RONALD WAYNE SMITH
Pilots at Linda Lou Ln, Riverside, CA

3982221, Sep 21, 1976

Dec 2, 1974

5/528761

Ronald Eugene Smith - Riverside CA

Bourns, Inc. - Riverside CA

H01C 112

338202

A contact spring, suitable for use in a variable resistance device having a resistance strip and at least one collector strip adjacent the resistance strip. The contact spring is formed in a unitary construction from a single piece of sheet metal and includes electrically conductive cantilever spring members which depend from a base member and are adapted for sliding electrical contact with the resistance and collector strips. Stiffly flexible, resilient means, preferably in the form of additional cantilever spring members disposed in cruciform relation to the contact spring members, depend from the base member to back up each of the contact spring members by engaging an intermediate portion thereof to retard flexing of the contact spring members toward the base member. The resulting contact spring is quite simple in construction, yet produces a substantially greater contact force with the resistance and collector strips than is achieved by simple cantilever contact spring arms. The effective spring life is accordingly increased because of reduced deterioration during sliding contact with the elements of the resistance device.