Inventors try to find market: Florida firm helping pair march their ideas with manufacturers
Ronald F. conceived his invention after losing both legs to diabetes.
Jackie C. came up with his after being disabled by a foundry accident.
The two residents look to market their ideas with the help of Invention Technologies Inc., of Coral Gables, Fla.
Ronald, 64 has devised a portable wheelchair ramp that, with the help of his son, he hopes to market to a manufacturer. “I think (the ramp) would benefit the many people across the country with accessibility problems,” he said.
: Some companies have responded but we haven’t heard anything definite yet,” said Ronald, who’s been in a wheelchair for five years.
A worker at a distillery company for 22 years, Ronald said he came up with the concept for the portable ramp while facing his own accessibility issues.
“I’ve always worked with my hands. This is just something that makes sense to me,” he said. Ronald declined to provide details about his invention, noting he wanted to see the ramp in production first.
Jackie C., 42, had the same reluctance to shed light on his current invention: a safety light to increase the visibility of road workers.
“I came up with the idea after watching all the road construction going on in this area,” he said.
Jackie, who was injured while working in a foundry almost five years ago, said he first developed the idea last October.
“I hope it won’t take years to produce but it may,” he said.
Invention Technologies charges a fee to search for manufacturers who might be interested in licensing the design and bringing the product to market, said a company representative.