Semi-conductor sensing assembly

Claim 1

A SEMI-CONDUCTOR SENSING ASSEMBLY, COMPRISING MOUNTING STRUCTURE, A CANTILEVER BEAM MADE OF A LOW HYSTERESIS STEEL HAVING A CYLINDRICAL END PORTION GRIPPED AND THEREBY FIXED IN SAID MOUNTING STRUCTURE, THE OTHER END BEING FREE, SAID BEAM HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SECTION WHICH IS TAPERED UNIFORMLY THROUGH ITS THICKNESS TO PROVIDE OPPOSED SURFACES OF GRADUALLY REDUCING WIDTH IN PROCEEDING ALONG SAID SECTION IN A DIRECTION FROM THE FIXED TO THE FREE END OF THE BEAM, A SOLID SEMI-CONDUCTOR BAR ARRANGED TO EXTEND ALONG EACH OF SAID OPPOSED SURFACES OF THE BEAM, THE SEMI-CONDUCTOR BARS BEING SEALED WITHIN ENCAPSULATING MATERIAL SERVING ALSO TO BOND THEM IN ISOLATED RELATION TO SUCH OPPOSED SURFACES, ELECTRIC WIRES CONNECTED TO THE ENDS OF THE SEMI-CONDUCTOR BARS FOR CONNECTION THEREOF IN AN EXTERNAL CIRCUIT, SAID WIRES PROCEEDING FROM THE ENCAPSULATING MATERIAL WITHOUT EXPOSURE THROUGH INDIVIDUAL INTERIOR PASSAGES FORMED IN THE FIXED END OF SAID BEAM AND LEADING TO A REMOVED PORTION WHERE THE WIRES EXIT FOR THE EXTERNAL CONNECTIONS OF THE SAME, THE SEMI-CONDUCTOR WHEN THUS CONNECTED AND ENERGIZED BEING OPERABLE TO PRODUCE AN ELECTRICAL SIGNAL IN PROPORTIONAL RESPONSE TO BENDING OF SAID BEAM, AND MEANS FOR APPLYING A PREDETERMINED CONSTANT FORCE TENDING TO BEND THE BEAM FOR PRE-LOADING THEREOF IN A DIRECTION SUCH THAT THE FORCE SEPARATELY APPLIED FOR MEASUREMENT HAS THE EFFECT OF REDUCING SUCH PRE-LOAD.