Patent ID: 7339288

Claim:
A hybrid electrical switching device, comprising: an electromechanical relay including a mechanical switching element to be operated by means of an electrical coil; a main semiconductor switching element including a main control input and a main current conduction path connected in parallel with the mechanical switching element for energizing an electric load through a current circuit between a first AC supply terminal and a second AC supply terminal, wherein the main semiconductor switching element ceases to conduct when a current through the main current conduction path thereof drops below a threshold value; an auxiliary semiconductor switching element including an auxiliary control input and an auxiliary current conduction path connected for controlling the main semiconductor switching element, wherein the auxiliary semiconductor switching element is configured to switch to a conducting state in response to a control pulse received at the auxiliary control input, and the auxiliary semiconductor switching element ceases to conduct when a current through the auxiliary current conduction path drops below a threshold value; a voltage divider circuit, series-connected with the auxiliary current conduction path between the first AC supply terminal and the second AC supply terminal, and wherein the main control input is connected to a branch of the voltage divider circuits and the control pulse is of a duration shorter than a half-cycle period of an AC signal applied at the first and second AC supply terminals.