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Putting the breaks on unnecessary injuriesBy NICK KOVERMANSt. Charles Press Editor Have you ever thought, “What could I invent that would be helpful and possibly profitable?” For rural St. Charles horse rancher, mechanic, and natural tinker, Jerry Ford just enjoys the challenge of inventing. That challenge looks to be paying off as he introduced his patented line of braking systems and safety equipment for wheel chairs over seven months ago. “When I go to give these presentations, most everyone walks in to the meeting with frowns on their faces thinking ‘I have to go to another stinking meeting.' It's not long into my demonstration that everyone swarms around the chairs. They all have smiles on their faces and they are amazed. It just proves to me every time how much this is really needed.” His first invention, which he called the Jerry-Lock Brake system, earned four awards during June's (2004) Minnesota Inventors Congress held at the Jackpot Junction Casino in Morton, Minn. The four awards that included the Minnesota AgrAbility Project award, an overall gold medal, a second place overall ribbon, and finally a second for People's Choice, was explained to Ford as the most anyone had ever won in the 47 years of the competition. According to Ford, the AgrAbility Project award, which was given to Ford because his invention can help farmers to stay on their land longer, even if confined to a wheelchair, is one of the reasons why he feels so passionately about his system. “When I designed the system, I wanted to make sure it would work on new and existing wheelchairs, so the elderly wouldn't have to buy a new chair. Most people in nursing homes are on limited incomes, and I wanted to keep the costs down,” he explained. So why wheelchairs? His son Zack, who works at Chosen Valley Care Center in Chatfield, came home one day and said the industry had a problem with roll-away wheelchairs. “He told me that because of the faulty braking systems there were residents who were constantly falling and hurting themselves when they would go to get in and out of their wheelchairs,” he said. When a person wants to get in or out of their chair, the breaks are supposed to be locked so the chair doesn't move backward, but accidents always seem to happen, his son explained. His son asked him if he thought he could do something about it and said he could probably make some money at it. Ford quickly thought about it, and replied, “I can do that.” The response Ford got in return was “Ya, right.” Ford continued to work on his main hobby of restoring pedal tractors, building covered wagons, and flying radio controlled airplanes. One Sunday however, he was looking at a few of the chairs his son had brought home and decided it was time to put his theory to the test. St. Charles Trustworthy Hardware opened at 10:00 a.m., and he went down and bought a few essential parts and made his way back to his shop. In a matter of 3 hours on April 25, Ford had developed his first proto-type. He followed certain guidelines his son Zack had given him, like making the wheelchair able to still fold up, because nothing could be put under the seat, and Ford wanted to use the existing holes so his system would be easy to install. Now his idea has expanded into three braking systems: the original Jerry-Lock, the Attendant Brake, and the Incline Brake system. The Attendant Brake was developed as a way for hospital escorts to feel confident leaving a patient for a period of time, knowing that patient won't roll away, or for wheel chair occupants whose safety may be enhanced by limited brake control to only the attendant. The Incline Brake was a way to limit dangerous situations for both patients and attendants while walking on an inclined space. A hand lever applies friction to the wheel to allow for better control when descending ramps. In addition, the system Ford designed also features an easy to use lock-off system with an automatic release. Ford secured his provisional patent license immediately and is in the stages of finalizing the process. As his confidence continued to rise in his product, Ford traveled to the annual Medtrade Show in Orlando , Florida at the end of October, 2004. It had been 6 months since he invented the Jerry-Lock Brake System. Again, the response was, “Overwhelming.” Today, Ford is in negotiations with several large medical facilities and the response from residents who have tried his system has been what Ford had hoped for. “Since putting my system on a gentleman's chair, he has been accident free for 4 months. Everyone commented on his positive attitude change. It's improved his quality of life with his mobility.” Active Tool & Die, Inc. in St. Charles is currently in the process of building the molds to mass-produce Ford's invention. Much of the work that will be done to boost Ford's company, Jerry Ford Co., LLC, will be completed in southeast Minnesota, something that was very important to Ford. Congressman Gil Gutknecht traveled to St. Charles and Active Tool & Die to see the progress of the invention. “He (Congressman Gutknecht) was just amazed to see the progress of my invention. He could hardly believe it only took me 6 months to get this far.” As his business gears up to go into mass production by the end of January, Ford is proud to say, “This automatic brake system is nothing short of a life saver!” For more information and a video of how the brake system works check out www.JerryFordCompany.com. For more information on Jerry Ford type thebluespruceranch.com. Preventing the death sentence Inventor Jerry Ford enjoys seeing the excitement on the faces of every one who sees his Jerry-Lock Brake System as part of his newly formed company Jerry Ford Co., LLC. With the addition of his braking system to wheelchairs, Ford hopes to stop many of the accidents that cause serious injury to wheelchair confined patients. Ford will begin mass-producing his brake system at Active Tool Inc. in St. Charles in 2005. PHOTO by NICK KOVERMAN His daughter Regina Ford helped make the company sign the night before Ford was to head to the Inventor's Congress. The support of his entire family has helped give him the confidence to show his invention that won him four of the awards displayed. |
News Articles: » Inventors Create Wheelchair Innovations for Safety, Affordability and Mobility » Inventor finds right place . . . right time . . . right 'brake' » Inventor, congressman visit Luverne veterans home » Move over Henry, Jerry’s rolling now » Inventor's idea keeps rolling along » Putting the breaks on unnecessary injuries » Benefits of Wheelchair Maintenance ************************ News Video Clips » KTTC News: Jerry Ford Sweeps Awards at MN Inventors Congress (6.0 MB) |