Patent ID: 7595570

Claim:
A pressure switch, comprising: a bridge array including sensing elements, which array provides an output proportional to a pressure applied to said bridge, a control circuit responsive to said bridge output to provide at an output terminal a first control signal indicative of a high pressure output from said array and to provide a second control signal indicative of a lower pressure output from said array, a high current MOSFET having a gate, source and drain electrode, with said gate electrode coupled to said output terminal of said control circuit through a resistor, with said drain electrode connected directly to an inductive load, and with said source electrode coupled to a point of reference potential wherein during the presence of one control signal said load is energized and during the presence of said other control signal said load is de-energized; and a thermal device positioned in thermal contact with said inductive load to monitor the temperature of said inductive load, and operative to provide a first output when the temperature of said inductive load exceeds a desired value, said thermal device directly coupled to said gate electrode of said MOSFET to turn said MOSFET off.