INFLATABLE ROPE
Have you ever tried to throw a line from a boat to a jetty, or fling a rope up a rock face to a fellow climber? It could get much easier if you use the new self-hardening rope being patented by David Chroman of Florida (WO 2004/092463).
Chroman鈥檚 rope has a hollow plastic strand embedded in its weave. Normally, the rope is as flexible as any ordinary rope. But when you pump air into the tube from a handheld bladder or a compressed air source, using a one-way valve, the tube inflates and the pressure makes the rope rigid enough to support its own weight when held out from a boat or up a rock face.
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IT鈥橲 A SKYJACK
The broadband satellite connections that are now giving airline passengers fast internet access could one day play a crucial role in monitoring hijackings, says Boeing (WO 2004/025600).
The plane maker suggests hiding minuscule microchip-based cameras and microphones around the cockpit and passenger cabin.
In a hijack, a crew member presses an alarm button that tells the broadband connection to start transmitting whatever images and sound the cameras and mics are capturing to controllers on the ground. They can then monitor what the hijackers are doing and saying to help work out their intentions.
LOSE IT AND NO ONE CAN USE IT
DaimlerChrysler has developed a car security system which stops stolen keys being used by anyone other than the car鈥檚 rightful owner (W0 2004/104943).
The car will come equipped with three separate radio receivers at different places inside. So when the radio key fob transmits the 鈥渦nlock鈥� signal to the car doors each receiver picks up it up at slightly different times.
To set up personal unlocking, you choose a position to send the signal from, say, three paces sideways, halfway up one side of the car. The lock stores the time differences to each receiver, and from then on, the key will only work at that point.
