Richard L Bailey

US Patent:

48109940, Mar 7, 1989

Filed:

May 2, 1986

Appl. No.:

6/859098

Inventors:

Ronald L. Froebe - Rubidoux CA
Jesus Duarte - Lake Elsinore CA
Richard L. Bailey - Riverside CA

Assignee:

Bourns, Inc. - Riverside CA

International Classification:

H01C 1012

US Classification:

338202

Abstract:

A contact for a rotary action variable resistor is formed of a length of wire coiled into a flattened, substantially annular spiral, with a wiper element provided by a radial protuberance on the spiral. A first embodiment has a protuberance along each of a first pair of diametrically-opposed radii. The spiral is eccentrically mounted on a substantially circular support plate, with one protuberance extending close to the peripheral edge thereof, and the other protuberance closer to the center of the plate. The spiral is attached to the plate along a second pair of diametrically-opposed radii approximately 90 degrees displaced from the first pair. The spiral is sloped so that the distance between the plate and the spiral gradually increases from the attachment radii to the protuberances. The protuberance near the edge of the plate is a resistive element wiper, and the protuberance nearer the center is the collector wiper. In a second embodiment, the spiral is mounted approximately concentrically on the plate, with a single radial protuberance.