What is it? Found in parking lot:

AAZCD Daughter #2 sent me these pictures to see if I know what it is. It was found in a parking lot. I'm stumped. I figure GRM knows exactly what it is.

Looks like some kind of adjuster, maybe from an aftermarket damper/shock.  Initially I thought it was a handbrake adjuster for disc brakes, but I dont think it is.

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Worlds weirdest wine stopper?

Leave it under an airplane at your local airport 

Another note, it was in a hospital parking lot. Wheelchair or walker thingie adjuster?

Screwdriver-actuated pinion gear adjuster assembly in a lovely blue anodized finish.

Parts of it look like a speedometer drive, but no place for a cable or speed sensor.

Blue anodizing suggests its not an OEM car part.

Super holy E36 M3, I have one of those!  Errr, and I don't remember exactly what it is.  IIRC it was indeed medical-related, a quick-release coupler for something.  The inner blue anodized piece has a one-way bearing on the shaft, and is spring-loaded.  The 'gear' spins (one way...) so that a grooved attachment can be inserted and then held.  Pushing in against the spring disengages the gear and the attachment can be removed.  I assume these are off-the-shelf, if you know the correct shelf.  The white piece in the pix below is delrin and was made by the small machine shop where I started working back in 2000.  The parts I have were setups or extras I saved after a shop cleanup, just b/c they were cool.  This is an example of why you should never throw anything out... you can imagine what my garage is like.

So we can safely assume that some poor invalid is rolling around at this moment in a wheelchair or similar device in imminent danger of falling apart?

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

It's not structural, so no danger of falling apart. Just out of adjustment and danger of that system failing... So brakes, oxygen flow, etc.

Driven5 said:

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

It's not structural, so no danger of falling apart. Just out of adjustment and danger of that system failing... So brakes, oxygen flow, etc.

Ah, good.  So nothing important. 

Insert reference to Monty Python/ Black Knight "Your arm's off!"

Edit: note the available thread adapter, b/c no industry can ever standardize the threads on anything.

RX Reven' said:

Leave it under an airplane at your local airport 

That how to mess me up - leave a nut or washer or random liquid under my car and I'll be investigating it all evening.  

If there's another forum that's better than this one at ID-ing bizarre crap, I don't know what it is..

In reply to AAZCD-Jon (Forum Supporter) :

Now that we know what it is, your choice of the word 'stumped' could be seen as foreshadowing.  Were you teasing us?

In reply to Oapfu :

Thanks for solving the mystery and complete with the patent!

My daughter can tell her friends at Bio-med (that found it) that it has been identified. The hive of GRM is truly the repository of all knowledge. I get points with my daughter for bringing the answer and she gets credit with Bio-med for the solution to their their puzzle.

Seeing the rust on the gear, it's been out there for a while and nobody is likely hopping around the parking lot today with a limb off.

Bravo! You folks amaze me. 

That was an impressive display of very random knowledge. Made my workday. 

Almost all knowledge, and that is an amazing thing about the forum. This is a classic example, for sure. 
 

There is still that one tool that we've never been able to identify. It looked like a marlinspike for rope work. 
Anyone have the link?

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

I thought we all had that. 
 

I've got it saved on my phone. 

Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) said:

Almost all knowledge, and that is an amazing thing about the forum. This is a classic example, for sure. 
 

There is still that one tool that we've never been able to identify. It looked like a marlinspike for rope work. 
Anyone have the link?

So you just gotta focus on that one time the hive couldn't come up with the answer? Some folks are never satisfied!  

So if we leave it under an airplane, a one legged pilot will think his prosthetic will fall off mid-flight!

Jay_W said:

If there's another forum that's better than this one at ID-ing bizarre crap, I don't know what it is..

https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/

not saying it's "better," but it is dedicated to IDing random crap

1988RedT2 said:

So we can safely assume that some poor invalid is rolling around at this moment in a wheelchair or similar device in imminent danger of falling apart?

My money's on the guy doing wheelchair donuts in the parking lot. 

And.... now I've read the rest of the thread.