Yesterday's news and re-inventions that have been submitted to the Creativity Pool. See what they look like and where to get them.
By cwaye
#5336
I live in Florida and am a mom to a 9 month old baby. It gets VERY hot here and I hate putting my baby in her sweltering carseat. I would love it if there were some type of attachment that would allow for the air conditioning to circulate through the seat and cool it off faster. This product would also be beneficial in northern areas during the winter. The product could help warm up the seat for babies who are chilly.

Reward: a free seat
User avatar
By Steve
#5351
Heated seats do exist for the more expensive cars - I would be surprised if the same thing doesn't exist with air conditioning, too. :-?
By treadair
#5353
Living in Florida, I'm also familiar with this carseat issue. There's another, more serious problem that comes up here several times a year - someone leaving their child in the seat while they go run an errand. With the windows closed the inside of the car rapidly heats up and the child dies. It would be nice if carseats came with a weight sensor, temperature gauge and alarm, all connected so that if the temperature rose above a certain point and the carseat detected a child in it then the alarm would sound. (It would be nice if this came with an optional attachment that would hook onto the inside of a window - the idea being that if the alarm sounded for more than a few minutes it would blow a hole in the window.)
By MissPlayful
#5360
Steve - Cwaye’s idea now has a "This idea has already been realised" on the bottom of it, but I don’t think you have presented sufficient evidence to support that contention. Firstly, her main concern is with cooling the seat and you haven't shown that has been realised, and secondly you haven't shown that heated seats exist for average cars. Unless it exists for average cars it’s no use at all for average car owners.

Treadair - we have that problem in Australia too. Humans can forget even fundamental things for a while or lose track of time eg when stressed or preoccupied. There are probably many parents who would be prepared to purchase such a fail-safe system. Some kind of sensor that senses when babies or very young children are in a seat or simply in the car somewhere, and if the temperature exceeds a certain figure, as you suggest it blows out (dramatic and probably suits the occasion) or opens (less expensive option particularly if it’s a false alarm) windows and sounds an alarm.
User avatar
By Steve
#5377
Hm... the problem is always the part "for average owners". ;-) The seat heating does exist, and the fact that it's only in luxury cars simply means that the technology is expensive. It seems that's just the way it is. Air conditioning and electric windows went the same way and started out as minority programs, before they went mainstream.

As for the cooling, I honestly had no clue, but my instincts told me and I hoped that Mike, Rishi or someone else would step in to confirm it. O:-) Oh well, if you google for car sear cooling you find just that: http://www.amerigon.com/products.php :-D
By MissPlayful
#5378
Steve you were right - your instinct has proved correct. Could be a new career for you - big dollars - replacing the traditional and time consuming patent searches!

Here’s a quote from the website in question:

“Most people spend more time sitting in their cars than they do in their favorite armchair. That's why interior design and passenger comfort features have become primary differentiators on the showroom floor. Amerigon's feature product is the Climate Control Seat™ (CCS™) technology that is the first to offer both cooling relief from extreme heat in addition to fast heating comfort in severe cold.”
User avatar
By Steve
#5415
I discussed this with a friend and he said that cooling your back is generally a bad idea (most doctors would be shocked!). I do believe he has a point there. :-? So I guess the "cool" seat is only for really extreme heat, and it probably means "not as hot" rather than "chilled."
By MissPlayful
#5418
One cheap partial solution would be to put a quilt or similar cover over the child’s seat when the car is not in use in hot weather. That will prevent direct sunlight heating the seat. And there are other situations where you could use it to keep the seat cooler or warmer than it otherwise would be. Maybe someone could invent and sell an insulated car seat cover if they haven’t done so already. Would be good for adult car seats too.
By xanado
#8210
I'm starting tro sound like a repeating machine: "all Mid and Top of the range Mercedes (i.e. E-Class and S-Class) have Heated, cooled and Massaging Seats- YES! MASSAGING! just like your LA-Z-BOY!
By inventorist
#9637
Its already been done in possibly the cheapest possible car.

http://www.goingreen.co.uk/
Sell an all electric car called a G-Wiz or Reva. Being electric there is little power left over for heating and cooling so they came up with putting the climate control in the seat. The big advantage is that the heating and cooling takes little energy and as a side product is almost instant.

Not only can you have what you want but you could be doing the environment ( and so your children) a favour too.

On a more practical note you might want to consider a solar car fan.
http://www.brandsonsale.com/solar-car-fan.html
these us small solar cells to drive a fan. This stops the car from acting like a solar panel or green house and getting dreadfully hot.

To make this car seat work.
Perhaps the cooling mechanism from one of those dorm/car coolers attached to a 12 volt solar cell would actively cool the seat. The Solar cell might fill the window but that's good as it acts as a sun shade too. Notice you would still need the solar car fan to keep the car at at least ambient temperature. Alternatively ( depending on temperature required ) a lower tech solution would be a bottle with water and a suitable wick ( cloth). The evaporation of water would help cool the seat (while the water lasts).
By techRobo
#22037
Great news update!! I am wondering how you guys manage to find such kind of information so early. Certainly helpful for me and other readers also as I am finding so many good comments here.
By ishmul
#22171
You've heard of "Hot Pads" for protecting your hands from hot pots and dishes, haven't you?
Well, what you need are some " Hot Pants".
OFFSHORE
Finger Wheel Fidget Toy

A three inch wheel with rubber grip on the outside[…]

Makeover of backyard

Nothing to share but I definitely want to see the […]

Sticking Games

No fantasy but real sports. Professional level foo[…]

This must be very useful information. Thank you ve[…]