Posts Tagged: "bicycles"

The Most Iconic (and Patented) Toys and Games of All Time

Since America’s earliest days, a lot of creative and innovative toys have come through the consumer marketplace. Many becoming so iconic they have become household names and synonymous with a moment in time for America’s youth. Some of the most popular of these toys that continue to show up year after year under Christmas trees were patented… It wouldn’t be a traditional Christmas at IPWatchdog unless we spent some time profiling some cool innovations that relate to the holiday season. So today, I return to one of our all time favorite articles. Five years ago we published The Top 10 Most Iconic (and Patented) Toys and last year we published The Most Iconic (and Patented) Games. With Christmas firmly in mind, it is time to revisit and expand these lists. When initially published some truly iconic classic toys and games were inexplicably left missing. So, with the hours winding down before Santa Claus makes his way down chimneys across the world, join us as we look back at some of the most popular toys and games of all time, as well as the patents behind them.

Gene Quinn

December 23, 2018

The Evolution of Bicycles: A Patent History

The next major development in bicycling technologies comes in the 1860s, when the first attempts are made at adding a driving mechanism. This would be the start of the pedal bicycles that we see traveling along streets and sidewalks all over the world. These models began utilizing rotary cranks which were attached to front wheel pedals to power the bicycle forward. These velocipedes were often commonly known as “boneshakers” due to their rigid metal frames and wheels; rubber wheels weren’t introduced until later, in the late 1870s. The frame, constructed of iron, could easily reach up to 100 pounds in weight. Although these look like contemporary bikes, these models had a much lower gear ratio, resulting in a bike that traveled much slower than today’s versions.

Steve Brachmann

August 23, 2014