Scooters and "scooter-like" vehicles

In recent years, the popularity of electric and muscle scooters has increased, but the roots of this invention can be traced back to at least the beginning of the XNUMXth century. 

♦ XIX c. - The appearance of the scooter was not associated with any technical innovations. The wheel has been known for thousands of years, and it was not difficult to get a piece of the board, even when poverty was bad. In the nineteenth century, pedestrian vehicles quickly gained popularity among children in poor urban suburbs. The first scooters in the modern sense of the word appeared at the end of the XNUMXth century in several countries, including England, Germany and the USA. However, it is not entirely clear who and where built the first scooter in the form in which we know it today.

♦ 1817 – On June 12 in Mannheim, the German designer and inventor Karl Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn presents a vehicle of his own design, reminiscent of a bicycle (1), in which some today see the first scooter. This invention differed from the modern version in that the user could not stand, but rather sit comfortably and push off with both feet. However, the clientele of the time did not appreciate the design. So the designer sold his car at auction for only 5 marks and took up other projects.

1. The vehicle of Karl Freiherr Drais von Sauerbronn

♦ 1897 – Walter Lines, a XNUMX-year-old boy from the UK, creates the first scooter shaped like modern models. The boy's father did not patent the invention, but this happened only because he did not expect the toy to become popular. However, it was Walter's design that proved to be one of the first vehicles to combine the advantages of an affordable price with an environmentally friendly power plant. The inventor himself first worked in his father's company, and then, together with his brothers William and Arthur, founded the Lines Bros toy company (2).

2. Advertising of Lines Bros products.

♦ 1916 – Autopeds appear on the streets of New York (3) manufactured by The Autoped in Long Island City. These vehicles were more durable and comfortable than kick scooters and had an internal combustion engine. Their designer Arthur Hugo Cecil Gibson had been working since 1909 on a light and small engine for aviation. In 1915, he already had a patent for a 155cc four-stroke, air-cooled engine. cm, and a year later he patented a lightweight single car with this engine.

3. Dama jadacha independent order

The autoped consisted of a platform, wheels more than 25 cm wide and a steering column, which made it possible to maneuver the car and control the engine located above the front wheel. Pushing the tie rod forward engaged the clutch, while pulling it back disengaged the clutch and applied the brake. In addition, the traction system made it possible to turn off the fuel supply to the engine. The folding steering column was supposed to make it easier to store the car. The autoped developed a maximum speed of 32 km/h. It was mainly used by postmen and traffic cops. Although it was advertised as a convenient vehicle for doctors and older children, it ended up being too expensive and U.S. production ended in 1921. The following year, the production of this model in Germany was also discontinued.

♦ 1921 – Austrian engineer. Karl Schuber developed a two-cylinder engine for scooters, with magnetic ignition, with a power of 1 hp. at a speed of 3 km/h. rpm It was built into the front wheel, which, together with the steering wheel and fuel tank, formed a complete power plant for installation on scooters and Austro Motorette bicycles. However, the drive proved to be as unreliable as Arthur Gibson's invention. Production was discontinued in the 30s.

♦ 50s – The market is dominated by internal combustion engine scooters with a comfortable driver's seat. When, in 1953, a photo of Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck on an Italian company Vespa scooter appeared on posters promoting the movie Roman Holiday, interest in not very fast vehicles reached its peak. Although the Vespa model from the film was only visible on screen for a few minutes, it sold over 100 copies. copies. Everything indicated that the end of the scooter was doomed. However, young users have found a new idea for these vehicles. They took the handlebars off their scooters and rode on a straight board. This is how skateboard prototypes were created.

4. Old Skateboard Makaha

♦ 1963 “Manufacturers are starting to offer products aimed at the growing number of fans of the new urban sport of skateboarding. So far, these have been fairly crude designs. Skateboards still had steel wheels, which made them awkward and dangerous to ride. Clay Composite Makaha Skateboard Wheels (4) provided a smoother ride, but they wore out quickly and were still not very safe due to poor traction.

♦ 1973 - American athlete Frank Nasworthy (5) offered wheels made of plastic - polyurethane, which were fast, quiet and shockproof. The following year, Richard Novak improved the bearings. Road Rider's innovative sealed bearings resist contaminants such as sand for a faster ride. The combination of advanced polyurethane wheels and precision bearings has turned both scooters and skateboards into attractive and reasonably comfortable urban transport - quiet, smooth and reliable.

5. Frank Nasworthy with polyurethane rivet

♦ 1974 Honda launches three-wheeled Kick 'n Go scooter in the US and Japan (6) with an innovative drive. Cars could only be purchased at the dealerships of this brand, and the idea was born from a marketing need. Honda management realized that for children who come to car dealerships with their parents, it is worth having a special product. The idea for Kick 'n Go came from an internal Honda competition.

6 Honda's Kick 'n Go Scooter

Riding such a scooter was not about pushing off the ground with your foot. The user had to press a bar on the rear wheel with their foot, which tensioned the chain and set the wheels in motion. Kick 'n Go allowed you to move faster than previously known cars of a similar type. Three versions were available: for children and two for teenagers and adults. Each model was offered in red, silver, yellow or blue. Thanks to the original Kick 'n Go drive, they were a huge success. However, the scooters were taken off the market two years later due to accidents involving children. They were thought to be too fast for minors to fly on their own.

♦ 1985 – Go-Ped scooters start to conquer the market (7), manufactured by a small family-owned company in California. They have a heavier construction and larger rubber wheels for a smoother ride. The first models were made by Steve Patmont for himself and his friends - they were supposed to make it easier to quickly move around crowded cities. When the small business owner patented the Go-Ped, he probably didn't expect his design to be successful.

7. One of the Go-Ped scooter models.

Patmont has revolutionized the suspension system with its patented Cantilever Independent Dynamic Linkless Suspension (CIDLI). This simple and extremely efficient suspension system with swing arms and independent dynamic front and rear wishbone suspension ensures high driving comfort. The designer also took care of a strong and lightweight frame, which was made of aircraft-grade carbon steel. Combustion engine models were initially available, but since 2003 quiet and environmentally friendly electric drive models have been available, equipped with a brushed DC motor with an Electro Head finned radiator capable of speeds in excess of 20 km/h.

♦ 90s – Mechanical Engineer Gino Tsai (8) launches the Razor scooter. As he explained later, he was in a hurry everywhere, so he decided to upgrade a simple classic foot-powered scooter to be able to move faster. The Razor was built from aircraft-grade aluminum with polyurethane wheels and an adjustable folding handlebar. A novelty was the rear wing, upon stepping on which the rear wheel was braked. In addition, the scooter had an attractive, economical price. In 2000 alone, a million Razors were sold. In 2003, the company offered customers its own electric scooter.

8. Gino Tsai with a Razor scooter

♦ 1994 – Finnish athlete Hannu Vierikko is designing a scooter that was supposed to resemble the design of a bicycle. kickbike (9) actually looked like a bicycle, with one wheel larger and the other slightly smaller, and with a step for the cyclist instead of pedals and a chain. Initially, it was only supposed to make sports training easier - without joint pain and more efficiently than cycling. However, it turned out that the car is a great success in the world market. Hannu Vierikko scooters win the summer and winter races and the Kickbike brand sells 5 pieces. these cars every year.

♦ 2001 — Premiera Segway (10), a new type of single-seat vehicle invented by American Dean Kamen. The appearance of this vehicle was loudly announced by the media, and the project was praised by Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos and John Doerr. The Segway is an innovative idea for a fast and environmentally friendly urban vehicle with a complexity that is incomparable to a classic scooter. It was the first two-wheeled self-balancing electric vehicle with patented dynamic stabilization technology. In its most basic version, it consists of a set of sensors, a control system, and an engine system. The main sensory system consists of gyroscopes. A conventional gyroscope would be bulky and difficult to maintain in this type of vehicle, so a special solid-state silicon angular rate sensor was used.

This type of gyroscope detects the rotation of an object using the Coriolis effect applied on a very small scale. Additionally, two tilt sensors were installed, filled with electrolyte liquid. The gyroscopic system feeds information to a computer, two electronic controller circuit boards containing a microprocessor cluster that monitors all stability information and adjusts the speed of several electric motors accordingly. The electric motors, powered by a pair of nickel-metal hydride or lithium-ion batteries, can independently spin each wheel at a different speed. Unfortunately, cars have not received due attention from users. Already in 2002, the sale of at least 50 thousand units, while only 6 found new owners. vehicles, mainly among police officers, employees of military bases, industrial enterprises and warehouses. However, the design presented proved to be a milestone, paving the way for the wave of self-balancing vehicles that are already taking over the market this decade, such as hoverboards or unicycles.

♦ 2005 – The era of modern electric scooters begins. The EVO Powerboards models gained the first popularity. The manufacturer introduced a new two-speed drive system. The gearbox combines the reliability and power of a gear drive with the versatility of a two-speed drive.

♦ 2008 – Swiss Wim Obother, inventor and designer of Micro Mobility Systems, creates the Micro Luggage II, a scooter connected to a suitcase. A suitcase that contains everything you need can be stored, for example, in the luggage compartment of an aircraft. You can pull it along on wheels, but it only takes one move to unfold the scooter and go racing with your luggage. The reason for its construction was laziness - it was said that Ouboter was too far from the sandwich shop to go there, but too close to start the car or pull the bike out of the garage. He considered the scooter to be the best means of transportation. The idea was appreciated and in 2010 received an award at the international design competition "Red Dot Design Award".

♦ 2009 Go-Ped launches its first fully propane-powered scooter, the GSR Pro-Ped. It was powered by a 25cc3 LEHR 21-stroke propane engine. The car can reach speeds up to XNUMX km/h and the maximum driving time is one hour. LEHR's propane engine technology won the EPA Air Protection Award.

♦ 2009 – Razor introduces a freestyle scooter. The PowerWing (11) is similar to a scooter, but requires the rider to balance their body, much like skateboarding. This three-wheeled vehicle moves from side to side, skids sideways and turns 360 degrees. Dual camber wheels allow you to turn, drift and accelerate without pushing off the ground.

♦ 2011 – Andrzej Sobolevski from Toruń and his family create Torqway, a platform for learning to ride. The Sobolevsky family did not hide the fact that they were delighted with the Segway, but the price effectively deterred the purchase. So they built and patented their own car. The Torqway is similar to the Segway, but riding this platform is a physical workout. The design moves thanks to two levers that set in motion the strength of the muscles of the hands. This innovative drive mechanism allows you to convert the oscillating movement of the lever into the rotational movement of the wheels without unnecessary energy loss (the so-called idling is eliminated). An additional electric drive allows you to adjust the level of force to the user's preferences thanks to three driving modes. The stability of the platform is provided not by gyroscopes, but by additional, small wheels. Torqway can move at a speed of 12 km/h.

♦ 2018 – Premiere of the fastest electric scooter – NanRobot D4+. It is equipped with two 1000W motors and a 52V 23Ah lithium-ion battery. This powerful system allows a top speed of almost 65 km/h with a huge range of more than 70 km. Two speed modes, Eco and Turbo, ensure that the speed is adapted to the conditions and the driver's skill.