The Secret of Invention: The Inventor's Tools

Here is the fourth article in the series The Secret of Invention published in the popular Bulgarian magazine "Young Designer", in 1984. There I examined the set of "tools" that the inventor uses when solving inventive problems.

The inventor's tools

Having familiarized ourselves with the most general principles forming an inventive look...

• suppression of criticism and self-criticism,
• figurative thinking,
• using analogies,
• using randomness,

... let's look at some specific methods of generating new ideas, limiting ourselves to the most universal of them (they were proposed by the Soviet inventor Henrich Altshuler).

1. METHOD OF DISTRIBUTION

The world is continuous by its nature, but in order to know it, people divide it into separate blocks. These are the various objects, the "bricks" from which the world is built. In order to distinguish them from each other, the objects are given names and from that moment they "freeze", become immutable. If we overcome the inertia of our thinking and continue to break down the object, we can get a new, positive effect.

For example, a ship divided by watertight bulkheads into a large number of cells is practically unsinkable. A car tire consisting of several sections independent from each other is "puncture-proof". A vehicle divided into separate parts, movably connected to each other, is flexible and maneuverable (train, truck with trailer, etc.). Optical stuff, broken into many separate lenses, multiplies the vision of almost blind people (by the way, this is one of nature's patents - the so-called "faceted eyes", such as bees have, for example). The idea to "fragment" the optical image in space and time led to the creation of the phototelegraph and television.

The fragmentation can be continued ad infinitum and this shows the inexhaustible possibilities of the method. Note, however, that there are inventions only if, as a result of the fragmentation, a new positive effect is obtained, as in the examples of the ship and the tire, high reliability is obtained.

2. METHOD OF COMBINATION

It is one of the most basic methods of generating new ideas, thanks to which great inventions have been born. Such are, for example, the steamship (steam engine + ship), the automobile (combustion engine + car), dynamite (nitroglycerin + porous substance) and many others. Merging can include various combinations - "old + old", "old + new", "new + new".
Almost all inventions in the field of electronic circuit engineering are created by combining old + old. Indeed, electronic elements (transistors, resistors, capacitors, etc.) have been known for a long time, but by combining them, a circuit can be "born" that is an invention.

And in this method, in order to have an invention, a new, positive effect must be obtained, which cannot be decomposed into parts corresponding to the individual elements. Also, the new effect must exceed the sum of the individual effects. Or, to put it another way, the end effect must be unexpected. This is precisely how invention differs from construction. The task, the way to solve it and the ultimate goal of construction are generally known in advance, while in the case of invention only the task is known. Therefore, the changes to the initial solution in construction are quantitative, and in invention - qualitative.

3. METHOD OF THE PERIODIC (PULSE) SOLUTION

An extremely powerful method for solving inventive problems, which finds application in all fields of technology.  The following versions are possible:

a) if the object is of continuous action, switch to interrupted impulse action.

Who has not seen the blinding glow of a photoflash? And have you ever wondered why it does not light up all the time but only for thousandths of a second?

A photoflash contains a capacitor connected in parallel with a pulsed gas discharge lamp, which is charged to a voltage lower than its ignition voltage.  With the help of a short control pulse, the lamp is "lit" and the capacitor is discharged through it - a light pulse with high intensity is obtained.  The process can be divided into two stages: a long pause (a large amount of energy accumulates in the capacitor) and a short pulse (energy is released).  What is the use of all this?

The advantage of the photoflash is that to obtain the same effect (illumination of the photographed object), it consumes several watts of electrical power, and the incandescent lamp - several kilowatts.  This allows the photoflash to be powered by batteries, which in turn ensures its small size and weight.

b) if the object has a periodic impulse action, to use the pauses between the impulses to perform another action.

This method is implemented, for example, in radar stations. The transmitter periodically emits pulse signals, in the pauses between which the distance from it to the object is measured.

The method is widely used in computing.  The heart of an electronic computing machine (the processor) is many times faster than a single input-output device (for example, a punch-hole reader).  In order not to be idle, in the pause between two successive readings of punched cards, the process is loaded with solving some other program.

4. METHOD OF REVERSING DAMAGE INTO BENEFIT

Almost everyone has heard the annoying screeching of speakers during a concert - the so-called microphony.  It is due to the acoustic feedback that closes through the air medium between the microphone and the speaker, connected respectively to the input and output of an amplifier. The label "harmful" has been attached to this phenomenon, and experts try their best to avoid it. Thanks to it, however, it is possible to make a very simple and efficient alarm system. For this purpose, the microphone is placed in the guarded room, and the speaker - outside it. When opening a door, window, or in general when an arbitrary hole is formed in the wall of the room, the characteristic sound of the microphony is emitted from the speaker.

Many inventions are made due to the fact that a given "negative" effect can be found a useful application. Here, too, the "hard" classification of phenomena hinders the generation of new ideas.  Phenomena are harmful not at all, but in relation to something. Harmful in one area may prove beneficial in another and vice versa. To establish this, however, requires a broad general technical culture and an inventive eye. From here follows the conclusion that the inventor should not be a narrow specialist but should understand everything. This will allow him to easily transfer from one area to another, finding suitable applications of the beneficial and harmful phenomena he has observed.

5. METHOD OF DYNAMICS

Its essence lies in the fact that the characteristics of the object are constantly changing and are optimal at every moment.  What does that mean?

Take, for example, a flywheel motor that is used in large metalworking machines (presses, punches, guillotines, etc.).  Conflicting requirements are placed on the flywheel of such an engine. On the one hand, it should be as massive as possible to accumulate a large amount of kinetic energy, but on the other hand, this makes it difficult to start and accelerate the engine. There is a clear technical contradiction, which is resolved with the so-called "variable moment of inertia flywheel". It is a large cast-iron wheel with hollow spokes, in which a piston is placed, moving along their length, and the free space is filled with mercury.

When starting engines, the mercury is close to the center, and the inertia of the flywheel is small. As the revolutions increase, mercury is pushed to the periphery (under the action of centrifugal forces) and the inertia of the flywheel grows. In other words, the object adapts to the environmental conditions.

Automatic seat belts in passenger cars also work according to the dynamism method. Under normal circumstances, they are free and do not restrict the movements of passengers.  In an emergency (sudden stop), they are locked by a simple inertial device and do not allow passengers to "fly" forward.

 (to be continued)

 Eng. Cyril Mechkov

The Secret of Invention

Try to invent! (motivating the reader to become an inventor)

Where to Start (setting the problem and waiting for the solution)

In the Realm of Chance (stimulating the emergence of new ideas through the use of chance)

The Inventor's Tools (examining the set of tools used by the inventor when solving inventive problems)

Expanding the "Toolbox" (considering more "tools" used by inventors in solving creative tasks)

"Crystallization" of the Idea (considering the moment immediately after the emergence of the new idea)

Invention in Action (illustrating the basic principles of invention through examples from my inventive practice)

Web resources

The Inventor's Tools (Circuit Idea wikibook)