Children inventors and their patents

When it comes to inventors, one involuntarily thinks of characters like Dr. Brown from the Back to the Future trilogy. If we talk about real people, then Thomas Edison, Vladimir Zvorykin or Nikola Tesla come to mind. That is, experienced innovators.

However, some inventors delighted the world with their bright ideas even in their youth and adolescence. And the list of such talents and their inventions is quite impressive. In this material we will talk about five child inventors, their ideas and, of course, patents.

Samuel Houghton: sweeper device

Samuel Houghton, aged only five years, received patent to the sweeper. The idea came about while the then three-year-old was watching his father sweep the backyard using two brooms (one for clearing large leaves and the other for collecting small debris). Then Samuel held the two brooms together with an elastic band, which brought instant success.

The inventor's father was a patent attorney and decided to register the intellectual property in case his son ever decided to continue developing and bringing his product to market in the future. On October 14, 2006, a patent application was submitted to the UK Patent Office (UKIPO), naming Sam as the sole inventor, and in 2008, the five-year-old was granted a patent. A UKIPO spokesman said: “We have never encountered a person so young.”

Robert Patch: Toy Truck

A similar story happened to six-year-old Robert Patch, the youngest patent holder in US history. His father was also a patent attorney and saw promise in the toy truck his son designed. Invention, patented in 1963, could be easily disassembled and reassembled by almost any child – the toy was divided into a chassis, driver's cab, truck body, wheels and four axles and resembled various types of vehicles. “At the time I had to sign the patent application, I couldn’t write my name, so I put an X,” the adult Mr. Patch recalled in a 2013 interview.

Anastasia Rodimina: a new method of monotype

Our country also has young and bright minds: ten-year-old Moscow resident Anastasia Rodimina received patent to a new method of printed graphics in 2012. The young inventor was taught to work with monotype, which combines printed graphics and painting, by her grandfather, who helped with the registration of the application to Rospatent, becoming a co-author.

Anastasia discovered the method of making a fractal “Energy Information Monotype” by accident, having forgotten a monotype with a piece of paper overlaid on the windowsill. After a few days, the colors faded, but those under the sheet of paper remained bright, with a clear outline trace. The girl’s invention attracted the attention of doctors working with nervous diseases – they suggested using the technique as one of the methods of art therapy.

Vladislav Koren: toy highway

Before Anastasia Rodimina, the youngest holder of a patent for an invention was Vladislav Koren from Angarsk, who received a document of protection at the age of 11. Boy patented toy highway. However, adults are also listed as co-authors: Marina Shpakovskaya and Mikhail Zhavrin. The latter, apparently, helped Vladislav obtain a patent.

George Nissen: trampoline

And finally, the story of a young inventor, whose creation we somehow saw (and even used).

When 16-year-old George Nissen from Iowa visited the circus in 1930, he watched aerialists fall from their ropes onto a safety net below. George thought the show would be more exciting if the jumping continued, so he began working in his parents' garage on the first trampoline.

It took several years and failed prototypes, but Nissen succeeded. His invention, which he called the “tumbling device”, was patented March 6, 1945. George later registered the word “Trampoline” as a trademark, which originated from el trampolina Spanish word meaning “diving board”.

Subsequently, the inventor made a good career. He received 44 patents, many of which related to his acrobatics device, and even helped create a new gymnastics sport, trampolining, which combined acrobatics and jumping. He witnessed the moment when trampolining became an Olympic sport and was able to test the trampoline at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

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