OK,
My preliminary patent application was accepted by the US Patent office so I can talk about this without fear of it being copied. I am going to go into production with it and possibly have a distribution deal with a large child product distributor. I know it's not an adult issue, but it is business so I figured I'd post it to see if anyone can shoot it down or know of a similar device that I do not.
The patent is vague and covers the concept not only the exact specs here, so I can play with the actual specs quite a bit.
So, I came up with this child safety device earlier this year out of necessity. I could not find anything to stop my son (1yr) from going up the stairs, but I like to let him roam. Since there is no wall on either side of my main staircase, I cannot put a gate up. It works on the principal that it turns the steps into a flat plane that the child cannot climb up, but only lean on. I've been using it for several months and my son has never gotten past it. It would be useful for stairways where a gate is not an option because of no side walls or in the case of spiral staircases etc.
The device is made out of foam and covered with a fabric cover (can come in many colors). It stays in place by virtue of the surface and can also be secured with elastic straps that hook on to small "eyes" screwed into the side of the stairs (comes as additional hardware) if necessary so there's little or no installation required. It has a sturdy cardboard backing so that the child cannot push down on the back and use it to climb up. It also has a crease along the center that allows it to be folded for easier storage, and it is sized to correspond with building code for stairway width (plus it can squash horizontally a bit to fit very small staircases).
Let me know what you think, And/Or if you have seen a similar device. just because the patent office accepted the application doesn't mean shit, it still could be rejected because of prior invention if someone else has publicly & commercially offered a device like it previous to my filing. Should I bother setting up a store online and selling it, and seeking distribution or just keep it too myself? Is it worth investing time and money? Opinions?
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Is it hot
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