Invention convention

Danette Goulet

FAIRGROUNDS--Amid the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it’s not

unusual to eat on the run or, at the very least, drink coffee in the car

on the way to work.

That’s why Lynne Merrifield, a Costa Mesa police detective, invented

the “Commuter Bib,” an apron to wear in the car to keep your work clothes

clean.

She is among the many modern-day Thomas Edisons showing off their

ingenious ideas in the Great Invention Competition tent at the Orange

County Fair.

Like her bib, the other inventions tend to be common-sense ideas for

items that would make life a little easier, ideas that just didn’t

exist--until now.

“It’s called a Floon,” inventor Scott Ruiz said while holding up a

piece of plastic pipe with slits in it.

A struggling actor from Anaheim, Ruiz wanted to have big flowers made

out of balloons for his daughter’s third birthday, but couldn’t afford to

pay party planners to make them. But when he tried to do it himself, it

took hours to make just one.

So he invented the Floon, a small plastic device that allows him to

make an elaborate flower design in just three minutes.

Jim Guest and Pete Lowrey, retired handymen from Upland who keep busy

painting houses, came up with the Angle-Rite, an adjustable paint roller

to reach most any area at an easy, comfortable angle.

They also invented a dual, Y-shaped paint roller for painting two

perpendicular surfaces at once.

“We’re trying to get them into stores now,” Guest said. “We’re getting

there. We have about six different versions.”

Eric Racoonsin, a masseur who claims to have worked the knots out of

some very famous backs, is displaying his Orbit Massager, a manual

rotational massager that really gets those knots out.

These are just some of the many inventions that can be found--and,

more important, finally purchased--at the fair.

They also are prime examples of what can be done with a good idea,

said Mike Rovere, an attorney who specializes in helping inventors become

business people.

“A lot of times, people have great ideas but don’t act on them,” he

said. “We’re trying to get people in the local area who have ideas to

realize that it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to produce their ideas.”

An inventor himself, Rovere wants to help others follow the right

process to get their ideas patented and produced.

He and inventor Eliot Geeting, who organized this year’s event, said

they hope to need a much bigger tent next year.