2009 – Page 2 – Invention Of The Day

2009 (Page 2)

#1132: Warrantimer

Normally, product warranties tend to be limited by the period for which an item has been in use.

Today’s invention is to provide a warranty based on the number of times which a product (or some subsystem) has been used.

This could be made to work in products such as washing machines, by counting electronically the number of door openings or wash cycles undertaken.

The memory device used to record these data would have to built so as to detect any attempt to interfere with its sensor wiring but, once created, it could be embedded in a generic armoured casing and applied to many different systems.

This type of device could be reprogrammed to give eg a variable warranty period for remanufactured or pre-owned products.

#1131: BagPad

Computer mice are often no longer used in conjunction with laptops and many optical mice can operate happily without using a mat.

Today’s invention is for people who still like the combination of laptop and mouse (whilst not wanting not to scratch the surface they habitually work on).

It’s a laptop sleeve which is also usable as a mousemat.

I’d have the sleeve open to one side, leaving the machine sitting on the inner surface of one side of the case, whilst the inside of the case lid acts as the mat on one side of the machine.

#1130: Cartalert

Shopping trolleys in a wintry supermarket carpark are hard to see amongst the various milling pedestrians and manoeuvring vehicles.

Today’s invention is to equip each trolley with a head-height lamp on a stalk, ideally rotating like those on ambulances. These carts cost about £400 each, so the addition of a lamp would be still a small extra.

Such trolleys might also be given indicators so that cars could be made aware of which way they were going to turn (Once in motion, these can be hard to change direction and motorists need to give them a very wide berth indeed….especially if the ground is icy).

#1129: SpinShield

Today’s invention is a gyro-stabilised rolling shield for protecting eg ground troops from enemy fire.

This would carry its own motor and have a heavy tread on the circumference.

It would track some LEDS and thus follow its owner closely -helping transport some of his infantry kit, whilst acting as both shield and weather shelter when required.

#1128: Pilout

Before pulling an ejection handle on his seat, a pilot should have his chin elevated by a few degrees, the back of his head forced against the headrest, his elbows tucked into his sides, his back pressed against the seat and his heels firmly on the floor.

Today’s invention is a flying suit, boots and helmet combination which comes equipped with a set of strong tapes firmly attached. These are fed through the headrest, floor and seat back before takeoff and each is attached to a small motor. The tapes would be very lightweight but ultra-strong and lightly attached to the flying suit exterior by breakable threads, so as to ensure no snagging on cockpit interior switches etc.

When the ejection handle is pulled, the motors rapidly retract the tapes, forcing the pilot into the safest possible configuration before ‘punching out.’

#1127: Timetorus

Today’s invention is yet another minimal watch design.

This takes the form of a doughnut-shaped bracelet -one half of which rotates relative to the other half, driven by a clockwork mechanism (360 degrees of rotation corresponding to eg one day).

The time is indicated by the position of an arrow on one half relative to the scale marked on the other.

#1126: LaunchAid

Today’s invention is a way to help launch rockets.

Instead of ‘reusable’ solid rocket boosters, why not attach an array of fighter jets to the outside of any space-born vehicle? These would provide many of the benefits of normal boosters, avoid any o-ring-related difficulties and operate using proven technology.

You would need about 30 conventional planes to match the Shuttle boosters’ thrust, so they would have to be arrayed carefully on an external frame and coordinated electronically.

At a determined speed (still within Earth’s atmosphere), the jets would decouple themselves and fly back to base. These machines could be remotely piloted, but more likely be flown by astronauts-in-training who would provide extra data about launch related physiology.

#1125: CuffCup

I’m keen to help these people come up with an alternative to the waste associated with disposable cups.

Today’s invention is therefore a reusable cup which takes the form of an annular bracelet or wristlet. This would be made of thin injection moulded plastic (like normal throwaway plastic cups). Such items are stable and unlikely easily to be knocked over in use. They would also fit existing cup holders.

This design can be conveniently worn under a shirtcuff or trouserleg, when empty, so that it’s always available. It would be slipped off and the annulus filled with beverage. Two such bracelet cups might be nested so that the outer acted as insulation for the liquid-filled inner. A lip is provided to enable easier drinking.

When the user has had enough, to clean the cup, a string is attached through another lip in the base (not shown). This allows the cup to be whirled around (outside) in order to drive all liquid from the cup and air dry it for reuse.

#1124: FalseFacia

Consider the dashboard…it used to actually be a wooden plank with some holes cut to accommodate the brass dials on one’s horseless carriage.

Odd, therefore, that all of that stuff persists in modern vehicles. Today’s invention is an alternative. Do away completely with all the displays hidden behind the steering wheel. Instead, mount a screen on the car’s roof -just in front of the driver’s head. An image of the screen (suitably reversed) appears on a large, high-quality, soft mirror mounted on the steering wheel itself.

This would be of a type similar to that used in toys for babies, so that, in the event of airbag deployment, the reflective surface would do no more harm to occupants than the bag itself.

The virtual dashboard would maintain its orientation, irrespective of the current steering angle and allow an unobstructed view of the necessary information. Software in the ceiling unit would automatically distort the displayed data to maintain a perfect image as the steering angle was adjusted.

#1123: Effinciency

Domestic radiators are both ugly and surprisingly poor at transferring heat to the air which surrounds them. Why else would there be an industry making chipboard boxes to hide them?

Today’s invention is a set of copper finlets which each have a magnetic base allowing them to attach to the sides of radiators, greatly increasing the efficiency of heat transfer to one’s internal environment. The fin ends and edges would need to be rounded to avoid any injury, of course.

These might be made more entertaining by giving them each a small motor in the base which would allow them to move about the rad surface and/or flap -perhaps in response to temperature gradients (using a Stirling engine maybe?) and their proximity to other fins. They could be wirelessly controlled from a PC attached to one’s boiler which would know about the variation in room-by-room heating requirements throughout the day.

I’d actually like to see an algorithm developed which would allow the fins to discover patterns which provided some optimisation of the overall heat transfer (this might then be used in other contexts).

Year: 2009