Invention Of The Day – Page 74 – Just another break-step productions sites site

#2136: Ejectavator

The Otis Elevator Company…claims that its products carry the equivalent of the world’s population every five days.

This astonishing fact was gleaned here and sparked yet another idea about lifts (or elevators, if you must).

Buildings are being built to heights where cables can’t be used to support cars which travel from bottom to top: you have to swap lifts.

This has implications for safety in the event of a fire. People may find that a fire is below them and their escape is blocked…even when trying to use the stairs.

Today’s invention is therefore an ejector lift. If an inferno is raging at a lower level in a tower, a number of special reserve cars would descend from near the roof level.

These would collect people and also have many trailing harnesses to which occupants could secure themselves to a lift.

These emergency lifts would move upwards in the shaft each inflating a helium balloon above as they went.

At roof level, the drive gear would swivel out of the way, allowing a train of cars as well as the externally-harnessed passengers to ascend safely into the sky.

Each car could then drop an anchor at a safe distance and be winched to the ground.

#2135: Adtomaton

Inspired by this, it occurred to me that a bit more advertising is what the world needs.

Today’s invention is a tower block with computer-controlled sliding window shutters. I’d also like to see the effects of coordinated colour-varying interior lighting when the shutters are open.

These allow low-res moving images of famous brands to be displayed across a huge canvas, in full view of traffic streams -and queues.

The images could be played wrapping around a building, not just on one face.

Residents would need to be paid a cut to tolerate the sharply varying interior light levels.

#2134: Medizine

Today’s invention is an extension to the idea of soft medicine capsules.

The usual capsule containing a yellow-coloured drug has another half capsule slipped over one end (red).

This allows a second powdered medicine to be contained in this extra space.

Aside from the placebo effect of an apparently extra-strength drug, the arrangement might be used to supply an easily swallowable additional chemical in a precise relative amount, whilst still being able to maintain separate production lines.

Using a second capsule end with different time release properties could be a way to coordinate the actions of these different preparations.

This design might be further developed by adding more half-capsules to either end.

#2133: Shelfbuilder

People often need tall buildings where cranes can be hard to find.

Today’s invention is a building which is built by its own lift.

The lift and structural steelwork would arrive in several containers.

Then the lift itself would be fitted with a powerful motor, so that it could raise balanced sections of framework. It would then secure these and be able to move out onto the cantilevered floors to winch up additional components.

The lift shaft would be extended upwards, so that more and more floors could be added.

Eventually the lift would remain, working within the finished building.

#2132: Bisawcle

Today’s invention is a way to provide almost any old bicycle with two-wheel drive.

Both the front and rear wheel would be fitted with a drive sprocket on the end of each axle and the ordinary chain removed.

A couple of chainsaws would be clamped to the frame and forks as shown, so that the above sprockets engaged with the distal wheel on each saw.

Throttle cables would run from both machines to the handlerbars, where the rider could learn to maintain some control as the bike traversed even slippery and uneven terrain.

#2131: Dermistor

Today’s invention is a variant on the Dyson Airblade product.

I’ve been hearing several women complaining about this device. It seems that when they look down on the backs of their hands within the machine, any loose skin flaps about and makes even young women, who are unfairly sensitised to such issues, feel ancient.

A simple solution would be to encourage everyone to put their hands in, palm-up. The palm surface is comparatively taut and doesn’t look old when buffeted.

Or the machines could be mounted a bit higher on the wall, preventing a downview.

Today’s invention however is a curved sheet of diffusing, translucent plastic fitted over the top of the device like a windshield. This allows users to see where their hands must go, behind the shield, but obscures the detail of their skin.

#2130: Combinuptial

Today’s invention is a wedding ring that fits securely behind the knuckle.

This is held irremovably in place by a small combination lock, as shown.

Only the wearer’s spouse knows the combination.

Who said romance was dead?

#2129: Scalpreserver

One reason that people cite for disliking bicycle and motorcycle helmets is that they wreck one’s hairdo.

It seems a small price to pay to keep your cranium intact but today’s invention attempts to reduce this disincentive by preserving the shape of one’s hair.

A composite outer shell would contain a layer of impact-absorbing foam, as usual. This layer would have radial holes in it. In each hole, a stiff, round-ended rubberised prong would be free to slide.

Depressurising the rear face of the foam, using a small bladder, would cause all the prongs to withdraw. The helmet could be donned and the foam repressurised.

This would cause the huge number of prongs to move radially inwards, making contact with the wearer’s scalp but without disturbing their coiffure.

The prongs would all lock in position, providing improved fit and thus excellent impact force distribution in the event of an accident.

To remove the helmet, depressurise the foam once more.

#2128: SofTank

Military tanks have traditionally been very heavily armoured and therefore limited to a maximum speed of about 35mph.

Today’s invention is a tank which is soft-skinned and thus light enough to move very fast and not require enormous tracks.

Instead of an overall coat of plating, the main gun carries a multi-layer composite shield.

Sensors on the vehicle detect incoming missiles (as currently happens with systems like this) and direct the gun turret to spin around so that the shield can be powered outwards along the barrel in time to act as an offset-detonation ‘skirt’.

This movement might best be generated by using railgun-type magnetic coils attached to the outside of the barrel.

The turret might accommodate two barrels and shields in order to provide better coverage for the entire vehicle.

#2127: HeelHound

I’ve always had a fondness for robotic dogs ever since Sony brought out Aibo.

On a larger scale, Boston Dynamics have created a cross-country pack robot called Big Dog

It manages to cross very rough terrain indeed, all by itself. Today’s invention would allow machines like this to move even more rapidly when following in the footsteps of a human being.

People can run across rough ground using their springy legs and a rapid reaction time (think fell running). Big Dog could achieve a similar performance by spending less time planning each step.

Instead, on very unstable surfaces, the robot would attempt to step on the footprints of someone it was following.

A particular ‘handler’ would attach a labeled, reflective badge to the rear of each boot. These would be detected by a dedicated camera on board the machine in order to indicate appropriate foot placement positions, milliseconds after the human had moved on.