Need Honest Opinion: Invention (hot or not)
 

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?

http://xcohosting.com/staircover.jpg
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Is it hot:thumbsup or not:( ?
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Looks like the perfect solution for that situation. Nice job.

I can see you now on QVC selling quite a few of them.

Im seeing some pretty fun outside applications... stack 10 of those bad boys up and open the front door, perfect bobsled or bike ramp... lol

Even if you had a wall, I like this much better than a gate...the gate leaves marks...kids get their hands / arms stuck in the gates...great concept man...good luck.

Very well done I think! :)

Just dont use it at the top of the stairs :) hehe obviously.

ha ha ha, I can see me forgetting it's there and walking down the stairs breaking my ass weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...crash! :Oh crap

I vote Hot

Hot! How was the whole patenting process? I have a few ideas I've been wanting to patent, though always been turned off because I hear the patenting part is such a hastle.. any input would be great! Thanks.

As a dad of a 16 month old I vote 'hot'.

That is brilliant and I haven't seen anything similar on or offline. Go for it!

Go to USPTO.gov and download the provisional form at http://www.uspto.gov/web/forms/sb0016.pdf

Read some of the FAQ's so you fill it out properly and file. This puts your flag in the sand so you claim your stake. You then have time to file a more complete application later. I recommend using an attorney (total cost can be $1000-$2000 or even more for a lawyer). This allows you to protect it for a year, make it, sell it and see if it's worth it. If you really read through similar patents to yours and learn your stuff, you can do it yourself, but a patent has to be iron clad or someone will make a small tiny change and steal your idea. You can even patent an improvment on an existing patent and reference it in your patent, so make sure your description broad.

I have a friend who is a patent attorney so he helped me to do the provisional app. The trick is to be broad in spectrum not specific and patent the concept not necessarily the exact item to spec.

I have a couple other things I'm going to patent, I'll post them when i have them protected.

I used to do alot with inventions.

Did you do a patent search? That is one of the first steps.

My advice is to build a few hundred of them and try to sell them. If they sell and are profitable, you might be on to something.

FUCK WISH I THOUGHT OF THAT
good for you man looks like it does the job

Having raised three kids and always having steps I think that the application is simple and easy to use. If the price point is right then this could be a Million$ idea Ray.

Nice work:thumbsup
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Hey that's a great idea! I could see myself forgetting I put it there and busting my ass on it though lol! But it looks like it works very well. I could see them selling on the home shopping network heh.

Nice idea. As long as it isn't soft enough that they could climb up it, it should work. I can already see myself forgetting about it and coming down the stairs in the middle of the night and totally busting myself up though.

It would piss me off at first, but I can see a good drunk story come of it. And when it really comes down to it, it's worth it.

I say go for it.

That would probably provide some good entertainment at a dinner party when the drunk goes stumbling around. haha

Ray,

Product looks good.

When I get babypages.com up and running - mabey we can sell / promo your product on there.

Thanks

Todd

I think its pretty cool, good luck!

yes, I did a patent search. I had help from an attorney as well. I even referenced a few existing patents for example one of an aluminum slide that attaches to the stairs so furnature can be slid down, etc. but nothing like this and for this purpose in the way I patented it.

I'm thinking of setting up a yahoo store to get the exposure and maybe even using adsense when the sites up. I guess i'll have to see. Only problem is that i'd like to keep the price point at or around $39.99 and pre-cut foam is kind of expensive unless you order a huge amount and cut it yourself. I may make only a small profit on each at first.

How much would any of you pay for this?

yes it's great! a good job and deserve a a new site! :winkwink:

looks good man. good luck

I like it, great idea. And they can keep buying them and it would make a cool slide as they are getting bigger. Indoor Playground. I likes.

Indoor Playground, that's catchy..

And who would be buying this product the most, mom's and females.

Also, "foam" always gives ppl, especially mom's that safe feeling / thoughts...

It could be a winner.. Start out small online and if it picksup - start dealing with large distributors to push the product out to stores, resellers, etc.

heck alot of ppl bitch about walmart but they say hundreds of companies a day try and get there products in walmart stores, why - VOLUME....

Price points might be lower in big chains but they sure push out the products - every day of the week.

best of luck

looks good..

Nice stuff!! About a week ago i was looking something like that. I have 2,6 year old girl and twi weeks ago we moved in a new house, where we have stairs. So i was looking someting to close the entrance to the stairs. Finally I've bought a special gate.

Looks good!

I think it's a great idea. You will make money with that.

As a father, I'd call it "hot" and would not only buy it for safety sake, but also so i could put a couple of them together after the kids go to bed and sliding down the stairs on them to entertain myself....sometimes I'm the biggest kid of them all ;-)

Something you might also want to do is manufacture a small lot yourself, start selling them and then when it gets to a point where you don't have time for assembly, sell the idea to a large company who can likely make them cheaper/faster and collect royalties on it

HOT! great idea and hope the best for ya on making this sell!

impressive idea
=)

i vote 10

I think you got a winner.

Good job, bro. My suggestion: add adjustable sidings to it so it can accommodate any size of stairs. Also, get that stuff manufactured in China (with tight QA, of course, so they don't put lead sidings on it LOL) and make those MILLIONS, playa!!!

hawt man! well done!

I think it is a great idea. However I worry that a blind guy is going to sue you because he couldn't see the last steps were modified and busted his skull while doing the blindman stairway shuffle.

Very smart, man. Kudos. :thumbsup

China is probably the place to make it. However, just know that for every one that goes out the front door --there are two that go out the back door. Sometimes that ain't so bad. The upside to being pirated to death is that these thieves actually do international product awareness marketing for you. If you hold the US patent, you will get the lion's share, eventually.

It's why you carry product liability insurance.

;)

It won't stop a lawsuit, nor will it stop a lawsuit's claim from exceeding the amount of liability coverage.

great fucking idea man!

looks like a cool Idea. I would check national fire code to see if you conform with fire and safety regulations, but otherwise... as they say.. necessity is the mother of all invention... well done!

Or you can install a series of them and turn the steps into a giant slide...

Cash in on the Made in American logo. Hell there are now China free children stores poping up.

Next add in on top of the triangle (upper portion) denser foam board. This would prevent a toddler from getting a toe hold yet would break through for a heavy foot. Stuff is available everywhere. If you did it right as well it technically could slide in and out to adjust to any stair width, using just foam board, filling, and fabric.

You need to get to QVC as a mass merchant or buy up an infomercial and then get to QVC as they find you. QVC is your pot of gold at first though.

Lastly thankyou for all of the up coming youtube jokes.

Oh yeah watch out for foriegn copies that will not give a shit about your patent. Look at the ladies that invented and hold the patent for those christmass icecicle lights.

that is very clever!

you might have something there with the idea... its truly brilliant.. (my definition of brilliance is the connection to simplicity... we don't always see it, until someone shows us).. and this is why your invention would probably pass the obviousness test.

let me know when you get the thing into production, i have some marketing angles from other biz circles that i roam in, for the product already.

Fight the patent! ;)

Pick the proper foam and fabric and you are already covered.

Great Idea , good luck ;)

That is a good idea, people over here in the UK that i know with young kids are always complaining about stair gates not working properly, they leave marks on walls, they come loose or the gate drops...you should market that over here to if and when you can

I hear ya, there are a million ways a person could sue no matter what it is. if you have a blind guy in the house maybe it's not the best thing to put up. i think a safety sticker would suffice [WARNING: do not walk down stairs with this installed, falling hazard] that's about all you can do. If people want to sue, they will. It's up to the judge to realize they are just assholes.

If a kid sticks his finger in a socket, you cannot sue the manufacturer of the socket or the electric company [and there's caselaw to show that].

Great idea! I hope you make a ton of cash with it :thumbsup

That is a great idea, the thing I like is that the fact that since it's foam, it really shouldn't cost a lot to produce, plus with it's fold up feature, you could even have a plastic like saran wrap'ish material and just throw in a paper on one side and it's wrapped and ready to sell. You could sell them for $30-$40 and make a killing :)