Sistemas de Control, MR2013, ITESM Chihuahua, April 16

Industrial Switching Elements

The more common types of switching elements available for industrial use are the following:

Electronic logic gates

Relays
Pneumatic Valves
Hydraulic Valves

Electronic logic gates

TTL (Transistor-Transistor Logic) is the most commonly used system for the implementation of electronic
logic gates. Conventional TTL integrated circuits (IC) have been largely replaced by LS-TTL (low-power
Schottky) elements. These employ so-called Schottky diodes to increase switching speed, and use
considerably less power.
ICs are frequently packaged in so-called DIP format, which stands for dual-in-line package. These are
typically 8 mm by 20 mm large, with either 14 or 16 pins (leads), half on each side.
TTL logic levels
There are a number of threshold voltage levels to know:
VOH Minimum OUTPUT Voltage level a TTL device will provide for a HIGH signal.
VIH Minimum INPUT Voltage level to be considered a HIGH.
VOL Maximum OUTPUT Voltage level a device will provide for a LOW signal.
VIL Maximum INPUT Voltage level to still be considered a LOW.
Threshold voltage level
VOH
VIH
VOL
VIL

Voltage
2.7 V
2.0 V
0.4 V
0.8 V

Sistemas de Control, MR2013, ITESM Chihuahua,abril 16

Supply Voltage
1 Level Output
Current
0 Level Ouput
Current
1 Level Input
Voltage (min)
0 Level Input
Voltage (max)
1 Level Input
Current
0 Level Input
Current

74 family
+5V (+/- 0.5V)
0.4mA

74LS family
+5V (+/- 0.5V)
0.4mA

54 family
+5V (+/- 0.25V)
0.4mA

16mA

8mA

16mA

2V

2V

2V

0.8V

0.8V

0.8V

0.04mA

0.05mA

0.04mA

1.6mA

0.4mA

1.6mA

Relays
There are three basic relay types:

Electromechanical relays
Reed relays
Solid-state relays (SSR)

Relays are used for two purposes: as logic switching elements (control relays), or as current or voltage
amplifiers (power relays, contactors).
Controlling a relay with TTL levels
The schematic below illustrates 4 methods of controlling a relay with a digital logic signal. Figure (A) can
probably be used in most cases where the relay coil requires 100 mA or less and the input current is 2
milliamps or more. The resistor value (R) is determined from the input voltage and the available current.
For example, a 5 volt input signal supplying 2 milliamps would require (5-.7)/.002 = 2150 ohms, or a
2.2K standard value. If the transistor has a minimum current gain of 50, there will be 100 mA of current
available for the relay coil. The following table shows various resistor values that can be used to obtain

Sistemas de Control, MR2013, ITESM Chihuahua,abril 16

various relay coil currents assuming a transistor current gain of 50 such as the 2N3904. 74XX refers to
standard TTL logic, 74LSXX refers to low power TTL logic, 74HC is high speed CMOS and CD40XX is
the older CMOS devices. The currents given are approximate values and may not be correct for all devices
but should be close.
Input Voltage
4
4
4
5
6
5
12

Input Current
74LSXX
74XX
74SXX
74HCXX
74HCXX
CD40XX
CD40XX

.0004
.0008
.001
.004
.004
.0003
.0006

Relay coil
current
20 milliamps
40 milliamps
50 milliamps
200 milliamps
200 milliamps
15 milliamps
30 milliamps

Standard
Resistor
8.2K
4.3K
3.3K
1K
1.3K
13K
18K

Figure B can be used when the input voltage is the same as the relay coil voltage. The voltage on the
emitter of the transistor will be about 0.7 volts less than the input, so a 12 volt relay would operate on 11.3
which should be close enough. No resistor is needed since the emitter follower configuration presents a
high impedance at the input. The input current will be the relay coil current divided by the transistor gain.
For example a 120 ohm relay coil will draw 100 mA at 12 volts and if the transistor gain is 50, the input
current will be about 2 milliamps.
Figure C can be used to provide additional gain when the input current is very small. You can also use a
Darlington transistor in place of the two transistors which is a better approach, but this idea works just as
well when you don't have a Darlington transistor handy.
Figure D can be used to reverse the relay action so that it engages when the input is low and disengages
when the input is high. The R value is determined the same as in Figure A. The R1 value should be high
enough to ensure saturation of the first stage and low enough to saturate the second stage.

Sistemas de Control, MR2013, ITESM Chihuahua,abril 16

A typical commercial available relay board is shown in the schematic below:

The 1N4148 diode will work fine for the majority of applications but it can be replaced for a well more
suitable 1N400X diode.

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Optocoupler input drive circuits

An optocoupler is a combination of a light source and a photosensitive detector. In the optocoupler, or
photon coupled pair, the coupling is achieved by light being generated on one side of a transparent
insulating gap and being detected on the other side of the gap without an electrical connection between the
two sides (except for a minor amount of coupling capacitance).
Optocouplers are used to isolate signals for protection and safety between a safe and a potentially
hazardous or electrically noisy environment. The interfacing of the optocoupler between digital or
analogue signals needs to be designed correctly for proper protection.
The following are some application examples:

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The circuit in the following figure is the basic circuit for onoff power control. With a continuous forward
current through the LED, the detector of the zerocrossing optocoupler switches to the conducting state
only when the applied ac voltage passes through a point near zero. Phase control applications, such as
controlling the speed of a motor or brilliance of a lamp, require triggering at points along the ac voltage
wave. This necessitates a random phase triac driver optocoupler

The following figure is a typical pin connection diagram of a Zero crossing TRIAC driver (such as the
MOC3162):

Sistemas de Control, MR2013, ITESM Chihuahua,abril 16

MOSFETs
At higher voltage and high current levels, newer MOSFET transistors are more efficient than the older
BJTs. In BJTs, the base current controls the switch, but in MOSFETs it is the gate voltage. A common Nchannel RFP30N06LE MOSFET transistor symbol and pinout is shown below.

N-Channel MOSFET transistor symbol and TO-220 package pinout

Some large MOSFETs contain an internal snubber diode for driving inductive loads. If this is not the case,
it would be a good idea to add an external diode when driving inductive loads.

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10

RC Snubber networks
RC networks are used to control voltage transients that could falsely turn-on a thyristor. These networks
are called snubbers. The simple snubber consists of a series resistor and capacitor placed around the
thyristor. These components along with the load inductance form a series CRL circuit. Snubber theory
follows from the solution of the circuits differential equation. Many RC combinations are capable of
providing acceptable performance. However, improperly used snubbers can cause unreliable circuit
operation and damage to the semiconductor device. Both turn-on and turn-off protection may be necessary
for reliability. Sometimes the thyristor must function with a range of load values. The type of thyristors
used, circuit configuration, and load characteristics are influential. Snubber design involves compromises.
They include cost, voltage rate, peak voltage, and turn-on stress. Practical solutions depend on device and
circuit physics.