Invention would tidy up Webcam experience. Man puts creative side to work to realize dream
Have you seen that commercial where a man claps, the lights turn off and he says: “See that!? That was my idea!” but someone else got the rights to the product first?
Well, Jan L. has such an idea. He’s transformed it into something tangible and is not letting anyone else take credit for his invention.
The inventor is exploring his creative mind and actually going through with his dream.
Jan invented Computer Webcam Accessories, a product that benefits the operation of video communications through instant messengers and multimedia applications and at the same time helps the working space look better, he said.
Although he will not say exactly what it is or what it does yet, he believes the product will help people who work in an environment with computers, specifically Webcams.
What makes this product appealing is that by using it, people will have a neater working space, said Jan.
“It really looks good sitting there,” he said. “It’s pleasing to look at.”
Jan built the product himself and had it sitting around for two or three years before he decided to submit a drawing and a description of his invention to Invent-Tech, he said.
Invent-Tech is a company that represents inventors in the sale or license of their new product concepts. The company also develops awareness and builds demand for the product.
It has been a year since Jan submitted his idea. Currently, he and Invent-Tech are waiting for a manufacturing company to commit to producing the invention. The patent for the product will not be finalized until a manufacturer is interested.
“It’s been a little frustrating,” he said, but “I do trust this company.”
The idea for his invention started with his interest in computers and was influenced by his parents’ way of being clean and organized.
Computers became “my hobby, my toy,” Jan said. “Computers are logical, orderly things. It goes in tune with my mind.”
Once he saw the Invent-Tech commercial on television and his mother loaned him the money, he was on his way to materialize the idea.
“From day one, it’s been about the environment,” he said. “I get that from my parents.”
Jan does not like disorder and believes every computer desk should have a designated space for each piece of equipment. If he had the resources, he would like to go in to the field of computer furniture design.
Another idea he came up with is a piece of black wood he added to the back of his mother’s computer, which he built himself, to hide the wires from view. It’s important for him to have the best running personal computer, but its environment is equally important, he said.
“It drives me absolutely crazy . . . everything has to be neat.”
Jan said he is always developing ideas, doing projects and downloading programs on the computer. He believes he can always improve something.
“My mind is in high gear all the time,” he said.
He wanted to get this idea “out of his system,” he said. “It’s not totally about the money, it’s a dream.”