Local inventors unveil products
One is a matter of divine inspiration.
The other, practicality.
Whatever their sources, two inventors hope their moments of unexpected clarity will enable them to help others while providing themselves with economic rewards for their imaginative work.
Youngstown’s Jimmie R. and Hubbard’s Susan R. are first-time inventors trying to get manufacturers and consumers to buy their inventions.
Jimmie, 24, a child counselor, believes the inspiration for what he is calling the Master Crib came directly from a higher power.
“I don’t have any children,” Jimmie said. “I only have a few nephews and nieces.”
The Master Crib fits any size regular bed and is designed to prevent infants from falling, he said.
“I see this as something people cannot afford to buy a crib can use when placing their infants and toddlers on beds to sleep,” Jimmie said.
Jimmie, an associate minister at a local ministry said, “one night in July 2004, I was sleeping and suddenly I had the parameters of the Master Crib in my mind. I heard the Lord’s voice telling me that babies were dying senselessly, and then he provided a way for me to stop one the ways it has been occurring.
After seeing an early morning infomercial on a company called Invent-Tech, which helps inventors develop and market their products, Jimmie called for help.
“We created a prototype for the Master Crib and now are trying to find a manufacturer to mass produce it,” Jimmie said.
Susan, 49, an employee at a local community health center, said she was tired with awkward ways that she and several of her friends had to carry their CD players when working out at the gym.
“Over time, as I was working out at a local gym, I was watching how uncomfortable most people were while they were carrying their CD players in their hands,” she said. “I thought it would be so much better for people if they were able to keep their hands free so they can maneuver.
One evening, Susan began making sketches on the side of a paper bag of a design for a carrying case for CD players. Her neighbor, who is a seamstress, used the paper bag drawing to make the carrying case that allows those who are working out to carry both their CDs and CD players.
“It is very lightweight,” she said. “Having something that lightweight but strong allows people who are working out to enjoy their music while doing just about anything athletic.”
This is Susan’s first effort at inventing.
“I really did this for myself, but it is something I think people will use,” she said. “I can see the commercial uses.”