What is it? CCXIV

[R.H.]

The latest set has just been posted:

[Alexander Thesoso]

214 Resolver. Produces a trigonometric function (sine/cosine) of an input. Used in a mechanical analog computer or a mechanical gun-directing computer.

[Howard R Garner]

only one again this week

1196 looks like a wrench to turn a recessed valve off - very simu;ar to the gas valve to my fireplace.

Howard Garner

[Topi Linkala]

Topi

[JD]

1195 is a gas furnace key (Zurn gives that away) 1196 is a garlic clove crusher

JD

[Christian Stü]

hi all, and again some silly guesses from germany

1195 nutcracker 1196 looks like a tool beeing used to "bleed radiators", to get the air out of it

1193 adjustable can opener? for mounting / demounting oil filters?

all others ... no idea

greetings from germany chris

[Leon]

1191. Gear Box ;~)

[DT]

1196 is the handle for tamper-proof outdoor water faucets. I managed a building that used them. The faucet was contained in a bronze box. The handle opened the simple latch on the lid, and also operated the faucet.

[Andy Dingley]

It's a sine/cosine mechanical generator alright, the ball-raced wheel inside runs over the surface of a sphere and can be moved from side to side by the input shaft, thus varying the effective gearing ratio (as the sphere's effective diameter changes), following a sine/cosine law.

However I've never heard these called a "resolver" before. IMHE, resolvers were electro-mechanical polyphase AC devices, related to synchros (rotating position to electrical phase transducers).

[Andy Dingley]

Looking closer, I don't think those wheels move in the way I thought. That means it's just a differential adder, not sine/cosine.

I guess you could call this a "resolver" (same function), but I'd never heard the term applied to these purely mechanical era gadgets, only the modern electro-mechanical ones (for 1930s and 1950s values of "ancient" and "modern"!)

[DoN. Nichols]

1191) This is some form of analog computing component. At a guess, it is a three-axis integrator. Three axes of information come in on the three non-central shafts, and the output on the central shaft is proportional to the volume of the area covered by the three other shafts (or at least, whatever is connected to those shafts).

It may be part of an inertial navigation system, though it seems too beefy for that -- since they are normally used in aircraft.

1192) Looks like something for popping apart oversized pop-beads at a distance. Obviously nothing electrical, or the handle would be an insulating material, not the aluminum or zinc-coated steel which is currently there.

The red plastic cap would appear to be used for re-connecting them.

1193) Hmm ... perhaps for controlling aggressive dogs (by the handler), or perhaps for some kind of S&M game. 1194) At a guess -- it is some kind of snap-on shower head -- perhaps to be used in a gravity-feed shower. 1195) Hmm ... it sort of looks like it is designed to safely grip cartridge fuses -- except that it would be very difficult to get into place. For that use, the semi-circular gripping surfaces should be on the far side of the hinge. 1196) Looks like something for reaching into a recess and turning a valve. Perhaps the water service shutoff at the street.

Now to see what others have said.

Enjoy, DoN.

[Joe]

damn there's some smart people in this group.

jc

[Leon Fisk]

Hi Rob,

Take a look at this patent:

"AUTOMOBILE DOOR BUTTON-OPERATING IMPLEMENT"

It is similar in principle. Care to share those three numbers with the rest of us for the patent? (Grin)

Here are a few more similar devices:

?vid=4015871?vid=4726263?vid=D262263This one is really close and maybe the one you're looking for:

[Ned Simmons]

Is that a patent for a stick?

[R.H.]

ahead and added a link on the answer page. Upon closer inspection, the digits that I thought were part of a patent number are most likely part of an address to Van Nuys, CA. There is mention of a patent, but a lot of the paper has been scraped away so that less than 20 percent of it is readable. The inventor is from LA, which is right next to Van Nuys, so that's another indication that this patent is the correct one.

Rob

[Barbara Bailey]

FWIW, I had one of these things when I was driving a full-sized van which didn't have power door locks, It did away with the necessity of climbing (or trying to stretch) all the way across the front seats and anything stacked in between them to unlock the other door.