Similar to the first patent I discussed, this curling related patent also has to do with a battery powered heating element. This time however, the heating element goes on the broom shaft.
Basically, what we have here is a heating element that can attach to a handle or shaft in a few ways (it could wrap around it, fit over the top, etc.) There's a switch for controlling the heat and possibly changing the temperature. There could be a little light for indicating if the device is on. Pretty simple, but he got 18 pages out of it for the patent. (Is that a sign of a good lawyer?)
While the idea seems to have been conceived in relation to golf, the inventor, Vaughn Marquis, also included a list of other possible sporting goods this device could be used with, including curling brooms. It seems that Vaughn Marquis is also a patent attorney and the patent is written as broadly as possible. For all you aspriring inventors, having as broad a patent as possible should help you derive some value out of it. One embodiment he missed though would be heating up the handle for a curling stick. (Go ahead and take the idea, aspiring inventor.)
I don't play golf, but I can see how this might be kind of nice to have on a cold day. I can't really imagine though that the market for people who play golf on cold days is really all that big. I like the embodiment of having a heated hand grip on a cane or on a walking stick. However, there's at least one other patent related to having heated handles on canes. I guess someone's figured out that's likely a much bigger market.
On the subject of having a heated hand grip on a curling broom, I can't imagine anyone I know using one. If your hands are cold, you wear gloves or mittens and you might take them off later or when it's your turn to throw a rock. And then there's the problem of dropping your broom on the ice and heating element melting that part of the ice. I'm guessing your local ice technician would be unhappy if this happened. What do you think?
Basically, what we have here is a heating element that can attach to a handle or shaft in a few ways (it could wrap around it, fit over the top, etc.) There's a switch for controlling the heat and possibly changing the temperature. There could be a little light for indicating if the device is on. Pretty simple, but he got 18 pages out of it for the patent. (Is that a sign of a good lawyer?)
While the idea seems to have been conceived in relation to golf, the inventor, Vaughn Marquis, also included a list of other possible sporting goods this device could be used with, including curling brooms. It seems that Vaughn Marquis is also a patent attorney and the patent is written as broadly as possible. For all you aspriring inventors, having as broad a patent as possible should help you derive some value out of it. One embodiment he missed though would be heating up the handle for a curling stick. (Go ahead and take the idea, aspiring inventor.)
I don't play golf, but I can see how this might be kind of nice to have on a cold day. I can't really imagine though that the market for people who play golf on cold days is really all that big. I like the embodiment of having a heated hand grip on a cane or on a walking stick. However, there's at least one other patent related to having heated handles on canes. I guess someone's figured out that's likely a much bigger market.
On the subject of having a heated hand grip on a curling broom, I can't imagine anyone I know using one. If your hands are cold, you wear gloves or mittens and you might take them off later or when it's your turn to throw a rock. And then there's the problem of dropping your broom on the ice and heating element melting that part of the ice. I'm guessing your local ice technician would be unhappy if this happened. What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment