Ross Sheil, Staff ReporterCAUGHT OUT on the road in the rainy season? Due at an important appointment, but your clothes and hair are soaking wet?
Jamaican inventor Dr. Halden Morris, in charge of Technical and Vocational Education at the Institute of Education at the University of the West Indies, Mona (UWI), has just the
solution the portable clothes/-hairdryer.
Having secured a United States patent last July, Dr. Morris is currently looking to find a manufacturer for his
product. The device works from electricity mains and features a telescopic rectangular outer drum and cylindrical inner drum. It measures 18 inches by 18 inches and weighs 20 pounds and is designed to fit in a suitcase.
Operated by a fan heater, the invention can dry 'two days-worth' of clothes in 30 minutes, disclosed Dr. Morris.
PATENT
The idea originated with a suggestion by friend Rhona Miller, with whom he shares the patent. "She asked me to come up with something because on her travels she is often caught out without a dryer and needed something."
This is not Dr. Morris's first invention, but the first to receive a U.S. patent, having learnt the hard way.
"In about 1984/5 I came up with a way to strengthen the font ball on an IBM typewriter."
At the time his then employer, the University of Technology (UTech) was having problems with their typewriters, "the ball was subject to high use, and was fragile and kept breaking.
"But my department couldn't afford to buy new typewriters, so I came up with a solution."
Years later he noticed the same technique; reinforcing the ball with polymer and steel pegs had been adapted elsewhere. A patent would have protected his invention and earned him some money.
This time around he made sure to apply for a patent. "They granted me the patent, as the drum, which extends like an antenna is unique. I had been developing it since Rhona approached me in 2003. The next step is to find a manufacturer."
HIGH-PROFILE PRODUCT
"The aim is to market it as a high-profile product to executive-type travellers and I am looking to package it inside a quality aluminium suitcase. This will be a medium-size case, about 18 inches by 30 inches and will leave space for luggage." Samsonite or Louis-Vuitton would be appropriate, Dr. Morris believes.
Currently he has been meeting with Invention Tech, a Miami-based firm, which market products to potential manufacturers.
