He Liangcai rides his home-made suitcase scooter.
A Chinese private entrepreneur, He Liangcai, recently obtained a patent for a product that turns a regular suitcase into a rechargeable scooter. According to patent documents China Real Time viewed, accessed via China’s intellectual property database, the suitcase is also equipped with a GPS navigator, a burglar alarm and a horn.
Weighing about 15 pounds, Mr. He’s “multi-functional suitcase” is powered by a lithium battery and can reportedly go as fast as 12 miles per hour. Mr. He says the suitcase-scooter can carry 2 adults at once and travel as far as 37 miles in one charge, the local Changsha Evening News reported. Mr. He suggests such a device can also be used for in-city travel, dubbing it an “urban scooter.”
Turning a suitcase into an electric scooter up with a suitcase was no easy task. According to local reports, Mr. He spent over 10 years to break through the technology issues, such as how to develop the right kind of wheels.
Local media have hailed the inventor’s apparently humble background, describing Mr. He as having only graduated from primary school.
Mr. He, who also runs an auto parts company, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
