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 Tom Gwiazda
#940
Everytime I buy a ice cold soda and take it with me in the car, it usually becomes warm in a mile or so. I have a idea for a can/bottle cooler for the car. You can use the lighter for a power cord and have a special can cooler insert fit inside the cup holder next to your seat. It would have a inside surface that would surround the can or bottle to keep it cool all the time. You could easily unplug it and use it for your boat or truck or what ever you use to travel with.

Reward: Free product
By duh
#1031
Where do you live!!! ..Hell? Try putting one of those foam insulated wraps around the can it should take you the "extra mile".
By headwerkn
#3219
The new SAAB 9-3 Sports Sedans have a chill-able glove box, which using the car's own air conditioner cools down to about 8 degrees celcius. They start at around AU$55,000...

A cheaper option would be to get a AU$50 12V Coolbox... they use a Peltier element for the cooling effect, rather than freon gas systems a la your fridge. To adapt one to say, your glove box or a solid cup holder, just line the area with some thin alloy sheeting, stick on the Peltier element and feed it 12 volts.
By FirstBorn
#3450
The following Link Tells a little bit about the Inventor, of which, was one of my Professors / Instructors when I attended DeVry in NJ...

http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/nov/11spec.htm

It [his cooling device invention] uses a little microchip that, if the current is running in one direction, the surface freezed before your eyes. If the current is traveling in the opposite direction, the surface takes the frozen surface moisture and heats it... it will steam and freeze right before your eyes, almost instantly!!! It's really cool...

:)

FirstBorn
User avatar
By Michael D. Grissom
#3468
Can anyone explain this Peltier Device 20 years before it was invented?
Attachments
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By FirstBorn
#3470
Thanks for that Diagram! I'd Sure Love to get my hands on the electronic schematic so that I could recreate this circuit... ;-D
User avatar
By Michael D. Grissom
#3472
If you know or can get your professor's email address, please forward the above illustration to him. He above all has a good chance of figuring out who invented this and why it was kept secret for so many years.

BTW -- I spent 5 years at Ohio State University (where your professor taught at the time) as Industrial Engineering major. My brother graduated with masters in Electrical Engineering at the same time - may have known your professor. Also, my first degree was from DeVry. Small world!
By FirstBorn
#3473
It was a great experience having Dr. Sundhar as an Instructor. I have some of his documentation from some of his inventions using the 'Peltier' chip... one is called 'Comfy Temp' and another is called 'Sunny Cool' ... I have to go dig up the information.

I tried contacting him a few years ago, after I moved to FL., but he's difficult to find. I think that article said that he was currently in India.

I guess I'll just have to see if google has anything on it... :-?
User avatar
By Michael D. Grissom
#4236
Did you ever locate Dr. Sundhar? I'm still very interested in how he managed to patent something that was done before 1946. Either the patent office made a major mistake OR when the Peltier device was actually invented it was a top military secret. If it was a military secret at the time, I'd definitely be interested in tracking down exactly what that secret was and who actually invented it because that was actually the first 'transistor' at least 10 years before Battelle invented and patented it. I LOVE STUFF LIKE THIS! Did the real inventor of the transistor not get credit for it because it had too much military value? Did Battelle actually invent the transistor or just copy the original 1946 invention that couldn't be patented for military reasons? hmmmmmm..... maybe all those billions in royalties should have gone (and still could) to some independent garage inventor? It's stuff like this that keeps me awake all night! :~(
By FirstBorn
#4329
Hi Michael,

"Did you ever locate Dr. Sundhar?"

Nope. Haven't been able to.

"I'm still very interested in how he managed to patent something that was done before 1946."

I honestly don't know Exactly what the Patent was for. Probably How the Device is used, would be My guess... :)

"It's stuff like this that keeps me awake all night!"

I Understand where you're coming from on this, but You can't stress yourself out too much... There's Too Much to be accomplished in Only 1 Lifetime... :)

This Guy had a few other 'Whacky' Inventions for which He talked about... One of which, that I remember, was an electronic device that (he claimed) had the ability to tell when a woman was ovulating (or something to that affect...) He said that He couldn't get that out onto the market because He needed FDA Approval, of which would have cost Him Millions... this was about 8 years ago, and I haven't seen Him in about that long of time...

He really was an interesting, cool character... I enjoyed having the opportunity to have Him as an instructor and to have been able to have been his Faculty Assistant at DeVry... :)

I apologize I don't have the answers you're lookin' for... :*(

Thanks...

:)

FirstBorn
By Rishi
#4394
Seebeck Effect is dated 1820 AD. Peltier Effect, which is the inverse of Seebeck is dated 1834 AD. There is nothing to patent in the effect, which relates to themoelectric properties of junctions of dissimilar conductors, be they metals, alloys, or semiconductors The efficiency is much more with semiconductors. But any specific device based on the effect can be patented if novel.

Rishi
By Rishi
#4401
Dear Michael D. Grissom

The world is not just small, it is microscopic. I work for a business conglomorate one constituent of which is an Indian major in cookers, cookware, and kitchen appliances. It seems that less than a month back Dr. Shamm P. Sundar came to them for discussions on the feasibility of their manufacturing and marketing his inventions.

Th URL of his site is: http://www.technopragati.com

You can get a flavour of Dr.Sundar's range of interests here as well as all his contact info.

His email id is: shamm@technopragati.com

For the sake of completion the URL of this site has been mailed to him.

Regards,
Rishi
By jincubus
#6602
I am going to move this post elsewhere but i want my name to appear as the last posted for all of the sub forums on this site. I want to create a pop can that cools the can down when you open it. This may not be too practical as a refrigerator can do this in 6 minutes or so and a freezer can cool a can of pop in like 3. But here it is anyway. A can of pop would have another layer of aluminum on the outside of the can. the area between the 2 layers would contain a chemical refrigerant such as a hydro-flourocarbon or something like that. These chemicals, when put under pressure and released quickly are very endothermic and would cool the can down as you open it. I don't know if these chemicals are harmful to your body if they were ingested but that would make this a bad idea unless it could be contained.
By sneezyalex
#7435
Get one of those cooler/ refrigeraters. They plug right in! ;-D
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