Klaxon Image:WWII submarine dive klaxon.ogg
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Klaxon is a trademark for an electromechanical horn or alerting device. Mainly used on automobiles, trains and ships, they alert listeners of the vehicle's arrival and possible danger. The Klaxon's characteristic "ah-ooh-gah" sound is produced by a spring-steel diaphragm with a rivet in the center that is repeatedly struck by the teeth of a rotating cog wheel. The diaphragm is attached to a horn that acts as an acoustic transformer as well as controlling the direction of the sound. In the first klaxons, the wheel was driven either by hand or by an electric motor. The electric version has been credited to inventor Miller Reese Hutchison, an associate of Thomas Edison. The Lovell-McConnell Manufacturing Co. of Newark, New Jersey bought the rights to the device in 1908. F. W. Lovell, the founder, coined the name klaxon from the Greek verb klazō, "to shriek". Klaxons were first fitted to automobiles and bicycles in 1908. Electric klaxons were the first electrical devices to be fitted to private automobiles. They were originally powered by 6-volt dry cells, and from 1911 by rechargeable batteries. Later hand-powered versions were used as military evacuation alarms and factory sirens. The klaxon is also famous for its use as a submarine dive alarm. Oliver Lucas of Birmingham, England developed a standard electric car horn in 1910. The English company Klaxon Signals Ltd. has been based in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England for the last 80 years, with premises also in Birmingham. The French Klaxon company was acquired by the Italian Fiamm Group in the 1990s. In 2005 Klaxon sold the rights for the hooter or klaxon range to Moflash Signalling Ltd., based in the original Klaxon Factory in Birmingham England. The Famous Klaxet ES and A1 hooters returned home to Birmingham after 10 years. The French word for a car’s horn is “klaxon”. The Japanese word for a car's horn is "klaxon" too, but pronunciation sounds more like 'kurackshon'. The (popular) Dutch word for a car's horn is also "claxon" (mostly used in Belgium).
Popular culture
The Klaxon: March of the Automobiles was composed by Henry Fillmore in 1929 for the Cincinnati Automobile Show, and was originally performed on twelve automobile horns. British New Rave band, Klaxons take their name from the word "klaxon." Star Trek - The whole franchise uses it to signal a alert, often a red alert.
External links
- Klaxon Signals
- Submarine Dive Horns
- Authentic Navy Alarm Sounds
- Pages from a klaxon horn adjustment manual with diagrams
