Otis King
Encyclopedia
Slide rule
The slide rule, also known colloquially as a slipstick, is a mechanical analog computer. The slide rule is used primarily for multiplication and division, and also for functions such as roots, logarithms and trigonometry, but is not normally used for addition or subtraction.Slide rules come in a...
with helical scales, primarily for business uses initially. The product was named Otis King's Patent Calculator, and was manufactured and sold by Carbic Ltd. in London from about 1922 to about 1972.
With a log-scale
Logarithmic scale
A logarithmic scale is a scale of measurement using the logarithm of a physical quantity instead of the quantity itself.A simple example is a chart whose vertical axis increments are labeled 1, 10, 100, 1000, instead of 1, 2, 3, 4...
decade length of 66 inches, the Otis King calculator should be about a full digit more accurate than a 6-inch pocket slide rule. But due to inaccuracies in tic-mark placement, some portions of its scales will read off by more than they should. For example, a reading of 4.630 might represent an answer of 4.632, or almost one part in 2000 error, when it should be accurate to one part in 6000 (66"/6000 = 0.011" estimated interpolation accuracy).http://www.svpal.org/~dickel/OK/OKflat423.html
The Geniac brand cylindrical slide rule sold by Oliver Garfield Company in New York was initially a relabelled Otis King; Garfield later made his own, probably unauthorized version of the Otis King (around 1959). The UK patents covering the mechanical device(s) would have expired in about 1941–2 (i.e. 20 years after filing of the patent) but copyright in the drawings would typically only expire 70 years after the author's death.
External links
Patents
- UK patent GB 207,762 (1922) http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=207762A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19231204&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- UK patent GB 183,723 (1921) http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=183723A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19220803&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- UK patent GB 207,856 (1922) http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=GB&NR=207856A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19231204&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- US patent US 1,645,009 (1923) http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=US&NR=1645009A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19271011&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- Canadian patent CA 241986 http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=CA&NR=241986A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19240805&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- Canadian patent CA 241076 http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=CA&NR=241076A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19240624&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- French patent FR569985 http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/biblio?CC=FR&NR=569985A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19240422&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- French patent FR576616 http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=FR&NR=576616A&KC=A&FT=D&date=19240823&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP
- German patent DE 418814 http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=DE&NR=418814C&KC=C&FT=D&date=19250915&DB=EPODOC&locale=en_EP