blog

Hojo Motor is a Scam!

The Hojo Motor is a scam.  If you purchased the Hojo Motor plans before reading this post, I'm sorry, you got scammed.  If you purchase the Hojo Motor plans after reading this post, you are dumb.  Plain and simple.  I'm sorry to use harsh words here, but sometimes it's necessary to be blunt in order to get your point across.

We've been down this path before, with the Magniwork scam.  In fact, Magniwork has been our most popular post, and has led us to post Renewable Energy Scams.  As you can see from that post, there is no shortage of scams out there trying to take advantage of the energy ignorant.

I don't care that on the web page for the Hojo plan they show some patents (see the bottom of this post for information regarding said patents) for a some kind of magnetic perpetual motion machine.  I'm not even going to get into the discussion on the laws of thermodynamics.  What I will tell you is if some kind of free energy generator was real, I would be the first person to have it.  You wouldn't hear about some free energy generator from some Google ad, you would hear about it because the President is talking about it on the world stage.  It would be the biggest breakthrough in the 21st century.  And you think you are going to buy some plans for $49.97?  (side note: ClickBank sells these plans along with many other scams, and they should be fined by the Federal Trade Commission)

Hank Mills wrote a great "Letter to Hojo Motor Plan Scammers" in which he stated:

Howard Johnson was a brilliant inventor. You got that one fact correct. However, his technologies were never fully developed, and were still very experimental when he died. Even if he was able to create motion in an experimental test rig (after hundreds or thousands of hours of work), it was not ready to power a home, an appliance, or even a very light load like a light bulb. The idea that someone could take plans for his device, and build a system capable of powering their home, is totally absurd. Unless of course, they had tens of thousands of dollars to spend, months to experiment just to make a motor self-sustain, and even more time and money to do the research and development needed to do anything practical with it.

Don't think we know what we're talking about?  Fine, buy the plans and make a fool of yourself.  For everyone else out there, focus your time on conserving energyproducing real clean energy, and living more sustainably.

----

Regarding the Patent Claims, below is what I received from a friend who is a patent attorney:

First, if he got a patent on this "secret" invention that was just released, then it couldn't have been secret, since getting a patent means publicly disclosing the invention.  Patents don't certify that free energy works, the patents simple certify that his magnetic motor works as a magnetic motor

Regarding the patents: I"ve pasted the first independent claim of each of the patents so you can start learning what patents really cover.  The claims are the legal bounds of the patent and define what the inventor is actually protecting.  As you will so, there is no language in any of these claims that says free energy, pertetual motion, etc.

4,151,431 patent expired in 1999.
It Claims: A permanent magnet motor comprising, in combination, a stator track defining a track direction and having first and second sides and composed of a plurality of track permanent magnets each having first and second poles of opposite polarity, said magnets being disposed in side-by-side relationship having a spacing between adjacent magnets and like poles defining said track sides, an elongated armature permanent magnet located on one of said track sides for relative movement thereto and in spaced relationship to said track side wherein an air gap exists between said armature magnet and said track magnets, said armature magnet having first and second poles of opposite polarity located at the opposite ends of said armature magnet defining the length thereof, the length of said armature magnet being disposed in a direction in general alignment with the direction of said track, the spacing of said armature magnet poles from said track associated side and the length of said armature magnet as related to the width and spacing of said track magnets in the direction of said track being such as to impose a continuous force on said armature magnet in said general direction of said track.

(THIS IS NOT CLAIMING A FREE ENERGY DEVICE, just a specific, very narrowly claimed type of motor)

4,877,983 Patent - expired in 2009
It Claims:
In combination with a movable armature, means for guiding movement of the armature along a predetermined path and a permanent armature magnet having magnetic poles of opposite polarity spaced from each other along said path to establish a magnetic field of limited extent movable with the armature and magnetic stator means for establishing a stationary magnetic flux zone along said path, the improvement comprising flux emitting surfaces of one polarity mounted on the stator means on opposite sides of said path for limiting said flux zone through which said path extends and means mounting the permanent armature magnet on the armature with the poles thereof orientated relative to said flux emitting surfaces on the stator means for unidirectionally propelling the armature along said path through the limited zone in response to magnetic interaction between the movable magnetic field and the limited flux zone, said magnetic stator means including a plurality of magnetic gate assemblies fixedly spaced from each other along said path and respectively establishing stationary magnetic fields, each of said gate assemblies including a plurality of interconnected bar magnets substantially bordering said limited flux zone exposing pole faces of opposite polarity in parallel spaced planes intersected by said path, and magnetic means connected to said interconnected bar magnets exposing one of the flux emitting surfaces of said one polarity perpendicular to said parallel planes for magnetic interaction of the stationary magnetic fields.

(AGAIN, NOT CLAIMING PERPETUAL MOTION, just a different motor configuration)

5,402,021 will expire 2015
It Claims:
A magnetic propulsion system comprising:

a vehicle having a rigidly attached magnetic armature, said magnetic armature including a first series of magnets positioned across said vehicle and extending generally from one lateral side of the vehicle to another lateral side of the vehicle, all of the magnets in said first series of magnets being generally parallel to one another;

a first magnetic wall disposed laterally adjacent said vehicle and extending longitudinally along a desired direction of vehicle travel, said first magnetic wall comprising a second series of magnets, each of the magnets in said second series having a particular size and a North-to-South axis pointing in the same direction as the desired direction of vehicle travel, each of said permanent magnets of said particular size in said second series being separated from the next successive permanent magnet in said second series by a thinner magnet, each of said thinner magnets having a pole-to-pole length which is shorter than the lateral width of said magnets of a particular size in said second series, said thinner magnets further having a North-to-South axis pointing perpendicular to the North-to-South axis of said magnets of a particular size in said second series and pointing generally toward a vehicle side of the first magnetic wall; and

a second magnetic wall disposed generally parallel to said first magnetic wall and laterally adjacent to said vehicle but opposite from said first magnetic wall, said second magnetic wall comprising a third series of magnets, each of said magnets in said third series having said particular size and a North-to-South axis pointing in an opposite direction from the desired direction of vehicle travel, each of the permanent magnets in said third series being separated from the next successive permanent magnet of said particular size in said third series by a thinner magnet, each of said thinner magnets in the second magnetic wall having a pole-to-pole length which is shorter than the lateral width of said magnets of a particular size in said third series, said thinner magnets in the second magnetic wall further having a North-to-South axis pointing in the same general direction as the North-to-South axis of the thinner magnets in the first magnetic wall;

wherein said first and second magnetic walls create magnetic fields which exert propelling forces on said armature and thereby cause the vehicle to accelerate in the desired direction of vehicle travel.

(claim and EXTREMELY narrow vehicle with some sort of magnetic propulsion motor, nothing more)

It is annoying how many people get up in arms about patents when they just take for granted what someone who is clearly also not a patent person tells them.  Always always always read the claims of the patent before making any comments about what the patent supposedly covers.

Click here to learn why perpetual motion free energy machines don't work.  Make any comments regarding perpetual motion on the post in the link.  You can make HoJo scam comments below.

enjoyed our post? let others know: 
Category: 

Comments

ckmapawatt's picture
You wouldnt be equally 'dumb/ignorant' taking my word for it because we are an established information source with almost 500 posts on how to help people live more sustainably and we've been featured in many reputable news outlets. What do they have, some shady website? It doesn't work because it violates the first law of thermodynamics. Just because something has magnets in it doesn't mean it will spin. Electronic motors work by applying a current to a wire, which induces a magnetic field (in the stator), which acts on magnets (permanent or electro - in the rotor). The motor spins because the current constantly fluctuates (or rotates) around the magnet in the rotor. The electrical current supplies the "work" on one end, and "work" comes out the other end at the rotor shaft. How could this setup produce "work" out of thin air? It's a hard concept to describe in the comment section. If your curious, research electric motors and understand how they work. Even if you had a 100% efficient electric motor (which in itself would violate 1st law of Thermodynamics) it still would need to be supplied power.
Funny to me how this goes Chris, you talk in words of science but can't seem to keep it understood that thermodynamics has been researched for years. The Bullet Train works off this principle harnessing magnetic use. Lets see economicially how this product fairs; So who is against it? Electric companies, oil, car makers. This reminds me of the Tucker that was removed by the Big 3. Years later the Japanese used those designs in their cars. Your smug comment of one being dumb only shows your lack of truely looking at thermodynamics and giving a fair approach. Your eluding to it not being able to power a house could be true at its SIZE, but the right SIZE could. Similar is the Solar Industry. Small panels can support a cell phone from a back pack but can't power a home - BUT - larger ones can. So Chris, its obvious to the readers here you want to talk big but lack the scientific ability to share the whole picture. (Mapawatt edits to Dan's question in italics) 1. Does the product work? Yes it does.<em> (No it doesnt, not one working product has ever been demonstrated to the public)</em> 2. Can it power a Home? At the current size no, but it can power smaller devices just like to solar back pack can <em>(No it cant. It doesn't work, so it can't power anything)</em> 3. Would this product need to be made much larger to power a home? Of course. <em>(It wouldnt matter, it DOES NOT WORK)</em> 4. Do I work for or sell the is product? No I do not <em>(Congratulations on not being a scammer)</em> 5. What do I do for work? I am a Hunting Guide that enjoys science and green energy. 6. Why am I writing this? To keep Chris and any other critics on the straight and narrow and the facts in front of us and not clouded over by jargan.<em>(You need to do more research on the basics motion and power generation)</em> So lets give a simple example to you Chris? In the 80's they came out with a light for ones bike. The light was powered by your peddling. The light was bright and quite useful then. All Howard Johnson did was create a generator that is propelled by magnets. A marveleous idea - many scientists call it inspiration. Of course it works at what ever size you choose it make it for the purpose you make it for. <em>(this is not even close to the same thing. The bike light was powered by the rider, who was powered by food, which was powered by the sun, which is powered by nuclear interactions. Howard Johnson tried to create a generator that is propelled by magnets. No working product exists)</em> Last Chris, will you disclose to the readers here your employment and affiliations? That would be very interesting. <em>( I work selling energy efficiency solutions to industrial and commercial customers. Mainly lighting retrofits, more efficient motors and VFDs. All off-the-shelf products. Fortune 500 companies are our customers. My affiliation other than that is this blog, which I do in my spare time. We host google ads. Is that good enough for you?)</em>
The great irony today is that we are on the verge of having virtually free energy, but it costs so much to develop it (about $10 million) that no investor is willing to go out on a limb to fund it. Even the Energy Dept, which rated the process favorably when they officially reviewed it for ARRA funds, declined to invest those funds in it (but that was more due to the fact that only projects which kickback funds to DOE officials with bribes made the cut). And, due to the dumbing-down devolution of our society, very few investors have the mathematical and scientific skills to distinguish between the many hoaxes and the real thing, so the "baby gets thrown out with the bathwater." Another problem is that science education is so horrendous that false information is given to students which lead them to believe that the Second Law is being violated when it really isn't. For instance, in a system which converts heat to electricity in a direct process, many scientists fail to consider that the underlying assumption of the Second Law which makes it inapplicable is the assumption that the process takes place in a closed system. In an open system, a convertor which continuously changes heat to electricity is not only possible, it's a well-known process. The thermoelectric effect is the normal method of converting heat to electricity. In fact, the first reaction of the typical person when told that it is even possible to directly convert heat into electricity is to disbelieve until the person is reminded (or informed) that this process has been known for almost 200 years (the so-called Seebeck Effect). The only drawback to thermoelectricity has been low conversion efficiency, so the new process could be seen simply as an optimization of an already well-known process. Your comment about "you would hear about it because the President is talking about it on the world stage" is ironic. I would amend that statement to add, "if suitable bribes had been offered to him." The President has no interest in energy solutions unless he has a reward in it. If you had ever approached him with an innovative invention, you would already know that what I say is based upon experience, not conjecture.
hojo motor is not a scam in my opinion. I read a lot of blog about that. and thank you for article :)
ckmapawatt's picture
Readers, I just want you to know that the commenter above linked to a website with "hojomotorscam" in the url. Guess what they were trying to sell....HoJo plans! This is how these jokers operate.
So are you going to answer the questions Chris or not? You can't think one comment concludes the multiple questions asked of you? Dan
ckmapawatt's picture
Dan, you have got to be kidding me. Do you think the a bullet train just works off magnets? NO! Electricity is applied to the train. The magnets create a repulsion force to keep the train above the tracks, but ELECTRICITY supplies the propulsion power. Your first statement for your question "Does the product work?" was "Yes it does". REALLY!? Prove it. Have you actually spent any time on this site and seen the almost 500 blog posts on helping homeowners save energy? Do you see us selling anything to you other than a few Google ads? If you can show me a working model that creates electricity from air using only magnets and no other input power then I will buy it from you for $1,000,000.
Thank you for your info. I kept trying to find an independent review and everything that I was finding had a link back to the HoJo motor site. When I see that I automatically think scam. Thay are reviewing thier own product! Thanks again!
ckmapawatt's picture
Done. I'm considering this issue dead. If you reply without proof of a working device, I probably wont post.
Just a little food for thought, I find it hard to believe a friction free wheeling PM motor can produce 100 watts of power to light a risistive light bulb filament leave alone the kilowatts needed to power a small home or start inductive motors used in refridgerators and even the smallest of air conditioners.It will take more than advertisements and words to prove to me that these plans are worth any dollar amount. Untill I see with my own eyes a self powered generator doing enough work to be feasible in saving me 25-50 percent of by electric bill these ads have to be considered a scam and logically should be avoided, plain and simple.

Pages

Post new comment

Subscribe to Comments for "Hojo Motor is a Scam!"