Semiconductor potentiometer

Claim 1

A POTENTIOMETER DEVICE COMPRISING: (A) A SUPPORT STRUCTURE CONSISTING OF A SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR BODY BLOCK DEFINING AN ELONGATE SLOT THEREIN, AND A SUPPORT BLOCK OF ELECTRICAL INSULATING MATERIAL MOUNTED TO SAID BODY BLOCK WITHIN SAID SLOT AND EXTENDING ACROSS THE OPEN END OF SAID SLOT; (B) AN ELONGATE UNITARY CRYSTAL SEMICONDUCTOR BODY OF A PREDETERMINED CONDUCTIVITY TYPE DEFINING A LARGE END SECTION AND A SMALL END SECTION SEPARATED BY A TAPERED INTERMEDIATE SECTION, SAID SEMICONDUCTOR BODY BEING RIGIDLY SECURED AT ITS LARGE END TO SAID SUPPORT BLOCK AND EXTENDING INTO SAID SLOT, WHEREBY SAID SEMICONDUCTOR BODY IS SUPPORTED AS A CANTILEVER BEAM, SAID SEMICONDUCTOR BODY FURTHER DEFINING FIRST AND SECOND SURFACE REGIONS IN SAID INTERMEDIATE TAPERED SECTION ON OPPOSING SIDES OF THE BEAM NEUTRAL AXIS, EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND SURFACE REGIONS BEING OF THE CONDUCTIVITY TYPE OPPOSITE TO SAID PREDETERMINED CONDUCTIVITY TYPE AND HAVING THE SAME TYPE OF RESISTANCE CHANGE CHARACTERISTIC, A SEMICONDUCTOR BARRIER JUNCTION ELECTRICALLY ISOLATING EACH OF SAID SURFACE REGIONS FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR BODY, EACH OF SAID SURFACE REGIONS HAVING SPACED APART OHMIC CONTACTS THEREON FOR ESTABLISHING ELECTRICAL CONNECTION THERETO; (C) ADJUSTABLE SCREW MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED WITHIN SAID BODY BLOCK AND HAVING AN ELONGATE CIRCUMFERENTIAL THREADED PORTION EXTENDING PARTIALLY INTO SAID SLOT SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR TO SAID SEMICONDUCTOR BODY ADJACENT ITS SMALL END SECTION AND WITH THE TIP OF SAID SMALL END SECTION ENGAGED WITH THE THREADS OF SAID SCREW MEANS FOR CONTROLLABLY DEFLECTING THE CRYSTAL BEAM UPON ROTATION OF THE SCREW MEANS; AND (E) FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD TERMINAL PINS MOUNTED TO SAID SUPPORT BLOCK AND EXTENDING INTO SAID SLOT, FLEXIBLE WIRE MEANS ELECTRICALLY CONNECTING SAID FIRST TERMINAL PIN TO ONE OF THE OHMIC CONTACTS ON SAID FIRST SURFACE REGION, SAID SECOND TERMINAL PIN TO ONE OF THE OHMIC CONTACTS ON SAID SECOND SURFACE REGION, AND SAID THIRD TERMINAL PIN TO THE OTHER OHMIC CONTACT OF EACH OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND SURFACE REGIONS.