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Imagineered Products
and Services
Examples of Imagineered Products &
Services
Updated on:
Monday, September 17, 2007 02:22 PM |
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Imagineered Products
& Services:
Examples of
Imagineered Products & Services
Introduction to Wind
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Ideas |
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This
section describes some products and service ideas that have either come from my
imagination as long as 40 years ago or are based on scientific research that hint at some
new products. Some of the ideas listed have since become commercially available. In
addition to the ideas listed below, I also have some more detailed discussions. |
SNAP SPRING
POWERED RF TRANSMITTER (19)
Radio transmitters for keyless entry systems are becoming very popular. They are now used
for opening doors to garages, cars, boats, office buildings and homes. These short range
systems are typically powered by one or two coin style lithium batteries. But, the
batteries do have to be replaced periodically. I imagine a tiny string powered electric
generator that could be fitted inside a keyless entry transmitter that would allow the
transmitter to operate without any battery. The snap action of the generator would produce
enough energy to power the radio transmitter each time the button was pressed.
Perhaps the snap spring action would spin a powerful flat rare earth disk magnet that
would be surrounded by a coil of wire. A tiny diode bridge would convert the AC voltage
from the coil into DC that would be needed by the transmitter. |
MICROMIRROR
ACTIVE LIGHT REFLECTORS (20)
Plastic light reflectors are often placed on bicycles, car doors, road barriers and car
bumpers. The reflectors are efficient in sending light from a car's headlights back to a
driver's eyes. The reflectors are made by molding into the plastic material an array of
tiny reflective squares called corner cubes. A corner cube reflector has an optical
property that sends light hitting it back to the light source that is illuminating the
device.
I imagine a new type of reflector that can modulate (turn on and off) the light that is
reflected back to a light source. The reflector would use some newly developed miniature
mirrors that are fabricated onto silicon semiconductor wafers. The mirrors can be rocked
like a teeter totter on tiny hinges using small electrical control voltages. If the moving
mirrors are joined with stationary mirrors to form an array of corner cube type
reflectors, the light reflected from the array can be controlled as the mirrors rock in
and out of position. The speed of light modulation might range from once per second to
100,000 per second. Advertising signs, road side indicators, attention getters and long
range communications systems are examples of possible uses for this technology. Click here for illustration.
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ARCHIVING
SERVICE USING OPTICAL TAPE RECORDERS (21)
One of the latest data storage techniques uses a thin plastic tape that is rolled up
inside a cartridge resembling a VHS video cassette. These systems claim to be able to
store 1000GBs of data. This storage density is high enough to open up some new markets. I
imagine a service that archives all kinds of data and stores the data on this new medium.
A single cassette would be able to store about 2000 audio CDs or about 200 full length
movies. It could also store over 1000 magazines, one million novels, ten million
photocopies of bank checks and over 250,000 high quality color photographs. As the
technology improves with multiple store layers and ultraviolet laser reading heads the
density should exceed 10,000GBs per cartridge. The system should overtake the more
conventional microfilm and microfiche storage techniques still being used in most
libraries. |
AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL DEVICE
TIMER (22)
I imagine this device to be plugged into a standard 120vac power outlet. The electrical
appliance the needs to be controlled would plug into the device. A simple manual dial on
the device allows the user to select the maximum time the appliance can be turned on
before being turned off automatically. Curling irons, TVs, radios, computers and small
space heaters could be plugged into the device. Once the appliance is turned on, the
timing device will interrupt power to the appliance after the desired time. A few on/off
cycles of the power switch on the appliance would reset the time for a new period. The
timer could save energy and might add some safety to certain electrical appliances that
should not be left on. |
PULSED MEDICAL OXYGEN DELIVERY
SYSTEM (23)
Patients suffering from emphysema often need a constant supply of pure oxygen. The usual
method is a steady flow of oxygen from bottle holding compressed oxygen that bubbles the
gas up into the patient's nose. However, only about 20% of the gas emerging from the
plastic tube is ever breathed by the patient. About 80% of the gas is wasted since the
patient only receives oxygen during the time he or she inhales. I imagine a device that
detects the pressure changes in the plastic delivery tube when a patient inhales and
squirts a short jet of oxygen directly into the noise at just the right time. Such a
device should reduce the cost of oxygen consumed and should extend the time a patient
could receive oxygen from a small tank. |
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