8-Year-Old Receives Patent

Knile writes "While not the youngest patent recipient ever (that would be a four year old in Texas), Bryce Gunderman has received a patent at age 8 for a space-saver that combines an outlet cover plate with a shelf. From the article: '"I thought how I was going to make a lot of money," Bryce said about what raced through his brain when he received the patent.'"

Re:wtf

[Jaysyn]

Yup, I've seen them & variants for sale online for a while now.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_hi?_encoding=UTF8&node=228013&field-brandtextbin=Power%20Shelf [amazon.com]

http://www.amazon.com/PLUG-SHELF-BLACKBERRY-ORGANIZER-PORTABLE/dp/B002A91X4Q/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1291132840&sr=8-16 [amazon.com]

http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Charger-Valet-Phone-Camera/dp/B003OFB5PC/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1291132927&sr=8-22 [amazon.com]

Re:wtf

[Palidase]

He isn't the youngest patent recipient. The youngest was a 4 year old who created a device for grasping round knobs on doors and cabinets, intended for peopel with physical disabilities.

Re:Considering how long it takes to get a patent..

[Unkyjar]

He was 6 when the patent applied for. I guess it also helps that his father is a lawyer that founded a law firm actually named Patent Technologies LLC.

Re:wtf

[Anonymous Coward]

On Power Shelf's site they have a video stating she thought of it in April 2008. They apparently filed for patents at some point, but in the article referenced the boy invented it in 2007, and assumedly filed a patent quickly (dad is attorney).

So it may not be prior - IANAL but I assume whoever files first is the winner

Dangerous

[samjam]

I saw one of these demo'd a while back on Dragons Den as the "inventor" tried to get funding.

The dragon nearly showed that while it looks like a shelf, it's really a lever for exposing high voltage electrical wiring.

So we appreciate the idea behind it, but it's so obviously got dangerous and potentially operational modes that can occur in normal (not intended) use.

Better to tie your phone to a piece of string and tie the string to the charger - then if anyone yanks or kicks it, it'll just pull the charger out. I realise that this won't work on flimsy US sockets, I also realise that a half-out plug can be a fire risk as well as cause damage to the connectors that can make it a permanent fire risk, so it's still a bad idea - even making a shelf out of the charger is a bad idea