Newsletters
(Edited by Ted Coulson and John Beswick)
March 2024
At the March meeting we were pleased to welcome our Chairman Nasser back after a long absence. During his time away, Nasser was invited to give a lecture about his work and experience with bio digesters at a seminar in The Oman where they have ambitious plans for a very big project as part of their decarbonisation policy.
We also welcomed Joe, a friend of Ajay’s who gave a presentation of his computer program which is designed to be an additional sales tool for Estate Agents. It was very impressive and we wish Joe good fortune with it.
Ajay is making good progress with making his prototype exercise aid and we are hoping to see it soon.
John has been busy with his current work associated with renewing mortar pointing, added to which he brought in a specialist tool that plumbers require when renovating bathroom fixtures in older properties.
I showed a few parts that I have completed to be incorporated into my second CHP BoilerGen prototype that I hope will eventually demonstrate a fully cycling unit from which accurate measurements will be taken in order to confirm the maximum percentage of power / heat ratio available as well as taking the all important exhaust emissions.
We have also heard from a retired member Tom who will be 90 on the 30th July. Tom tells us he has developed at least 10 new board games that are now ready for publication. Because of his age related health issues, Tom is looking for someone who would like to market one or several games in return for a share of any proceeds from a partnership. If anyone, (member of BI or not) would like to take up this opportunity, please contact BI (see above) and we will put you in touch with Tom. See also "Investment opportunities page"
I look forward to seeing you all at our coming meeting on Monday 15th.
Ted.
February 2024
Dear All,
Firstly I would like to remind members that next Monday's meeting is when we pay our annual subscriptions, and it would greatly assist our treasurer if you could either pay him directly in advance or on the night, thank you.
I have struggled to find any new interesting developments or inventions
if members find any interesting articles please send me details and I can include them in future news letters.
Last month's meeting was excellent and I think we all enjoyed our new home at the Norman Leaker Centre. Without going into details I got the impression all members are making good progress on their projects and we look forward to hearing or seeing developments at Monday’s meeting.
For my part, I have found a way of building a fully cycling prototype version of my BoilerGen CHP domestic boiler. If all goes to plan, the new design will include all the latest updates to the technology, but because it will not be computerised it will lose the ability to make certain changes whilst running, therefore these changes will involve making physical adjustments whilst stopped such as changing the quantity of mixture per cycle or changing the type of gas or mixture of gases, but that is a small price to pay.
Have a good weekend and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday.
Ted.
January 2024
Dear All,
Firstly I would like to explain the lack of Club Newsletters during previous months was due to the club having to find a new venue for our meetings, because the Faraday Wharf buildings changed management, and the new management required a rent well beyond our means. Having said that, we have been extremely lucky to have had the venue free of charge for so many years.
Thanks to Bob, we have now made the Norman Leaker Centre our new home. In many ways it is located in a better location for our members with free parking, being outside the restricted access Clean Air Zone and having good rail connections.
We have also taken the opportunity to revise our meeting times to
start at 16:00 and finish at 19:00 which avoids rush hour whilst finishing early enough to get home at a reasonable time. The meetings will still be scheduled for every third Monday of the month except in December when it will be the second Monday.
At last month's meeting Les described his current unique design project for building an inexpensive horizontal water turbine that can be built placed near fast flowing streams.
Our new member John, also demonstrated his practice tool
connected with the building trade, soon to be followed up by a new tool to make the job in question easy for the DIY and unskilled person to achieve a professional looking result.
Ajay is now in a position to build his prototype using the facilities of the Birmingham Steam House so we look forward to hearing how that progresses.
This month I have attached two articles, the first relates to the recent advances in Nuclear Fusion, and the second relates to the use of bottled gas in countries where poor people use wood or dung fires resulting in lung disease and poor health. Nasser is one better because the methane generated in his units is free and also provides fertiliser.
(A)
December 2023
From JAB. This was our first meeting at our new venue. The Norman Leaker Centre at at 1237 Stratford Road, Hall Green, Birmingham, B28 9AA. We were and still are delighted to find that it has all the facilities we need, including easy ground floor access and in many way is better than our previous venue, it is quiet, clean and tidy, private, no ULEZ or the like to worry about, easy parking, good travel links, a ten minute walk from Hall Green station on the Stratford line from Moor Street and Birmingham New Street. See News and coming Events for more details. Hall Green is a pleasant residential area of Birmingham.
Our meeting welcomed new member John Smith who has recently retired from Coventry University and is looking forward to taking some of his inovatory ideas forward. He is a plumbing expert.
After the meeting we retired to the nearby Toby Carvery for a very pleasant relatively inexpensive meal. We hope to repeat the experience on January 15th 2014.
August 2023
From JAB: We commenced our meeting at 7.00pm and discusssed a very wide range of topics as usual, including celebratinig our 40th Anmniversary next year. Much discussion took place on Ted's combined heat and Power Project and how to stimulate interest in Government circles in the benefit it could offer in terms of reduced emissions and energy consumption and thereby foster the research investmenet needed. A thoroughly stimulating evening!
From Ted Coulson:
We had another good meeting in August covering the status of current projects, venue entrance cards, our Website and Logo.
I have received an update from Aria who have finally got their team together and plan to announce the projects they are to start with by the end of the year. The first projects will inevitably be based on each of their Project Development (PD’s) specialties which are “beyond blue sky” as far as I can tell, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.
HERE IS AN EXTRACT FROM THE ARIA DOCUMENT.
This starts with programme development. Each of our new PDs has joined with an area or set of areas they feel compelled to explore, united by their potential to reimagine different aspects of our society. These are early areas of exploration, not yet formal programmes, but they include:
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Harnessing the thermodynamics of natural systems to radically increase efficiency and scalability of AI compute.
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Imagining new ways to interface with the human nervous system to non-invasively provide neuropsychiatric treatment
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Designing programmable plants to enhance resilience against our increasingly uncertain climate.
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Catalysing breakthroughs in advanced optics to track diseases in our bodies as well as biodiversity threats to our oceans.
I have also just read a rather discouraging and alarming report from a joint study from Leeds & Barcelona Universities who calculate the rate of increased GDP of industrialised nations is outstripping the Global activity in reducing emissions in accordance with the Paris Convention, and at the current rate it will take 200 years to meet Net Zero targets.
However, the article went on to suggest draconian left wing measures where we should all turn our standard of living back to pre Industrial Revolution times with shades of Pol Pot communism (back to the fields etc) and forsake all “unnecessary “ luxuries !!
Whilst I applaud their work on exposing the political climate change greenwashing, I think they should have looked at realistic and acceptable technical solutions.
I look forward to seeing you all on Monday 18th September 2023.
July 2023
We commenced our meeting at 7.00pm and discusssed a very wide range of topics as usual, including updates on members progress in particulay Ajay's exercise device which he is hoping to prototype soon.
Ted reported on his combined heat and power project inclding a leaflet which explains his approach and which he will doubltess be pleased to let you have on request, see also under Investment Opportunities.
June 2023
We commenced our meeting at 7.00pm and discusssed a wide range of topics as usual concluding at 10.00pm but members do not have to stay as that if they do not want to!
May 2023
We commenced our meeting at 7.00pm and discusssed a wide range of topics and also decided that we would welcome problems to solve as well as 'inventions'. After all, inventions are solutions to problems so solving problems is really what we do! Bring your problem, or anybody's problem along to our meeting.
Our meeting concluded at midnight! We generally have no time limit.
April 2023
Ajay entertained us with his exercise device and some physical demonstrations were performed by one or two members! Routes to fabrication and greater publicity were discusssed including how to turn your self into an influencer and promote your own device.
The possible malign influence of Chat GPT was discussed along with consideration of how it might corrupt literature searches
March 2023
Ted found our talk on intellectual property very interesting and instructive:
Dear All,
I am looking forward to our April meeting next Monday the 17th. and if all goes to plan I should be fully armed with the latest Covid injection.
Last month we had an excellent meeting when we were joined for an informal chat by Andrew Doyle who is a (Trainee) Patent Attorney with Birmingham based Barker Brettell.
I made some rudimentary notes having forgotten some of the details over time.
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As far as possible it is best to file a patent when the project is complete and you are happy with all the facts. It is possible to update a patent within 12 months of submission but that is at extra cost and the date of validity remains at the date of submission, so there is no advantage to be had in terms of extending the patent date.
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After a patent is granted you have 12 months during which time you can file in other countries, or file a PCT which is an international application that will be valid until 30 months after the original filing date.
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Costs. In Broad terms, and Patent Agent fees can be negotiable, so shop around, a UK patent will cost in the region of £3,000 to £5,000 inclusive of Agent and Patent Office fees. A PCT is approx. an extra £ 3,000 per country, and an EU Patent for all EU countries about £6,000, but you can select certain EU countries for about £200 per country.
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Most Patent Agents give one hour free advice where you can check the foregoing (in case I made an error !) and to negotiate a package.
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If you qualify, Innovate UK may fund or part fund some patent costs, but these are generally competitions.
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One patent can include and protect several novel claims, which is a very good reason to ensure your project is fully developed before starting, otherwise you run the risk of having to protect the same device twice.
There was less time in the meeting to discuss individual projects, but it seems Ajay is making good progress by joining the Steamhouse who provide free services for an introductory period and give the use of their many 3D printers and other resources. We hope to hear more on Monday.
For those of us, myself included, who didn’t get to pay our membership fees, please come suitably armed !
See you all on Monday.
Ted.
If you want to know more about intellectual property protection see also our page on Patent Searches written by one of our very experienced members who was responsible for intellectual property for a world renowned defence realated company.
Whilst we a delighted to receive your payment by any means you choose if helps enormously if you pay your membership fee by recurring annual BACS payment on April 1st each year, £30 ordinary for unlimited attendances and £10 corresponding (one meeting attendance in person per year for corresponding membership).
To Metro Bank, Account name Birmingham Inventors, reference Inventors.
Sort Code 23-05-80
Account number 45755940
February 2023
Ted is excited by useful quantum effects and plastic bottles:
Quantum breakthrough could revolutionize computing
Scientists have come a step closer to making multi-tasking 'quantum' computers, far more powerful than even today's most advanced supercomputers.
Quantum computers make use of the weird qualities of sub-atomic particles.
So-called quantum particles can be in two places at the same time and also strangely connected even though they are millions of miles apart.
A Sussex University team transferred quantum information between computer chips at record speeds and accuracy.
'If you are interested in quantum technology you might be interested in the information Julian Moore detailed under News. Although the event is passed Julian might be able to provide a useful update, his contact details are provided.
I have also seen articles on the recycling of PET bottles for use in Lithium batteries as well a carbonized Kraft paper where the carbon is used to make electrodes.
NOTE that our mext meeting is on April 17th 2023, see Events.
Our December Christmas festivities were held at Star City and a Jolly Good Time was had by all, sorry if you were not there! No meeting in January, see you in February hopefully, see Events section.
This month we are starting the meeting at the new time of 18:30 and hopefully finish a little earlier !
In addition, we are looking forward to welcoming Jon Isaacs who will tell us more about the “Steam House” (part of Birmingham City University) and how it can help inventors, designers and entrepreneurs, small and incubation businesses. We are also looking to propose some of their clients might wish to join our club to benefit from the support membership offers.
We are also very pleased to hear from Tom who reports -
“MKG Agency have paid a lot of attention to the 2 games I passed on to them, and I have a very strong feeling that at least one of my games will be promoted by them before Xmas.
I received an excellent prototype of one of my games this morning which they intend to promote on my behalf.”
Well done Tom.
I look forward to a lively meeting with new projects and updates to existing ones.
Ted.
September 2022
Ted is excited by Augmented Reality:
You will be familiar with Virtual Reality where you wear large goggles that immerse you into a dream world such as a building on fire, a jungle or an office on the moon etc. By contrast AR leaves you in your own room or office but it has the ability to place virtual objects in front of you.
This has so many futuristic uses, but just one example would be in my old profession of selling large industrial machines where, when fully developed, you could be in your office and connect to your customer in his, anywhere in the world and demonstrate the machine in question as if it were actually in front of him as it would be if he visited the engineering factory or industrial exhibition, in that you could open doors and guarding to point out salient working parts, zoom in and out as required, and eventually start the machine in slow motion or at full speed etc.
Just think - no more exciting days out of the office burning up air miles and eating out in expensive restaurants.
We may be saving the planet but there are sacrifices ! !
I look forward to seeing members on Monday 17th October 2022
July 2022: Ted reports that consideration of his Combined Heat and Power project is progressing with the University of Wolverhapmton.
Due to the closure of Passbook based accounts the Birmingham Inventors has opened a new account with Metro Bank which will facilitate online banking for those that prefer it. We prefer it. Fees may be paid into this account Birmingham Inventors Sort Code 23 05 80 Account No. 45755940, if you have not yet renewed your subsciption please do it now! Please.
June 2022: Despite missing last month’s April meeting due to the Bank Holiday, Nasser & I had a chat about the use of compressed air as a means of automobile propulsion because it is perfectly clean and excellent for urban environments.
Here is a most interesting video clip which shows that for short urban distances with light weight vehicles it is an excellent choice https://youtu.be/uRpxhlX4Ga0
and I see Tata motors are looking at it for Tuk Tuk taxis.
This month I managed to get a short article about my BoilerGen CHP Domestic Boiler published in a trade magazine. The article was heavily censored to fit in with their perspective and I am not expecting any feedback. Actually you could call it a vanity article, but you never know, someone might just remember reading it. Part of the Editors requests were that I produce a Logo, which I felt had to be relevant without any disclosure of technology, so that was a good exercise.https://www.hvpmag.co.uk/BoilerGen-20kW-domestic-CHP-gas-boiler-now-in-development/13128
Following on from that, I persuaded the University of Wolverhampton to assist me with a simplified, single module BoilerGen working prototype and I have a face to face meeting with them next Tuesday to meet the Student and scope out the project, after which I will fully understand what is available, but they seem pretty keen on the project and certainly have all the facilities I need. I may also be eligible through B.I.C. for part funding for the parts (which are down to me) and part funding for Patent expenses. We will see just how much is available as there are always ceilings for these things, but I am grateful for any help to advance this project.
FEBRUARY 2022
Firstly I would like to remind members that next Monday's meeting is when we pay our annual subscriptions, and it would greatly assist our treasurer if you could either pay him directly in advance or on the night, thank you.
PLEASE PAY YOUR SUBSCIRPTIONS
£30 (INCLUDING ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS)
£10 CORESPONDING (ONE MEETING ATTENDANCE PER YEAR)
TO THE TREASURER BY RECURRING BACS TRANSFER ON 1ST APRIL EACH YEAR TO:
SORT CODE: 07-01- 16
ACCOUNT NUMBER 09271302
JOHN A BESWICK
International payments: IBAN GB41MYMB23058045755940
BIC MYMBGB2L
Reference YOUR SURNAME and the letters BI
We had a full agenda last month where it was decided that since most aspects of life are returning to normal after Covid, over the next few months, Ajay would push ahead with the BI leaflets to promote our club, and look at social media as a means of attracting membership. We also discussed increasing the number of web addresses to ensure similar derivatives are not available to others.
In addition various actions were agreed whereby Bob would try to attract some of his contacts to promote our membership campaign.
Bob also discussed some of his inventions he has been keeping on the back burner for some time, and we await to see how they may be developed further.
John mentioned Tom’s fence post brackets & fence pot holders with a view to assisting Tom.
Ajay will also look at a joint visit with Nasser to the promotion company in Gloucester he has found to see what they can offer our club.
I gave an update on my approach to Wolverhampton University “Help 4 Inventors” scheme, which got off to a bad start and has had to be rescheduled for April because they had failed to look at my Keynote presentation prior to the virtual meeting and had no idea BoilerGen was a CHP domestic boiler. I got the impression their plan was to simply hear the details and dismiss any idea using a wide selection of excuses whilst achieving the goal of ticking a box for doing something for innovation without getting involved ! An old trick !
Ted Coulson.
JANUARY 2022
After a festive gathering of members (Restricted to fully paid up members but some paid on the spot!) at Nando's Fort Dunlop we are looking forward to the first meeting of the New Year, which will be on the third Monday of the month (February), this will be by Zoom or physical presence. Please let us know if you would like to attend or receive the access code for the Zoom version (JOHN BESWICK)
Of course it is New Year and one's thoughts turn to the future and wondering where we are all heading. Our Chinese friends are reported to have missiles capable of flying around the earth at hypersonic speed and uncatchable firing off other missles to do all kinds of mischief. On the other hand we have the pandemic virus but amazingly due to advances in nanotechnology we (The British!) have developed analytical equipment which can decode the dna of these things and facilitate vaccines development far faster than only a year or two ago. On the other hand it might be that Moore's law could be coming to an end. Moore's law predicted that the density and hence speed of semiconductor devices would double every two years and it has held good for the past two decades or so. Moore is one of the founders of Intel. However, on the other hand we have quantumn computing on the horizon and that promises to achieve undreamt of computing power, we ain't seen nothing yet! (John Beswick).
NOVEMBER 2021
Dear All,
Most importantly we were able to conduct our AGM at the last meeting, and so we’re all set for the next year with our finances in good order and the meeting room also meeting our every requirement.
A brief update on news of members. Tom and his wife have moved in with their family near Telford and Tom was very pleased to receive a visit from Nasser who hopes to help him with his latest games project. Tom wrote to me today to express his thanks to Nasser and he is hoping things may slowly move forward.
We have heard through Ajay that Les is back at home from hospital and is up for visits, so it would be good if members living nearby could drop in and see him.
We were also pleased to welcome Nasser back after his long period away in the Yemen. Whilst away Nasser has been very busy in the village introducing safe smoke free fireplaces in homes, improving the methane gas production unit and a communal oven, as well as a wind turbine connected to a car generator to give electricity and light for those villagers who are as yet without electricity. It would seem this project needs further updates at a later date.
Ajay also brought us up-to-date on his safety device for cyclists and is looking into design rights.
My own CHP project is progressing slowly in that I am in touch with a German company who have expressed an interest but are proceeding cautiously and have, as yet, to sign an NDA before they get any details. The reason for their caution is that they need to be reassured that domestics CHP gas boilers fit in with their future plans, as the CHP boiler is very different from their current production and would require a dedicated production line.
I am looking forward to seeing you all at our next meeting this coming Monday 21st February 2022.
Kind regards,
Ted.
The Covid terror has perhaps finally been reduced by Pharmaceutical genius and we British can claim a fair share of it! Please forgive me but I do think we understimate our achievements too often. One of the key ingredients in this has been the dna sequencing of the virus. It is perhaps not as well appreicated as it should be that this was enabled by an small Oxford University spin off that slashed the time taken to do the sequencing. The key is the very small holes through which the virus is made to pass and get sorted genetically speaking, nanotechnology at its best. The new equipment is very small and portable compared with previous versions. I first saw one of these devices at the Chelsea Flower Show a few years ago when it was busy analysing the dna of antirhinums (or something of the sort) tucked away inconspiculously in a corner of the marquee and guarded by a scientist who seemed a bit out of place in that particular flower show context. She was delighted to find someone who was actually interested in the device. Personally I look forward to the day when we will be able to analyse the dna of apples and the like quickly and easily and stop arguing about what any particular apple or similar thing is called. Tight now though it is doing a much more useful job in saving millions of us from COVID.
Pandemic puts Oxford Nanopore ‘on the map’ | Financial Times (ft.com)
Another key innovation, not British this time but German, is the insulation panels which have enabled the vaccines to be transported despite being required to be kept very cold. The panels are made of silica which is evacuated to result in a very efficient cold insulator. Why didn't we invent it!
https://www.ft.com/content/a8d94999-95e9-492f-91ef-77f051aa375d
John Beswick
OCTOBER 2021
Good news, I have just had a chat with our Chairman Nasser who is back with us having been delayed overseas by Covid and the civil war ! However, despite obvious difficulties Nasser has been busy improving the life of the mountain village and has a story to tell concerning the simple wind turbine he constructed and other projects. We look forward to welcoming Nasser back at our meeting next Monday.
As you may be aware, we were unable to hold our AGM last month as hoped, and postponed it to this month’s meeting next Monday. John has sent out a copy of our up to date accounts in readiness for the AGM, so please make every effort to attend.
Another piece of news came from our member Tom, who is launching a Football board game details of which can be found on the following link.
Good luck Tom, it takes just one lucky break.
Furthering my Domestic CHP boiler project, I attended a heating exhibition in Manchester and sounded out the exhibitors of gas boilers with regard to hydrogen being introduced into the gas network.
The general opinion was that nothing significant will take place before 2050 if at all, and that it would be more beneficial to direct government induced “HOT AIR” into our homes to meet our heating needs !
On a serious note, responsible suppliers of heat pumps recognise the products contribute nothing towards the reduction of global warming unless the electricity is guaranteed to be from hydro, wind or solar sources.
In fact, if the electricity is from a gas powered station, the heat transferred from the ground or air, into the home is additionally replicated at the power station supplying the electricity, meaning that twice the amount of heat is released into the atmosphere, a proportion of which is radiated into space.
On the other hand, if the heat pump energy is supplied by nuclear, most nuclear power stations exchange their heat from the steam turbines into the ocean, which in our case is taken by the surface Gulf Stream directly to the Polar Ice Cap ! So under these circumstances, direct gas fired boilers are better for the climate than heat pumps, but even better are CHP boilers that reduce the production of gas fired or nuclear generated electricity without any extra environmental damage.
See you all at the AGM Meeting OCTOBER 18TH 2021
SEPTEMBER/AUGUST 2021
Monday's meeting is our first live meeting at the Birmingham Science Park in our usual meeting room at the “iCentrum” building since lockdown- HURRAY.
The meeting will be chaired by our Vice Chairman Ajay who has the building passes, so when members arrive, please just send Ajay a quick email and someone will meet you at the main entrance to get you in.
An important reminder, our September meeting is our AGM, so it would be good to have as big attendance as possible.
In the meantime, member Tom, sent me this photo of work done by his Grandson. As far as I understand it, he has made a modern Chinese puzzle using a 3D printer. Thanks to 3D printers working by adding material only where required against traditional old Chinese puzzles that started with solid blocks, the scope of ingenuity by 3D printing is infinitely greater. The cube is difficult to assemble, and the cylinder is difficult to extract because you can’t see the pin & keyways.
Ajay, there’s a challenge for you in your free time !
I saw this article that might be of interest even if it is old technology and was once used by the Russian military to quickly take heavy machinery across the Black Sea adapted with electrically driven props.
“Travel between UK and France on sea-skimming ‘flying ferries’
Brittany Ferries is exploring the potential for a new high-speed, sustainable and more efficient form of ferry travel called a seaglider.
Image courtesy of Brittany Ferries
The concept, an all-electric, wing-in-ground effect vehicle (WIG), is under development in the United States through Boston-based start-up REGENT (Regional Electric Ground Effect Nautical Transport).
Brittany Ferries has signed a letter of intent which could see seagliders with a 50-150 passenger capacity sailing between the UK and France by 2028. REGENT expects the first commercial passengers to travel on smaller electric craft by 2025.
Seagliders combine the convenience of passenger ferries with the comfort of hydrofoils, the aerodynamic efficiency of hovercraft and the speed of aircraft. With the potential to connect existing ferry ports, the craft are expected to fly at speeds of up to 180mph – six times faster than conventional ferries – with a battery-powered range of 180 miles.
The voyage from Portsmouth to Cherbourg, for example, could be covered in as little as 40 minutes.” [The journey time on Eurotunnel for Folkestone to Calais is 35 minutes. I have done it many times. John B]
As I am unable to attend the August meeting, I will make a point of Watsapping Ajay during the meeting to say hello to members and give a brief project update.
Enjoy your first meeting for a very, very long time.
Keep well and safe.
Ted.
Patents:
There is an interesting discussion on the usefulness of patents in the Financial Times, they are not likely to disappear soon but:
https://www.ft.com/content/0fc8ea7f-d512-4009-91fe-2716bcb4de6b
John Beswick
JULY 2021
Four articles to start with this month.
The first is an example of how Volvo (owned by a Chinese Company) are looking to future proof their steel making whilst respecting global warming. ALL THEY NEED IS AN ABUNDANCE OF FOSSIL FREE ELECTRICITY, which the world is striving to get, so eventually this could have huge implications for the future of steel engineering.
Volvo steel with no carbon footprint.
At a recent BI Zoom meeting, we were discussing the strength of spider webs, so I have included this article.
New Biodegradable plastic as strong as a spiders web but plant based.
Our Chairman has several packaging interests, so I included this memo about the Process & Packaging Exhibition at the NEC this year.
PPMA Show 2021 ‘will go ahead’
22 June 2021
This year’s PPMA Show will go ahead at the NEC on 28-30 September 2021, which will be welcome news for show-goers and industry influencers alike within the UK manufacturing sector.
Finally, for me the best article which I am sure you have all heard about. The Slovak flying car. Although it may not be the first, just watch the UTube video and appreciate the style and beauty of this machine, If I could afford it I could be tempted to have just the road version for its looks. The Czeck and Slovak people have always been fine engineers, and they have excelled here. Please watch this if you can.
Slovak flying car UTube
We are looking forward to our members' Zoom meeting 19TH JULY 2021 at 7 pm. If members would like to join in, please contact Ajay at ajay.surti@hotmail.co.uk requesting the link. Last month, one member joined us from a quiet corner of his gym, and another from a quiet corner of a Supermarket, so just because you are out and about, does not mean you have to miss out ! !
My own news is that whilst I have been trying to chase up Salford University who have been busy with Covid and student assessments, I have made some good modifications to my Domestic CHP project resulting in even better results.
II look forward to the Zoom tomorrow evening,
April 2021:
Our yearly Club subscriptions are due this month, so will you please pay our treasurer the Annual membership fee of £30-00 or the Corresponding only fee of £10-00
Ajay will arrange a club Zoom meeting for members and corresponding members at 7pm on Monday April 19th.for 40 minutes unless Zoom gives us a little longer. To this end, we need an agenda, so if interested members and corresponding members would like to contact Ajay by email on ajay.surti@hotmail.co.uk and advise him of any Agenda items they wish to discuss, he will then send everyone the Zoom link with an Agenda before the meeting.
Tom has been busy with his games and has asked me to show two examples here. I am sure you will agree Tom has a great capacity for inventing new and entertaining games and puzzles. The problem is how to capitalise these games. If anyone has ideas, please contact Tom, or mention at the Zoom meeting.
*The top image is the printed puzzle.
*The challenge is to fill in the middle image with the necessary calculations to balance the totals in the extreme right and bottom columns.
The only clue is that Red Squares are divided by 1,2,3, or 4 & the blue squares are multiplied by 1,2,3 or 4.
*The answer is given in the bottom image.
Frankly I found it too hard for me, but I am not good with these things. How did other members find it ?
Tom also sent me a children’s puzzle and a card puzzle which I can include in next month’s news letter.
Tom Elliott has some fence brackets which are intended to fix fence panels to the usual slotted concrete posts and could be useful for repairs or prevention of damage to panel fencing in the high winds which have occured recently.
This month, I have also heard from Tony who
enclosed a journal extract and asked if
patenting was a waste of money bearing in mind the initial filing costs of about £3,000 and then the risk and cost of having to defend it in court if challenged.
I thought this might form a forum string or thread in our letters and I would start off with my thoughts, but perhaps other members might like a say in which case I can include their forum string/ thread in subsequent letters.
My first observation is that I have always negotiated better rates than the one suggested, and found Patent Agents ready to bargain.
Secondly, as long as we have a stock of the book “A Better Mouse Trap”, we give it to each new member, and should they read it, they will be well informed of all pitfalls awaiting would be inventors. Similarly, when we meet and a new idea is presented, our group often discuss the best way forward which frankly varies with each application, and frequently the answer is that unless the idea can be protected in a concrete way, it is often better to simply bring it to market quickly either directly or through a trusted third party.
Finally, the below link is a most interesting article about the real
inventor of the Diesel Engine who was not Herr Diesel, but a Yorkshire man Mr Akroyd. - a great read.
https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/it-s-an-akroyd-not-a-diesel/
Thanks to Ajay, I look forward to our upcoming Zoom meeting, see you then
Ted.
January 2021
Our member Tom Elliott would be delighted to hear from anyone interested in taking up his new card game which we have put to the test and found very appealing. Contact us for more details. PS see April News above.
We were pleased to hear from the Earl of Shrewsbury, our enthusiastic president, who tells us that he finds our musings interesting. That is our aim. Thank you Charles!
Dear All,
It was good to hear from Ajay and John this week.
Ajay is continuing to work on two of his projects with a view to being ready to exploit them as soon as times return to normal which is great news. He is also poised to pursue our club brochure just as soon as we can return to live meetings once more.
As I told Ajay I am also devoting about 4 to 6 hours a week on my project mainly conducting tests in my unheated workshop and outside, often in very low temperatures. - it’s amazing what you will do in lockdown when there are limited options !
John sent me a very interesting article on a Japanese toilet maker who has presented a prototype toilet that analyses your effluent, and sends a report to your mobile should you need to be aware of any medical conditions ( SUCH AS. - THAT WAS A GOOD PARTY LAST NIGHT !). It sounds quite advanced.
The below article also came my way and I thought it quite interesting.
HISTORY OF THE CAR RADIO
Seems like cars have always had radios, but they didn't. Here's the story:
One evening, in 1929, two young men named William Lear and Elmer Wavering drove their girlfriends to a lookout point high above the Mississippi River town of Quincy, Illinois, to watch the sunset. It was a romantic night to be sure, but one of the women observed that it would be even nicer if they could listen to music in the car. Lear and Wavering liked the idea. Both men had tinkered with radios (Lear served as a radio operator in the U.S. Navy during World War I) and it wasn't long before they were taking apart a home radio and trying to get it to work in a car. But it wasn't easy: automobiles have ignition switches, generators, spark plugs, and other electrical equipment that generate noisy static interference, making it nearly impossible to listen to the radio when the engine was running.
One by one, Lear and Wavering identified and eliminated each source of electrical interference. When they finally got their radio to work, they took it to a radio convention in Chicago. There they met Paul Galvin, owner of Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. He made a product called a "battery eliminator",
a device that allowed battery-powered radios to run on household AC current. As more homes were wired for electricity, more radio manufacturers made AC-powered radios. Galvin needed a new product to manufacture. When he met Lear and Wavering at the radio convention, he found it. He believed that mass-produced, affordable car radios had the potential to become a huge business.
Lear and Wavering set up shop in Galvin's factory, and when they perfected their first radio, they installed it in his Studebaker. Then Galvin went to a local banker to apply for a loan. Thinking it might sweeten the deal, he had his men install a radio in the banker's Packard. Good idea, but it didn't work – half an hour after the installation, the banker's Packard caught on fire. (They didn't get the loan.)
Galvin didn't give up. He drove his Studebaker nearly 800 miles to Atlantic City to show off the radio at the 1930 Radio Manufacturers convention.
Too broke to afford a booth, he parked the car outside the convention hall and cranked up the radio so that passing conventioneers could hear it. That idea worked -- he got enough orders to put the radio into production.
WHAT'S IN A NAME
That first production model was called the 5T71. Galvin decided he needed to come up with something a little catchier. In those days many companies in the phonograph and radio businesses used the suffix "ola" for their names - Radiola, Columbiola, and Victrola were three of the biggest. Galvin decided to do the same thing, and since his radio was intended for use in a motor vehicle, he decided to call it the Motorola. But even with the name change, the radio still had problems: when Motorola went on sale in 1930, it cost about $110 uninstalled, at a time when you could buy a brand-new car for $650, and the country was sliding into the Great Depression. By that measure, a radio for a new car would cost about $3,000 today. In 1930, it took two men several days to put in a car radio -- the dashboard had to be taken apart so that the receiver and a single speaker could be installed, and the ceiling had to be cut open to install the antenna. These early radios ran on their own batteries, not on the car battery, so holes had to be cut into the floorboard to accommodate them. The installation manual had eight complete diagrams and 28 pages of instructions. Selling complicated car radios that cost 20 percent of the price of a brand-new car wouldn't have been easy in the best of times, let alone during the Great Depression.
Galvin lost money in 1930 and struggled for a couple of years after that. But things picked up in 1933 when Ford began offering Motorola's pre-installed at the factory. In 1934 they got another boost when Galvin struck a deal with B.F. Goodrich tire company to sell and install them in its chain of tyre stores. By then the price of the radio, with installation included, had dropped to $55. The Motorola car radio was off and running. The name of the company would be officially changed from Galvin Manufacturing "Motorola" in 1947. In the meantime, Galvin continued to develop new uses for car radios. In 1936, the same year that it introduced push-button tuning, it also introduced the Motorola Police Cruiser, a standard car radio that was factory pre-set to a single frequency to pick up police broadcasts. In 1940 he developed the first handheld two-way radio -- The Handy-Talkie – for the U. S. Army.
A lot of the communications technologies that we take for granted today were born in Motorola labs in the years that followed World War II.
In 1947 they came out with the first television for under $200.
In 1956 the company introduced the world's first pager; in 1969 came the radio and television equipment that was used to televise Neil Armstrong's first steps on the Moon.
In 1973 it invented the world's first handheld cellular phone.
Today Motorola is one of the largest cell phone manufacturers in the world.
And it all started with the car radio.
WHATEVER HAPPENED to the two men who installed the first radio in Paul Galvin's car?
Elmer Wavering and William Lear, ended up taking very different paths in life. Wavering stayed with Motorola. In the 1950's he helped change the automobile experience again when he developed the first automotive alternator, replacing inefficient and unreliable generators. The invention lead to such luxuries as power windows, power seats, and, eventually, air-conditioning.
Lear also continued inventing. He holds more than 150 patents. Remember eight-track tape players? Lear invented that. But what he's really famous for are his contributions to the field of aviation. He invented radio direction finders for planes, aided in the invention of the autopilot, designed the first fully automatic aircraft landing system, and in 1963 introduced his most famous invention of all, the Lear Jet, the world's first mass-produced, affordable business jet. Not bad for a guy who dropped out of school after the eighth grade.
Let’s hope the weather and Covid improve and we all stay safe in the meantime.
Not much to do with tthe above really but I have an iPhone and its battery lasts hours, I also have a Motorola phone and the battery lasts days so that is the one that gets used most. We have electric cars that would be much better if the batteries had greater capacity. Power supply: thats the thing that can still make a big difference. Sadly I think Motorola is just a brand now and the phones are made by Lenovo in China, but iPhones are made in China too.
John Beswick
September 2020
Thanks to Zoom (hosted by our vice chairman Ajay, we were able to hold our 27th AGM on the 27th August.
Whilst we have been unable to hold meetings since the lockdown, and certainly for many months to come, it was decided members would still like to pay their annual membership subscriptions which remains at £30 for full members. I have now to admit that only the writing of this letter prompted me to send my subscription “ which is in the post” !!
Ajay found the following link from Innovate UK which offers assistance to designers in order to enhance and enrich every day objects or novel developments so as to achieve greater sales and marketing appeal leading to improved turnover or profit margin.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/innovate-uk-launches-four-year-design-strategy
Ajay was going to look into it further and let us know how it works, and if it works for him.
There is a big push on at present from Innovate UK and associated partners to bring British technologies to the forefront in order to stimulate our economy as we emerge from COVID-19 and the EU. Members may find the following 2 lists I found on a survey I completed interesting.
The first is a list of all allied organisations and services available, all of which promote innovation in diverse ways. The second is a list of assistance offered by Innovate UK.
So if you need assistance in furthering a project, there is plenty of government backed assistance out there.
Ted Coulson.
January 2020
Dear All,
We started the January meeting with a minutes silence to remember our great friend and past chairman of about 30 years Richard Brosch.
We continued the meeting with a demonstration of a prototype from Anthony. We were much impressed by the concept, the device itself, and in addition the research Anthony has done into the number of potential users and their profiles, projected savings on recycling, savings on CO2 and toxic emissions, and financial savings and payback compared to the status quo. We look forward to hearing of further progress in due course.
Nasser discussed the problems of micro fibres released into our rivers and oceans and the damage and risks they are creating. We discussed what might be done to reduce this problem in addition to the interesting use of micro fibres in concrete, giving it greater strength under certain conditions.
Les introduced his new interest in a novel design of fire escape, and again, we look forward to following this at future meetings.
Ajay, discussed our BI brochure, and John having approved the costs, will now start the process of getting the artwork for the next meeting.
Ajay also gave us an update on his various projects, and confirmed he will concentrate on the exercise device first.
Bob sent his apologies and we hope to catch up with him at the February meeting.
My own project is on hold pending better weather as the current welding work has to be conducted outside in dry weather !!
I look forward to our next meeting on Monday 17th February.
Ted Coulson
October 2019
As usual, we had an interesting and varied meeting in October. The meeting started with a broad ranging discussion on current and new environmental projects with the thought that perhaps NOW is a good time to concentrate on, and advance any new Ecco and environment friendly ideas.
Les asked me to include the following extract of the scientific work carried out by the film actress and inventor Hedy Lamar.
Although Lamarr had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight and a tablet that would dissolve in water to create a carbonated drink. The beverage was unsuccessful; Lamarr herself said it tasted like Alka-Seltzer.[40][29]
Copy of U.S. patent for "Secret Communication System"
Among the few who knew of Lamarr's inventiveness was aviation tycoon Howard Hughes. She suggested he change the rather square design of his aeroplanes (which she thought looked too slow) to a more streamlined shape, based on pictures of the fastest birds and fish she could find. Lamarr discussed her relationship with Hughes during an interview, saying that while they dated, he actively supported her inventive "tinkering" hobbies. He put his team of scientists and engineers at her disposal, saying they would do or make anything she asked for.[41]
During World War II, Lamarr learned that radio-controlled torpedoes, an emerging technology in naval war, could easily be jammed and set off course.[42] She thought of creating a frequency-hopping signal that could not be tracked or jammed. She contacted her friend, composer and pianist George Antheil, to help her develop a device for doing that, and he succeeded by synchronizing a miniaturized player-piano mechanism with radio signals.[31] They drafted designs for the frequency-hopping system, which they patented.[43][44] Antheil recalled:
We began talking about the war, which, in the late summer of 1940, was looking most extremely black. Hedy said that she did not feel very comfortable, sitting there in Hollywood and making lots of money when things were in such a state. She said that she knew a good deal about munitions and various secret weapons ... and that she was thinking seriously of quitting MGM and going to Washington, DC, to offer her services to the newly established National Inventors Council.[23]
Their invention was granted a patent under US Patent 2,292,387 on August 11, 1942 (filed using her married name Hedy Kiesler Markey).[45] However, it was technologically difficult to implement, and at that time the U.S. Navy was not receptive to considering inventions coming from outside the military.[29] In 1962 (at the time of the Cuban missile crisis), an updated version of their design at last appeared on Navy ships.[46]
In 1997, Lamarr and Antheil received the Electronic Frontier Foundation Pioneer Award and the Bulbie Gnass Spirit of Achievement Bronze Award, given to individuals whose creative lifetime achievements in the arts, sciences, business, or invention fields have significantly contributed to society.[47] Lamarr was featured on the Science Channel and the Discovery Channel.[14] In 2014, Lamarr and Antheil were posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.[48]
Les also discussed replacing cheap disposable plastic items used in engineering with Eco friendly versions, even if they cost slightly more, the increase in cost would never be noticed given the overall cost of the purchased product.
Tony introduced a new project in the field of a bicycle accessory which may prove very interesting especially as the budgeted manufacturing costs seem attractive.
Ajay visited the TCT exhibition at the NEC and met someone from Bradford University where they have a facility to make 3D printed prototypes and are open to help Inventors who need them.
Nasser discussed a new and novel idea to generate electricity from a currently un exploited but free source. Perhaps we will discuss this further at the November meeting.
I discussed a simple modification to cello tape applicators that would leave small tags on one or both ends of the applied tape that would enable easy tape removal from packaging when opening and when removing tape prior to recycling the packaging.
I also mentioned a method of stick welding 1mm thin mild steel without blow holes, by holding iron filings in the joint with a magnet, the iron filings stand upright in the magnetic field promoting easy striking and providing enough iron material to reinforce the joint. The result is not particularly pretty, but the joints are good !
Our friend and ex member Tom Elliott has written to tell us about his latest game on show at his local Erdington Club.
Tom says:-
The attached item shows my homemade mats laid out snugly on the surface of a small size Snooker table, and the pockets blocked off. The sign on it is only there for demonstration purposes please ignore it.
The concept is that my mats can be bought from various outlets at a very reasonable price. 8 mats are required for this size table.
As you can see the game that can now be played instead of snooker or pool, happens to be GOLF but a cue and 2 snooker balls obviously get used, not a golf club. There are 9 shallow putting holes spaced out on the mats, plugs are placed in the holes that are not being aimed at.
This game is on display in The Erdington club at present and at this stage everyone likes playing it.
I desperately need help from someone who is willing to invest in it. As these mats must be mass produced and I can't afford it
Cheers.....Tom.
IMembers might like to read about our former member Dr Manzoor. He and his wife own the oldest working post office in the world! It is at Sanquhar, Dumfries and Galloway and has been in continuos business since 1712. They have decided to retire and it is for sale.
II was also recently looking at electricity generating costs and thought you might be interested to study the following table created in 2015.
The interesting points here are the falling costs of off shore wind and the very high cost of nuclear energy
September 2019
Dear All,
It should be noted that this year Birmingham Inventors Club is 35 years old, having been established in 1984.
Ajay has been trying to arrange a talk by a Patent Attorney he recently met. The talk was scheduled for the September meeting, but due to other commitments, he now suggests our October meeting. We will keep members informed.
The August meeting was well attended in our newly allocated meeting room at Aston Science Park. Interestingly, the room, on the mezzanine floor of the new building was featured on BBC News recently where one of the small businesses was asked to comment on HS 2 and its implications for Birmingham businesses. Did anyone see it ?
On the subject of HS2, the current government (for now !) is reviewing the project and so I have passed my ideas on an alternative proposal “Long Flow Through Trains” to the transport minister and review committee via my local MP, in the hope they will even read it ! because should they cancel or delay the project, they will need to justify the money already spent at Euston and Birmingham by making some reasonable additional, small investment contribution towards improving the current overloaded Inter City network, as well as improving the Northern commuter trains, all of which can be achieved relatively cheaply on existing lines equipped with double length platforms and trains at terminus stations, divisible en route to service many more smaller local stations, by the suggested project.
The meeting started with a report on the visit of Ajay, Nasser and Les to the Birmingham “Steam House Centre “. The general opinion was that the organisation is excellent provided you and your business meet the membership criteria. ie you must be self employed, or a small business with a UT number(tax), and public liability insurance. They provide free access to Screen Printing, 3D printing, wood working tools, welding and laser cutting and electronics. All you have to provide are your own materials. It is unclear if anything you make there would be covered by a confidentiality contract, but we assume it would be up to you to keep things confidential by only making small parts of an overall project, so that anyone seeing a work piece would not understand the project.
Ajay will endeavour to fix a date for Clayton from the Steam House, to give us a talk / presentation soon.
Ajay has also been very busy preparing a draft for BI’s new leaflet. We discussed his proposed design at length, which already looks excellent, and we look forward to seeing an advanced version at the next meeting. Once the leaflet is finalised, we hope to place it in / with related organisations such as the Birmingham central Library, The Steam House, and Birmingham Patent Offices etc, that will be able to suggest our membership to like minded people.
Ajay also visited the Birmingham Central Library Patent advice Centre, and amongst other things discovered you can obtain a design right for as little as £ 24 with up to 10 designs of the same idea per application. This organisation may also be prepared to give us a presentation at some point in time.
Four other points of note this month.
Our member Tom has just launched his” SnookaBattle2” App that is now live on the Apple Store and can be tried for free. Tom would be pleased if members would try it out and let him know their thoughts. As far as I know, Tom is the first of our members to launch an App, so very well done, and we all wish you good fortune with it.
2) Richard sent me this link for 3D printing of items in carbon Fibre. It may be useful to members for future projects.
prototypes@rutlandplastics.co.uk
3) John mentioned another TV show looking for Inventors and Designers of new products who pitch to an audience and trade outlets, with the opportunity of being awarded good sized contracts. This could be a golden opportunity for anyone already into the manufacturing stages of a project.
4) Richard sent me details of the Croydon and Round Table Inventors Club meetings. If interested, I can share it with you at our coming meeting.
As usual, each member gave an update on each project, most of which are progressing well, and several members discussed possible new projects, in particular Nasser is looking for natural ways to cool at least one room in a home in very hot climates where babies can die when the temperature reaches 50 degrees C. and there is no electricity available. All ideas are welcome for this important work.
I look forward to seeing all members at our next meeting in our new room on Monday 16th September.
August 2019
July 2019
We had a most enjoyable meeting in June covering a wide range of subjects, and would you believe, despite a reduced attendance due to Holidays, health and other commitments, the meeting finished quite late.
We discussed our projects in the usual manner, and the salient points were that with any new project it is essential to check the internet, and especially Espacenet to see if the subject matter has been protected or previously marketed. This can save a lot of unnecessary development time and cost. Secondly, it is important to test the idea in the early stages to uncover any potential areas of concern that should be taken into account at the early design stage, or in the worst case kill the project, or make it non viable.
Specifically, Ajay will look at a 3 M product called Tagaderm which is a thinner form of expanded polyurethane, and enquire if it is possible to obtain a sample from 3M to test on one of his projects.
Ajay is also in need of a Prototype of his exercise device, and it may be an opportunity for him to contact the Steam House in Digbeth to see if they can help, and see exactly what they can offer in terms of our club becoming members.
I discussed the current position of my current projects, one of which I am ready to approach targeted potential end users. We shall see how it goes!
During the evening we also carried out a European patent search for a member to clarify his patent prospects.
Our July meeting is early this month because the third Monday is next week, so we look forward to catching up on all our member’s projects and their progress at the meeting.
Ted Coulson.
June 2019
The May meeting was our AGM. These are not the official minutes of the meeting, but in summary we were 8 members present and the accounts, which are healthy,
were passed and members re confirmed that the current holders of management positions would be maintained for a further year.
Before I cover details of the general meeting, I would like to mention that we have been contacted by the STEAM HOUSE Project at Birmingham City University and I am currently trying to find a free
date when we can meet with them, either at our venue or theirs. Since they are relatively new, they are quite busy in the short term, and so it could be a date in the Autumn, but I will keep you all
posted. Please look up their web site steamhouse.org.uk I am sure you will see how members might find their facilities most useful and how some of their members might also wish to join our
club.
Members might be interested in a “Bio Gas” exhibition at the NEC on the 3rd & 4th of July. A date for your diaries.
Jackie suggested that we ought to publicise a selection of the club’s past project successes on our web site.
Les has made great progress with his specialist brake pipes and has launched an excellent web site which should start the ball rolling. This is a positive beginning to a growing business.
Les would also like members to look at the following article.
An image of a Syrian refugee using virtual reality to help researchers design a shelter has been chosen as the winner in the 2019 national science photography competition organised by the Engineering
and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) part of UK Research and Innovation.
Jackie has had little time to pursue her projects, but it could be she may be one of our members who could benefit from a visit to the STEAM HOUSE.
Ajay has been as busy as ever with his 5 ongoing projects and it seems his priorities change as break throughs come with each project in turn, but the three foremost are the cyclist protection, the
fitness device and the eczema application. All very interesting and worthwhile projects.
I made a presentation using the club projector for a replacement or addition to HS2 discussion document, based on longer divisible trains running at twice the frequency of inter city trains thanks to
a Flow Through Platform design. In essence, “Long Flow Through Trains” offer twice the number of seats, twice the departure frequency and 6 times the number of interim stations visited between Euston
and Manchester.the pdf can be viewed at -
https://www.dropbox.com/s/4c0gks6y2lk78dp/Flow%20Through%20Rail%20Project%20April%2019%20PDF.pdf?dl=0
Should members wish to use the projector at meetings, please let me know so that I can bring it to the meeting. I intend purchasing extra cables to connect it to Apple computers and iPads and
iphones.
Our chairman Nasser will not be able to attend the next meeting on this Monday 17th June as he is having an eye operation, but Ajay looks forward to seeing you all.
Regards,
Ted Coulson
May 2019
We showed Jackie a possible version of her disposable domestic item and explained how it could be made. This could be one of several versions that might be suitable, and the next step would be to test it out and do some research into what it might cost to make in large numbers. The question then is, as always, how to proceed and Ajay suggested a company in London that promotes good ideas (for a fee), called “Innovate Product Design”. It would certainly be no bad thing to contact them to see what their proposal is.
Jackie also discussed the project concerning the repair of a certain type of curtain supports which often break.
Ajay has progressed with his project for special eczema bandaging. He has tested it on himself, holding it in place with a novel but commercially available strapping, and got excellent results. Again the question is about the next step, and it was suggested he should have a chat with his own dermatologist.
Ajay also discussed his progress with his cyclist safety unit, and showed the group a model of the basic concepts which now has to be tested, to ensure it meets all the criteria expected of it in practice.
Nasser discussed the bio digester and bread oven already working in the village he visits in the Yemen. We discussed the two webinars organised by Innovate UK and the suggestion was that Nasser should put his project forward in a bid for finance in order to make a much larger prototype version in his own village. These fantastically useful and life changing items could then become freely available in poorer communities around the world,. Good luck with the competition Nasser, we think you have a really good chance given you already have a prototype unit up and running.
We also discussed some safety issues but it seems the solution is relatively simple.
Ted discussed the work he has just started on a possible alternative to HS2 between Euston and Manchester bearing in mind there are several major politicians asking for the whole HS 2 project to be reviewed as a result of the escalating projected costs.
The project is called “long flow through trains” and essentially involves doubling the length of the intercity Pendolino trains in such a way that they can be divided into three separate trains en route, to stop at 12 different stations on the journey instead of the current four. In addition the features of “flowthrough “ enabled twice the number of trains to depart per hour, conveying in total for times the number of passengers to and from more destinations than ever before.
Ted hopes to have more news on this and his lawn mower modification at the May meeting.
We were able to check the progress of a lady membmer's trade mark application. It was complete, much to her relief!
April 2019
Please note: a date has been set for the AGM to closely follow the clubs financial year end, so please make a note in your diaries for the AGM at the May meeting on Monday, May 20th.
We had a good meeting in March despite the number of members present being compromised by family concerns, illness and other commitments.
Nasser discussed his recent work during his visit to the Yemen including the bio gas generator and bread oven. Nasser also discussed his next moves with respect to getting firm costed quotes
for his beverage holder, on the back of which he can then decide on a marketing strategy.
Bob had a very interesting discussion about the effectiveness of eating 30 gms of Almonds as a preventative to heart disease sighting trials done in the USA and also by Prof Helen
Griffiths at Aston University as mentioned in the Cochran’s review.
Ted gave an update on his garment carrier and has since arranged an appointment with a patent agent at the Manchester Central Library for Tuesday next. The problem is that although there
seems to be nothing like it on the market, would any design protection be of any value, given small changes in appearance could bypass the protection without reducing the practical
benefits?
Ted also presented a new project for lawn care, and is expecting the first lawn trials next week, he also showed a sample of one manifestation of Jackie’s project which seems to work.
Hopefully Jackie will be able to see it at the next meeting.
May I remind members that next years subscriptions are due at your earliest convenience.
Hope to see you all at the April meeting on Monday April the 15th
Ted Coulson
March 2019
Ajay gave us a presentation on the various forms of “Crowd Funding” at lhe February meeting. Thanks Ajay, it was a very interesting talk, and whenever a member has a finished project that could benefit from crowd funding, a quick word with Ajay would be advisable.
The attendance at the January meeting was down for a variety of reasons including ill-health, overseas travel, a car out of order, and one member was unable to secure transport. Nevertheless as you will see, we had a good meeting that finished later than planned. We had the pleasure of welcoming a returning member Jackie. and outlining our various projects and suggesting action dates in the way of New Year resolutions.
Ajay discussed his four projects,
(1) a vehicle App, (2) an exercise device, (3) items to help eczema sufferers, (4) advice to give greater protection to cyclists.
Ajay has decided to concentrate on 3 & 4 starting by obtaining /
making samples and possibly doing first stage testing by the February meeting.
Our new member Jackie already has patented one of her ideas although it
has now expired, but we were most impressed not only by the idea itself but also the patent application and supporting business plan that she had done for her at the time.
Jackie is currently working on a most interesting and novel idea for a
disposable item to be used within the home. The next stage is to establish the right materials and method of manufacture and we hope that she will be able to make progress with this most promising
project. The general feeling was that if it can be produced at the right price Jackie is onto a certain winner.
Les has no new projects but has been extremely busy with his ambulance
service work which we are always interested to hear about.
Bob is hoping to have more free time after June and has several ideas
in the pipeline so we look forward to hearing more from Bob in the near future.
Ted plans to redesign his outdoor garment project by the March meeting,
and if the revised prototype looks promising, consider covering it with a design right, and then try to license it to manufacturers of outdoor clothing, many of whom are based in the north of
England.
Ted’s second project for later on in the year, is a spin-off from the
previous Bandalero project and comprises a small inexpensive machine to fold leaflets at high speed, in a novel way. Whilst there are many leaflet folders on the market they all use the current same
method and it is hoped that by using this new in-line fast and inexpensive method there will be a small (niche) place in the market. Report by Ted Coulson.
Member David Cole tells us that his environmental control valve for prevention of flood contamination is available, for more information see:
https://www.penstocksolutions.co.uk/products-and-services/flow-isolation/toggleblok/
At the July meeting, Nasser gave us an update on his current thoughts for future projects. One involves an App, a second concerns/involves a book or booklet, and three new domestic ideas - Nasser is going to be very busy. Merlyn Farwell told us about his glass working lehr, see News.
Bob has a very interesting project for an aspect of safety within the home which is something we are all concerned about. we look forward to further developments on this.
Ted gave a brief summary of a recent conference he attended in Leeds on “Green Gases”. This covered the direction of current thinking on the future of our energy supply and what to do with excess wind powered electricity. It is also proposed to make use of up to 20% hydrogen in our standard gas supply. The 2026 project to make the city of Leeds 100% hydrogen, and decarbonisation of flue gasses from major sources. most of it at tax payers expense of course. You may have seen in the news, the British government are contributing along with Germany, Japan and some others to a project in Norway aiming to make the first Carbon Capture and Storage facility from which data should be obtained with a view to developing the technology commercially.
My personal view is that if you have the available clean energy (hydro or wind etc) it would have been better to get your process heat directly from that as electricity or hydrogen - storage permitting - rather than burning fossil fuels and then trying to recover the carbon and Nox gasses, but then, that is just an opinion.
Ted also gave an update on his CHP project. Hopefully by the next meeting, The University of Chester will have provided some definitive output calculations that will confirm the viability of the project!
March 2018: We were pleased to welcome back our Chairman Nasser, who has been away in the Yemen for three months doing good works, taking and distributing much-needed pharmaceutical products to the needy and creating a new project in building economic homes for those whose homes have been damaged by the bombing. We hope Nasser will be able to share some photographs with us of the construction of these very cleverly designed homes.
Les gave us an update on his brakepipe project with special reference to collectors cars that seems very exciting and well advanced.
Ajay, our
vice-chairman gave an update on his three projects which include an exercise device, special socks for sufferers of eczema and a new project concerning the transport of cars by drivers between garage
and customers and garage and garage. So Ajay will be a very busy man from now on.
Bert spoke briefly about his current project and also brought to the meeting some small books he had found containing many great ideas of simple devices to help people achieve different jobs in and
around the home.
Terry gave an update on his very clever garden accessory which is in the hands of a manufacturer and we eagerly await to hear of further progress as the current gardening season is fast
approaching.
Ted gave an update on his CHP project which has progressed slowly during the winter months as much of the work had to be done outside. However there has been significant progress recently which will
be an interesting update for the next meeting.
This month we note the passing of Trevor Bayliss the inventor of the clockwork radio. This proved to be a good invention for people living in remote areas where access to batteries or the purchase of
same was difficult. It was perhaps less successful in the civilised world where it was sold as something of a gimmick. No matter what your views, Trevor Bayliss demonstrated that with the right
project and the right timing and the right media coverage, inventors can succeed in a difficult market place and in that regard was an inspiration to us all.
I see March is membership renewal month so please come armed with money or cheque-books or similar. We look forward to seeing you for another lively meeting on Monday the 19th of
March. Ted Coulson (New Scribe)
February: I have some bad news but also some very good news. According to my records this is the 190th Newsletter/flash I have written. At 9 or 10 per annum that represents 20 years – no wonder I feel I need a change. At the last meeting I mentioned that old age was taking its toll on me and I didn’t know how long I could carry on writing them. Lo and behold Ted Coulson agreed Newsletters were important and given a reasonable handover period agreed to take it over from me. What a relief and now there’s no way I shall reach the 200th edition!
Other news: Croydon RTI member Sumi Wang who developed the “eFOLDi” scooter with which we were duly impressed not only won “Invention of the Year 2016” but in order to advance production and marketing they used crowd funding. So popular has that been they have exceeded their target by a huge margin! Our congratulations to all concerned. For a refresher on this wonderful, compact scooter, look at www.efoldi.com
Dear old NESTA have come up with an interesting one having announced that they are partnering five cities to develop how drone technology could address local needs operating in a complex city environment! West Midlands is one of the so called ‘cities’ involved in the ‘Flying High Challenge’. For more information or to get involved go to: flyinghighchallenge.org.
Not all progress is immediately obvious, but from DPAonthenet I found that NASA is about to test a manned all electric plane called the X-57 Maxwell. My rather obvious oversight was that this will not be a jet plane but reverting to propellers! The motor/propeller units are currently undergoing extreme testing with promising results!
A few other topics that caught my eye were: a novel form of 3D vision in a praying mantis, the only insect known to have a 3D vision facility, a soft wood treatment that raises its strength up to the level of steel and a very topical item with the present controversy over the suits worn by our Winter Olympic skeleton team but the Americans are hoping to improve the performance of planes and ships by poaching ideas from shark skins! Did we get there first? Those were all in just the most recent edition which we received.
January: The Christmas Party at the Sack of Potatoes was a greatsuccess as usual in the festive sense and also with members chatting inventively! The latter will probably be continued at our next normal meeting on January 15th.
I am hoping to organize a spring visit jointly with the Midland Branch of the Newcomen Society. It will comprise a return trip to Castings Ltd in Brownhills after an 11 year gap. They export most of their production of machined (spheroidal graphite) cast iron components. To me the whole factory and machine shop was spectacular. As they have continued to invest heavily in new equipment it has made them a real showpiece of British manufacturing.
Keith Nurcombe has confirmed that his application for the Shell Springboard Award has been accepted. I have read his (long) application form and a very good case he has made so I will be surprised if he does not get quite a long way through the preliminary rounds. Here’s hoping for him. I am sure he will come and tell us all about his experiences.
Tom Elliott – our member and not the one who gave the November lecture to the Midland Branch of The Newcomen Society – has had a nasty accident to his legs which has made him even less able to get out - but many thanks to Tony Ryder for providing help with his hospital visits.
December: Tom has made a slight change from his normal inventing but it is still highly innovative. He lives in Erdington and like most town centres the footfall is dropping in the Central Square. He came up with an idea to attract young people and young children with parents into the area. How? He suggested installing a “rocket” (see below) as an eyecatcher and inside he would install his small Star Viewing Dome – a planetarium which he has made. The local community like the idea, it seems they are giving it their backing and of course, he has lots of ideas of what else could happen to keep people around once they have been inside. I wish he were able to come on Monday, fill in the rest of the picture and answer all your questions. Either way we wish him well!
Previous Newsletters:
In September I mentioned but with my usual cynicism, that NESTA were offering a big prize for innovation. Thanks to new member Frank Phillips I now have more details for you and I must say it sounds much more convincing. For fuller details please go to this website
http://www.bqlive.co.uk/national/2017/08/29/news/inventor-prize-opens-for-entries-27221/ where you will find the aim is:
“Unlike other programmes, the Inventor Prize will be athematic*, open to products that relate to any issue as long as that product helps to make people’s lives better, thereby helping to tackle a social issue affecting the UK.
To be eligible, entrants will have to have a working model and be able to show that their invention will help to tackle an important societal issue.”
*Not based on a theme - whatever that means.
There are multiple prizes so have a look; it sounds worth giving it a punt!
I also have a rather sad piece of news to pass on to you. Tom Elliott that energetic and inventive member – Snooka, a wide variety of games, the cling film dispenser, etc, etc. - is seriously under the weather and has been told take things easy. It sounds as though that will involve giving up his activities both on the creative front with BI and at the Erdington Art Centre.
Whilst that will be a sad loss for us it is really devastating for Tom who has .always been such an active chap. I hope to be able to tell you more on Monday.
Finding a pertinent subject to raise in the newsletter can often be a bit of a problem, but this time it caught me right between the eyes. I have just come back from a hot week in sunny Spain. There I saw vast numbers of the simple and inexpensive but very effective idea developed by two early members of BI.
The Keogh brothers travelled from Coventry. I cannot remember their Christian names so I checked the database but they must have resigned before I took it on - about 1994 – by then BI had been going 10 years. They it was who introduced me to that wonderful material Reflexite, which with former member Rick Harries we used as the warning reflector material on our flat Tow Ropes and which material I recently demonstrated at a BI meeting.
This material has the amazing property of a high reflectivity at any angle from ‘head on’ or normal (90°) down to about 18°! They designed and produced a simple triangular bracket to bolt directly onto the existing hole spacings in standard Armco barriers so that those on the nearside of a road reflected in red whilst those on the offside reflected in white; simple, cheap and a fantastic help in bad conditions!
To add to this option they also arranged with Marshalls - probably the largest manufacturer of concrete kerbstones - for kerbs to be produced with built-in reflectors, their literatue showing the benefit when approaching a bend at dusk or later. Full marks to the brothers as they even developed a rather laborious DIY approach to retrofitting round reflectors in an existing kerbstone by diamond drilling!
The idea was patented but this did not cover the whole of Europe. The ultra conservative councils claimed that the cost put paid to the idea of their replacing existing kerbstones whilst the take up for new installation was disappointingly low so that sadly this product item was removed from Marshalls list.
The one European country not covered by the patent was Spain and this country took to them like a duck to water, installing reflectors almost universally on Armco which is where I became reacquainted with them whilst driving last week.
Seeing them in use over 25 years later makes it a very sad ending to a highly worthwhile project, but re-emphasizes what an uphill task we will always have.
I know I’m sceptical but: NESTA is promoting a £50,000 Inventor Prize
Have you ever had an idea for a product that could make people’s lives better? Have you ever used your DIY skills to create something at home to help with an everyday task? Whether you're an inventor, entrepreneur, shed-tinkerer, DIYer or life-hacker, we want to hear from you!
Working in partnership with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), we’re launching the Inventor Prize, to inspire and harness the potential of the UK’s home-grown inventors and stimulate user-led innovation.
Ask if you need any contact information.
Haven’t been for a while? Don’t forget to use the excellent under cover parking in the Science Park at their very modest twilight rate of £2! The entrance is off the RHS of Love Lane which runs down the LHS of Faraday Wharf where we meet.
We are always open for suggestions of visits that we might make or for talks from people who haven’t spoken to us for some time and from whom you would like a refresher talk. I have thus included a summary of those who have done so to help to jog your memory.
This has involved a large amount of research. Why? Well, we all remember Business Link but when Advantage West Midlands - its backer - disappeared so did it. The energetic Simon Brown had a wonderful scheme to help inventors which went under the title of The Inventor Forum. We thought it really ‘cut the mustard’, but alas domestic necessity and excessive pressure from his wife halted it. The Advantage Proof of Concept Grant Fund was, like me, well past its sell by, so now it is no more! Those items not confirmed as currently functioning are in italics with the suffix TBC.
For short while I stopped getting my regular copy of dpaonthenet.net. Fortunately it has started again and I still find my mouth dropping open at the sheer diversity of topics involved and the potential benefits therefrom. However it must have a new editor and we have lost that personal touch without the picture of Les Hunt at the top of the page, but then I have always preferred continuity. It is still stimulating stuff and I always have to have a quick look to see what they have come up with. Don't just take it from me go and have a look for yourself.
I appear to have had to 14 emails from an NESTA since the last newsletter – that’s only 1 a week but it seems far more. Having reached that stage in life I was delighted to read that they are putting effort and money into helping the elderly! Perhaps I have been judging them too harshly. If any of you are interested I will forward these newsletters to you. If you will produce me a precis, I will be even happier!
Croydon Round Table Of Inventors continue to have a very active meeting agenda and I really feel we should be able to learn something from them. Perhaps we should try some cooperative work and see if there is common ground but travelling to London does make it rather less appealing.
We are now a quarter of the way through our new year so your committee will be starting to chase up subscriptions where they have not already been paid. I shall attempt to make it so that the PS to this e-mail tells you whether or not we think you have paid. Mind you, those who come to most of our meetings get more value than their full subscription from ‘Robin’s Refreshments’. However if too many of you attend we shall have to order more so that there is enough to go round!
Yours sincerely, Richard Brosch and Ted Coulson Hon. Scribes.
Past Talks
Ruth Edwards from the School of Jewellery told us about their facilities & how they have helped people, including prototyping for members.
Steve Gaston told us all about Midland Assembly Network - 9 local companies with complementary core skills, teamed up to help produce your innovative product (and create local jobs).
Guy Smallman told us how HDTI (Health Design & Technology Institute) supports design, development and testing of suitable new ‘healthcare products’. HDTI has already helped a few BI members.
Mike Abbott the enthusiastic new boss of Inventorlink told us about the re-launch of ‘theinventionstore’; one stop to provide most of the support you need for your invention! TBC
Alan Ward & Stefan Knox of Bang Creations told us of “mistakes made & lessons learnt from a career, taking product ideas ‘from Concept to Customer’” - consumer products expertise (plastics/electronics mix), and especially games/toys - plus an engineering team in China!
Steve Reece of www.RichInventor.com turns great ideas into products on the shelf, but specializing in our weakness - marketing! TBC
Humph Hack told us how ’getitmade' helped innovators to use social networking to get a commitment to purchase some of the intended product, to help fund the manufacturing.
CE Marking & product compliance are essential to sell in the EU. Former member Al Powell told us how to comply with the legislation & regulations, focusing on Electronics & the General Product Safety Directive.
The Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) - Government reorganisation enhanced it and Roy Pulley who has helped several members, came and told what they now can and cannot do for us.
Tom Marshall Andrews talked about Innvolve Ltd. This successful businessman intends Innvolve Ltd to help empower the inventor down the long and arduous path to commercial success. TBC
Hugo Russell told us how the Innovation Engine at BSP-A is up and running, and how it can benefit members by supporting innovation in numerous ways.
The Innovation Workshops at BSP-A look for solutions to SME’s problems! A great mind stretcher.
John Badger updated us on recent changes in Patent Law and Intellectual Property but that was too recent to need a further update for the time being.
During the evening at our February meeting Tom Elliott demonstrated his latest intriguing game. It could well provide a fascinating alternative to playing SODUKO which I gather has become a very time consuming passion. Now the draft rules, etc, have gone off to the editor and are due to be published in the April edition of the ‘Erdington Magazine’. If you are in that area and can get hold of a copy, do please give it a try. Tom is looking for feedback both on playing it and to help refine the wording of the instructions to ensure they are clear, easily understood and without any ambiguity. We hope to hear more about the ‘follow up’ at our May meeting.
Since our last newsletter, I circularized details of a trip arranged by Ted Coulson to visit the factory in Barr Street where they still make those famous Hudson whistles. Following my circulars the spare capacity on the visit was rapidly snapped up, but do not despair as there is yet another outing opportunity on the horizon.
On 03JUN2017 there was a two part visit. The one half is to see David Hulse's amazing collection of model beam engines located at Stone on the way up to the Potteries where the other half takes place at the Etruria Flint Mill which was in steam!
On May 24th 2017 in conjunction with the Newcomen Society members enjoyed a fascinating visit to Orford Ness to look at the legacy of the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment. Standing next to a WR177A atomic bomb (empty) was a sobering experience! At a little over ten feet long and about eighteen inches in diameter the destructive power seems hardly credible. The laboratories used for testing components of the bomb were also very impressive. The story of the Ness being used for testing of radar and bomb trials in the two world wars was quite nostalgic. The Vinten high speed camera used for balistics studies was also interesting, the camera shot a whole reel of film in seconds.
Richard Brosch Hon Scribe
John Beswick Secretary and Treasurer
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