Push Button: Normally Open Momentary Switch with a Cushioned Contact (De Reamer, GE 1939)

A panel push button that closes a circuit only while you press it. A spring holds the button out, and a metal rim on the end of its rod sits clear of two contacts. Press it and the rim bridges both contacts. A second spring inside the button lets the rod give, so the contacts never take more than that spring's force. Source: Frank C. De Reamer, US 2,166,803 (General Electric, 1939), Fig. 5. Unknown: the insulating material, the metals and every size. De Reamer gives none of them, so they are linked to unknown heads. The tools are ours. Picture: the patent's Fig. 5.