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Homemade "Segway"

M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0

Cool! A coworker of mine just might be convinced to build one... I am
forwarding this link as soon as I finish this post.

I remember seeing, many years ago, a very brief one paragraph article in a
magazine (probably Popular Mechanics or similar) of someone who had built a
replica of Smokey Stover's FooMobile, a two wheeled fire engine with the
wheels side by side like the Segway (scroll down to the bottom on this
page):

http://www.lambiek.net/holman_bill.htm

Does anyone else remember reading about someone who actually built one of
these things? My recollection is that this would have been in the 80's some
time.

-- Mike --
 
I

Ian Stirling

Jan 1, 1970
0
Spehro Pefhany said:

I keep wondering about a powered unicycle or pogo-stick.
Control problems are interesting, to keep it working for a non-expert
rider.
In principle, the pogo-stick could be relatively simple, and quite
fuel-efficiant, as well as simpler than a walker.
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
I keep wondering about a powered unicycle or pogo-stick.
Control problems are interesting, to keep it working for a non-expert
rider.

It's the classic inverted pendulum control system problem. It's been
extensively worked on as it's also important if you want to kill a
whole lot of people from a safe distance.
In principle, the pogo-stick could be relatively simple, and quite
fuel-efficiant, as well as simpler than a walker.

There were (are?) gasoline powered pogo sticks that used the rider to
provide compression. Nasty, noisy and they spew blue smoke, IIRC.

Hey, there's a project for a keen student- an electric pogo stick
using rare-earth magnets for the solenoid. A spring could do most of
the energy storage and recovery and the solenoid would just add enough
energy that the rider could avoid moving much. ;-)

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
B

Brad Albing

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ian said:
I keep wondering about a powered unicycle or pogo-stick.
Control problems are interesting, to keep it working for a non-expert
rider.
In principle, the pogo-stick could be relatively simple, and quite
fuel-efficiant, as well as simpler than a walker.

Oooo! Oooo! That reminds me of this wacky idea a college buddy and I had about 30
years ago:

You could make a gasoline (or fuel of your choice -- propane, alcohol, etc.) powered
pogo stick. But you don't need a conventional rotary engine (piston + crankshaft).
Just couple the piston to the pogo pin and the cylinder is integral to the foot
plate + handle assembly. It still needs a booster or return spring, of course. The
engine can be simple a 2-stroke (sorry Ian -- can't make it a Stirling engine).

Turn on the fuel, enable the magneto ignition, give it a "jump" start, and away you
go. No company will ever build these, of course -- think of the liability
insurance....
 
M

Michael Black

Jan 1, 1970
0
Brad said:
Oooo! Oooo! That reminds me of this wacky idea a college buddy and I had about 30
years ago:

You could make a gasoline (or fuel of your choice -- propane, alcohol, etc.) powered
pogo stick. But you don't need a conventional rotary engine (piston + crankshaft).
Just couple the piston to the pogo pin and the cylinder is integral to the foot
plate + handle assembly. It still needs a booster or return spring, of course. The
engine can be simple a 2-stroke (sorry Ian -- can't make it a Stirling engine).

Turn on the fuel, enable the magneto ignition, give it a "jump" start, and away you
go. No company will ever build these, of course -- think of the liability
insurance....
Can't you just have a shotgun shell or something at the bottom of
the stick, so when it lands the shell explodes, propelling you upward?

Legalities aside, I know nothing about such things to know if it
would be possible. But it would be sort of like Orion, setting off
an explosion to propel it forward.

Michael
 
I

Ian Stirling

Jan 1, 1970
0
Brad Albing said:
Oooo! Oooo! That reminds me of this wacky idea a college buddy and I had about 30
years ago:

You could make a gasoline (or fuel of your choice -- propane, alcohol, etc.) powered
pogo stick. But you don't need a conventional rotary engine (piston + crankshaft).
Just couple the piston to the pogo pin and the cylinder is integral to the foot
plate + handle assembly. It still needs a booster or return spring, of course. The
engine can be simple a 2-stroke (sorry Ian -- can't make it a Stirling engine).

Turn on the fuel, enable the magneto ignition, give it a "jump" start, and away you
go. No company will ever build these, of course -- think of the liability
insurance....

I was thinking of something a little different, though similar.
First take a piston+cylinder.
Now place a spring in the cylinder, so that at (nominal) TDC it just touches
the piston.
The spring can take the maximum loaded weight while compressing around a
half.
Add electric valves and a small blower.
To start, a propane/air mixture is blown into the cylinder, and ignited.
This then excites the spring, and on the bounce you get a little bit of
compression.
As the bounces get bigger, the gas-spring effect takes over from the
spring, slowing to stop at TDC just as the piston touches the spring and
the spark happens.

This is one of my saner transport devices.
The other one involves a wing-suit (think batman) like those used in the
"channel crossing parachute jump" of a few months ago, three small model
jet engines, and roller-blades.
Should be good for 15-20 minutes flight at 150MPH.

--
http://inquisitor.i.am/ | mailto:[email protected] | Ian Stirling.
---------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------
"I meant, have you ploughed the ocean waves at all?" Colon gave him a cunning
look. 'Ah, you can't catch me with that one, sir' he said 'Everyone knows
horses sink' -- Terry Pratchett - Jingo
 
S

Steve Taylor

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ian said:
I was thinking of something a little different, though similar.
First take a piston+cylinder.
Now place a spring in the cylinder, so that at (nominal) TDC it just touches
the piston.
The spring can take the maximum loaded weight while compressing around a
half.
Add electric valves and a small blower.
To start, a propane/air mixture is blown into the cylinder, and ignited.
This then excites the spring, and on the bounce you get a little bit of
compression.
As the bounces get bigger, the gas-spring effect takes over from the
spring, slowing to stop at TDC just as the piston touches the spring and
the spark happens.

You could argue then that "Paslode" cordless nail guns have everything
you need. We'll watch thank-you-very-much

Steve
 
C

Clifford Heath

Jan 1, 1970
0
Brad said:
You could make a gasoline (or fuel of your choice -- propane, alcohol, etc.) powered
pogo stick.

The Russian military built a similar device for use by infantry - I've
seen video of it being demonstrated. It used a gasoline device like your
pogo stick on each leg. Once the operator got the hang of it (difficult!),
they could run at 60Km/h - until their knee and hip joints give out, which
wasn't expected to be very long :-}.
 
Y

YD

Jan 1, 1970
0
Oooo! Oooo! That reminds me of this wacky idea a college buddy and I had about 30
years ago:

You could make a gasoline (or fuel of your choice -- propane, alcohol, etc.) powered
pogo stick. But you don't need a conventional rotary engine (piston + crankshaft).
Just couple the piston to the pogo pin and the cylinder is integral to the foot
plate + handle assembly. It still needs a booster or return spring, of course. The
engine can be simple a 2-stroke (sorry Ian -- can't make it a Stirling engine).

Turn on the fuel, enable the magneto ignition, give it a "jump" start, and away you
go. No company will ever build these, of course -- think of the liability
insurance....

A year or two ago there was a news item on the Russian army having
done something similar. Sort of a gasoline powered '7 league boot'.
There was one strapped to each leg. Can't remember the details though.

- YD.
 
R

Richard Henry

Jan 1, 1970
0
ddwyer said:
Segway has 1 degree of freedom ... forward and back; a spherical wheel
or rotatable single drive wheel as per unicycle could create a
SuperSegway ; would need even more processing and motors and inertial
sensors , should keep me in business for years.

Segway can also rotate by differential speed of the two wheels.
 
G

Grumpy OM

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mike said:
Cool! A coworker of mine just might be convinced to build one... I am
forwarding this link as soon as I finish this post.

I remember seeing, many years ago, a very brief one paragraph article in a
magazine (probably Popular Mechanics or similar) of someone who had built a
replica of Smokey Stover's FooMobile, a two wheeled fire engine with the
wheels side by side like the Segway (scroll down to the bottom on this
page):

http://www.lambiek.net/holman_bill.htm

Does anyone else remember reading about someone who actually built one of
these things? My recollection is that this would have been in the 80's some
time.

-- Mike --


As an old fan of Smokey Stover I recall the article well. Actually
it was very simple as the 2 large tires housed 2 smaller wheels on
each side. It was a 4 wheeled machine and didnd't need gyros.

Grumpy
 
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