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!

 

[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

 

[Cadgey123]

It’s a no from me......

 

[Darkwood]

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

Just to add, don't get me wrong here, some of the biggest money spinners have come from the most unexpected places and many accidental so I'm not trying to deter you but just giving a honest view as constructive advice, if you prove me wrong I couldn't be more happy for you

 

[TFGtv]

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.

Frankly, having seen you you've 'spoken' to people here you come across as arrogant as you are delusionally naive - 17-year-old or not; you have no excuse. The Dragons would rip you apart (as they often do!). And I say that as someone who has been in business for over 30 years and provided the seed money for several projects. And, as it happens, one of the several subject I taught in my twelve years as a lecturer was Entrepreneurial Skills!

1) There is nothing new about the retractable cable reel... Even mounted in multiples on the one chassis or at any scale. As a child, back in the late 60s 70s I recall being taken round record shops by my mother where headphones could be taken down from a shelf to listen to a common-feed. - Just a bigger version of what you have here.

2) See Lucien's post above for answers as to how these work... Again; they're common commercially available items.

3) As these things exist already there is nothing of real worth in what's achievable in terms of IP here.

4) If you want to design something new and innovative (and 'protectable'/patentable as far as IP is concerned) you need to either have or be able to afford to buy the design and implementation skills.

5) Nobody 'owes' you anything... Not their time, not help with your problem; if you want to play at entrepreneurs you need to first learn that people's time and expertise COSTS! So, you either pay the money (nobody cares if you don't have it) or walk the walk on your own... There are such things as product design courses out there, and a reason why they take years to complete!

 

[MJPD29]

That's a bloody awful prototype of any description

 

[westward10]

The lad is 17 no need to shoot him down.

 

[TFGtv]

The lad is 17 no need to shoot him down.

Now is EXACTLY the time to shot him down - as he's still young enough to get back into the air, straighten up and fly right. - And not wind up like the delusional muppets you so often see on programmes like Dragon's Den or the Apprentice.

 

[wsoppitt]

Just take a standard 13amp cable reel and adapt the front plate to accept a usb socket.
That's the theory , practical side down to you.

 

[snowhead]

It took Dyson 20 years to get people to take notice of his Inovative Cyclone design of Vaccum cleaner and several hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He persisted when people knocked him back, the rest is history.
His advantage was it was a unique idea, not just a rehash of an existing idea.

Some people, like me wished he hadn't have bothered, they're the noisiest domestic appliance ever invented.

But hey, what do I know I'm not curently worth £8bn.

 

[Dannyg8810]

Been to IKEA today and you are wasting your time ,they now sell lamps with a universal wireless charging base ,won't be long before they are installed in bars/worktops/tables

 

[alasdairp]

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.

I 100% agree. Retractable cables are never reliable in the long run - especially if they are frequently used. They always fail in the end. Surely you use wireless-pad charging mats now. You can even get them built-in to worktops. Most modern smart phones now allow wireless charging.