Patent for a Jerkmeter

If you study jerks in a formal way, you are probably familiar with jerkmeters. Here’s a comforting treasure, the 1966 patent for one of the most beloved of all jerkmeter designs:

3,230,777 JERKMETER. Jacob Chass, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Robinson-Halpern Company, West Conshohocken, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Dec. 17, 1962, Ser. No. 245,298 5 Claims. (CI. 73—517)

The present invention relates to a jerkmeter, and more particularly to a transducer for measuring the rate of change of acceleration. In controlling the movement of many types of moving objects, it is often desirable to not only measure the speed and acceleration of the object, but also the rate of change of acceleration. Since a change in the acceleration of a moving object results in a sudden movement or jerk, devices for measuring such a change are referred to as “jerkmeter.” To have a jerkmeter which has a long life and which is not subject to breakdown, it is desirable that the jerkmeter be free of any moving parts. Also, it is desirable that the jerkmeter be relatively small in size and inexpensive in cost.

It is an Object of the present invention to provide a novel jerkmeter….

(Thanks to investigator Stanley Eigen for bringing this to our attention.)