Patent ID: 7391134

Claim:
In a system including an electrical power source and an electrically-operated machine with a manually-operated ON-OFF switch mechanism, an apparatus for controlling supply of electrical power provided by the electrical power source to the machine, the apparatus comprising: a switching device operably coupled between the electrical power source and the machine, said switching device having a control node for selectively controlling said switching device into one of a conducting-state and non-conducting state in response to control signals supplied thereto; and a switchable current path electrically connected to said control node of said switching device, said switchable current path being selectively turned ON and OFF in accordance with state of the manually-operated ON-OFF switch mechanism, wherein said switchable current path includes a current path through at least one transistor whose control electrode is directly electrically connected to a shunt current path leading to said machine such that there are no intervening circuit elements between said control electrode and said shunt current path.