Sometimes it is just too intimidating to think about building
a new type of car, television, or other invention. Fortunately
the following invention ideas do not require expensive technologies
or huge investments to implement. They are ideas for garage or
basement tinkerers. You can come up with a prototype for most
of these for the cost of the money in your pocket. Like all the
ideas on this site, they are not patented yet, as far as I know
(but do your patent research when necessary).
Helium Kites
Maybe its been done, but I haven't seen them sold yet. The
idea is that with some lift from the helium, these kites could
be flown in any amount of wind. With proper design, they would
still fly something like a kite, and with some maneuverability
if designed like a stunt kite. Your first prototype might be
a kite with a small helium balloon attached. How's that for an
easy invention?
Kite Ads
Okay, this is more of a marketing idea than an invention.
Put ads on kites and get paid to fly them at the beach or during
big outdoor events. Even in my former small-town home they paid
for planes to drag ads around during festivals, so the market
might be there.
Deer Carrier
Old hunters regularly die of heart attacks while carrying
their bucks out of the woods. My idea is to have an inflatable
wheel, using coated nylon that won't puncture easily. When you
get your deer, you blow up the wheel, and using the clamps on
either side you attach two poles or sticks that you cut on site.
A nylon sling attaches between the sticks. This gives you a wheel-barrow-like
device that will carry a deer over even rough trails. It shouldn't
weigh more than two pounds, so it can be carried easily in a
day pack.
Here's a video to help you with generating
your own ideas more easily:
Disposable Clothing
Okay, if dollar stores can keep putting t-shirts on the shelves,
we know they are getting cheap. What if you invented a line of
shirts that were low-quality, but good enough to use, and cost
very little to manufacture? Then you sell them in boxes of 12,
as "disposable clothing." The market? People who want
less laundry to do on long trips, or want to have some cheap
things to wear for doing dirty jobs.
Water Bug Shoes
Imagine two little "kayaks" for your feet. With
two more smaller ones at the end of two ski-poles, for balance,
you could walk across the nearest lake. If they were 8 feet long
and 8 inches around, they would hold about 178 pounds each, by
the way. If you want to try this one, remember that to figure
the volume of a cylindrical object, you multiply pi (3.14) times
the radius squared times the length. Oh, and each cubic foot
of air will support about 64 pounds.
Wind Tents
This is an easy invention idea from my childhood. My brothers
and I spent summers at the beach, on Lake Michigan. The wind
often blew steady off the water, and we discovered that we could
make a "wind tent" out of an old blanket. We pinned
three sides down, and the wind held the "tent" open.
We even camped out in these tents, although when the wind died,
the tent did to. It is possible that someone could make and market
a plastic version for kids.
Check the home page of this website for many more ideas.
