(3) Checking things out

Went to the store today to do some recon. Took my father, who has a long history of business experience to leverage, as well as some good ideas regarding the product. We surveyed the target product discipline; absolutely no hint of progress in the direction we're thinking. I think the many vendors in this area won't really be happy about our direction. In fact, maybe it'll cause some major overhauling.

After the wine festival, some time in my garage led to confirmation of my idea. Spent most of Sunday thinking and drawing, in between domestic responsibilities, rummaging around the house and assembling, with bits of wood, plastic, rubber, velcro. The final 'assembly' seemed useful. It was apparent, however, that several 'embodiments' were likely, some more complex than others. The preferred embodiment was the more widely useful one, so that's where I concentrated. As these ideas materialized, I was constantly checking the online sources for evidence of this idea, commercial manifestations, 'prior art', actual patents, etc. Still nothing.

I used Google, Vivisimo (good classifier), Dogpile (good aggregator), the USPTO.gov search, ESP@CENET (European patent search), and followed many threads of discussion and practice.

Also started searching for best practices in the invention process.

Before that Sunday, I hadn't probably used the word embodiment since studying for the SATs. "Prior Art" I hadn't heard before. Time to get a book.

(2) In retrospect

From here on, this journal is real-time; the story is right now retrospective about two months.

Returning from the wine festival, the Universal Public Library was immediately consulted. Certainly my idea had been invented already in Taiwan, in Sweden, in Ashburn VA, somwhere. I'm a regular guy, with regular needs and typically regular ideas. Fifteen minutes of fame happens once in a while, in contexts shared only by a close circle of friends, family and passers-by. Clients seem to like my work, but the President hasn't noticed yet.

Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Nada. "Vat ist der? Notink, Herr Kolonel..I zee notink!!" Good news, but maybe bad. Is it a stupid idea? Invented two hundred years ago and sold at Walmart already, and thus as undeserving of comment and discussion as hand soap? Or perhaps a vast government conspiracy to keep the idea from the hands of the Democrats.

It appears this idea hasn't been thought of, hasn't been invented, hasn't been patented, anywhere - but nuggets of issue whirl all around; many have the same problem I do. That's what Google says.

(1) It started when...

...we were going to a wine festival, everyone. Leaving the car, looking around, rallying the troops, something really annoyed me. Looked like my annoyance was somewhat shared, perhaps somewhat common, but not sure. That little lightbulb started warming my forehead, competing with the opening of exit lanes for brain cells to be driven out shortly. Good wine, lots of whine, the bulb blinks bright on - need to think through this later.