Thread: Inventions are waiting to be made!

Lets start a thread for crafty inventions.
If you come across a really cool idea that is so simple you don't understand how it wasn't patented already.

Post it here.

In a solution short on cost but long on ingenuity, the duo modified a basic, every day salad spinner into an easy to use and transport centrifuge that successfully separates blood to allow diagnosis of anemia with no electricity. The device costs about $30, can process 30 individual 15 microliter blood samples at a time, and can separate blood into its component red cells and plasma in about 20 minutes.

Salad Spinner Centrifuge: A Cheap, Ingenious Health Care Tool - Healthy Living on Shine

I am not sure if the following product is patented but I sure know it is becoming a huge fad among teenagers.

Silly Bandz inventor finally speaking out

Silly Bandz, Animal Rubber Bands

Wow, wtf? typing "silly bandz" in google produces About 12,600,000 results!

When did this fad pop up?

Jople if you keep the price tag low I bet it could sale.

Take some samples to a few cell phone chains and see what they think.

If I understand it right, it's a box that you slip over the one side (the obvious part) to block the sun. It then has some mirror system going on where the image behind it is then reflected through a small view-port.

At first I was wondering why it shows the people holding it upside down, but I realize that if I'm right with the mirror system, that might make the image upside down. I'd consider that a major design flaw... The point here would be to keep your off-hand free. (One hand to hold the phone), so the other can dial/flip through options. If it has to be upside down, it ruins the advantage.

Then again, the design requires you place it to your eye directly, like binoculars...

Just my opinion, but if you can come up with a solution that solves the sun issue without obscuring any regular phone usage, you would have a stronger product on hand.


Ok... As for those bands? Those are one of those 'Why the hell didn't I think of that?!' things. Little wrist bands became popular at the mid-point of my teen years and didn't entirely go away. A few years ago there were these.. Thicker bands. Terry fox bands? Something like that which were very popular. If you jumped on the band(tee-hee) wagon and did something like that, well. You see the results.

Well Rod... I gave it some thought, and at first my mind was just being silly. I considered having a nut and a bolt, placing a stack of papers against the nut and threading the bolt on until it held the papers in place and calling it "Office Vice!" Even came up with a silly fake commercial for it. Sit around in a chair, wearing "business attire" and yell very loud, and very fast about why you need the power of all new office vice! Be the talk of the water cooler! Get the hot secretary! Your boss will think you're so organized, AND manly with Office Vice!(tm) that he'll think you're part of the mafia and give you a raise!

But that silliness aside, I started thinking of it in earnest. The next thing that came to mind was a little contraption that works like fingers. Twist one knob and it tugs on a piece of string to pinch down. Twist it the other way and it opens. To lock it you would swing the knob in away from side so it can't be turned anymore. That's kind of neat, but slow and bulky.

Then I started thinking about rubber bands again... If you could come up with a material that adheres to itself and not paper, doesn't leave smudges, is sturdy-esque but still going to be removable by hand... You might have something of a niche product. It's still not a perfect idea for this problem, it wouldn't hold the same way as a clip.. You would have to use it like those plastic lines used for news papers. The main thing here is, it would have to be soft. Tape soft.
Design wise you could kind of set it up like tape, where it comes in a spool with one side inactive, and one side active. The active side has to touch a piece of the active side to bind. Makes it a little more of a hassle, but.

The only other thing I can think of is something like two coins fastened together with one of those draw-string thingies with the plastic pinching bit on the cord. Then the problems become 'Is that thingy patented?', 'What stops it from slipping?' and 'Won't people hate the excess string?'

After spending a minute visualizing, I could probably solve the slipping problem with the same mechanics in the pinching idea. (So now it's almost the same thing).

Keen Eye Young Man !
It' been a little while since I broke out this drawing, .

The slot you slip the screen into is fitted with a soft
plastic flap, and has a capacity for holding the phone
as its main purpose is to shut out the light, but the
hand should hold the phone, the main intention for
the device is to be used by persons who need it,
and its need came from being at the beach fishing,
finding out who called, what time it is, and photo viewing.

So in the view here in, you see lens in the center,
the phone is inserted into the case, a lens made
for the application is used, and you view the cell
screen in the dark.
There are no mirrors, my mistake leading you there,
my apology.

Just an inexpensive little plastic gadget that can come in very handy.

Hey everyone, sorry for bringing up an old thread, but I had a question about the Silly Bandz. For anyone that has read MJ's book, he talks about the five commandments.

Commandment of Need
Commandment of Entry
Commandment of Control
Commandment of Scale
Commandment of Time

My question is, what need does Silly Bandz fulfill? Just asking because I'm trying to understand why Silly Bandz is successful in terms of what MJ wrote about. Answers are much appreciated