Pogo sticks have been around for a very long time and there have been some recent improvements that have caused resurgence in their popularity. The use of air-springs and special configurations of elastic bands or cords have recently allowed users to jump much higher, where jumping heights of six or more feet have become common. However, even though riding on a pogo stick is a rather unique experience, simply bouncing around to attempt to reach the greatest height becomes boring after a while and most riders eventually and unfortunately lose interest. The new Air-Blaster Pogo Stick was designed to exhilarate the riding experience and to make it possible for pogo stick riders to attain jumping heights never before attainable. The Air-Blaster Pogo Stick gets its name from its ability to store air under high pressure that’s accumulated in an on-board air tank by a built-in reciprocating-piston air pump. The stored high pressure air is then subsequently released so it acts on a relatively large diameter piston to assist energy stored and released by a main spring when the rider desires to make a 'power' hop. In other words, the rider first makes a series of 'charging' hops (see illustrations) to operate the air pump and accumulate high-pressure air in the air storage tank. At exactly the right moment or at the trough of a hop, the rider pulls on a blaster-valve lever that’s located on the hand-grip to release the stored air directly on top of a large diameter piston that acts to force the top end of the main spring downward inside the main tube. The force exerted by the released air greatly supplements the energy stored in the compressed main spring and at that time you might say that all hell breaks loose! This particular design as illustrated uses an auxiliary spring to drive the reciprocating air pump piston during the charging hops. The main spring actually floats inside the main tube so that when air is released on top of the power piston, the spring will expand at the same time the released air is acting on top of the power piston to move the top end of the main spring down the main tube in which it is free to move. A rough model was built out of mostly PVC pipe and fittings at a local college machine shop. It was then charged with air at 110 psi from a remote compressor (it had no built-in air pump). When the 200 lb. rider pulled on the blaster-valve lever located on the hand-grip to release the stored air, he was easily thrust upward at a height estimated at over five feet! The Air-Blaster Pogo Stick is an extreme sport device and it is not child’s play by any means. It’s a trade-off and somewhat of a compromise to the not so well-known gas-powered pogo sticks of yesteryear which were uncontrollable and extremely dangerous. This pogo stick is as gutsy as the rider wants to be!
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ABOUT THE ENTRANT
- Name:Jim Hacsi
- Type of entry:individual
- Hardware used for this entry:PCSoftware used for this entry:MS-Word Draw
- Patent status:pending