the contact unit shown in fig1 and 2 essentially consists of a contact spring 10 , which has one of its ends mounted , such as by riveting , to a carrier 11 , a fixed contact 12 opposite the free end of the contact spring 10 , and an actuator 13 which engages the contact spring 10 and , in the present embodiment , is coupled to a relay armature 14 as indicated in fig2 . the free end of the contact spring 10 opposing the fixed contact 12 is wider than the main part of the spring and carries two contact pieces 15 , 16 , arranged next to each other ( below each other according to the drawing ) in a direction transverse of the longitudinal extension of the contact spring 10 . similarly , the fixed contact 12 is provided with two contact pieces 17 , 18 which are disposed opposite to , and cooperate with , the respective contact pieces 15 , 16 of the contact spring 10 . as shown in fig2 the free end of the contact spring 10 extends at an angle with respect to the fixed contact 12 so that the straight line interconnecting the contact pieces 15 , 16 of the contact spring 10 intersects at an acute angle with the straight line interconnecting the contact pieces 17 , 18 of the fixed contact 12 . this inclined attitude of the free end of the contact spring 10 is achieved by pre - torsioning the contact spring about its longitudinal axis in a torsion zone 19 located between the fixed and free ends of the spring . the actuator 13 is so arranged and shaped that it engages the contact spring 10 close to the free end thereof and is capable of engaging either one of the opposite surfaces of the contact spring 10 . either zone of engagement 20 , 21 of the actuator 13 is shaped convexly toward the respective surface of the contact spring 10 . when the armature 14 , upon actuation of the relay , is moved in the direction of the arrow a , it moves the actuator 13 to the right as shown in fig2 . fig2 shows the moment at which the upper contact piece 15 of the contact spring 10 just touches the contact piece 17 of the fixed contact 12 . upon further movement of the actuator 13 to the right , the front end of the contact spring 10 pivots about the contacting location between the contact pieces 15 and 17 , which pivotal movement is enabled by a sufficient torsional capability of the flexure zone 19 , until the lower contact pieces 16 , 18 also contact each other . subsequent further movement of the actuator 13 to the right into the end position of the armature 14 will then deflect the fixed contact 12 to increase the contact force between the two contact couples . during the above - described pivotal motion of the free end of the contact spring 10 carrying the contact pieces 15 , 16 , the contact spring moves along the convex zone of engagement 20 of the actuator 13 . for opening the relay , the armature 14 is moved in the direction of the arrow b so that now the other zone of engagement 21 of the actuator 13 will engage the opposite surface of the contact spring 10 and cause the contact pieces 15 , 16 of the contact spring to be lifted off the contact pieces 17 , 18 of the fixed contact 12 . this will first open the lower contact couple 16 , 18 , and subsequently the upper contact couple 15 , 17 . in accordance with the function explained above , the upper contact couple 15 , 17 forms a pre - contact , and the lower contact couple 16 , 18 forms a main contact . since the first closing and last opening pre - contact constitutes a load contact and will wear more rapidly , the contact piece 15 , as shown in fig1 is formed larger than the contact piece 16 belonging to the main or signal contact . further , the contact pieces 15 , 17 of the pre - contact are made of less noble material than the contact pieces 16 , 18 of the main contact . as an example , the contact pieces 15 , 17 may be of agsno , and the contact pieces 16 , 18 of an auag alloy . instead of pre - torsioning the torsion zone 19 , the inclined attitude of the free end of the contact spring 10 with respect to the fixed contact 12 shown in fig2 may be achieved by inclining the fixed contact 12 or inclining the carrier 11 of the contact spring 10 which , in this case , is planar in its rest position . the electromagnetic relay shown in part in the perspective view of fig3 ( wherein the housing cap has been omitted ) includes a base 22 and a leg 23 of a yoke which extends through a coil ( not shown ). the yoke leg 23 projects from the base 22 and is disposed between the two arms of the relay armature 14 which , in the present embodiment , is generally h - shaped and supported on a bearing stud 23 provided on the base 22 for pivotal movement about a vertical central axis . the actuator 13 coupled to the relay armature 14 is slidably guided in its plane by guide columns 25 formed on the base 22 and , as shown in more detail in fig4 to 6 , engages the contact spring 10 . the contact pieces 15 , 16 of the spring cooperate with the contact pieces 17 , 18 provided on the fixed contact 12 . in fig3 the relay is shown as fitted with two contact springs 10 . terminal pins 26 of the fixed contacts 12 project downward from the base 22 . in the contact spring 10 shown in more detail in fig4 the torsion zone 19 has been realized by reducing the width of the spring . alternatively or additionally , the zone 19 of the spring 10 may be reduced in thickness or treated in other ways to increase its torsional flexibility . the zone 19 is situated between the fixed end of the contact spring 10 , which is riveted to the contact carrier 11 , and the zone of engagement of the actuator 13 . the contact spring 10 has its full width within this zone of engagement as well as at both of its ends , the width being again increased at the free end so as to provide sufficient spacing between the contact pieces 15 and 16 . the actuator 13 engages the contact spring 10 in a stiffened zone . as appears from fig5 and the enlarged detail view of fig6 the contact spring 10 extends between the two engagement zones 20 , 21 of the actuator 13 , of which the zone 20 is convex or crowned , to permit the contact spring 10 to rotate about its longitudinal central axis when pressed , and to ensure contact closure at both contact couples 15 , 17 and 16 , 18 . at the opposite engagement zone 21 , which engages the contact spring 10 during opening , a convex or crowned shape is not required . where the contact spring 10 is biased into the closed position , the region 21 of the actuator 13 engaging the spring should also be crowned . in the embodiment shown in fig7 the two contact locations disposed on the fixed contact 12 are formed as one common contact piece 27 , the contact surface of which is so dimensioned that it can cooperate with the two separate contact pieces 15 and 16 of the contact spring 10 . to enable proper contact closure even when the contact spring 10 is torsioned or the fixed contact 12 extends at an angle , the contact surface of the common contact piece 27 has a crowned shape . instead of the embodiment shown in fig7 a large common contact piece may be provided on the contact spring 10 and cooperate with two separate contact pieces on the fixed contact 12 ( see fig8 ). in a further conceivable alternative , a single continuous contact piece may be provided on both the contact spring 10 and the fixed contact 12 , with at least one of such continuous contact pieces being provided with two projections to produce two spaced contact locations . as further shown in fig7 the contact spring 10 is provided with a bead 28 extending in the direction of its longitudinal central axis to enhance the stiffness of the contact spring 10 along its longitudinal direction within the region between the contact springs 15 , 16 and the engagement zone of the actuator 13 . instead of the bead 28 , the stiffness of the contact spring 10 may be achieved by increasing its thickness within the region between the contact pieces 15 , 16 and the zone of engagement with the actuator 13 . if the bead 28 shown in fig7 is used for stiffening it may extend throughout the length of the contact spring 10 all the way to its end mounted on the contact carrier 10 . such a bead 28 , which extends in the direction of the longitudinal central axis and thus in the neutral zone of the contact spring 10 , while resulting in a reduced bend ability also within the zone 19 , impairs the torsional flexibility in this zone to a small degree only .