Need help with a prototype

[Josh Owen]

I want to design a charging unit for IPhones. I have made a prototype but it’s not how I want it to be. I want the two separate retractable mechanisms to be connected to one usb output which will stay stationary. The problem I have at the moment is both wires have to be pulled at the same time for it to work effectively. I believe it would be similar to a retractable extension lead but I have no idea what I’m doing!

 

[Andy78]

I'm not really sure what the aim is with this. What problems does this seek to solve over a standard iphone charger ?

 

[Josh Owen]

I'm not really sure what the aim is with this. What problems does this seek to solve over a standard iphone charger ?

That’s irrelevant to you really all I need to know is how to do it

 

[Andy78]

That’s irrelevant to you really all I need to know is how to do it

Like I said, I am unsure what you are asking or how it is envisaged to work.

 

[Rocboni]

Will I get the intellectual property rights if I design it.....

 

[Josh Owen]

Like I said, I am unsure what you are asking or how it is envisaged to work.

Two separate retractable mechanisms. Each with individual chargers. Both connected to one usb output which will stay stationary.

 

[westward10]

Nor me is it some kind of pull out extension cord.

 

[Octopus]

I'm not really sure what the aim is with this. What problems does this seek to solve over a standard iphone charger ?

Unless it provides a far far more reliable and robust connection between the lightning connector and the cable you are wasting your time.

I've lost count of how many lightning cables my family have "consumed"

 

[Josh Owen]

Nor me is it some kind of pull out extension cord.

Basically yes

 

[Dannyg8810]

I'm sure you can buy what your trying to achieve

 

[Josh Owen]

I'm sure you can buy what your trying to achieve

You can’t hence why I’m making it

 

[Dannyg8810]

You can’t hence why I’m making it

How is this different to other chargers? Is it just a lead that pulls out ?

 

[Josh Owen]

How is this different to other chargers? Is it just a lead that pulls out ?

No annoying cables as it’s retractable. It’s a unit so it is permanently stationary. Aimed more at bars and other waiting areas

 

[Dannyg8810]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dual-retractable-charger-for-iphone-android-innovation#/

Like this?

 

[Josh Owen]

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dual-retractable-charger-for-iphone-android-innovation#/

Like this?

Precisely like that but I just spoke to him on the phone and he has no more money to fund the business as he’s a taxi driver from Mexico. I could also make huge improvements on what he designed

 

[Rocboni]

I could also make huge improvements on what he designed

Yet you need forum help

 

[Josh Owen]

Yet you need forum help

I have 0 experiences with electrics that’s why I’ve come to those who do but all it seems they want to do is pick holes in the idea and question me. All I want to know is how to make what he made

 

[Andy78]

Precisely like that but I just spoke to him on the phone and he has no more money to fund the business as he’s a taxi driver from Mexico. I could also make huge improvements on what he designed

Missed a trick there. Should have asked him where he got his retractable mechanisms from.
You can buy retractable iPhone cables for a few quid on ebay. Maybe start there.

 

[Josh Owen]

Missed a trick there. Should have asked him where he got his retractable mechanisms from.
You can buy retractable iPhone cables for a few quid on ebay. Maybe start there.

I have that’s how I designed my prototype but it doesn’t work correctly because when one cable moves so does the other

 

[Dannyg8810]

if one of us magicians can help will there be shares in your future sales due to the tech help

 

[Josh Owen]

if one of us magicians can help will there be shares in your future sales due to the tech help

Goes without saying

 

[Rocboni]

I'm not being funny but your prototype doesn't look like an improvement, basically you have put two retractable iPhone cables in a box and wired to one USB? I can understand how both move, do you mean they both reel out when one is pulled?

 

[Josh Owen]

I'm not being funny but your prototype doesn't look like an improvement, basically you have put two retractable iPhone cables in a box and wired to one USB? I can understand how both move, do you mean they both reel out when one is pulled?

Obviously it’s not an important as it’s not even close to completion. And yes that’s what I mean

 

[westward10]

Will this getup incorporate the power unit or does it need to be supplied from a usb outlet.

 

[Josh Owen]

Will this getup incorporate the power unit or does it need to be supplied from a usb outlet.

The usb outlet from my unit will then connect to a plug socket that’s how the power is sourced

 

[Dannyg8810]

https://chargetech.com/product/powe...MI46zn-ofu1gIVjJEbCh1hagpUEAQYASABEgL97vD_BwE

Isn't this one what's been done?

 

[Rocboni]

Then they must be combined if both are spooling out, you simply need two mechanisms,

 

[westward10]

https://chargetech.com/product/powe...MI46zn-ofu1gIVjJEbCh1hagpUEAQYASABEgL97vD_BwE

Isn't this one what's been done?

Problem solved.

 

[Josh Owen]

Problem solved.

Big. Blocky. Ugly. Mine is going to just fit under a table and hardly be noticed. Would you mind just trying to help me solve my problem please?!?

 

[Josh Owen]

Then they must be combined if both are spooling out, you simply need two mechanisms,

I have two mechanisms

 

[snowhead]

Slip ring(s) is what the O.P is looking for.
But I'd say the idea is at least £250,000 away from a decent pre production unit.
Prototype Injection moulding is very expensive.

And by the time it's ready Wireless induction for Phones will be the norm, making it obsolete before it hits the shops.

And the Forum is not just picking holes, it's trying to offer constructive criticism.
Have you seen Dragon's Den, they make mincemeat out of some pretty good but uneconomic ideas.

 

[Octopus]

Big. Blocky. Ugly. Mine is going to just fit under a table and hardly be noticed. Would you mind just trying to help me solve my problem please?!?

Then all you need is a shelf under your table .......... then buy the product thats on the market now

 

[Strima]

So basically you want us to design it for you and you take all the credit???

Have you thought about type approval rating, British and European standards compliance etc?

Did anyone else also receive a private message from the OP about this?

 

[Josh Owen]

Slip ring(s) is what the O.P is looking for.
But I'd say the idea is at least £250,000 away from a decent pre production unit.
Prototype Injection moulding is very expensive.

And by the time it's ready Wireless induction for Phones will be the norm, making it obsolete before it hits the shops.

And the Forum is not just picking holes, it's trying to offer constructive criticism.
Have you seen Dragon's Den, they make mincemeat out of some pretty good but uneconomic ideas.

Yes I have seen dragons den and they are business men and women who have succeeded and are willing to give constructive feedback. Most users on this forum however are not constructive. I’m just a 17 year old entrepreneur who has an idea.

 

[Josh Owen]

So basically you want us to design it for you and you take all the credit???

Have you thought about type approval rating, British and European standards compliance etc?

Did anyone else also receive a private message from the OP about this?

I want help and advice I’m not telling you to make the finished product am I?

 

[snowhead]

I want help and advice

You're getting advice.
You're just not listening.

 

[Josh Owen]

You're getting advice.
You're just not listening.

None of it apart from yours was helpful

 

[Andy78]

Yes I have seen dragons den and they are business men and women who have succeeded and are willing to give constructive feedback. Most users on this forum however are not constructive. I’m just a 17 year old entrepreneur who has an idea.

Not much of an idea of how to act though. You are being very demanding.

Please remember that this is a public forum where all are free to comment and people are giving you their time for free.

 

[Lucien Nunes]

Some of us here have designed a lot of things and experience shows that you have to ask a lot of questions to get a feel for how something should be done, before looking at the mechanics of it. Otherwise it's like answering the question ' How do I make a car?' without finding out whether the asker has in mind a Lamborghini or a Nissan Micra.

To me, the most important thing you revealed was this:

Aimed more at bars and other waiting areas

I have considerable experience of retractable cable mechanisms in commercial use. They get KNACKERED!! Not just in public areas but in upscale offices and conference rooms. The high-end commercial units sell for upwards of £200 each and some last a year before they are pulled to pieces, springs broken, rollers jammed, connectors squashed and fatigue failures in the conductors. I have personally lain on my back in the middle of the night under boardroom tables fixing and changing them.

So, my advice to you, before trying to find a detailed solution, is to define as well as you can, what you want to achieve. How many mating cycles? How many retraction cycles? What maximum pullout force? Ballpark price? Then if you ask for help, communicate all of this in the enquiry, so that people can get a handle on what is needed.

 

[Josh Owen]

Some of us here have designed a lot of things and experience shows that you have to ask a lot of questions to get a feel for how something should be done, before looking at the mechanics of it. Otherwise it's like answering the question ' How do I make a car?' without finding out whether the asker has in mind a Lamborghini or a Nissan Micra.

To me, the most important thing you revealed was this:


I have considerable experience of retractable cable mechanisms in commercial use. They get KNACKERED!! Not just in public areas but in upscale offices and conference rooms. The high-end commercial units sell for upwards of £200 each and some last a year before they are pulled to pieces, springs broken, rollers jammed, connectors squashed and fatigue failures in the conductors. I have personally lain on my back in the middle of the night under boardroom tables fixing and changing them.

So, my advice to you, before trying to find a detailed solution, is to define as well as you can, what you want to achieve. How many mating cycles? How many retraction cycles? What maximum pullout force? Ballpark price? Then if you ask for help, communicate all of this in the enquiry, so that people can get a handle on what is needed.

Thank you for the highly valuable advice. Perhaps you could share some of your knowledge of retractable cables with me as I literally just came up with the idea I don’t know what I’m doing.

 

[Josh Owen]

Not much of an idea of how to act though. You are being very demanding.

Please remember that this is a public forum where all are free to comment and people are giving you their time for free.

I will act with respect when I am treated with respect sir

 

[Lucien Nunes]

1. There are basically two kinds:
a) where one cable runs from one end to the other, e.g. wound in an S-shape starting the middle, so that when one end is pulled out the other must unwind equally, either being captured inside the unit or paying out the other side. (e.g. cheap retractable headphone cord)
b) where the inner end of the retractable cable is connected to slip rings that complete the circuit between the reel and its fixed hub. (e.g. vacuum cleaner cord winder).

Sliprings are electrically impractical for some kinds of cable (e.g. HDMI) but OK for others probably including yours. I suggest searching patents on Espacenet or other online patent database, and studying the drawings and specifications, to get some background on how everybody else is making these mechanisms...

2. Avoid. Retractable cables will gang up with their mates the flip-up socket modules and come round one evening and give you agro. They certainly do this to me.

 

[Josh Owen]

1. There are basically two kinds:
a) where one cable runs from one end to the other, e.g. wound in an S-shape starting the middle, so that when one end is pulled out the other must unwind equally, either being captured inside the unit or paying out the other side. (e.g. cheap retractable headphone cord)
b) where the inner end of the retractable cable is connected to slip rings that complete the circuit between the reel and its fixed hub. (e.g. vacuum cleaner cord winder).

Sliprings are electrically impractical for some kinds of cable (e.g. HDMI) but OK for others probably including yours. I suggest searching patents on Espacenet or other online patent database, and studying the drawings and specifications, to get some background on how everybody else is making these mechanisms...

2. Avoid. Retractable cables will gang up with their mates the flip-up socket modules and come round one evening and give you agro. They certainly do this to me.

Thank you very much. The prototype i made used type A so you have just answered my question perfectly. Do you have a phone number or email I could contact you on if I could use your expertise anymore??

 

[Lucien Nunes]

No, sorry, I'm kinda busy. I don't mind offering a few pointers but actual projects I'm a bit overloaded with. Best of luck though...

 

[The Ghost]

I’m just a 17 year old

Your profile says 19

 

[Darkwood]

@Josh - I applaud your enthusiasm although I will offer my critique on this project, by the time you have a functional off the shelf reliable model on offer you will be hit by the next gen phones which have wireless charging, already we see the newer models with this capability, as they become more popular the old cable chargers will be in decline and probably just at the time you manage to get these on the shelves and you need to recoup the 100'000's you will have spent bringing the design to fruition, like has already be shown, there is already one on the market and i would be looking at the patent(s) they have filed for there model as you may be in breach of it trying to move forward with this project.
Good luck either way.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

The way i see it is if the clever folks at Apple or Google have decided not to make one then clearly they see no market or profit for it, as they can make things at very very low unit prices and then charge trendy hipster beard wearing sour bread loving youngsters silly money for simple things. Apple especially are happy to make pennies on an item as many millions of pennies add up to a lot of money. so i do not see how it will catch on or if there is even a future market given phones are starting to go to contactless charging with them charging pads... Google are also working on a system of technology where batteries charge using wifi signals! explain that one to me...

 

[Josh Owen]

@Josh - I applaud your enthusiasm although I will offer my critique on this project, by the time you have a functional off the shelf reliable model on offer you will be hit by the next gen phones which have wireless charging, already we see the newer models with this capability, as they become more popular the old cable chargers will be in decline and probably just at the time you manage to get these on the shelves and you need to recoup the 100'000's you will have spent bringing the design to fruition, like has already be shown, there is already one on the market and i would be looking at the patent(s) they have filed for there model as you may be in breach of it trying to move forward with this project.
Good luck either way.

Thank you very much I will take this all into account.

 

[Josh Owen]

Your profile says 19

I’m 17

 

[BarryJ90]

My friend, In my opinion if you have an idea you think will make you millions the last thing you want to do is explain your idea in a public forum on the internet for all to see and potentially steal.

That being said your current idea is a few years too late, wireless charging is the future. I've always wondered whether solar charging would work for phones, maybe you could look into that instead