CA Patent: CA-367,104
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Auto-chenille a neige
Self-propelled snow-caterpillar
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Patentee:
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| Joseph-Armand Bombardier (exact or similar names) - Valcourt, QC Canada |
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Patent Dates:
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| Granted: |
Jun. 29, 1937 |
CIPO Data
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Jeff Joslin
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Description: |
| The inventor was a mechanic who, in January 1934, lost a sick son to appendicities because snow made it impossible to transport him to hospital. The caterpillar-track snow machine, steered by skis at the front, went to market in 1937, the same year the patent was issued. The first units were manufactured and sold by the inventor, who formed a new company in 1942 to manufacture his invention: L'Auto-Neige Bombardier Ltée (Bombardier Snow Car Ltd.) These early machines were basically a truck on skis and tracks. In 1948 Quebec began requiring all roads to be plowed, which slowed Bombardier's sales. They responded by making a sidewalk-plow version, and then, in 1951 they introduced an even smaller machine sized for one person and perhaps a passenger. This was the original "Ski-Doo", and was an enormous success as owners discovered how fun they were to ride. The Bombardier company became Bombardier Ltée in 1967. In 2003 they sold the Recreational Products Division to a group of investors and it became BRP, Inc. Meanwhile the parent company had become an important conglomerate, manufacturing passenger jets, light rail systems, and much more. |
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