Inventions
Personal Tracked Vehicle (PTV)
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The Personal Tracked Vehicle (PTV) was conceived in 2008 and is the vehicle that started the entire personal tracked vehicle craze; coining the very phrase “personal tracked vehicle.” This was my first vehicle and my first set of build plans. The PTV features a 13 horsepower engine, along with a chain driven jackshaft and v-belt system that transfers the power independently to each track. The design is simple and economical to build. As designed, it features a top speed of about 12 MPH, but of course you can add your own personal touch. After all, it’s your build! The PTV is capable of turning within its own radius, but not capable of zero-turn, as it has no reverse. To build the PTV, you will need a pipe bender (one can be purchased at Harbor Freight for around a hundred bucks), a welder, reciprocating saw, angle grinder, and drill. Although you should have some mechanical aptitude, the PTV can be a good starter vehicle for people with limited metal-working experience. You may also choose the Drift Trike Industrial if you have limited experience. Expect to spend about $1900 to build your own PTV. Enjoy the slide show below. You can also view the demonstration video below.
Magic Carpet
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The Magic Carpet is a smaller version of the original Personal Tracked Vehicle (PTV) on which you stand up to ride. It has been called a “Segway on Steroids.” The Magic Carpet features a 6.5 horsepower engine, combined with a CVT transmission and a differential axle to deliver power separately to each track. Like the PTV, the Magic Carpet utilizes brake steering to turn. By applying a brake to one or the other track, the opposite track is allowed to turn free, rotating the vehicle. The Magic Carpet features a unique steering mechanism that applies the brakes by turning the handlebar naturally to steer to the left or right. This steering system also allows the brake to be applied to both tracks for panic stopping, using a single lever. Another unique feature is the suspended ride platform. An air spring in combination with a hinged platform provides a simple, cost effective system for a smooth ride that is adjustable for drivers of different weights.
A Magic Carpet vehicle will set you back around $1800 to build. Build plans are available for this vehicle. See the slideshow below for more photos of the Magic Carpet, and see the demonstration video below.
The Magic Carpet (and yours truly) appeared on national television on the History Channel’s auction show series premiere episode of “Sold!” on April 11, 2012. See the shows promo video below.
A Magic Carpet vehicle will set you back around $1800 to build. Build plans are available for this vehicle. See the slideshow below for more photos of the Magic Carpet, and see the demonstration video below.
The Magic Carpet (and yours truly) appeared on national television on the History Channel’s auction show series premiere episode of “Sold!” on April 11, 2012. See the shows promo video below.
Mantis
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The Mantis is my most advanced vehicle so far, and the build plans are the most comprehensive. It features a 16 horsepower engine, combined with a CVT, and a custom transmission of my own creation. The transmission utilizes a roller chain reversing jackshaft design, with a pivoting v-belt idler mechanism to transmit power to each side of the vehicle. The transmission has forward, neutral, and reverse. With the reverse feature, the Mantis is able to execute a true zero radius turn, and operates exactly like a zero turn mower. It also features 4 independent suspension arms. Each arm has an air spring to set the ride height, accommodate riders of different weight, and provide a smooth ride. A small amount of suspension is also designed into the seat. Each “mini-track” features a pivoting trunnion to allow even greater mobility. To tackle this build, you must possess an expert level of metal-working skill and be ready to invest around $4500. A lathe would be helpful for this build, but not necessary, as I built the prototype you see lathe-free. See the slideshow below for more photos, and see the demonstration video is also below.
The Adventures of Mantis Man Video
The Adventures of Mantis Man video was a fun addition to the Mantis vehicle project. The short story stars François Duquette in the epic role of Mantis Man, and yours truly as Great Great Granny Mantis, and Ye-Haw Handle Bar-Har. Mantis Man is saddened on the anniversary of his beloved Grandmas death, so he uses the Mantis Personal Tracked Vehicle to travel back in time to rescue her from death at the hands of the villain, Ye-Haw Handle Bar-Har. Although he was successful with the rescue, he finds out with horror that Granny doesn’t belong in our time.
François is an accomplished actor, musician, singer, and engineer from Québec Canada. He has appeared in two major multimedia productions. He played the leading role of Sieur Louis Gauthier in Les Légendes Fantastiques from 2003 to 2006. François also played the major role of the evil Zap in AO La Fantastique Légende from 2007 to 2010. He has been participating in musicals since 1999 and theatre plays since 2003.
Drift Trike Industrial |
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The Drift Trike Industrial is a unique industrial look brought to the drift trike world. The trike is made from CNC cut sheet metal using a unique self-fixturing tab-in-slot design. All flat steel, there are no requirements for either sheet metal bends or tubing bends. You can build it yourself using my build plans if you have a welder, and just a few other basic tools The Drift Trike Industrial is also available in various design themes, so there’s sure to be one to fit your style. The prototype you see here is the hexagon theme. When you buy the plans, you get the flat patterns to waterjet, plasma cut, or laser cut your own parts in the hexagon theme, or other themes, such as: Circles, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs. The Drift Trike Industrial features an adjustable seat position, a cup holder, and a trailer hitch. These features cannot be found on any other drift trike! With the cup holder and hitch you can not only enjoy your favorite beverage while drifting, you can tow along a six pack behind you. But please, don’t drink and drift. The Drift Trike Industrial is the easiest of my vehicles to build, and will only set you back around $1200. See the slideshow and the official demonstration video below.
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The Baum Dicycle (BDC)
The Baum Dicycle (BDC) is a new twist on a rather old-fashioned machine. We've all seen the crazy Monowheels where the rider drives the machine from inside a single hoop. These machines, although very cool, are also very unstable. The BDC puts two large hoops side by side (making it a Dicycle) for greater stability, and better steering. The BDC features two mammoth 6 foot diameter wheels. The wheels are controlled by skid steering, facilitated by a differential axle. The rider can do a pivot turn (similar to the PTV and Magic Carpet), and steer with ease. The BDC is made from CNC cut sheet metal using a unique self-fixturing tab-in-slot design. All flat steel, there are no requirements for either sheet metal bends or tubing bends. You can build it yourself using my build plans if you have a welder, and just a few other basic tools. When you buy the plans, you get the flat patterns to waterjet, plasma cut, or laser cut your own parts. The BDC features an adjustable seat position, an adjustable and extendable handlebar, and a cup holder. The BDC costs around $2300 to build. See the slideshow and the official demonstration video below.
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The Automatic Beverage Delivery System (AutoBeverage or ABDS) is a very unique invention. The system uses a model railroad 2-rail O-gauge track that is installed around the perimeter of a room or any desirable beverage delivery route. As people stand at various places along the delivery route or track, they can simply touch the rails of the track at their location when the delivery of a beverage is desired. An electronic control system, utilizing touch circuitry and a PLC, identifies the location that was touched and automatically loads a trolley with a refrigerated beverage in the form of a can or bottle. The trolley transports the beverage to the required location where it is removed by the thirsty requester. The empty container can be placed back on the trolley, where it will be ejected into a recycling bin.
This delivery system consists of four main components. The refrigerated beverage storage and dispensing unit, the trolley that delivers the beverage, the track system which provides the delivery route, and finally the electronic control system which is the brain of the system. Upon touching the track, the PLC in the electrical control box receives this input and opens a door to allow the beverage to exit from the refrigerated dispensing unit. The dispensing unit contains a magazine to store the beverages. An indexing mechanism allows just one can to exit at a time when the door is opened. This can or bottle is guided and loaded on the trolley where it is delivered to the location at which the track was touched. Watch the trolley go right through the middle of a fish tank! You can view the official demonstration video below. Forgive me for the poor quality, it was my first video! After viewing the demonstration video, you can also watch the gag/bloopers below.
An ABDS system is functional as well as novel. The system could be custom designed and installed in a private homeowner's game room, home theatre, sports bar or other theme bar, hotel lobbies or hotel bars, resorts, outdoor patios, along swimming pool perimeters, etc. The system you see here is installed in my home.
This delivery system consists of four main components. The refrigerated beverage storage and dispensing unit, the trolley that delivers the beverage, the track system which provides the delivery route, and finally the electronic control system which is the brain of the system. Upon touching the track, the PLC in the electrical control box receives this input and opens a door to allow the beverage to exit from the refrigerated dispensing unit. The dispensing unit contains a magazine to store the beverages. An indexing mechanism allows just one can to exit at a time when the door is opened. This can or bottle is guided and loaded on the trolley where it is delivered to the location at which the track was touched. Watch the trolley go right through the middle of a fish tank! You can view the official demonstration video below. Forgive me for the poor quality, it was my first video! After viewing the demonstration video, you can also watch the gag/bloopers below.
An ABDS system is functional as well as novel. The system could be custom designed and installed in a private homeowner's game room, home theatre, sports bar or other theme bar, hotel lobbies or hotel bars, resorts, outdoor patios, along swimming pool perimeters, etc. The system you see here is installed in my home.
Autobeverage
SpecDrum |
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The SpecDrum is a tone changing drum. One day my son asked me to make him a set of Octobans. Octobans are a “tube” drum where the tube length is different for each individual Octoban. Octobans are commonly mounted in clusters of four, in a square pattern so they can be struck between quickly for tone changing affect. The difference in length is what gives each individual drum its different tone. He wanted the drums to be transparent for added cool factor. So I researched acrylic tubing and found it to be on the expensive side. Recognizing the only difference between each individual drum is its length, we thought maybe we could just change the length of the drum on the fly, therefore changing the tone. We selected two acrylic tube diameters that would slide inside each other, and used felt to provide the sliding surfaces. A foot pedal connected to a specially designed cam (printed on a 3D printer) provides the motion to extend the drum length, while a spring that’s mounted between them pulls the drum back to the collapsed position. The result is a tone changing drum that has infinite tones between the low and high tone, and is conveniently controlled by the foot pedal.
You can see pictures of this unique invention in the slideshow below, and also see the demonstration video below.
You can see pictures of this unique invention in the slideshow below, and also see the demonstration video below.
Thank you for checking out my inventions. I will be adding more soon.