Subject areaArtificial intelligence
Franz Trinks (1852 - 1931) was a German engineer associated with Grimme, Natalis & Co. of Braunschweig, Germany, the manufacturer of Brunsviga calculators.
The Brunsviga is a pinwheel calculator based on the design of Willgodt Theophil Odhner, which the Braunschweig company licensed at the end of the nineteenth century.
Trinks's contribution lies in developing the model: starting from Odhner's mechanism, he improved its construction and made it suitable for large-scale production. This explains the long success of the Brunsviga family in German and European offices, alongside the Original-Odhner in Russia and later in Sweden.
He is one of the European protagonists of the technologies of intelligence, and his case shows how an invention travelled between countries through licensing.
Source: Wikidata Q1449279 e Wikipedia in tedesco, voce Franz Trinks, consultate il 21/10/2026, per date e tappe della biografia.
An example
The case below is constructed, because the name does not yet appear in the articles. A chemical company that licenses a process patented elsewhere and improves it until it becomes its own product follows Trinks's path with the Brunsviga, born from Odhner's design.
Enrico Giubertoni. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0: you may quote, translate and adapt this entry with the author’s name and a link, stating any changes. For commercial use, write to info@enricogiubertoni.com
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