Gábor Kornél Tolnai
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Gábor Kornél Tolnai (November 22, 1902, in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
– February 3, 1982, in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
) was a Hungarian- Swedish engineer and
inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an ...
. He is best known for his inventions and
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
s for spinning machines, devices for the Swedish National Defense and several types of
tape recorders An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
.


Biography

Kornél Tolnai was born in 1902 in Budapest in Hungary and took his Diploma Engineer's degree at the
Technical University of Budapest The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered t ...
in 1924. During the years 1928–1931 Kornél Tolnai made three inventions of his own, Centralograph, Teletachograph and Regulator, which he accomplished completely. After that he came into contact with the Swedish
LM Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
. They bought his patents and then he was working at LM Ericsson, both in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
and in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
for some years. He set up an experimental workshop in Stockholm and worked with designs and inventions, some of which led to patents. He was active in Sweden from 1935 and became a Swedish citizen in 1940.


Marriage and family

Gábor Kornél Tolnai was the son of Gábor Tolnai and his wife Ilona Tolnai. His father was active in the
Magyar Államvasutak The Hungarian State Railways (, , formally MÁV Magyar Államvasutak Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (MÁV Zrt.). The full official name of the company is MÁV-csoport () now commonly known as MÁV) is the Hungarian national rail ...
, the
Hungarian State Railways The Hungarian State Railways (, , formally MÁV Magyar Államvasutak Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (MÁV Zrt.). The full official name of the company is MÁV-csoport () now commonly known as MÁV) is the Hungary, Hungarian natio ...
, popularly
MÁV The Hungarian State Railways (, , formally MÁV Magyar Államvasutak Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság (MÁV Zrt.). The full official name of the company is MÁV-csoport () now commonly known as MÁV) is the Hungarian national rail ...
. In 1932, he met his Swedish wife at a party in the "Winter garden" (''Vinterträdgården'') at
Grand Hôtel Royal Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, when the Swedish-Hungarian society had a jubilee. The Swedish artist
David Wallin David August Wallin (7 January 1876 – 27 June 1957) was a Swedish artist. In 1932 he won an Olympic Gold Medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles for his oil painting "''At the Seaside of Arild''". Background David ...
had just sold a painting, ''Mother and Child'', to the Museum of Fine Arts in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
(), and David Wallin was invited to Grand Hotel Royal ( Grand Hôtel Royal with the Winter garden) and he took his 22-year-old daughter Bianca with him. She was an educated artist. Kornél and Bianca engaged on January 24, 1935. In 1935, on September 17, Kornél Tolnai married the Swedish artist Bianca Wallin (1909–2006). She was the daughter of the famous artist
David Wallin David August Wallin (7 January 1876 – 27 June 1957) was a Swedish artist. In 1932 he won an Olympic Gold Medal in the art competitions of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles for his oil painting "''At the Seaside of Arild''". Background David ...
(1876–1957) and his wife Elin Wallin (1884–1969). In 1935 the couple settled down in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
and in 1942 he moved with his family to a large villa in
Bromma Bromma () is a Boroughs of Stockholm, borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of Bromma Parish and Västerled Parish. The fourth largest airpo ...
, outside Stockholm, where he lived with his family until he died in 1982 at nearly eighty years of age. He had three daughters, Eva, born in 1939, Monika, born in 1942 and Hillevi, born in 1944.


Studies in Budapest

Gábor Kornél Tolnai entered the German-speaking Lutheran
Fasori Gimnázium Fasori Gimnázium (lit. "secondary school on the tree-lined avenue"; fasori=tree lined, gimnazium=secondary school), also known as Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium ("Fasori" Lutheran Secondary School), official name: ''Budapest-Fasori Evangélikus G ...
in Budapest for eight years in 1912 through 1920. Budapest–Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium, 1071 Budapest, Városligeti fasor 17–21, was one of the best schools in Budapest, and he got his higher school certificate in the spring of 1920. He was a classmate of
Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (, ; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of th ...
, eminent physicist, mathematician and
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
winner in Physics in 1963 and schoolmate of
John von Neumann John von Neumann ( ; ; December 28, 1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian and American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist and engineer. Von Neumann had perhaps the widest coverage of any mathematician of his time, in ...
, eminent mathematician, physicist, polymath and inventor of the computor. Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium had a strong academic tradition and outstanding teachers, i.e. mathematics teacher
László Rátz László Rátz (9 April 1863 in Sopron – 30 September 1930 in Budapest) was a Hungarian mathematics high school teacher best known for educating such people as John von Neumann and Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner. He was a legendary teac ...
, physics teacher Mikola Sándor and class teacher Imre Oppel. Fasori Gimnázium is a famous
secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...
in Budapest. It is located near the
City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a city park, municipal park (North America), public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park or botanical garden in cities, densely populated suburbia and other incorporate ...
. After graduating Gábor Kornél Tolnai studied at the
Technical University of Budapest The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered t ...
. He was ready in record time with his Diploma Engineer degree only 21 years old in the spring of 1924. After his diploma in Budapest in spring 1924 Gábor Kornél Tolnai settled down in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
for study and practice for three years. File:Fasori evangélikus templom Budapest.jpg, Budapest Fasori Evangélikus Gimnázium with the Fasor Lutheran Church. The building belongs to the school. File:Budapest-Fasori Gimnázium, Highschool class 1919.jpg, Budapest-Fasori Evangélikus Gimnáziuim. The highschool class in 1919. Gábor Kornél Tolnai is in the third raw, the fifth from the right and his classmate
Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (, ; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of th ...
is in the front (first) raw, the second from the right. File:Tolnai and Wigner 1963-3.jpg, Gábor Kornél Tolnai, to the right, meets
Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (, ; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of th ...
, in the middle, in Stockholm on December 13, 1963. Wigner was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics on December 10, 1963. Mrs Mary Annette Wheeler Wigner to the left. File:Tolnai and Wigner 1963-1.jpg, Gábor Kornél Tolnai meets
Eugene Wigner Eugene Paul Wigner (, ; November 17, 1902 – January 1, 1995) was a Hungarian-American theoretical physicist who also contributed to mathematical physics. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 "for his contributions to the theory of th ...
in Stockholm on December 13, 1963. Here they meet each other together with their both families.


Inventions, patents, employment and self-employed


The Group Linum-Taussig

In the autumn of 1927 Tolnai returned to Budapest and became an employee of the Group Linum-Taussig in Budapest as a
technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical area, an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a football match * Technical advisor, a person who ...
superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...
and
supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position and role that is primarily based on authority over la ...
of the company's industrial spinning machines for spinning textiles manufacturing in the process (Manufacturing process management, MPM) of creating yarn from various raw fibre materials. Spinning is an ancient
textile art Textile arts are arts and crafts that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects. Textiles have been a fundamental part of human life since the beginning of civilization. The methods and materials use ...
in which
plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
,
animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...
or
synthetic Synthetic may refer to: Science * Synthetic biology * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic elements, chemical elements that are not naturally found on Earth and therefore have to be created in ...
fibers Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...
, are twisted together to form
yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...
. Linum-Taussig was established in 1922. The head office of the company ''Linum-Taussig Sámuel és Fiai Lenfonó és Szövőipar Részvénytársaság '' was in Budapest, and they also had a branch office in Győr. ''Linum-Taussig Sámuel és Fiai Lenfonó és Szövőipari Rt.'' was founded in 1922. For the company Linum-Taussig Kornél Tolnai also worked as a supervisor in the city of
Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...
(''German'': Raab) at their spinning machine factory there. Győr is the most important industrial city of northwest Hungary and is situated about 30 km from Budapest between
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
and
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, with waggons and machinery factories. The factory system began widespread use somewhat later when
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
spinning of textiles was mechanized. The company in Győr had mechanical flax- and hemp weaving for surface treatment, finishing and impregnation, fabrics of jute, production of bags and tents transportation. The plant had a wide product range of tablecloths, towels, pressings, tarpaulin sheets, and canvas cloths made up of technical textiles. The name of the company, Group Linum-Taussig, shows that it was about
Linum ''Linum'' (flax) is a genus of approximately 200 species''Linum''.
The Jepson Manual.
...
(flax). Linum is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of approximately 200 species in the
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
family
Linaceae Linaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family is cosmopolitan, and includes about 250 species in 14 genera, classified into two subfamilies: the Linoideae and Hugonioideae. Description The leaves of the Linaceae are always simple; arran ...
, native to
temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...
and
subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...
regions of the world. It includes the Common Flax (''L. usitatissimum''), the
bast fibre Bast fibre (also called phloem fibre or skin fibre) is plant fibre collected from the phloem (the "inner bark", sometimes called "skin") or bast surrounding the stem of certain dicotyledonous plants. Some of the economically important bast fibre ...
of which is used to produce
linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...
and the seeds to produce
linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colorless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...
.


Own company, G.K. Tolnai Fine Mechanical Devices

A year later, in the autumn of 1928, he established himself as self-employed in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
with a precision-tool workshop, whose activity was based on three of his own
invention An invention is a unique or novelty (patent), novel machine, device, Method_(patent), method, composition, idea, or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It m ...
s, which he had
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
ed. All these inventions were intended for the registration and improvement of the running of the spinning machines. At times he had about ten employees in his workshop. The name of his firm was ''Dipl.ing. G.K. Tolnai, Finommechanikai készülékek'' for ''Fine mechanical devices'', in Mester útca 13, IX. Budapest in the district of
Ferencváros Ferencváros (, ) is the 9th district of Budapest (), Hungary. Name The southern suburb of Pest was named after King Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis I on 4 December 1792 when he was crowned king of Hungary. History The developmen ...
. In his machine workhop in Budapest he manufactured the machines, which he had invented, and he also collaborated with the manager of the company Linum Taussig, Paul Hermann (''Hungarian'': Hermann Pál), Budaörsi út 45, XI. Budapest, Újbuda in the district of Újbuda. The
machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...
was a
tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by animals, animals use simple tools, only human bei ...
that consisted of one or more parts, and used
energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...
to achieve a particular
goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...
. The machines were usually powered by mechanical, chemical, thermal, or electrical means, and were frequently motorized. A powered tool also requires moving parts to classify as a machine.


The early 1930s

During the years 1928–1931 Kornél Tolnai made three inventions of his own, Centralograph, Teletachograph and Regulator, which he accomplished completely. He manufactured the Centralograph in his own workshop, called "''Dipl.ing. GK Tolnai Okl. Gépészmérnök''", ''M. Sc. G K Tolnai Master of Science Mechanical'', in Mester útca (1928–1931). The spinning of textiles is a major industry for production monitoring and registration of the running of the spinning machines in workshops and offices. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibres are converted into
yarn Yarn is a long continuous length of interlocked fibres, used in sewing, crocheting, knitting, weaving, embroidery, ropemaking, and the production of textiles. '' Thread'' is a type of yarn intended for sewing by hand or machine. Modern ...
, then
fabrics Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not ...
. * The '' Centralograph'' was used for production monitoring and registration of the running of the spinning machines in workshop and offices. The Centralograph is a recording instrument equipped with a number of printing units which record data on a moving chart. The record appears in the form of dashes and numerical digits in a series of columns. The printing units have
electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire (likely copper) wound into a electromagnetic coil, coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic ...
coil which are actuated by external impulses. The chart and the ink ribbon are driven either by a
synchronous motor A synchronous electric motor is an AC electric motor in which, at steady state, the rotation of the shaft is synchronized with the frequency of the supply current; the rotation period is exactly equal to an integer number of AC cycles. Sync ...
or by an impulse motor. Synchronous motors are commonly used in analog electric clocks, timers and other devices where correct time is required. :Later on, when Ericsson has bought Tolnai's patent, the LM Ericsson Centralograph was used in industry for the supervision of manufacturing processes and of the function and degree of utilization of machinery. The Centralograph was used as a service observation instrument in automatic telephone exchanges. In LM Ericsson's automatic transit exchanges it was also used for the recording of faults discovered by markers and v.f. receivers. The Swedish Telecommunications Administration (Televerket) has developed application for the Centralograph in telephone exchanges for supervision of automatic processes. One of the first people to build a
telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...
was Hungarian
Tivadar Puskás Tivadar Puskás de Ditró (in older English technical literature: Theodore Puskás) (17 September 1844 – 16 March 1893) was a Hungarian inventor, telephone pioneer, and inventor of the telephone exchange. He was also the founder of Tele ...
in 1877 while he was working for
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
. In 1894 Nicola Tesla constructed a Flat Spiral Coil,
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
512,340. *The '' Teletachograph'' was a device for registration and improvement of the running of spinning machines, "for remote control of machinery", which combines the functions of a clock and a speedometer (1931–1933). :The ''
Tachograph A tachograph is a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of modes. The drive mode is activated automatically when the vehicle is in motion, an ...
'' is a recording device that combines the functions of a clock and a speedometer. A controller (device) is a device used to measure and regulate the speed of a machine, such as a motor (''Greek'': tele = far away (distant), ''tacho'' = speed, ''graphein'' = write). A tachograph is a card with a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of modes. :The tachograph was a device that monitors speed and driving and rest times. One of the way to record the information is the old method using a paper chart (analogue tachograph). The
chart recorder A chart recorder is an electromechanical device that records an electrical or mechanical input trend onto a piece of paper (the chart). Chart recorders may record several inputs using different color pens and may record onto strip charts or circu ...
is an
electromechanical Electromechanics combine processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focus on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems interact with each ...
device that records an electrical or mechanical input trend onto a piece of paper (the chart). Chart recorders may record several inputs using different color pens and may record onto strip charts or circular charts. The
tachograph A tachograph is a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of modes. The drive mode is activated automatically when the vehicle is in motion, an ...
is a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of ''modes''. The ''drive mode'' is activated automatically when the vehicle is in motion. :A
tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a axle, shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrat ...
is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the
revolutions per minute Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 de ...
(RPM) on a calibrated analogue dial, but digital displays are increasingly common. The word comes from Greek: Ταχος, tachos, "speed", and metron, "measure". * The '' Regulator'' was a device to measure and regulate the speed to keep constant speed of the spinning machines regardless of load pressure. In
automatic control Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
, a regulator is a device which has the function of maintaining a designated characteristic (1931–1933). File:Gábor Kornél Tolnai, own workshop, Budapest, 1931-2.jpg, Interior of the fine mechanical workshop in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. Kornél Tolnai leftmost. Photo in 1931. File:Gábor Kornél Tolnai, own workshop, Budapest, 1931-3.jpg, Interior of the fine mechanical workshop in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. Kornél Tolnai furthest to the right. Photo in 1931. File:Tachoscheibe.jpg, The
tachograph A tachograph is a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of modes. The drive mode is activated automatically when the vehicle is in motion, an ...
is a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of ''modes''. File:Tachograph.jpg, Analogue
Tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a axle, shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrat ...
, or
Tachograph A tachograph is a device fitted to a vehicle that automatically records its speed and distance, together with the driver's activity selected from a choice of modes. The drive mode is activated automatically when the vehicle is in motion, an ...
. A modern tachograph with tachograph chart. Note the teardrop shaped hole as opposed to a round hole. File:TeslaFlatSpiralCoil.png, Nicola Tesla's Flat Spiral Coil, 1894.


Exhibition of his inventions

In 1930 Kornél Tolnai exhibited his inventions at the
Leipzig Trade Fair The Leipzig Trade Fair () is a major trade fair, which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became one of the most importan ...
(''German'': Leipziger Messe), (''English'': Leipsic
Trade fair A trade show, also known as trade fair, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific Industry (economics), industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest Product (business), products and se ...
), which was a major fair for trade across
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
for nearly a millennium, and then he came into contact with the
textile industries The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, Production (economics), production and distribution of textiles: yarn, textile, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natu ...
in
Norrköping Norrköping ( , ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Lin ...
and
Borås Borås ( , , ) is a city (officially, a locality) and the seat of Borås Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden. It had 114,556 inhabitants in 2024. It is widely known for being a textile city, home to worldwide brands and companie ...
. Norrköping developed with the construction of a
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
refinery. It was at the Spring Fair in 1930. The industry in Norrköping, including textile manufacturers, expanded into the 20th century. Borås is the leading
textile Textile is an Hyponymy and hypernymy, umbrella term that includes various Fiber, fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, Staple (textiles)#Filament fiber, filaments, Thread (yarn), threads, and different types of #Fabric, fabric. ...
city of Sweden, starting as a location spot for textile mills. In Borås he established contact with the engineer and executive director of the textile firm AB Hugo Hennig & Company (Sven Bjurqvist), who also was the editor for the ''Scandinavian Journal of Textile Industry'', where some articles of Kornél Tolnai was printed (i.e. No 7-8, 1931). Hugo Hennig also was a member of Flax Cultivation Committee in Sweden. He founded his own agency and machine company in Borås. Over time, the company became, under his sons direction, only a sales agency for a variety of manufacturers of machines and accessories for the textile industry. In 1931 Kornél Tolnai set out his own inventions and patents at the Leipzig Trade Fair again during the Leipzig Spring Fair in February 1931. Gábor Kornél Tolnai came in contact with the Swedish company
Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
(
LM Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
.
Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
is a
telecommunications equipment Telecommunications equipment (also telecoms equipment or communications equipment) is a type of hardware which is used for the purposes of telecommunications. Since the 1990s the boundary between telecoms equipment and IT hardware has become blurr ...
manufacturer and the company is one of the largest Swedish companies, that provides telecommunications equipment and data communication systems and related services covering a range of technologies. In the beginning of the 1930s a new material came to dominate the productions of telephones. It was the
Bakelite Bakelite ( ), formally , is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Belgian chemist ...
, an early
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
. The plastic was developed by Belgian-born chemist
Leo Baekeland Leo Hendrik Baekeland ( , ; November 14, 1863 – February 23, 1944) was a Belgian chemist. Educated in Belgium and Germany, he spent most of his career in the United States. He is best known for the inventions of Velox photographic paper ...
in New York in 1907. It was one of the first
plastics Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic materials composed primarily of polymers. Their defining characteristic, plasticity, allows them to be molded, extruded, or pressed into a diverse range of solid forms. This adaptab ...
made from synthetic components.
The
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
granted Baekeland a patent for a "Method of making insoluble products of phenol and formaldehyde" on December 7, 1909. In 1931 L.M. Ericsson introduced the '' Bakelite phone'', and acquired the patent rights to Tolnai's Centralograph machine-status-recorder. When Ericsson's Bakelite telephone was first distributed worldwide in 1931 it was called the ''Swedish type of telephone'' and set the standard for how a modern plastic telephone should look. The distinctive Ericsson styles soon became subdued by the increasing use of moulded
thermoplastic A thermoplastic, or thermosoftening plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastics have a high molecular weight. The polymer chains as ...
phones. Ericsson's innovative bakelite telephone, which was launched in 1931, was primarily known for its trend-setting (
early adopter An early adopter or lighthouse customer is an early customer of a given company, product, or technology. The term originates from Everett M. Rogers' ''Diffusion of Innovations'' (1962). History Typically, early adopters are customers who, in a ...
)
design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...
, but it also contained an important technical innovation called anti-side tone coupling. The line of telephones, the
Ericsson DBH 1001 telephone The Bakelite phone (''bakelittelefon'') officially known as Ericsson DBH 1001, and later as M33, N1020, and ED 702, was a Swedish line of telephones made from the polymer Bakelite and produced for over thirty years between 1931 and 1962. Histor ...
, was the Bakelite phone, officially also called DBH 1001, m33, N1020 or DE 702, was a Swedish standard telephone bakelite produced in over thirty years between 1931 and 1962. LM Ericsson bought the rights to the Centralograph from Gábor Kornél Tolnai and accordingly they acquired the
patent rights A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
from him. The procedure for granting patents, requirements placed on the patentee, and the extent of the exclusive rights vary widely between countries according to national laws and international agreements. A patent is a set of
exclusive right An exclusive right, or exclusivity, is a ''de facto'', non-tangible prerogative existing in law (that is, the power or, in a wider sense, right) to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to perform the same ...
s granted by a
sovereign state A sovereign state is a State (polity), state that has the highest authority over a territory. It is commonly understood that Sovereignty#Sovereignty and independence, a sovereign state is independent. When referring to a specific polity, the ter ...
to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time, in exchange for the public disclosure of the invention. An invention is a solution to a specific technological problem, and may be a product or a process. Patents are a form of
intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...
. Intellectual property (IP) is a
legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...
concept for creations of the mind for which
exclusive right An exclusive right, or exclusivity, is a ''de facto'', non-tangible prerogative existing in law (that is, the power or, in a wider sense, right) to perform an action or acquire a benefit and to permit or deny others the right to perform the same ...
s are recognized. When
LM Ericsson (), commonly known as Ericsson (), is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Ericsson has been a major contributor to the development of the telecommunications industry and is one ...
had bought Tolnai's patents Kornél Tolnai became an employee of LM Ericsson, both in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
and in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
in 1930–1931. In Stockholm Ericsson had an office on Döbelnsgatan 18 with workshops on Thulegatan 5, 15, 17 and 19 and in Budapest Ericsson had a branch with workshops and offices on Vörösmarty útca 67, Budapest VI, in the district of Terézváros, an office building located in the 6th district near to
Budapest-Nyugati Railway Terminal Budapest Nyugati station (, ; ), generally referred to simply as Nyugati, is one of the three main railway terminals in Budapest, Hungary. The station is on the Pest side of Budapest, accessible by the 4 and 6 tramline and the M3 metro line. ...
(''Hungarian'': Budapest-Nyugati pályaudvar; ''English'': Budapest Western railway station), in the historical heart of Budapest. It lies at the intersection of Grand Boulevard and Váci Avenue. It was the Hungarian Electricity A.G. Ex Deckert and Homolka. Ericsson, the full name of Telefonaktiebolaget L.M. Ericsson, is a Swedish telecommunications company with an international focus. Ericsson was founded in 1876 by
Lars Magnus Ericsson Lars Magnus Ericsson (; 5 May 1846 – 17 December 1926) was a Swedish inventor, entrepreneur and founder of telephone equipment manufacturer Ericsson ( incorporated as ''Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson''). Early life Lars Magnus was born i ...
(1846–1926). The company Ericsson that operated the Hungarian plant was named Ericsson Ungarische Elektrizitäts Aktiengesellschaft. The address at that time in Budapest was Fehévari-út 70, I. Budapest in the district of Budavár. Ericsson Factories and Offices in Sweden, Ericsson Telephone Ltd. Telephone Engineers and Manufacturers, were in 14 countries. In Stockholm Ericsson had an office in Kungsgatan 31-33 in the Södra Kungstornet, the "South Kings' Tower", one of the two Kungstornen (''English'': Kings' Towers) in Stockholm. During the 1930s Kornél Tolnai sometimes had his meetings with the L. M. Ericsson
board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
in the South Kings' Tower in Kungsgatan 33, as the company had until 1940 its
representative office A representative office is an office established by a company or a legal entity to conduct marketing and other non-transactional operations, generally in a foreign country where a branch office or subsidiary is not warranted. Representative offices ...
here. The South Kings' Tower is one of the two towers, it is a 17-storey and 61 m (200 ft) and was built between 1924 and 1925. Together, they are considered the first modern skyscrapers in Europe. The South Kings' Tower was adorned with four towers figures from Roman mythology (
Fortuna Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...
, Mercury,
Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...
and
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
) created by sculptor Aron Sandberg. Constructor was L. M. Ericsson's real estate company, and the company had until 1940 its representative office here. If you look closely at the tower figures you will see that one of them (Victoria) carries a gilded Ericsson phone with the letters "LME". In the top of the tower was until 1963 the restaurant ''Pagod'' which was a temperance restaurant, decorated by Aaron Sandberg in Chinese theme, which was run by the Salvation Army. The plant in Budapest continued to report a profit during the 1920s, since the Hungarian PTT placed half of its orders for telephone equipment with Ericsson. The company expected major orders for automatic systems during the 1930s, but the depression dashed these hopes.


Lecture in Budapest in 1934

In the ''Skandinavisk Tidskrift för Textilindustri'' (''Scandinavian Journal of Textile Industry''), N:o 7-8, 1931, which was printed at ''AB Borås Tidningstryckeri'' in Swedish, there was an article about Kornél Tolnai's invention with text and pictures. The title of the article was ''A valuable tool for rationalization of industrial operation'', ''Business professionals, investors and manufacturers insist on an economic production''. (In ''Swedish'': ''Ett värdefullt hjälpmedel vid rationalisering av industriell drift'', ''Affärslivet, aktieägare och fabrikanter yrka på en ekonomisk produktion''.) The responsible publisher for the publication, a trade technical journal, was Hugo Hennig from the textile factory in Borås. The Teletachograf and the Centralograf were put together, as for example in the office of the manager of the spinning mill in the big cotton firm Leó Goldbergers textilfabrik (Goldberger Textilművek Rt.) in Budapest. Here was also ''System Tolnai'' connected to a control plant in the ringspinning hall. In 1934, ten years after his exam in 1924 at the
Budapest University of Technology and Economics The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered ...
, Kornél Tolnai had a lecture about his inventions ''Teletachograf'' and ''Centralograf'' at the
Budapest University of Technology and Economics The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered ...
(''Hungarian'': Budapesti Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetem, BME). The title of the lecture was ''Efficiency Improvement of the Textile Industry''. The lecture had the same information as was printed in the Hungarian trade technical journal ''"Magyar Textiltechnologusok Lapja"'', May 25, 1934 "TEXTIL-IPAR", Budapest. At that time, in 1934, the technical highschool in Budapest was named ''Royal Joseph Technical University''. It was reorganized in 1871 and was elevated to equal rank with other universities in the country. In 1910 it moved to its current site near Gellért square (next to the
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...
Hotel Gellért). In 1934 it was reorganized again as Palatine ''Joseph University of Technology and Economics'' and it played a dominant role in the
interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
industrialization process, together with engineering and economist training in Hungary. In Hungarian the name of the highschool was ''M. kir. József nádor Műszaki és Gazdaságtudományi Egyetemet''. In Hungarian the school is abbreviated as BME, English official abbreviation BME, is the most significant
University of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...
in Hungary and is also one of the oldest
Institutes of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...
in the world.


Constructions for the military

In 1935 Kornél Tolnai established an experimental workshop in Stockholm, ''Arago'', on Tjärhovsgatan 23 in
Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...
. He built models and measuring instruments and was doing constructions and inventions, some of which led to
patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...
s.


Impulse Engine

At this time he constructed a couple of his most successful inventions for military anti-aircraft defence. The invention was a tempering machine for anti-aircraft guns and it was introduced for
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
anti-aircraft instrumentation. Among other things, he collaborated with
AB Bofors BAE Systems AB is subsidiary holding company for the Swedish assets of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The portfolio in 2020 contained the companies ''Systems C-ITS'', involved ...
about his invention '' Impulse engine'', a tempering machine for anti-aircraft autocannons. The Bofors 40 mm air-craft gun, often referred to simply as the Bofors gun, is an
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
/multi-purpose
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
designed in the 1930s by the Swedish arms manufacturer
AB Bofors BAE Systems AB is subsidiary holding company for the Swedish assets of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The portfolio in 2020 contained the companies ''Systems C-ITS'', involved ...
. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. In the mid-1930s the foundation for the company's most famous product was laid, the Bofors 40 mm automatic cannon, which during World War II were produced in different countries in 10,000 numbers of copies. An autocannon is a rapid-fire projectile weapon firing a shell as opposed to the bullet fired by a machine cannon.
AB Bofors BAE Systems AB is subsidiary holding company for the Swedish assets of BAE Systems Land & Armaments, whose ultimate parent is the British defence contractor BAE Systems. The portfolio in 2020 contained the companies ''Systems C-ITS'', involved ...
was a Swedish industrial company and arms manufacturers headquartered in the town of
Karlskoga Karlskoga () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Karlskoga Municipality, Sweden. It is located within Örebro County, 45 km (28 mi) west of Örebro, and 10 km (6 mi) north of Degerfors. With a 2020 population o ...
in
Örebro County Örebro County () is a county or '' län'' in central Sweden. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Värmland, Dalarna, Västmanland, Södermanland and Östergötland. It is frequently culturally divided into the hilly northern region of ...
in Värmland. In late 19th century Karlskoga was transformed from
iron works An ironworks or iron works is a building or site where iron is smelted and where heavy iron and steel products are made. Iron Works may also refer to: * Iron Works, a neighborhood in Brookfield, Connecticut * Clay City, Kentucky, known as Iron ...
to a manufacturer of cannon and in the 20th century a more diversified defense industry. The most famous owner of the Swedish company
Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms manufacturer BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Locate ...
, located in Karlskoga, was
Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel ( ; ; 21 October 1833 – 10 December 1896) was a Swedish chemist, inventor, engineer, and businessman. He is known for inventing dynamite, as well as having bequeathed his fortune to establish the Nobel Prizes. He also m ...
who owned the company from 1894 until his death in December 1896. He had the key role in reshaping the iron manufacturer to a modern cannon manufacturer and
chemical industry The chemical industry comprises the companies and other organizations that develop and produce industrial, specialty and other chemicals. Central to the modern world economy, the chemical industry converts raw materials ( oil, natural gas, air, ...
. The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years.
Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms manufacturer BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Locate ...
was initially a general iron and steel use, and was to become an arms manufacturers in the late 1800s when technology developments within the field cannon meant that the new steel grades and manufacturing techniques were used. The Bofors 40 mm gun is a famous
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
designed by the Swedish firm
Bofors AB Bofors ( , , ) is a former Swedish arms manufacturer which today is part of the British arms manufacturer BAE Systems. The name has been associated with the iron industry and artillery manufacturing for more than 350 years. History Locate ...
. It was one of the most popular medium-weight anti-aircraft systems during World War II, used by most of the western Allies as well as various other forces. It is often referred to simply as the Bofors gun. The name Bofors has been associated with the iron industry for more than 350 years. It is located in Karlskoga, Sweden, and it originates from the hammer mill "Boofors" founded 1646. The company was founded in 1873.


Reportoskop

Kornél Tolnai did his own experiments in his own workshop in Södermalm in Stockholm. In 1936 he made his own invention, ''Reportoskop'', which he has built and in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
he demonstrated it right when the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
in Berlin took place. Tolnai had built his invention ''Reportoskop'' and he demonstrated it during the
Olympic Games in Berlin The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
on August 1–16, it should he used to follow an athlete (sportsman), for instance a runner on the running track. It took almost forty years before he, in 1975, received a patent for his ''Reportoskop''.


Central Instrument

In 1937–1938, Tolnai had several temporary assignments for the
army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
administration in Sweden, which exploited his patents for, among others, including '' driving relay'', an
electrically Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
operated
switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...
, which then became part of his construction of the ''Central Instrument'' (key instrument). Many relays use an
electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire (likely copper) wound into a electromagnetic coil, coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic ...
to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. The structure is used to measure one or more physical quantities. In terms of the basic physical tasks required, a driver must be able to control direction, acceleration, and deceleration. A latching relay has two relaxed states (bistable). These are also called "impulse", "keep", or "stay" relays. * ''Central Instrument'', a key instrument that is a calculator that calculates how weapons should be directed to hit a target. The first key instruments developed in the early 1900s. Until the mid 1900s consisted of analogue mechanical calculators. Nowadays they consist of computers and used for all types of weapons systems. Anti-aircraft defense must quickly and accurately align the cannons and other artillery before introducing air defense computers (main instrument) and remote control. Flight speeds increased during World War II. This hampered the optical detection, recognition and tracking, but the fire control radar air defense could retain and expand their firepower. A
fire-control system A fire-control system (FCS) is a number of components working together, usually a gun data computer, a director and radar, which is designed to assist a ranged weapon system to target, track, and hit a target. It performs the same task as a hum ...
is a number of components working together, usually a
gun data computer The gun data computer was a series of artillery computers used by the U.S. Army for coastal artillery, field artillery and anti-aircraft artillery applications. For antiaircraft applications they were used in conjunction with a director compu ...
, a
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
, and
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
, which is designed to assist a weapon system in hitting its target. It performs the same task as a human gunner firing a weapon, but attempts to do so faster and more accurately. :Tolnai constructed the ''Rapportoskop'', a ''Central Instrument'' for anti-aircraft cannons (1937) which was patented by Arenco in 12 countries (1937–1939),
Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Army Material Administration (, KAF) was a Government agencies in Sweden, Swedish central government agency that replaced the War College (Sweden), War College in 1865. It was active between the years 1866 and 1954. History Th ...
, ''Royal Army Ordnance Depot Department Administration'', 1938. Rapportoskop was commissioned in 1938, this design was the beginning of the Central Instrument of Arenco. * ''Fire Control'', an anti-aircraft defense must quickly and accurately align the cannons and other artillery before introducing air defense computers (main instrument) and remote control. Flight speeds increased during World War II. This hampered the optical detection, recognition and tracking, but the fire control radar air defense could retain and expand their firepower. :Anti-aircraft defense must quickly and accurately align the cannons and other artillery before introducing air defense computers (main instrument) and remote control. Flight speeds increased during World War II. This hampered the optical detection, recognition and tracking, but the fire control radar air defense could retain and expand their firepower. :In 1949 Tolnai constructed the ''Central Instrument'' (Model Tolnai), the central instrument for anti-aircraft cannons,
Royal Swedish Army Materiel Administration The Royal Swedish Army Material Administration (, KAF) was a Government agencies in Sweden, Swedish central government agency that replaced the War College (Sweden), War College in 1865. It was active between the years 1866 and 1954. History Th ...
, ''Royal Army Ordnance Department Administration'', 1949 edition.


Inventor and constructor of the 1940s

In 1939–1949 Tolnai was an employee of AB Gerh. Arehns Mekaniska Verkstad (AB Gerhard Arehn Engineering Workshop) on Alströmergatan 15 and 17 in
Kungsholmen Kungsholmen is an island in Lake Mälaren in Sweden, part of central Stockholm, Sweden. It is situated north of Riddarfjärden and considered part of the historical province Uppland. Its area is with a perimeter of . The highest point is a ...
in Stockholm, later Arenco AB, as inventor and constructor, and there Gábor Kornél Tolnai built the Swedish army's new central instrument for anti-aircraft cannons ("Rapportoskop"). He invented a key instrument for anti-aircraft cannons (Arenco). Arenco AB is a Swedish industrial company that produces, among other things, packaging machines. Arenco was incorporated in Svenska Tändsticks AB (STAB) in 1917 with a diversified product range covering, apart from match machinery, also packaging and fish processing machines. The quality of the products has always been considered to be in top position. Diploma engineer Ernst von Segebaden was an engineer in Arenco AB from 1912, and then he was the director of Arenco in 1949–1955.


Construction of own tape recorders and "Tolnai Study Master" of the 1950s

Gábor Kornél Tolnai started in 1950 ''AB G.K. Tolnai'' his own
workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...
and
laboratory A laboratory (; ; colloquially lab) is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific or technological research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. Laboratories are found in a variety of settings such as schools ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
. The rooms was an area where he provided the tools and machinery that was required for the manufacturing the apparatus. During the years 1950–1977 Kornél Tolnai ran his own company together with a few employees, at first on Främlingsvägen 47 in
Hägersten Hägersten (''Heronstone'') is an Urban districts of Sweden, urban district of Stockholm. It is located in the borough of Hägersten-Liljeholmen, which was formed 1 January 2007 by merging the former boroughs of Hägersten and Liljeholmen. Referen ...
, and then on Hälsingegatan 6 in Vasastan, both in Stockholm.


Hanover Fair

As a self-employer Tolnai regularly visited several industrial fairs in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, especially
Hanover Fair The Hannover Messe (HM; "Hanover Fair") is one of the world's largest trade fairs, dedicated to the topic of industry development. It is organized by Deutsche Messe AG and held on the Hanover Fairground in Hanover, Germany. The fair attracts ...
(''German'': Hannover Messe), to exhibit his equipment and to market them. In 1964 he visited the
World Expo A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...
in Chicago to promote his tape recorders. The
Hanover Fair The Hannover Messe (HM; "Hanover Fair") is one of the world's largest trade fairs, dedicated to the topic of industry development. It is organized by Deutsche Messe AG and held on the Hanover Fairground in Hanover, Germany. The fair attracts ...
is the world's biggest industrial fair. It is held on the
Hanover fairground The Hanover Fairground ( German: ''Messegelände Hannover'') is an exhibition area in the ''Mittelfeld'' district of Hanover, Germany. Featuring 392,453 m² (4.2 million sq.ft.) of covered indoor space, 58,000 m² (624,306 sq ft) of open-air sp ...
in
Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
in Germany. Typically, there are about 6,000 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors. The
Hannover Messe The Hannover Messe (HM; "Hanover Fair") is one of the world's largest trade fairs, dedicated to the topic of industry development. It is organized by Deutsche Messe AG and held on the Hanover Fairground in Hanover, Germany. The fair attracts t ...
started in 1947 to boost the economic advancement of post-war Germany. At first, almost everyone was skeptical about Hannover's chances of overtaking Leipzig – the former "exhibition capital" of the defunct German Reich. But in the years that followed, the Hanover Fair became a symbol of Germany's economic miracle. The fair proved hugely successful and was hence repeated on a yearly basis, contributing largely to the success of the Hanover fairground in replacing the then-
East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
city of
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
as the new major fair city for
West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
. Back in 1948, the first telephone connection was established between the trade fair company and New York. A revolution in
wireless telecommunications Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided med ...
began in the first decade of the 1900s with pioneering developments in
radio communications Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected t ...
. In 1950, the first exhibitors from abroad took part in the renamed "Deutsche Industrie-Messe" ("German Industrial Fair") and, in 1961, the term "Hanover Fair" was officially adopted. It soon became famous, world-class event for cross-communication between technology and industry.


Construction of Tape Recorders

Gábor Kornél Tolnai began to construct his own
tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
s In the early 1950s when tape technology penetrated. A tape recorder, or tape machine, is an audio-storage device that records and plays back sound, usually using
magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnetic ...
. Magnetic tape transformed the recording industry, and by the late 1950s the vast majority of commercial recordings were being mastered on tape. Kornél Tolnai assumed already invented wire players and developed the design. Some companies were known for their excellent quality reel-to-reel tape recorders, i.e.
Tandberg Tandberg was an electronics manufacturer located in Oslo, Norway (production, sales and distribution) and New York City, United States (sales and distribution). The company began in the radio field, but became more widely known for their ree ...
and
Revox ReVox (on-logo styling REVOX) is a brand name, registered by Studer on 27 March 1951 for Switzerland, Swiss audio equipment. History The first Studer-designed tape recorders were branded Dynavox. After the first production series of Dynavox rec ...
. Tandberg is a manufacturer of
videoconferencing Videotelephony (also known as videoconferencing or video calling) is the use of audio signal, audio and video for simultaneous two-way communication. Today, videotelephony is widespread. There are many terms to refer to videotelephony. ''Vide ...
systems, located in
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, Norway (product development, sales and distribution) and
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, United States (sales and distribution). Tandberg Radiofabrikk is now owned by LM Ericsson and the factories manufactured radios, computer equipment, language laboratories, television, tape recorders and stereo equipment. Tandberg built during the 50- and 60-century a global reputation in the fields of radio, television and tape recorders. In the 1950s and 1960s was Tandberg's tape recorder to be among the best. The
magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnetic ...
which was in use in 1950s–1970s was 7-inch reel 1⁄4-inch-wide audio recording tapes, which were the prevalent and typical of consumer use. ReVox is a brand name of
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
audio equipment created by
Studer Studer is a designer and manufacturer of professional audio equipment for recording studios and broadcasters. The company was founded in Zürich, Switzerland, in 1948 by Willi Studer. It initially became known in the 1950s for its professi ...
in the 1950s. Kornél Tolnai constructed tape recorder for cafés, known as café machines. He designed and received patents on a tape recorder with a wide band up to 40-hour channels. Standard models are called "LP16" with 16 channels on 35 mm tape, duration 16 hours, Special versions "LP24" with 24 channels on 50 mm tape, duration 24 hours and Special versions "LP28" with 28 channels on 35 mm tape, duration 28 hours and Super "LP28" with 16-28 channels with variable channel width, duration 16–28 hours. Kornél Tolnai sought to get the perfect
stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
(''Greek'', stereos = "solid" and phōnē ="sound"), commonly called "stereo", on new constructions of tape recorders.
Stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
or
stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
is the reproduction of sound using two or more independent
audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...
channels through a
symmetrical Symmetry () in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is invariant under some transformations ...
configuration of
loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...
s in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. It is often contrasted with
monophonic Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sou ...
, or "mono" sound, where audio is in the form of one channel, often centered in the sound field (analogous to a
visual field The visual field is "that portion of space in which objects are visible at the same moment during steady fixation of the gaze in one direction"; in ophthalmology and neurology the emphasis is mostly on the structure inside the visual field and it i ...
).
Sound recording and reproduction Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...
is an
electrical Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
or
mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...
inscription and re-creation of
sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
waves, such as spoken
voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound produ ...
, singing,
instrumental music An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer t ...
, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are
analog recording Analog recording is a category of techniques used for the recording of analog signals. This enables later playback of the recorded analog audio. Analog audio recording began with mechanical systems such as the phonautograph and phonograph. La ...
and
digital recording In digital recording, an audio signal, audio or video signal is converted into a stream of discrete numbers representing the changes over time in air pressure for audio, or Color, chroma and luminance values for video. This number stream is s ...
. Analog (or analogue) recording (''Greek'', ana = "according to" and logos = "relationship") is a technique used to store signals of
audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...
or
video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...
information for later playback. In digital recording, the analog signal of video or sound is converted into a stream of discrete numbers, representing the changes in chroma and luminance values (video) orair-pressure (audio) through time, thus making an abstract template for the original sound or moving image. In 1967, the first
digital audio Digital audio is a representation of sound recorded in, or converted into, digital signal (signal processing), digital form. In digital audio, the sound wave of the audio signal is typically encoded as numerical sampling (signal processing), ...
magnetic tape recorder is invented. A 12-bit 30 kHz stereo device using a
compander In telecommunications and signal processing, companding (occasionally called compansion) is a method of mitigating the detrimental effects of a channel with limited dynamic range. The name is a portmanteau of the words compressing and expandi ...
to extend the dynamic range.


Information Bochures, History of Sound Recording

* Tolnai "LP 16" Long Playing recorder. Long playing tape recorder, the music collector's dream now realized, a world first in design, apparatus of absolute world class. Very stable, robust features, simple design. 16-28-40 hours of continuous play without changing tapes. Accurate position indicator finds exactly the desired position on the tape. High quality sound with Hi-Fi. Accelerating, incredibly fast rewind. Easy to maneuver. (1954–1959) * Tolnai "LP 20" Long Playing recorder, Super-Stereo Multitrack recorder. The recorder had 20-30-40 tracks. Each track plays an hour at the highest possible speed, automatic track change and a continuous play time of 20–40 hours, stereo and independent two-track recording (as in two separate recorders). (1954–1959) * Stålex tape recorder, "Stålex bandspelare". A world first. Stålex portable tape recorder intended to satisfy high demands for a long time. It was equipped sith two speeds with a running time of 16 resp. 32 hours of actual play time. Stålex tape was reliable with high precision and comfortable and easy to maneuver. The higher ratte was designed for high-quality music, while the lower speed was perfectly adequate for speech, theater, conferences and simpler music. (1964–1967) * Studymaster tape recorder, "Studymaster Centralapparat". For language teaching in schools. The panel worked with a "storage tape", 2" with 28 tracks, the normal duration 40 minutes (maximum 60 minutes) and a tape loop ("forever loope") with 28 tracks. Turnaround 40 seconds, or shorter if necessary. For the 28 tracks of the loop there are 12 pieces recorded with homework, the other 16 pieces are empty and they are intended for the students exercises. (1960–1972) File:Tolnai LP 16, brochure.JPG, Tolnai "LP 16" Long Playing recorder. Long playing tape recorder, a world first in design, apparatus of absolute world class. (1954-1959) File:Tolnai LP 20, brochure.JPG, Tolnai "LP 20" Long Playing recorder, Super-Stereo Multitrack recorder. The recorder had 20-30-40 tracks. (1954-1959) File:Stålex bandspelare, brochure.JPG, Stålex tape recorder, "Stålex bandspelare". A world first. Stålex portable tape recorder intended to satisfy high demands for a long time. (1964-1967) File:Tolnai Studymaster, brochure.JPG, Studymaster tape recorder, "Studymaster Centralapparat". For language teaching in schools. (1960-1972)


The early sound recording and reproduction

The
history of sound recording The history of sound recording - which has progressed in waves, driven by the invention and commercial introduction of new technologies — can be roughly divided into four main periods: * The Acoustic era (1877–1925) * The Electrical ...
can cover mechanical, acoustical, electrical, magnetic and digital recording. Methods and media for
sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...
are varied and have undergone significant changes between the first time sound was actually recorded for later playback until now. Engineers at AEG, working with the chemical giant
IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...
a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
chemical industry in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, created the world's first practical
magnetic tape recorder Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, m ...
, the ''K1'', which was first demonstrated in 1935. The three major firms
BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...
,
Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...
and Hoechst produced several hundred different dyes, along with the five smaller firms
Agfa Agfa-Gevaert N.V. (Agfa) is a Belgian-German multinational corporation that develops, manufactures, and distributes Analog photography, analogue and digital imaging products, software, and systems. The company began as a dye manufacturer in 1867 ...
,
Cassella Cassella AG, formerly Leopold Cassella & Co. and Cassella Farbwerke Mainkur AG, commonly known as Cassella, was a German chemical and pharmaceutical company with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. Founded in 1798, in the Frankfurt Jewish Alley ...
and some other companies. In 1857 the first device that could record sound waves as they passed through the air was invented. It was the
phonautograph The phonautograph is the earliest known device for recording sound. Previously, tracings had been obtained of the sound-producing vibratory motions of tuning forks and other objects by physical contact with them, but not of actual sound waves ...
. The phonograph expanded on the principles of the
phonautograph The phonautograph is the earliest known device for recording sound. Previously, tracings had been obtained of the sound-producing vibratory motions of tuning forks and other objects by physical contact with them, but not of actual sound waves ...
. Perfected by
Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
in 1878, the phonograph was a device with a cylinder covered with an impressionable material such as tin foil, lead, or wax on which a stylus etched grooves. The advent of electrical recording made it possible to use
microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic (), or mike, is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publi ...
s to capture the sound of the performance. The leading record labels switched to the electric microphone process in 1925, and most other record companies followed their lead by the end of the decade.
Magnetic recording Magnetic storage or magnetic recording is the storage of data on a magnetized medium. Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetisation in a magnetizable material to store data and is a form of non-volatile memory. The information is ...
was demonstrated in principle as early as 1898 by
Valdemar Poulsen Valdemar Poulsen (23 November 1869 – 23 July 1942) was a Danish engineer who developed a magnetic wire recorder called the telegraphone in 1898. He also made significant contributions to early radio technology, including the first continuous w ...
in his telegraphone. Magnetic wire recording, and its successor,
magnetic tape recording An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
, involve the use of a magnetizable medium which moves with a constant speed past a recording head. Engineers at
AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...
, working with the chemical giant IG Farben, created the world's first practical magnetic tape sound recorder, the 'K1', which was first demonstrated in 1935. By 1943 AEG had developed stereo tape recorders. Development of magnetic tape recorders in the late 1940s and early 1950s is associated with the
Brush Development Company Brush Development Company was a manufacturer of audio, phonographic products and magnetic recording technologies located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was absorbed into Clevite in 1952. History The business was founded in 1919 by Alfred L. Williams as ...
and its licensee,
Ampex Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excell ...
; the equally important development of magnetic tape media itself was led by
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing 3M Company (originally the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company) is an American multinational conglomerate operating in the fields of industry, worker safety, and consumer goods. Based in the Maplewood suburb of Saint Paul, Minnesota, ...
corporation (now known as 3M). The next major development in magnetic tape was
multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...
, in which the tape is divided into multiple tracks parallel with each other. Analog magnetic tape recording introduces noise, usually called "hiss", caused by the finite size of the magnetic particles in the tape. There is a direct tradeoff between noise and economics. Signal-to-noise ratio is increased at higher speeds and with wider tracks, and decreased at lower speeds and with narrower tracks. By the late 1960s, disk reproducing equipment became so good that audiophiles soon became aware that some of the noise audible on recordings was not
surface noise In sound and music production, sonic artifact, or simply artifact, refers to sonic material that is accidental or unwanted, resulting from the editing or manipulation of a sound. Types Because there are always technical restrictions in the way a ...
or deficiencies in their equipment, but reproduced tape hiss. Before 1963, when
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
introduced the
Compact audio cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens and his team at the Dutch company ...
, almost all tape recording had used the
reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...
(also called "open reel") format. Previous attempts package the tape in a convenient cassette that required no threading met with limited success. The most successful tape was
8-track cartridge The 8-track tape (formally Stereo 8; commonly called eight-track cartridge, eight-track tape, and eight-track) is a magnetic-tape sound recording technology that was popular from the mid-1960s until the early 1980s, when the compact cassette, ...
used primarily in automobiles for playback only.


The reel-to-reel format

In analogue audio recording a
tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a axle, shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrat ...
is a device that measures the speed of
audiotape Audiotape is magnetic tape used for storing audio. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Audiotape can be used in various tape recorders including machines for reel-to-reel audio tape recording on open reels ...
as it passes across the head. The reel-to-reel format was used in the very earliest magnetic tape sound recorders, including the pioneering German
Magnetophon Magnetophon was the brand or model name of the pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder developed by engineers of the German electronics company AEG in the 1930s, based on the magnetic tape invention by Fritz Pfleumer. AEG created the world's firs ...
machines of the 1930s. Originally, this format had no name, since all forms of magnetic
tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
s used it. The name arose only with the need to distinguish it from the several kinds of tape cartridges or cassettes such as the endless loop cartridge,
Fidelipac The Fidelipac, commonly known as a "NAB cartridge" or simply "cart", is a magnetic tape sound recording format, used for radio broadcasting for playback of material over the air such as radio commercials, jingles, station identifications, and m ...
, developed for radio station commercials and spot announcements in 1954, the full size cassette, developed by RCA in 1958 for home use, as well as the
compact cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens and his team at the Dutch company ...
developed by
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
in 1962, originally for dictation. Reel-to-reel tape was also used in early
tape drive A tape drive is a data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic-tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and long archival stability. ...
s for data storage on
mainframe A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterpris ...
computers,
video tape recorder A video tape recorder (VTR) is a tape recorder designed to record and playback video and audio signal, audio material from magnetic tape. The early VTRs were open-reel devices that record on individual reels of 2-inch-wide (5.08 cm) tape. ...
(VTR) machines, and high quality
analog audio Analog recording is a category of techniques used for the recording of analog signals. This enables later playback of the recorded analog audio. Analog audio recording began with mechanical systems such as the phonautograph and phonograph. La ...
recorders, which have been in use from the early 1940s, up until the present.


Multi-track recorders

Home audio Home audio refer to audio consumer electronics designed for home entertainment, such as integrated systems like shelf stereos, as well as individual components like loudspeakers and surround sound receivers. The evolution of home audio began ...
essentially, refers to any
audio electronics Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound * Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of soun ...
intended for home use, such as home stereos and
surround sound Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to ...
receivers, which are becoming the most popular piece of home audio equipment. Kornél Tolnai sought to get the perfect
stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...
(''Greek'', stereos = "solid" and phōnē ="sound"), commonly called "stereo", on new constructions of tape recorders. Stereo or stereophonic sound is the reproduction of sound using two or more independent
audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...
channels through a
symmetrical Symmetry () in everyday life refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, the term has a more precise definition and is usually used to refer to an object that is invariant under some transformations ...
configuration of
loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or, more fully, a speaker system) is a combination of one or more speaker drivers, an enclosure, and electrical connections (possibly including a crossover network). The speaker driver is an ...
s in such a way as to create the impression of sound heard from various directions, as in natural hearing. It is often contrasted with
monophonic Monaural sound or monophonic sound (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduce sou ...
, or "mono" sound, where audio is in the form of one channel, often centered in the sound field (analogous to a
visual field The visual field is "that portion of space in which objects are visible at the same moment during steady fixation of the gaze in one direction"; in ophthalmology and neurology the emphasis is mostly on the structure inside the visual field and it i ...
).


Magnetic tape and Reel-to-Reel Tape Recording

For the magnetic tape sound recording Kornél Tolnai used
magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnetic ...
as a medium for
magnetic recording Magnetic storage or magnetic recording is the storage of data on a magnetized medium. Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetisation in a magnetizable material to store data and is a form of non-volatile memory. The information is ...
, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of
plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...
. Most audio, video and computer data storage is this type. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are
tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...
s and later on
video tape recorder A video tape recorder (VTR) is a tape recorder designed to record and playback video and audio signal, audio material from magnetic tape. The early VTRs were open-reel devices that record on individual reels of 2-inch-wide (5.08 cm) tape. ...
s. A device that stores computer data on magnetic tape is a
tape drive A tape drive is a data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape. Magnetic-tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage. Tape media generally has a favorable unit cost and long archival stability. ...
(tape unit, streamer). Magnetic tape revolutionized broadcast and recording. Magnetic tape was invented for recording sound by
Fritz Pfleumer Fritz Pfleumer (20 March 1881 – 29 August 1945) was a German engineer who invented magnetic tape for recording sound. Biography Pfleumer was born on 20 March 1881, in Salzburg, to Robert and Minna Pfleumer (née Hünich). His father Robert ( ...
in 1928 in Germany, based on the invention of magnetic wire recording by
Valdemar Poulsen Valdemar Poulsen (23 November 1869 – 23 July 1942) was a Danish engineer who developed a magnetic wire recorder called the telegraphone in 1898. He also made significant contributions to early radio technology, including the first continuous w ...
in 1898. Pfleumer's invention used an iron oxide (Fe2O3) powder coating on a long strip of paper. This invention was further developed by the German electronics company
AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...
, which manufactured the recording machines and
BASF BASF SE (), an initialism of its original name , is a European Multinational corporation, multinational company and the List of largest chemical producers, largest chemical producer in the world. Its headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen, Ge ...
, which manufactured the tape. In 1933, working for AEG,
Eduard Schüller Eduard Model Accessories is a Czech manufacturer of plastic models and finescale model accessories. History Formed in 1989 in the city of Most, Eduard began in a rented cellar as a manufacturer of photoetched brass model components. Follo ...
developed the ring shaped tape head. Eduard Schüller, was a German engineer and he had a decisive role in the development of the rape recorder and the videorecorders. Previous head designs were needle shaped and tended to shred the tape. An important discovery made in this period was the technique of AC biasing which improved the fidelity of the recorded audio signal by increasing the effective linearity of the recording medium.
Ampex Corporation Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excel ...
, the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
electronics company's first tape recorder, the Ampex Model 200A, was first shipped in April 1948. During the early 1950s Ampex began marketing one- and two-track machines using ¼" tape. The line soon expanded into three- and four-track models using ½" tape. In the early 1950s Ampex moved to 934 Charter St. Redwood City, California. Ampex acquired Orradio Industries in 1959, which became the Ampex Magnetic Tape Division, headquartered in
Opelika, Alabama Opelika (pronounced ) is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Alabama, Lee County in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States censu ...
. This made Ampex a manufacturer of both recorders and tape. By the end of that decade Ampex products were much in demand by top
recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...
worldwide. Ampex built a handful of multitrack machines during the late 1950s that could record as many as eight tracks on 1 inch tape. In 1966 Ampex built their first 16-track recorder, the model AG-1000, at the request of Mirasound Studios in New York City. In 1967 Ampex introduced a 16-track version of the MM 1000 which was the world's first 16-track professional tape recorder put into mass-production. Kornél Tolnai often ordered his tapes from the American electronics company
Ampex Corporation Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excel ...
in the 1950s and 1960s. Kornél Tolnai often visited a factory in
Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...
am Rhein (
Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...
in Germany) for his business with the company. There he had contacts with BASF, the largest chemical company in the world. BASF SE is a German chemical company, founded in 1865, and SE stands for Societas Europea. The company is a pioneer in the chemical industry and has operations worldwide. 1925–1952 it was part of
IG Farben I. G. Farbenindustrie AG, commonly known as IG Farben, was a German Chemical industry, chemical and Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical conglomerate (company), conglomerate. It was formed on December 2, 1925 from a merger of six chemical co ...
. ''BASF'' originally stood for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik (Baden Aniline and Soda Factory). Today, the four letters are a registered
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
and the company is listed on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange The Frankfurt Stock Exchange (, former German name: , ''FWB'') is the world's 3rd oldest and 12th largest stock exchange by market capitalization. It has operations from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm ( German time). Organisation Located in Frankfurt, ...
,
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
, and Zurich Stock Exchange. The BASF Group's headquarters are located in Ludwigshafen


Hi-Fi

For his tape recorders the specified recording times were at the highest
Hi-Fi High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...
tape speed.
High-fidelity High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) f ...
– or hi-fi – reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and
home audio Home audio refer to audio consumer electronics designed for home entertainment, such as integrated systems like shelf stereos, as well as individual components like loudspeakers and surround sound receivers. The evolution of home audio began ...
enthusiasts (
audiophiles An audiophile (from + ) is a person who is enthusiastic about high-fidelity sound reproduction. The audiophile seeks to achieve high sound quality in the audio reproduction of recorded music, typically in a quiet listening space in a room with g ...
) to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or
image An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or Three-dimensional space, three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be di ...
s that are very faithful to the original performance. In the 1950s, the terms "
high fidelity High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...
" or "
hi-fi High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...
" were popularized for equipment and recordings which exhibited more accurate
sound reproduction Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording t ...
. Tolnai's tape had three engines and 35 or 50 mm wide strip. Belt speed was usually 5”, but there were also other speeds. Optional accessories could be the cluster head for reproducing multiple channels simultaneously, or for the registration of multiple processes simultaneously.


Voice recording in the home and schools

Inexpensive reel-to-reel tape recorders were widely used for voice recording in the home and in schools before the
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
compact cassette The Compact Cassette, also commonly called a cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Ottens and his team at the Dutch company ...
, introduced in 1963, gradually took over. Cassettes eventually displaced reel-to-reel recorders for consumer use. The reel-to-reel audio tape recorder and the cafe machine was a kind of
jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...
(disc changer), and for music reproduction at home and at school as well as for teaching purposes, a so-called "Study Master" or tape recorder called ''Tolnai Study Master'' for language teaching in schools. Here he collaborated with ''AB Stålex'' during the years 1964–1967. The new language of the machine represented a major development of the technical tools for the teaching of language laboratories. "Study Master" was welcomed as a major step in the right direction by language scholars. The reel-to-reel audio tape recorder were sold in Sweden,
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
, Hungary and the United States. He constantly worked with improvements in sound recording and reproduction (audio technology).


Patents


Patents in various countries

Some inventions which Gábor Kornél Tolnai received patents for in various countries were: * ''Centralograph'', for production monitoring and registration of the running of the spinning machines in workshops and offices, :a) manufactured in his own workshop, called "Dipl.ing. GK Tolnai Okl. Gépészmérnök" (M. Sc. G K Tolnai Master of Science Mechanical), in Mester útca 13, Budapest IX (1928–1931), :b) manufactured of L.M. Ericsson in Stockholm (with employment for G. K. Tolnai),
''Anordning för kontinuerlig uppteckning av rotationshastighet eller arbetsprestation hos maskiner'', Patent SE83509, Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson, Stockholm, Inventor: G. K. Tolnai och P. Hermann.
Sweden, Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE83509. Patent time from July 9, 1931. Published May 28, 1935. 4 pages (incl. drawing). :''Registreringsapparat''
Registreringsapparat, Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson, Stockholm, Inventor: G. K. Tolnai.
Sweden, Kungliga Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent nr SE82180. Patented from July 10, 1931. Published December 11, 1934. 3 pages (incl. drawing). :c) constructed with patent
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
for G. K. Tolnai and ordered by Director and Insurance Manager Torsten Hammarstrand, Göta Veritas Insurance, Kungsgatan, Stockholm (1934–1949). The name "
Bureau Veritas Bureau Veritas is a French company specialized in testing, inspection and certification founded in 1828. It operates in a variety of sectors, including building and infrastructure (27% of revenue), agri-food and commodities (23% of revenue), mar ...
" was included in both the French dictionary Larousse and Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary. * ''Teletachograph'', a tachograph, a device for registration and improvement of the running of spinning machines, "for remote control of machinery", which combines the functions of a clock and a speedometer (1931–1933).
''Registreringsapparat''. Inventor: G.K. Tolnai. Swedish Patent, Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Telefonaktiebolaget L.M. Ericsson, Stockholm. Patent SE82180. Allowed from July 10, 1931. Published December 11, 1934.
* ''Regulator'', a device to measure and regulate the speed to keep constant speed of the spinning machines regardless of load pressure (1931–1933).
''Anordning för återgivande på avstånd av fria kroppars rörelse'', Patent SE90397, G. K. Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE90397. Prioritet craving from April 16, 1935 (Germany). Allowed July 29, 1937. Patent time from June 29, 1935. Published September 28, 1937. Class 74: c: 12-01. 8 pages (incl. 3 pages drawings). * ''Rapportoskop'', Central Instrument for anti-aircraft cannons (1937), was patented by Arenco in 12 countries (1937–1939), (Royal Army Ordnance Depot Department Administration, 1938). Rapportoskop was commissioned in 1938, this design was the beginning of the Central Instrument of Arenco. * ''Transmission'', drive device (Gerhard Arehn Engineering Workshop) (1942)
''Variabel utväxlingsanordning'', Patent SE108544, Aktiebolaget Gerh. Arehns Mekaniska Verkstad, Stockholm. Uppfinnare: G. K. Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE108544. Allowed July 22, 1943. Patent time from September 10, 1941. Published November 23, 1943. Class 47: h: 14. 3 pages (incl. drawing). * ''Transmission device''
http://www.google.com/US2400668
Patent US2400668.
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
, In Sweden September 1, 1941, Application date March 22, 1944, Patented May 21, 1946. Gábor Kornél Tolnai, Stockholm, Sweden, assignor to Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm, Sweden, a joint-stock company. * ''Drive Relay'', variable ratio device, part of the central apparatus, separate Patents (Arenco) (1943)
''Variabel utväxlingsanordning'', Patent SE103900, Aktiebolaget Gerh. Arehns Mekaniska Verkstad, Stockholm. Inventor: G. K. Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE103900. Allowed December 30, 1941. Patent time from February 21, 1940. Published March 3, 1942. Class 47: h: 14. 3 pages (incl. drawing).
''Anordning för åstadkommande av samma vinkellägen eller synkron rotationsrörelse hos tvenne mekaniskt åtskilda kroppar'' Patent 114272, Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm. Inventor: G. K: Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE114272. Allowed April 19, 1945. Patent time from March 1, 1939. Published June 19, 1945. Class 21: c: 46-03. 9 pages (incl. 4 pages drawings).
''Anordning vid apparater för bestämmande av träffpunkten (framförpunkten) vid beskjutning av rörliga mål'' Patent SE118093, Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm. Inventor: G. K: Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE118093. Allowed December 5, 1946. Patent time from July 8, 1940. Published February 4, 1947. Class 72: f: 15-05. 8 pages (incl. 4 pages drawings).
''Anordning för synkron överföring av lägesändringar'' Patent SE118527, Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm. Uppfinnare: G. K. Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sverige. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE118527. Allowed February 6, 1947. Patent time from January 29, 1941. Published April 8, 1947. Class 21: c: 46-01. 3 pages (incl. 1 page drawing). The same invention was patented in the United States, May 21, 1946, under the name ''Transmission device''
http://www.google.com/US2400668 ''Transmission device'' US2400668

''Anordning för mätning av föremåls avstånd'' Patent SE120847, Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm. Uppfinnare: G. K. Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE120847. Allowed December 11, 1947. Patent time from July 8, 1940. Published February 10, 1948. Class 42: c: 20. 3 pages (incl. 1 page drawing).
''Eldledningsinstrumentering för eldledning mot rörliga mål'' Patent SE123543, Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm. Uppfinnare: G. K. Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE123543. Allowed October 7, 1948. Patent time from September 13, 1941. Published December 7, 1948. Class 72: f: 15-02. 3 pages (incl. 1 page drawing).
''Anordning för mätning av avståndet till ett föremål'' Patent SE129878, Arenco Aktiebolag, Stockholm. Inventor: G. K. Tolnai, Stockholm.
Sweden. Kungl. Patent- och registreringsverket. Patent SE129878. Allowed August 17, 1950. Patent time from March 24, 1942. Published October 24, 1950. Class 42: c: 14. 4 pages (incl. 1 page drawing). * ''Impulsator'', a temperering machine built-in into a grenade tip. Temperering of the fire tube at a cannon at ongoing and varying directions on aircraft (for Bofors) (1947) * ''Central Instrument'' (Model Tolnai), the central instrument for anti-aircraft cannons (Royal Army Ordnance Department Administration, 1949 edition) * ''Tape recorders'', so-called Café Machine (1954–1959) * ''Tape recorders'', with 16, 24 or 28 channels for music and education (1954–1959) * ''Study Master'', for language teaching (1960–1972) * ''Language Teaching Recording-Reproducing Apparatus and Method''
http://www.google.se/patents/US3343280
Patent US3343280.
United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...
, Gábor Kornél Tolnai, 14, Asbjornsens vag, Bromma, Sweden. Filed December 10, 1964, Ser.No. 417,408. Claims Priority, application Sweden December 10, 1963, 13,677/63. Patented November 26, 1967. * ''Differential Gear'', 4 patents (1960–1972) * ''Reportoscope'', Sport Reportoscope, to comply with the athlete, such as runners on the track (1975)


Patents in the United States

Some of the inventions Gábor Kornél Tolnai received patent in the U.S. were:
"Transmission device"
''
Transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...
'', ''Överföringsanordning''. United States Patent No.2400668. Publication Date: 05/21/1946. Inventor: Gábor Kornél Tolnai. Assignee: Arenco AB.
"Language Teaching Recording-Reproducing Apparatus and Method"
''Language Teaching Recording Reproducing Apparatus and Method'', ''Språkundervisning inspelning-återgivning och metod''. United States Patent No.3343280. Publication Date: 09/26/1967. Inventor and assignee: Gábor Kornél Tolnai.
"Constant Tension Tape Transport System"
''Constant Tension Tape Transport System'', ''Konstant spänning band transportsystem''. United States Patent No.3327958. Publication Date: 06/27/1967. Inventor and assignee: Gábor Kornél Tolnai.


Patent Licensing & enforcement US and European patent litigations

Source:

Example

etc. 1. 1963–1967. An arrangement in sound reproducing appliances having tapelike sound recording carriers, particularly for teaching purposes. :Gabor Kornel Tolnai Jun, 7 1967: GB1070864. : G. K. TOLNAI. Aug. 4, 1964 ec. 10, 1963 No. 30720/64. Heading G5R. Recording and play-back apparatus for teaching purposes including an endless tape 12 associated with a number of heads 16 arranged in a line transverse to the tape is characterized in that a... 2. 1939–1941. Improvements in driving mechanism for rotary members. :Gabor Kornel Tolnai Sep, 3 1941: GB539278. : TOLNAI, G. K., and AKTIEBOLAGET G. AREHNS MEKANISKA VERKSTAD. March 1, 1940, No. 3901. Convention date, March 1, 1939. lass 80 (ii)In means for controlling the speed of a rotating member by means of step-by-step rotary movements, the rotation of a... 3. 1939–1941. Improvements in devices for electric remote control. :Gabor Kornel Tolnai Sep, 2 1941: GB539242. : TOLNAI, G. K., and AKTIEBOLAGET G. AREHNS MEKANISKA VERKSTAD. March 1, 1940, No. 3900. Convention date, March 1, 1939. lass 40 (iii) lso in Group XXXVIIIIn an arrangement for conveying angular or rotary movement from one shaft to another, each shaft... 4. 1935–1936. Improvements in or relating to apparatus for reproducing or repeating the movement of a moving object. :Gabor Kornel Tolnai Dec, 1 1936: GB457601. : TOLNAI, G. K., 14, De Geersgatan, Stockholm. June 29, 1936, Nos. 18036 and 26289. Convention dates, June 29, 1935 and June 15, 1936. lass 40 (i) ee also Groups XIX and XXIn a system for optically reproducing sporting events such as races, pointing... 5. 1931–1932. Improvements in apparatus for recording the performance of machines. :Gabor Kornel Tolnai Dec, 15 1932: GB384697. : TOLNAI, G. K., 13, Mester U, Budapest. July 31, 1931, No. 21870. lass 106 (iv).Recording particular operations.-An apparatus for recording the performances of a number of working machines on a common record-strip driven uniformly comprises a printing hammer 1,... 6. 1931–1932. Improvements in and relating to apparatus for recording the speed of working of machine or other revolving shafts. :Gabor Kornel Tolnai Oct, 31 1932: GB382664. : TOLNAI, G. K., 13, Mester Utca, and HERMANN, Paul, 45, Buda rsi Ut., both in Budapest. July 31, 1931, No. 21869. lass 106 (iv).An apparatus for recording the speed or working of a machine comprises a recording member periodically restored to and started anew from a...


References


Represented

*
Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology The National Museum of Science and Technology () is a museum in Stockholm. It is Sweden’s largest museum of technology, and has a national charter to be responsible for preserving the Swedish cultural heritage related to technological and in ...
, the technical museum in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Museivägen 7, Box 27842, 115 93 Stockholm, Sweden
Official webb place for Tekniska Museet
In Tekniska Museet there are some patents and two tape recorders of G. K. Tolnai's inventions, the two sets called "TOLNAI LP16" and "TOLNAI LP28" with the accession number TeM49847
TeM49847
* http://www.kringla.nu/kringla/objekt?text=tolnai+andersson&filter=thumbnailExists%3Dj&referens=tekm/object/TeM49847
Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology The National Museum of Science and Technology () is a museum in Stockholm. It is Sweden’s largest museum of technology, and has a national charter to be responsible for preserving the Swedish cultural heritage related to technological and in ...
in Stockholm, two tape recorders, one with 20 tracks (D 231) and one with 16 tracks. Weight: 25,0 + 20,0 kg. Tape recorders, constructed and designed by Gábor Kornél Tolnai, made in Stockholm, Sweden, mediated by Hillevi Tolnai-Andersson, donated 1986–1987 by Bianca Wallin, born in Rome, Italy, married to Gábor Kornél Tolnai. DIG10407, DIG10408, DIG10409. * http://www.kringla.nu/kringla/objekt?referens=tekm/media/87885 Länkad av Tekniska museet, AB G.K. Tolnai, Bandspelare, svart-vit fotografi, foto EF1375.04 * The
Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology The National Museum of Science and Technology () is a museum in Stockholm. It is Sweden’s largest museum of technology, and has a national charter to be responsible for preserving the Swedish cultural heritage related to technological and in ...
in
Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
is Sweden's largest technical museum with collection of technology history and has a national mandate to be responsible for the technical and industrial heritage. * :sv:Centrum för Näringslivshistoria, Centrum för Näringslivshistoria, CfN, ''Center for Business History'' in Stockholm, Grindstuvägen 48-50, 167 33 Bromma, Sweden. Official webb place for Centrum för Näringslivshistoria i

:Diploma Engineer Gábor Kornél Tolnai’s archives and records with original documents from the years between 1924–1982 are filed at the Center for Business History. “Kornél Tolnai and the papers he left” are here and also one of his inventions, the tape recorder, LP16-28. Center for Business History preserves and presents the Swedish company’s history and here you can do archival research work. * ''Scandinavian journal of textile industry'', ''Skandinavisk tidskrift för textilindustri'' in No. 7-8, 1931. * ''¨Magyar Textiltechnologusok Lapja'', ''Hungarian Technological Journal'', 25 May 1934, ''TEXTILES IPAR'', ''Textiles industry'', Budapest. It was a Hungarian textile trade magazine. The title of the lecture was ''rationalization of the textile industry'', Kornél Tolnai's lecture in 1934 about his inventions Teletachograf and Centralograf at the
Technical University of Budapest The Budapest University of Technology and Economics ( or in short ), official abbreviation BME, is a public research university located in Budapest, Hungary. It is the most significant university of technology in the country and is considered t ...
(''Hungarian'': Hungarian Royal József Technical University, Budapest).
''Sveriges Radiohistoriska Förening'', Svenska Bandspelarjukeboxar
(Swedish Radio Historical Association, the Swedish Tape jukeboxes)
''Dr Obsolete stiger på – Euphonia Audioforum''

''Better sound for a better life''.
* Reel-to-reel recorder brands,
AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...
,
Ampex Ampex Data Systems Corporation is an American electronics company founded in 1944 by Alexander M. Poniatoff as a spin-off of Dalmo-Victor. The name ''AMPEX'' is an acronym, created by its founder, which stands for Alexander M. Poniatoff Excell ...
,
Grundig Grundig ( , , ) is a Turkish home appliances and consumer electronics brand. It is owned by Arçelik A.Ş., the white goods (major appliance) manufacturer of Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding. Originally a German consumer electronics comp ...
,
Magnetophon Magnetophon was the brand or model name of the pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder developed by engineers of the German electronics company AEG in the 1930s, based on the magnetic tape invention by Fritz Pfleumer. AEG created the world's firs ...
,
Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
,
RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
,
Tandberg Tandberg was an electronics manufacturer located in Oslo, Norway (production, sales and distribution) and New York City, United States (sales and distribution). The company began in the radio field, but became more widely known for their ree ...
and
Telefunken Telefunken was a German radio and television producer, founded in Berlin in 1903 as a joint venture between Siemens & Halske and the ''AEG (German company), Allgemeine Elektrizitäts-Gesellschaft'' (AEG) ("General electricity company"). Prior to ...
.


External links


Museum of Magnetic Sound Recording, "preserving the history of sound recording", Austin, Texas, Kornél Tolnai, Manufacturer Profiles.

Ericsson Telephone Ltd.
Telephone Engineers and Manufacturers. * Diskussion:LM Ericssons fabriker, Tulegatan – In Swedish, a discussion and pictures of possible interest about LM Ericsson's factories in Tulegatan, Stockholm.
Postamúzeum, gallery
Fernsprechapparat von Franz Joseph I. Album: OB-Telefon Creator: Ericsson Magyar Villamossági Rt. (Ericsson Ungarische Elektrizitäts AG) Country: Ungarn ... {{DEFAULTSORT:Tolnai, Gabor Kornel 1902 births 1982 deaths 20th-century Hungarian engineers 20th-century Swedish engineers 20th-century Swedish inventors Swedish record labels Ericsson people Businesspeople from Stockholm 20th-century Swedish businesspeople Companies based in Stockholm Audio storage 1950 establishments in Sweden Burials at Norra begravningsplatsen