Patented ingenuity Inventor works to turn prototype into product
It took four years for Clyde "Bud" C's wife to convince him his invention was good enough that he should pursue a patent. It took no time at all for a Florida based company to realize the idea is one that could be very successful. Clyde, a retired machine maintenance worker, has always worked with his hands, and he has invented before, though, as he was working for the military at the time, he doesn't get credit for inventing a dolly to cart around jet engines. He hopes his latest project will earn him a bit more recognition. Clyde, an outdoors enthusiast and a fan of all-terrain vehicles found it difficult to transport the machines. He'd always need more than one at a time, with numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren to entertain, but the back of his pickup truck only held one ATV at a time. So Clyde invented a device that allows for the transportation of two ATV's on a truck at the same time. He built a working model, and it served him well for four years, until finally his wife convinced him it might help other people too.
He began his trek toward obtaining a patent for the invention by checking out companies that exist for that expressed purpose; he finally settled on Invention Technologies Inc., a Florida based company that will help sell Clyde's idea to manufacturers. Clyde was reluctant to start work to obtain a patent because he knew it cost money and he wasn't sure if he even had a product that wasn't already available in a similar form. But Invention Technologies ran a patent search and found nothing comparable. In order to apply for the patent, Clyde had to fill out some paper work and provide a detailed drawing. He had to explain how he got the idea and who he thought the invention could help. In the process, he realized the applications beyond the off-road enthusiast. "Families can give it a lot of use," he posited. "Or farmers, forestry people. Anyone who wants to be able to haul an ATV, unload and make it farther." Hauling an ATV is not unlike when people need to haul hoarse trailers so they could keep moving when the ground got too rough for a truck. His invention just makes it a little easier.
Now that the patent process is underway, Invention Technologies is working on the marketing angle, preparing mini-infomercials to sell the idea to manufacturers. Clyde will have final approval over any marketing produced, and if someone likes his idea, he'll likely have the option to either sell it outright or recoup a percentage of the total sales. One thing he's not able to do is talk specifically about what exactly the invention is and how it works, at least, not until he has patent protection. "It was surprising how little you can say," he said, he wasn't even able to provide a picture of the device in use. Clyde should know soon enough if his first attempt at obtaining a patent will be a success. But if nothing comes of it, the invention will still make his own life easier. "I do a lot of traveling with my grandkids," Clyde said. "We've got to transport the little toys along with the big toys."