Magnetic Analogs of Relay Contact Networks for Logic

Two techniques are described for designing multiapertured magnetic structures capable of realizing any specific logic function. The structures are made from rectangular hysteresis loop material. The designs are derived from the corresponding relay contact network by replacing each current carrying conductor in the relay circuit with its analog in the magnetic circuit, a flux-carrying conductor, replacing the emf with a pulsed mmf; and replacing each back contact with a saturable portion of the magnetic circuit in the topological equivalent of the contact network. A flux reversal through a saturated portion may then be blocked by means of an inhibiting Current applied to a suitable winding, the current representing a logical input variable. Thus flux may be ``steered´´ through the magnetic circuit in a manner analogous to the steering of current through the contact network. For planar structures the first technique may be used to obtain the analog of series-parallel and bridge type circuits; parallel circuits. It is pointed out that the analog of a relay tree can be used as a standard structure suitable for realizing any Boolean function. Representative examples of both designs are shown, and experimental data are given.