Although most of us focus on developing products for market I would imagine that most of us also find unique soultions to make our own lives easier…it would be cool to hear about some of those ideas. Several years ago my adopted stepson with CP and fetal alcohol syndrome was wheel chair confined without any motor control and unable to communicate etc. one of his few pleasures in life was music but due to uncontrolled head movement and a wrap around headrest it was all but impossible to keep a set of earphones or earbuds on him so I pirated the ear speakers and wire from a pair of sony headphones,took apart the wheel chair head rest and implanted the little speakers into the foam padding on either side,put it back togeather with a short section of the jack wire exposed and added a small pocket to the back of the head rest to hold the Ipod. (problem solved)!
Forums » Creativity » Topic
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I don’t know about the truck but your paper roller idea was great… |
 
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So true…many of the great innovations are never even known to most of us…the inventions of mechanized production. Back to topic…does turning my truck seat into a recliner by parking on a steep hill count? haha! |
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wow,I don’t think I could walk and type at the same time…now walk and chew gum, that I can do! |
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Michael, my inventions seem to always need inovative ways to become made, it seems to be inventions within inventions. You said it better than I can. lol |
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Many years ago I developed a product which I sold through multiple gift shops in Portland Oregon. The product was a 1 inch by 9 inch acrylic tube with a nickle plated cap whereby I designed colorful stationary which when rolled up and placed inside the tube, would reveal the letter head/address. The idea was to allow for a quick and easy way to include a small gift with a letter…anyways…as sales picked up I began to struggle with the hundreds of sheets of paper that I had to roll and place within the tubes. So I took a half inch dia. dowel 12 inches long and attached the spring and half lever of a clothespin to one end and a rubber band to the tip of the clothespin and the opposing end of the dowel so that the rubber band laid against the length of the dowel. By squeezing the clothespin lever, the rubber band would gap away from the dowel and allow the edge of the stationary in between. Releasing the lever allowed me to quickly roll up the stationary, insert it in the tube and snap it into place with another squeeze of the lever. That little tool worked so slick that it ended up playing a major part in the eventual licensing of the product! |
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Stephanie, I love that idea :) makes the time go faster on the treadmill!! |
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The genesis of my product was an attempt to solve a problem that I found particularly annoying. It wasn’t until I solved the problem that I realized that many others could use the solution as well… |
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Thanks a fabulous use of your mind Karl. Mine is not so great and is actually on the market already. A board and two bungees to create a desk for my treadmill so I’m not lazy while I spend so much time online LOL. |
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