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ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 18 NO. 3
48
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF INVENTION:
BECOMING A BETTER INVENTOR
R. Aaron Falk, Quantum Focus Instruments Corp.
Over the years I have been a fairly prolific inventor,
with more than forty U.S. patents issued. When
people hear this number, they often ask, “Howcan
you be so inventive?” I sometimes answer, “I listen to the
noise in my head and throw out the obvious nonsense.”
However, upon pondering this question for some time,
I realized that the inquirers were in fact asking the wrong
question. The greater question is: “Why do they think they
are not inventive?”
Let’s start the answer to that questionwith a definition
of invention. Most of the dictionary definitions are a bit
circular. The one I like is “an act or instance of creating by
exercise of the imagination.” Creating implies something
new. U.S. patent lawmakes some fairly strong statements
about what new means in regards to obtaining a patent.
However, an invention can simply be something new to
you. Some of my favorite inventions never made it to
becoming a U.S. patent.
One “invention” that I recall with fondness occurred
during a lunchmeetingwhere several start-up companies
were pitching their ideas to potential angel investors. One
company was promoting low-sugar sodas with flavors
such as cucumber and lavender as a nonalcoholic, fine-
dining beverage option. The company had placed several
bottles of its sodas on each lunch table for the assembly to
try. As the representatives began their pitch, I picked up a
bottle, noticed it did not have a twist-off cap, and looked
around for an opener.
Not finding one, I looked at nearby tables and saw
others going through the same search pattern. Not one to
be deterred by such an oversight, I picked up a table knife
and used it to gently pry the cap off the bottle.
Upon seeing me drinking the soda, others at my table
and nearby tables began asking how I had opened the
bottle. I showed them how to do it, and the technique
was passed around the room. Comments of “How did
you figure that out?” and “How did you know that would
INVENTOR'S CORNER
work?” came my way. Let’s take a look at these two
questions.
The “figuring it out” had to do in part with understand-
ing howa bottle opener works. It is basically just a pry bar
with a fulcrum set in the front that is placed in the middle
of the cap. The back pry surface is placed under the rimof
the cap. Leverage is used to stretch out a segment of the
bottom part of the cap until its grip is pulled away from
the bottle rim and the cap is released. Use of a medium-
softmetal for the cap is part of the overall success of both
attachment and removal.
It also did not hurt that I recalled an old John Wayne
movie inwhich beer bottle caps were removed by placing
the cap rim against the edge of the bar and banging it
with one’s palm. Warning: Damage to the bar occurs, and
a lot of beer goes flying, making for unhappy bartenders.
So, the combination of understanding and the recog-
nition that anything which applies sufficient force to the
bottle cap is an opener led to a search of the table for a
suitable lever. In this case, a table knife came to mind.
I imagined using the tip of the table knife to slip under
the cap edge, pry up a small portion, move the knife tip
to an adjacent section, and repeat until the cap released.
How did I know this idea would work? I didn’t. But the
worst that could happen would be to mar the knife or
maybe look a little foolish prying away at the cap. So, I ran
a test ofmy prototype bottle opener andmet with success.
Children use their imaginations to create all the
time. As adults, we are too often taught away from this
process—it is “too childish.” Moreover, acting on these
flights of fancy involves risk: the invention may not work.
As we age, we tend to become more conservative and
risk-averse. The first part of invention is to allow oneself
to truly “listen to the noise in your head.” That noise is
your imagination at work. Your imagination is still there,
trying to get your attention. With practice, you can learn
to let it out, although I advise not doing so while driving.