JAJU835 December 2021
Switches U2, U3, and U4 are included for added protection against external magnetic fields. An alternative method that can be used to make designs immune against external magnetic fields is adding magnetic shielding to the design. Note that magnetic shielding is a way of creating an alternative path for magnetic flux to flow and is not getting rid of the flux. The shield is made of a highly permeable material, which provides a preferential path for the flux to pass through. One disadvantage of shielding, however, is that it not only affects external magnetic fields; it can also affect the internal magnetic fields generated by the trigger magnet, thereby affecting the measurement of the magnetic flux density of the linear Hall-effect sensor. Consequently, for shielding to be used, it must be verified that the shielding does not significantly affect the measurement of the magnetic field of the linear Hall-effect sensor from the trigger magnet.
If magnetic shielding is implemented successfully in a design, it could replace the two tamper Hall switches, stray field switches, and the logic gates in this design (see Figure 2-29), thereby reducing current consumption. However, shielding may also increase the weight of the system.