Patent ID: 7898374

Claim:
A soft starter module for selectively electrically connecting a power line terminal with an electric motor load terminal, the module comprising: a first switching device having a first terminal electrically coupled with a load terminal and a second terminal electrically coupled with a line terminal; a second switching device having a first terminal electrically coupled with the line terminal and a second terminal electrically coupled with the load terminal; a driver apparatus providing switching control signals to the first and second switching devices for selectively electrically connecting the line terminal with the load terminal; and a housing with a top, a bottom, and at least one side, the housing comprising: a first housing structure, a second housing structure mounted to the first housing structure, the first and second housing structures defining a cavity in which the first and second switching devices are mounted and allowing for external access to the load terminal and the line terminal, at least one of the first and second housing structures including driver support structures for mounting the driver apparatus to the housing, a plurality of first module mounting structures located on at least one of the first and second housing structures and allowing the housing to be mounted to a flat structure with a first one of the top and the at least one side generally parallel to the flat structure; and a plurality of second module mounting structures, generally perpendicular to the plurality of first module mounting structures, and located on at least one of the first and second housing structures and allowing the housing to be mounted to the flat structure with a second one of the top and the at least one side generally parallel to the flat structure.