Toggle (pronounced tog-uhl)
(1) A pin, bolt, or rod placed transversely through a
chain, an eye or loop in a rope etc, as to bind it temporarily to another chain
or rope similarly treated.
(2) In various types of machinery, a toggle joint, or a
device having one.
(3) An ornamental, rod-shaped button for inserting into a
large buttonhole, loop, or frog, used especially on sports clothes.
(4) In theatre, a wooden batten across the width of a
flat, for strengthening the frame (Also called the toggle rail).
(5) In engineering and construction, a metal device for
fastening a toggle rail to a frame (also called a toggle iron.); a horizontal
piece of wood that is placed on a door, flat, or other wooden structure, but is
not on one of the edges of the structure; an appliance for transmitting force
at right angles to its direction.
(6) To furnish with a toggle or to bind or fasten with a
toggle.
(7) In informal use, to turn, twist, or manipulate a
toggle switch; dial or turn the switch of a device (often in the form “to toggle
between” alternate states).
(8) A type of switch widely used in motor vehicles until
outlawed by safety legislation in the 1960s.
(9) In admiralty jargon, a wooden or metal pin, short
rod, crosspiece or similar, fixed transversely in the eye of a rope or chain to
be secured to any other loop, ring, or bight.
In computer operating systems and applications, an
expression indicating a switch of view, contest, feed, option et al.
(11) In sky-diving, a loop of webbing or a dowel affixed
to the end of the steering & brake lines of a parachute providing a means
of control.
(12) In whaling, as toggling harpoon, a pre-modern
(believed to date from circa 5300 BC) harvesting tool used to impale a whale
when thrown.
1769: In the sense of a "pin passed through the eye
of a rope, strap, or bolt to hold it in place" it’s of unknown origin but
etymologists agree it’s of nautical origin (though not necessarily from the Royal
Navy) thus the speculation that it’s a frequentative form of “tug” or “to tug” (in
the sense of “to pull”), the evolution influenced by regional (or
class-defined) pronunciations similar to tog. The wall fastener was first sold in 1934
although the toggle bolt had been in use since 1994. The term “toggle switch” was first used in
1938 although such devices had long been in use in the electrical industry and
they were widely used in motor vehicles until outlawed by safety legislation in
the 1960s. In computing, toggle was first
documented in 1979 when it referred to a keyboard combination which alternates
the function between on & off (in the sense of switching between functions
or states as opposed to on & off in the conventional sense). The verb toggle dated from 1836 in the sense
of “make secure with a toggle” and was a direct development from the noun. In computing, the toggle function (“to toggle
back and forth between different actions") was first described in 1982 when
documenting the embryonic implementations of multi-tasking (then TSRs
(terminate & stay resident programs).
Toggle is a noun, verb & adjective, toggled & toggling are verbs,
toggler, toggery and (the rare) togglability are nouns and togglable (the
alternative spelling is toggleable) is an adjective; the noun plural is
toggles. Use of the mysterious togglability
(the quality of being togglable) seems to be restricted to computer operating
systems to distinguish between that which can be switched between and that
which is a stand-alone function which must be loaded & terminated.
The Jaguar E-Type (XKE) and the toggle switches
1961 Jaguar E-Type roadster
Jaguar’s E-Type (XKE), launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961, was one of the more seductive shapes ever rendered in metal. Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988) was at the Geneva show and part of the E-Type folklore is that he called it “the most beautiful car in the world”. Whether those words ever passed his lips isn’t certain because the sources vary slightly in detail and il Commendatore apparently never confirmed or denied the sentiment but it’s easy to believe and many to this day agree. If just looking at the thing was something visceral then driving one was more than usually tactile and sixty years on, the appeal remains, even if some aspects such as the rather agricultural Moss gearbox in the early models was a little too tactile.
Another feature of the early (1961-1967) cars admired both
for their appearance and touch was the centrally-located array of toggle
switches which controlled functions such as lighting and the windscreen wipers. Even by the slight standards of the 1960s
the arrangement wasn’t ergonomically ideal but, sitting under the engine gauges,
it was an elegant and impressive look the factory would retain across the range
for more than a decade, the E-type using the layout until production ended in
1974. However, while the design
survived, the toggle switches did not, their sharply protruding shape judged
dangerous by the US National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration which,
since the publication of Ralph Nader’s (b 1934) Unsafe at any Speed (1965) had begun to write legislation which stipulated
standards for automobile safety, building on the growing body of law designed
to reduce vehicle emissions.
In 1968, the new wave of legislation applied almost
exclusively to vehicles sold in the US but such was the importance of that market it made little sense for Jaguar to continue to produce a separate line with
toggle switches for sale in other countries so the decision was taken to standardize
on the flatter, more rounded rocker switches.
At much the same time, other changes were made to ensure the E-Type on
sale in 1968 would conform also to a number of other new rules, the most
obvious being the banning of the lovely covered headlights which necessitated
their replacement with higher-mounted units in a scalloped housing. In view of the extent of the changes required,
it was decided to designate the updated cars as the “Series 2” (S2) E-Type. Jaguar in 1967 however, while not exactly a
cottage industry, was not a mass-production operation along the lines of a
General Motors (GM) where there was almost always a clear cut-off in
specification between one model run and the next and as a result, some of the Series
1 (S1) cars were produced with S2 parts but there was variation even during
this transitional phase. That was actually
not unusual for Jaguar and for all of the S1 model run there had been continuous
product development, most obviously a larger engine and better gearbox but also,
often unannounced were minor changes and improvements, many of which meant
certain features (such as the “flat floor”, certain aluminum interior trim, the
type of bonnet (hood) louvers and the external bonnet latches) became markers
of rarity and thus desirability to collectors.
The pure lines of the S1 E-Type (top) were diluted, front and rear, by the need to comply with US safety legislation, the later head & taillights more clunky.
The process by which S1 evolved to become S2 was thus a little haphazard and although the factory didn’t use the designations, collectors came to define two of the transitional late S1 specification cars as S1.25 & S1.5. Although no exact records of specification were at the time maintained by the factory, the S1.25 run began in early 1967 when a batch for the US market was produced with the open headlights, a change which was phased into the rest of production as existing stocks of the older parts were exhausted, the change completed by mid-year. However, not everything done at Jaguar was exactly sequential and a number of S1.25 cars sold there were fitted from new with the covered headlights. The rocker switches seem to have been retained in all S1.25 E-Types. What came to be called the S1.5 began production between August-October 1967 (there was overlap with the final S1.25 specification cars) which were distinguished by raised headlights, the rocker switches (and on US cars twin Stromberg carburetors replaced the triple SUs) and other detail changes. At this point, the earlier teardrop tail lights were still fitted. Finally, the S2 cars proper arrived for the 1968 model year with the taillights now mounted below the bumpers. In the collector market, it's the S1 cars which are most coveted and, although this is entirely impressionistic, based on the behavior in the market of the S1.25s, buyers (collectors & others) do seem less concerned by the absence of toggle switches than the loss of the headlight covers.
No comments:
Post a Comment