How the Snowmobile Was Patented?

While Canadian winters are a sight to behold, they can be equally harsh and icy. The heavy snowfall and rough temperatures cause a huge amount of inconvenience, including traversing from a place to another, especially in the rural areas. Hence, it is no surprise that Canadians have been inventing tools throughout ages to make winters more manageable for all. The snowmobile is one such invention in Canada, created with the purpose of making winters convenient to travel. A snowmobile or a snow machine is a vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation. Today, there are lakhs of registered snowmobiles in Canada, however, its creation dates back in history.

Early Invention of The Snowmobile

Several patents were also issued for snow machine designs, but early designs were perfected by a Canadian named Joseph-Armand Bombardier, in 1958. Bombardier’s journey started from a small village of Valcourt in Quebec, where he lived. In a small village like Valcourt, it was difficult to travel to and fro during winters. Since a young age, his love for mechanics made Bombardier tirelessly pursue the development of a machine to traverse over the treacherous snow and ice.

However, it was the death of Bombardier’s two-year-old son; who died because they could not reach the hospital on time in the snow. This incident underscored the need for effective winter transportation. In 1935, after a year of his son’s death, Bombardier finally assembled a two-three passenger vehicle that ran on rubber and cotton caterpillar tracks. With the invention of his sprocket wheel system, Bombardier then created a seven-seat B7 snowmobile. In 1937, he was granted exclusive patents for the commercial use of his snowmobile. His first buyers were doctors, ambulance drivers, and priests in remote areas. Gradually, he converted his garage into a manufacturing company named L’Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitee. Soon after this, he introduced the multi-passenger B12 snowmobile, which was patented in 1942.

The Invention of The Ski-Doo

After the thriving success, Bombardier went on to manufacture thousands of snow vehicles. However, the winter of 1947-48 bought a setback. The lack of snow plummeted sales, and the fact that government was now clearing snow, made the snowmobile obsolete. During the downfall, he created several all-terrain vehicles, out of which one of the successes inspired him to return to his dream of building a smaller, ultra-light model of the snowmobile. In 1959, he delivered the Ski-Doo (originally called the Ski-Dog, but a printing mistake changed the logo to Ski-Doo and the company decided it preferred the accidental name). Small in size, the Ski-Doo became popular as a recreational snowmobile that ensured the company’s prosperity even after Bombardier’s death.

Thanks to the long winters in the country, Canadians have widely benefited from snowmobiles. Throughout his time at L’Auto-Neige Bombardier Limitee, Bombardier made several improvements on snowmobiles that were beneficial for many Canadians. Today, the snowmobile is widely used for recreational purposes rather than the one it was built for. Whatever be the reason for its use, today snowmobiles play a key role in the Canadian culture.