Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
h a l f b a k e r y
The embarrassing drunkard uncle of invention.

idea: add, search, annotate, link, view, overview, recent, by name, random

meta: news, help, about, links, report a problem

account: browse anonymously, or get an account and write.

user:
pass:
register,


             

Please log in.
Before you can vote, you need to register. Please log in or create an account.

Turning slippers

Slippers with a mechanism on bottom that will turn them around when taken off
  (+10)(+10)
(+10)
  [vote for,
against]

In many households people walk around in slippers except the rooms with carpet where they walk barefoot. I do the same. When I go into our bedroom I take off my slippers the easiest way - I step out of them so they lay on the floor in the original direction. When I go out of the bedroom I spend a lot of time trying to turn them around so that I can put them on. It is even worse when I try to step out of the bath tub but have to perform dangerous acrobacy to get into the slippers.

Now imagine that the slippers would have a mechanical (spring ?) or electro-mechanical system that would detect that they are in a special relative position (perhaps placed tightly next to each other) and after 2-3 seconds it would turn them around by 180 degrees so that when you go back they are ready to be put on.

They would have to do the turn together, not each one separately or they would end up in wrong order. This would be best done by magnets (electromagnets?) on inner sides that would hold them together.

The turning could be done in more ways, one of them could use small retractable wheels placed across the front and back of the slippers.

Energy can be easily obtained from mechanical movement so there would be no need for replacing or recharging the batteries.

slovakmartin, Aug 17 2005

[link]






       Hi junior inventor, have a bun.
zeno, Aug 17 2005
  

       nice
chocolateraindrops, Aug 17 2005
  

       I'm living in a country where people take their shoes off before they go in a house. It's a warm climate, so I wear flip-flops I can kick off and slip on. I want them to turn around for me. A croissant and a welcome to the Halfbakery.   

       Later: I've seen a little kitchen turntable called a 'Lazy Susan' that you could place your slippers on, then turn it around with your foot. You couldn't step on it, but if you added a block in the right place you could make it stop at 180 degrees.
baconbrain, Aug 18 2005
  

       Yeah, bacon, and it would be cool to have a nicely crafted turntable built into your floor, from the same material, that would turn 180 degrees if anything was left on it for some length of time. I'd prefer that to actually having to walk around with a contraption part of my slippers.   

       [+], and welcome.
oxen crossing, Aug 18 2005
  

       I'd like slippers that would turn around 180 degrees with me in them when I stupidly walk more than a metre from my cosy bed.
wagster, Aug 18 2005
  

       Fine, [wags], right up until you need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night...
david_scothern, Aug 18 2005
  
      
[annotate]
  


 

back: main index

business  computer  culture  fashion  food  halfbakery  home  other  product  public  science  sport  vehicle