Contact protection circuit arrangement

Claim 1

A CONTACT ARC MINIMIZING NETWORK FOR AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT INCLUDING A SOURCE OF POWER AND A PAIR OF CONTACTS MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER FOR OPENING AND CLOSING THE CIRCUIT TO THE FLOW OF ELECTRICAL CURRENT THERETHROUGH, SAID NETWORK COMPRISING A SEMI-CONDUCTOR DEVICE HAVING AN INPUT ELECTRODE AND AN OUTPUT ELECTRODE ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED IN SERIES WITH THE CONTACTS TO CONDUCT CURRENT BETWEEN THE CONTACTS AND THE SOURCE AND HAVING A CONTROL ELECTRODE, AND MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID CONTROL ELECTRODE FOR CHANGING THE CONDUCTIVE STATE OF SAID SEMICONDUCTOR IN RESPONSE TO THE CLOSING AND OPENING OF A CURRENT PATH THROUGH THE CONTACTS, SAID SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE BEING A FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR INCLUDING A BODY PORTION AND A BELT PORTION SURROUNDING SAID BODY PORTION, SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT ELECTRODES BEING CONNECTED TO OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID BODY PORTION, AND SAID CONTROL ELECTRODE BEING CONNECTED TO SAID BELT PORTION.