MODERN INVENTIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 123, 21 November 1932, Page 11

MODERN INVENTIONS

EXHIBITION IN LONDON

NEW DEVICES FOR THE HOME

(From "The Post's" Representative.) ■ - LONDON; 7th October.'

Once a year all those people who have invented something to. make life .easier, or more complicated, as the case may be, have an opportunity of exhibiting tlieir patonts at tho exhibition arranged by tho Institute of Patentcos: ■ Ono year tho\models of now contrivances may' be seen- fresh from tho inventors' hands; .-the next.,year'.a.,few of these are being shown on special stands as articles placed upon the market. ,The proportion that, make ; their appoal to the public and survive is not large. Labour-saving doviees do not seem to "go" just■because : they are efficient ana useful. Money and energy have to be expended before a conservative world will accept the good things that are offered. \ . /,. .

11l the separate trade section in'which inventions which have recently roached the market are displayed, domestic articles are much in- evidence. There is the tin-opener which presses down the cut -edge and leaves the top of the tin. ,doul?h>.and smooth. There is tho plated. Md: wilich' can. be fixed to an ordinary lib glass, jar of jam so that its appearance on the table is.not unsightly. The same invention has a hinge fdr attachment to a treacle tin lid. When it'is .open the spoon used may. be placed,in a: ; groovo so..that, it hangs dowirward and above the .treacle to* drain—an excellent arrangement; for the children's tea table. : ■;{,:!

A new washing contrivance for the home comes from Berlin. It is in the form of a metal bell at the end of a handle. ■ On the top of the handle is; an air pump. In pushing the. bell against the clothes one also pushes the air- put of the ■ pump at1 the top. The air is forced through the clothes, thus making lather and forcing tho water and air through the fabric. The claim; is made that this compressor washes" in two hours what a washerwoman requires a day to accomplish. : , A' very simple article now on the market seems to have solved an old difficulty. It is a tea strainer—meroly a perforated metal: disc with a small arrangoment like a pair. of scissors passing through it, arid, actuated by a spring. The point of the scissors contrivance 'is just, pushed through the holes at the base of' the spout and the spring opens the catch and keeps the disc against the outlet. " It is extremely simple but effective.

,When one squeezes a"lemon the juice is poured off and pips often have- to be retrieved from the tumbler. A new form, of squeezer has a catchment disc of wiro gauze, jound the' base of the glass pillar. On this all tho pips and solid matter remain, while the clear liquid passes through to tho saucershaped receptacle beneath.

For about £6/one may have a pot to cook a complete dinner at one time by electricity. \ Oil is first heated to boiling point, and thon tho plug is changed over to a low heat. . Laid on its side, this cooker may bo used as an oven for cakes. It is claimed that a complete meal can be cooked'for less than a half-penny at the London charge for electricity,

An an ti-theft device for ears not only locks all doors and the bonnet and gear levers, but as a final precaution disconnects the ignition system and automatically applies the brakes. Another mechanical curiosity is the three-seater '' dynasphere," which has already been demonstrated on the open road. It works on tho principle of ■the squirrel in the revolving cage. The machine supplies its own lines inside the broad wheel; the engine causes the passengers and engine to start to climb up the front slope, and gravity presses them down. In the battle between tho engine ai\d. gravity the machine is rolled forward. To the machine the engine and passengers are swung sideways by means of a steering wheel. The inventor considers that a use may bo found for the dynasphere in rough, roadless lauds, or even for Arctic exploration.

. Among the inventions which are presented for the first time there is the eccentric parasol, which conforms rather to the shape .of an ivy leaf. The operator can thus get the full benefit of the covering, and in addition it is more artistic in its form than the ordinary circular umbrella. The inventor is a lady. Another lady has contrived to evade the 'Hipping" of railway porters by fixing a simple four-wheeled trolley to the base of her suitcase. A little strap attached to the handle enables the owner to drag .a heavy case along the footpath or stationway without difficulty. A wool holder enables wool to be wound into balls very quickly and easily.

Another inventor -has found a way to make window models out of rubber, and the figures can be .made to move and apparently breathe in. a most realistic way by means of electric motors. There is a simple device for gripping and locking milk bottles, so that early morning marauders cannot help themselves to either tho bottle or the contents.

A: dentist has invented a clothes dryer, a professor of chemistry submits a reversing design for marine engines;, a barrister invents a cushion device for soles and heels of boots; a verger concentrate's on a loudspeaker, and'an assurance manager specialises in antidazzle headlights,