Archive for the 'Inventions' Category
Got A New Invention? We’ll Publicize It!
Sometimes inventions just need a little push, a little publicity to get them noticed by the public or investors. That’s why last year Inventors Digest launched Under the Radar, a section in the print version that features new and nascent inventions that have yet to take hold in the market. Precious few publications offer inventors [...]
Sometimes it is simply amazing what someone can come up with from the comfort of their own garage, reports Public Radio International. In garages, basements, a Quonset hut and even NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, home inventors are creating amazing things in the 21st century. “I think some of the advantages that amateur inventors have over [...]
3D Printer Makes Buildings Out Of Sand
If you’re still trying to figure out the art of sand castle building, stop right now and take a look at what as you beat. While 3D printing isn’t exactly new, I think it is safe to say that buildings just simply weren’t possible before now. However a printer called the D-Shape, invented by Enrico [...]
Robert Reeve was in basic training with the Canadian Armed Forces when he had a dream. The idea for what developed into Purmist hand sanitizer came to him one night during his training period. Being the sort of man who kept a pad of paper and pen by the bed he was able to write [...]
When An Invention Reached New Heights
George Nissen, inventor of the trampoline, died on April 7 at 96, but not before the acrobatics he first tried on the “bouncing rig” he built as a 16-year-old in 1930 (a canvas sheet stretched across a steel frame) became an Olympic event. Nissen was 86 and still capable of executing somersaults on his invention [...]
For those that feel cremation just isn’t enough, there is always resomation. While it’s not quite legal in most places the inventor, Sandy Sullivan, hopes that will change soon, says The Daily Record. His device turns the human body into dust – which can be kept by grieving families – and a coffee-coloured liquid which [...]
Age-neutral, board-free and un-scored; fast-paced, portable and creative: These are just some of the words used to describe Bananagrams, a word game invented by Abe Nathanson. The Brown Daily Herald reports that Nathanson explained how the inspiration for Bananagrams came after a two-hour-long Scrabble game with his grandson three or four years ago. Frustrated with [...]
Inventor Makes Retrieving Retrievers Easier
Dog owners that are sick of losing their pets no longer need to worry. Thanks to one inventor, this is one problem solved says Bucks Free Press. The ‘Retrieva’ tracking system was invented by Jon Bryan after this two spaniels Abbey and Oscar did their “usual trick of disappearing” once too often. Realising technology in [...]
New Invention: Wearable Hummingbird Feeder
Do you love watching birds? Put down your binoculars. A new invention will lure birds right to your nose: It’s a hummingbird feeder that you can wear. It’s called :–2< :, and pronounced “eye 2 eye.”. Here’s a video of it in action:
Inventor’s Journey From Idea To Market
Andre Nel talks about his inventor journey over at IPWatchdog.com. I admit it! I fell for it hooks, line, and sinker. It seemed so easy! Come up with an idea, file a provisional patent and pitch it to a manufacturer. The manufacturer is so giddy with excitement that they file a patent for you and [...]
Ever wonder what happens to the people after they’ve left the Dragons Den? The Yorkshire Evening Post recently talked with Barry Haigh, inventor of the Baby Dream Machine, a device that creates a gentle, rhythmic motion that lulls your child into a peaceful slumber, to answer that very question. He appeared on the BBC2 show [...]
At first glance it might look like all a good knitting project requires is a pair of knitting needles and some yarn. However, upon closer inspection, you’ll soon find that it also includes a lot of little extras. Where does it all go when not in use? Either it makes its way down to the [...]
According to a story at Mental Floss, Aaron Fechter invented the original Whac-A-Mole game in 1971. Well…he took the idea from “some Japanese guys” who had created a creature-whacking game first, but Fechter made the mechanism work reliably by inventing an air cylinder system to power the moles and an audio-tape-driven pattern that governed the [...]
Inventor Is Spinning His Wheels
Jon Fleck, best known for his Makin Bacon kitchen utensil, is at it again and this time he’s looking at the tires on semis, says JSOnline. Now Fleck, a 47-year-old Minnesotan who specializes in seemingly simple ideas that work, has a new one: a fabric wheel cover that cuts fuel consumption of over-the-road trucks by [...]
Inventors Digest says Alan Beckley is an entrepreneur, inventor, and a consultant to small businesses. In 2002, tired of sitting on bulky wallets stuffed with hard to find cards, he invented the Savvy Caddy, a wallet laid out like a photo album that could hold twice as many cards yet remain half as thick and [...]
Creating A Game That Became A Household Name
Leslie Scott is the inventor of Jenga, the co-founder of Oxford Games Ltd, and the author of ‘About Jenga: The Remarkable Business of Creating a Game that Became a Household Name, according to a story at Inventors Digest. Born and raised in Africa, and educated in Sierra Leone, Kenya and England, Scott worked for Intel [...]
We Have Tools, Just Need Inventors
NY Times: Mark Hatch sees the revolution going something like this: Wealthy, love-handled Americans will turn off their televisions, put down their golf clubs and step away from their Starbucks coffees. Then they will direct their disposable income and free time toward making things — stuff like chairs, toys and, say, synthetic diamonds. They will [...]
Coach Fields New Career As Inventor
Jill Cakert says girls softball changed her life. Cakert, 52, is now an assistant coach of the Atlantic City High School varsity girls softball team. One thing Cakert didn’t like about coaching softball was hollering across the field to instruct her players, which caused her to lose her voice when her team participated in multiple-game [...]
With The Touch Of An Underarm…
Are those pesky touchscreen mp3 player screens getting on your nerves? A student at the Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute has come up with an interface for mobile devices that can turn your body into a touchpad, says Computerworld Blogs. The Borg-like technology, called “skinput,” involves attaching acoustic sensors to the upper arm to [...]
Inventor’s Journal From Idea To Market
Ever wonder what it is like to take an idea and turn it into a product? Andre Nel, the CEO of Bexter7 LLC, recounts his own experiences in a recent article at IPWatchdog. I admit it! I fell for it hooks, line, and sinker. It seemed so easy! Come up with an idea, file a [...]
Seven weeks ago, Dwight Richards stood in a coat and tie at a busy Stockton intersection displaying a placard advising he needed a job, reports Recordnet.com. Wednesday night, he held up another oversized piece of paper, only this time on a stage in the Stockton Golf & Country Club ballroom, and it was one of [...]
Student Entrepreneur Has Perfect Pitch
According to a story at Richmond Biz Sense, Tom Borwick won a $3,500 investment at an annual business pitch competition at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business. Borwick, 22, is a senior at UR and a bassoon player. A panel of eight judges selected Borwick’s concept – a Kindle-style tablet that its inventor [...]
TV Unlocks Doors For Joinlox Inventor
Appearing on TV can change your life. While for some it isn’t necessarily for the good but for others, like Dean Cameron, it has rocketed them into success, says Sunshine Coast Daily. The Maleny inventor hit the headlines in 2008 when his Joinlox joining system was named the invention of the year by the ABC [...]
Meet The Shopping Cart For Clothes
While the shopping cart might not have changed much over the years, Lee Heckendorn hopes to change that says NorthJersey.com. [He] has invented a cart that combines the standard basket on wheels with a rack for hanging clothes. His invention, called The Apparel Cart, is designed primarily to help women shopping in stores where they [...]
16 Inducted Into National Inventors Hall Of Fame for 2010
Every field has its own hotshots, from basketball to the world of inventors. This year Arthur Fry and Spencer Silver, the inventors of the Post-It Note, are just two of the 16 ‘hotshots’ that will be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame this year, says The Washington Post. On Wednesday, the group all [...]
Biz Idea: Expanding Coffee-Cup Collar
Wired magazine reports that the Heatswell is an endothermic (heat-activated) coating for a paper coffee-cup. When that cup is filled with a tasty hot beverage, the band swells into a thick, insulating cloth-like material, offering both grip and heat-protection for your fingers. It’s thin, safe and cheaper than a cup and collar together. Take a [...]
Petrol Pal: Gas and Oil Mixing Made Easy
In my garage, I have at least five different one-gallon gas cans with different ratios of motor oil and gas for all of the different power tools I own. A new product from Petrol Pal will eliminate this clutter and is just what I need. Petrol Pal is a pitcher designed with an adjustable divider [...]
Leave Your Mark… On Your Drink
When you’re with a group of friends and you all have identical looking beverages, what is to stop you from grabbing the wrong one and drinking out of it? Or worse, what’s to stop your friend from doing the same thing? It’s a problem that finally has a solution, says ABC7 Chicago. Drinkmarx are customizable [...]
Invention Finding Favor In Snowsports
The Otago Daily Times is reporting that a Wanaka entrepreneur’s snow-grooming invention will be shaping park features at two of the resort’s skifields this winter, after gaining valuable exposure from the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Development Snowparks director John Melville’s “Global Cutter” invention – a custom-designed and laser-guided halfpipe shaper – was released on [...]
Golf Tee Inventor Takes His Best Swings
Mario Caya, who designed a new style of plastic tee, called ‘BIRTEE’, to help make it easier to place the ball at the correct height each time someone lines up their shot, says there have been some encouraging developments the past couple of months, reports Smith Falls EMC. He says he has received corporate approval [...]
Mom’s Invention Cleans The Grime Out Of Sippy Cup Straws
As any parent knows, a sippy cup that was lost and suddenly materializes a few days later isn’t a pretty sight. Depending on what was in the cup it is almost guaranteed that the liquid has congealed or simply clogged up the built in straw, rendering the cup useless. Of course that would mean you’d [...]
Their shoe is not on the market yet, but if students at A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet School have their way, it will be in the near future, reports The Augusta Chronicle. Step It Up is a flat women’s shoe that comes with a short heel, a high heel and a wedge heel. [...]
Have you ever wished that you could paint a snowman green? Well, 5-year-old Seppa Francis did. It was a wish that she went on to share with her mother, Lora Treat, says the Great Falls Tribune. Her 4-year-old son Ryan Francis then piped up and asked mom for a yellow cat. Treat grew up in [...]
Baking Invention Gives Users An Edge
Matt Griffin was a young bachelor just trying to figure out how to bake some brownies when he hit on an idea that has really cooked, reports The Indianapolis Star. In this case, Griffin’s idea was a better baking pan for brownies. His goal was to cook every piece of the popular comfort food so [...]
Student Invention Deployed In Haiti To Save Lives
While many MIT students busily build break-dancing robots or websites that let your pets network better at doggie daycare, PhD candidate Danielle Zurovcik has designed a $3 pump to drastically speed up the healing of countless patients in the aftermath of Haiti’s recent earthquake. Popular Science magazine reports that the device simplifies and lightens a [...]
Independent Inventors Roundtable
David Kappos, director of the United States Patent and Trademark (USPTO) will host a roundtable for independent and small entity inventors on Monday, March 29. The event will be held at the Madison Auditorium on the Agency’s campus in Alexandria, Virginia. It will also be webcast live on www.uspto.gov. Director Kappos will make opening remarks [...]
Dean Kamen’s Newest Invention: Stirling Hybrid Scooter
Dean Kamen’s Segway has been a modest success, but it certainly hasn’t become “to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy,” as the inventor once predicted. Still, that hasn’t stopped Kamen from continuing to invent new types of transportation. The latest is a hybrid electric scooter that uses a Stirling engine [...]
Patent Reform Bill Close To Passing?
Beltway blog The Hill reports that senators involved in the patent reform bill have reached agreement on language in the legislation that has lingered in Congress for much of the last decade. There’s a certain good news-bad news aspect to this. I’m for language in the bill that allows the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office [...]
Attention All Chicago Area Inventors
Can you build amazing gadgets out of just about anything? Are you a self-proclaimed Mad Scientist? Or are you a soccer mom who loves tinkering with crafts? An Emmy nominated Production Company is now casting for a new series with a top cable network. If you live to create wacky inventions or are an amateur [...]
Almost Homemade Rocket Helicopter
The Swisscopter Dragonfly is a small helicopter with rocket engines on the ends of its rotors blades to make them spin. PopSci: The copter makes use of tiny hydrogen-peroxide-powered rocket motors on the tips of the blades, which replaces the traditional engine-powered rotor. Large fuel tanks surrounding the pilot allow the Dragonfly to travel at [...]
Your Invention Doesn’t Have to Be Sexy
A reader wrote: I have designed a whole family of new handtools based on my three patents relating to a pliers-like approach to nail and staple pulling. Although it isn’t very sexy, it IS very relevant for reuse and demolition and responsible deconstruction because my tools dramatically reduce the time spent getting rid of nails. [...]
Keeps Rubbish In, Keeps People Out
The inventor of the wheelie bin lock, Geoff Marshall, hopes people will find that his creation is anything but rubbish, reports The Star. Geoff Marshall, aged 70, has designed a range of wheelie bin locks to keep them secure to reduce the risk of them being set alight by yobs or rifled through by identity [...]
A Swiss Army Knife For Knitters
It all started with Barbara Barry’s new hobby, knitting. Whenever she’d learn something new she would find herself shopping at her local craft store for that new piece. Eventually those pieces would find themselves lost at the bottom of her knitting bag. So Barry took to the net in search of an all-in-one kit that [...]
Toy Inventor Encourages Creativity
Tim Kehoe believes that there isn’t always one right answer when making something new, reports the Redwood Gazette. Kehoe, an author and inventor, has been inventing toys for 20 years, and his inventions have been successful enough that he now talks to students about how they, too, can be creative. Kehoe has also written a [...]
Instantly Adjust Your Jeans Using A Simple Button
Whether you’ve lost weight, gained it, or you’re somewhere in between, I’m willing to bet that you’ve experienced ill-fitting pants at least once in your life. Short of wearing a bulky belt or having them tailored to fit you, there isn’t much that you can do. For Dana Contey the temporary fix to loose jeans [...]
Approximately 2 years ago Brian Ohnemus create a boat rack that would carry his boat so he could still pull his camper. The idea worked so well that he decided to turn it into a business, reports the Quincy Herald Whig. “While getting all the gear ready for a weekend family camping trip, I realized [...]
Dog Bowls Built From A Pet’s Perspective
For Jane Grant, creating the perfect dog bowl meant not only making her dog happy but helping dogs all over the world, according to her article on Sky News. Travelling worldwide with work, I searched in vain for a bowl that would make it easy for my family dog to eat with less mess and [...]
Is Your Invention Infomercial Worthy?
Associated Press: There wasn’t a bottle of Oxiclean or a ShamWow anywhere. But there was Dawn Stephens’ nifty new, all-in-one toilet-bowl-cleaning brush. “We don’t have to look for the cleaning liquid and the brush. The cleaning liquid is right inside the brush!” the chirpy, singsongy Stephens shouted in delight as she pitched her invention Wednesday [...]
Karen Wildman and Lisa Holmes were constantly battling malfunctioning electronics due to moisture and water damage. The sisters set out to invent a solution. and they did! Their new product, Bheestie Bag, is designed to ‘dry out’ electronic devices: cell phones, iPods, etc. We previously mentioned them here. Here’s how it works. You simply take [...]
Inventor Helps Solve Cold Cases
Curtis Desselles is a sucker for science, according to ArkLaTexhomepage.com. His latest and greatest work comes in the form of a three millimeter chip. He calls it the “Eddy Current Analyzer.”…which blends old technology with new innovation. “If I can use this and look at the changes in the medal and voltage changes, I can [...]
