03/02/2023
Necessity is the Mother of Invention
“Ahhhh! Not again!!” cried my wife as her pocketbook disgorged its contents for the umpteenth time onto the passenger seat floor. “Sorry,” I muttered, well aware it was my sudden braking that precipitated the catastrophe. I braced myself for the inevitable tongue-lashing concerning my poor driving skills. What I heard next surprised me. “Why can’t you design something to keep my purse from falling over?” she asked. “What do have in mind?” I replied. “I don’t know. You are an engineer. Figure something out!” she exclaimed in exasperation.
Hmmm. Figure something out. Brilliant! I thought. It wouldn’t be the first time that I solved a problem using non-conventional means. Later I got to thinking about what led to the upended pocketbook. First, her purse is always overstuffed and can barely close. My suggestions that she carry less and keep it zipped up is always met with laughter. Second, there is no good place to put the purse in a sedan or small SUV. Putting it anywhere in the second row makes it non-accessible, especially if driving. The console holds our drinks and provides elbow room, so that’s out. The passenger floor is good because the purse is accessible, but without something other than her legs keeping it in place, a spill is inevitable. Third, she wanted to be able to keep the pocketbook close by while buckled into the passenger seatbelt. Hmmm.
😁
Any worthwhile ‘Rube Goldberg’ design will begin with workbench drawer-diving looking for inspiration. In my case, I was rewarded with a cargo tie-down hook, a heavy duty-nylon strap, a male seatbelt buckle, and AN IDEA. These items were part of other products but that was quickly resolved with a sharp knife and a screwdriver. Now I had the basic components for my idea. I grabbed a couple of paper binder clips and got to work. Once I figured out the concept, it was time to ditch the binder clips and build the final device, but how to permanently attach the strap?? I didn’t have a sewing machine or a sewing kit. I resorted to drawer-diving again and came up with a rivet. Thus, my prototype was constructed. My wife could plug the strap into the passenger seatbelt buckle when she was driving solo or loop it around the seatbelt buckle housing when occupying the passenger seat. Problem solved and the wife loved it!
