Equipment and apparatus

A Sealed Hydrocyclograph

V. B. Kanevsky, State Central Institute of Physical Culture (GTsOLIFK), Moscow

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1983 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1983), p. 66: the text is paraphrased, not translated; figures are the original images.

Purpose

A Khlystov-type hydrocyclograph on the bar end sprays coloured drops, recording the bar path at 1 : 1 without contact and giving speed and acceleration at any point; reliable if bar bending is allowed for (1981 yearbook). Flaw of existing models: liquid dripping off the obturator soils the floor and the recording surface.

Sectional drawing of the sealed hydrocyclograph: cylindrical body, motor, shutter disc, drain pocket, needle, liquid hose and fixing screw — Design of the hydrocyclograph: 1 — body; 2 — electric motor; 3 — obturator (rotating shutter); 4 — pocket (reservoir for excess liquid); 5 — needle; 6 — coloured-liquid supply hose; 7 — cover; 8 — clamping cover; 9 — electrical lead-in; 10 — fixing screw; 11 — drain hole.

Design

Body (1) lathe-turned from light metal (magnesium, titanium, aluminium).
Drops exit through end cover (7); surplus drains into a sealed brass pocket (4, 0.2–0.3 mm sheet), emptied via plugged hole (11).
Motor (2) in its own recess; separate protected lead-in (9).
Needle (5) in a slot under clamping cover (8): easy to change, protected.
Fixing screw (10) clamps the device to the bar end.
Power circuit: 1982 yearbook; any fitting DC motor of 3000–6000 rpm.

Advantages

No spattering; simple, compact, reliable.