relays may be used in one system. Here one relay failure constitutes a 50-ppm failure rate. Therefore to meet this requirement, the reed relays need to have quality levels much better than 50-ppm. Heretofore, it was unheard of to have an electromechanical device with this quality level. Similarly the same holds true for several semi conductor devices as well. Once beyond the initial operational quality testing, the reed relays then need to perform well over life. Here they have been proven to out perform all other switching devices. Because, in many cases the automatic test equipment is operated 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to fully utilize its high capital expense; and therefore, billions of operations may be required during the reed relay's lifetime. Another example of its favored use is in air bag sensors, where they have passed the test of time in a crucial safety application. Reed sensors are currently used in many critical automotive safety equipment (brake fluid level sensing, etc.), along with many medical applications including defribulators, cauterizing equipment, pacemakers and medical electronics where they isolate small leakage currents.
The reed switch has superior isolation from input to output and across the switch up to 1015 Ohms. This reduces leakage currents to fempto amps (1015 amps) levels. In medical electronic devices inserted into the human body as probes (invasive use) or pacemakers itâßßs very important not to have any leakage current near the heart, where micro-amp and sub-micro amp currents can alter the heartâßßs key electrical activity. The reed is hermetically sealed and can therefore operate in almost any environment. The reed has very low on resistance typically as low as 50 milli ohms. The reed can directly switch a host of load ranging from nano volts to kilovolts, fempto amps to Amps, and DC to 6 GHz. The reed sensor has a large range of magnetic sensitivities to offer. Reed sensors are not susceptible to E.D.I. Reed sensors are capable of withstanding much higher voltages (miniature sizes are rated up to 1000 Volts). The reeds are capable of switching a variety of loads. The reed sensor is typically tested to withstand a three-foot drop test. Because the reed sensor has no wearing parts, low level loads
Reed Relays are used in many types of medical equipment that require high current and/or high voltage. For Example; Cleaning equipment, Drug dispensing systems, Electrosurgical generators, EKG equipment, Insulin pumps, and Intravenous pumps.
Equipment such an electrosurgical generator requires a high voltage relay to aid in regulating the right amount of current used to cauterize vessels during surgery. Similar equipment may use RF energy combined with saline to seal off vessels therefore high frequency relays would provide a maker solution.
APPLICATIONS: Automotive:
- Cruise control
- Door switch courtesy light
- Global positioning system (GPS)
- Battery deactivation
- Choke control
- Gearshift position
- Key in ignition sensor
- Lights on indicator
- Shock sensors
- Speed sensors
- Steer by wire
- Tachometer sensors
- Throttle position
Consumer Electronics:
- Air conditioner and humidifier
- Appliance door sensor
- Carpet cleaner wet/dry switch
- Coffee machine fluid level
- Dishwasher fluid level
- Dishwasher spray arm control sensor
- Dishwasher softener level
- Dryer condensation level sensor
- Hot Tubs & Spas
- Stove door position sensor
- Stove power control
- Washing machine lid position
- Window blinds/shades control
- Anchor position
- Battery monitoring
- Bilge pump smart sensor
- Clean water supply
- Fuel level sensing
- Gearshift position
- Hatch position
- Kill switch
- Live well monitor
- Oil level
- Out drive position
- Personal beacon device
- Radar antenna sensor
- Reverse osmosis
- Rudder position sensor
- Shore power detection
- Speed indicator
- Toilet Control
- Trim tab position
- Waste level
- Winch level
- Wind speed and direction sensor
Medical:
- Camera pill
- Clogged arteries
- Handheld surgical tools
- Glucose monitor
- Hearing aid
- Implantable cardioverter defibrillator ICD
- Orthopedic micro power instruments
- Pacemaker
- Portable defibrillators
- Surgical Instruments
- Spine stimulator implant
- Video camera pill
Security and safety:
- Passive infrared detectors
- Smoke and fire alarms
- Dial-up modems
- Ultrasonic detectors
- Cargo & freight theft prevention
- Door sensor
- Emergency door sensor
- Explosive Proof
- Fire extinguisher
- Hotel security
- Position sensor
- Vehicle restraint
- Window sensor
Telecommunication:
- Device disabling
- Interlocking
- Mobile phone position sensing
- Off hook sensing
- Switching a cellular phone on/off in a flip phone
- Telephone line switching
- Cellular phone antenna switching
- Line sensing
- Line switching
- Modem switching
- Pager T/R switching
- Portable radios
- RF Receivers
- Test equipment
Test & Measurement:
- Automated Test Equipment
- Battery powered
- Cable testers
- Chip testers
- Data Acquisition/Scanning Systems
- Electrometer
- Functional PCB testers
- High voltage
- Industrial
- Integrated circuit testers
- Linear distance
- Medical equipment testers
- Modular Instrumentation
- Multimeters
- Network Analyzers
- Oscilloscopes
- RF Attenuators
- TVS Tester
- Wafer testers
- Weather meters
Manufacturer:
Standex-Meder Electronics (www.standexelectronics.com)