Man hopes invention opens doors for him
For Ray Saeler of Oakland Township, it was a sloppy mistake in the way he designed his garage that led to his "why-didn't-I-think-of-it" invention.
Whenever he opened the door between his two garage doors, it would open too far and whack the small motion sensor for the automatic garage door opener and knock it out of alignment.
To fix it was a headache and often required calling a professional to come out and make a costly adjustment.
So Saeler bought some supplies and went to work. Soon the Eye Guard was born. It is a protective boot of PVC piping that fits around a door's sensor eye so it cannot get knocked out of place.
"It's like the design of the paper clip: a simple idea but with huge implications," said Saeler, who wants to market the product to the leading national garage door installer, LiftMaster.
It is installed in his garage right now, and he has demonstrated the strength of the Eye Guard by standing on top of it with his 180-pound frame.
Just three screws hold the piping into the wall, which Saeler said makes for an easy installation.
He said he received positive feedback on it from eight garage door vendors in the area, who all say there is a need for it.
"It's been well-received. A couple people will definitely be placing orders and will probably put it on every door they put in," said Saeler, who thinks that will translate to eight orders per week at $60 per individual door and $55 per multiple unit.
Saeler said he will be meeting with more vendors this month.
"I've put maybe $4,000 or $5,000 into it, which is low considering what I'd like to accomplish," said Saeler.
He said he recently instructed his attorney to file the paperwork for a patent. He has also formed his own company, Applied Inspirations.But he hasn't quit his day job as a full-time manager at Randy and Bob's Carstar in Chicora."I've had so much fun in the last couple of months. Win, lose or draw, I'm having a great time. The creative juices have been flowing," said Saeler.His garage, a standard two-car affair with a woodchip smell, is a tribute to the creative mind. Artwork from his daughter, who graduated from college with a degree in graphic design, adorns the wall, featuring such works as a kaleidoscope portrait of Einstein with his pipe.It is here that Saeler has been manufacturing the prototypes of the Eye Guard himself. He has been purchasing the PVC pipe in bulk from local sources.He said the great thing about the Eye Guard is that it satisfies his creativity while at the same time fulfilling a practical application.That hasn't always been the case with his other inventions, some of which have a home in his garage.There is the Pickle'Ator 5000, an electric device Saeler designed that is capable of shocking a large pickle with 110 volts of electricity so it lights up, pickle juice crackling.He has also designed a robot with his son that was capable of conversing through audiotape responses and the Rhino Car, a 1972 Pontiac Catalina with every imaginable ornament attached to it.
