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Dialing up an invention: Spa City student turns cell phone into a car starter(PHOTO)
The Post-Star ^ | 06/04/2006 | BRENDAN McGARRY

Posted on 06/04/2006 12:57:28 PM PDT by Read2Know

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- It all started last winter, with a faulty remote starter on her 1996 Chevrolet Lumina.

Like many others, Sarah Dodge dreaded the thought of having to brave the elements to warm up her car before school.

In today's world of high-tech gizmos, the 18-year-old senior at Saratoga Springs High School figured there had to be a better solution.

Turns out, there was -- and now Sarah is the first student in a pre-engineering program at the school to have a federal patent pending, teacher Michael Gallagher said.

(Excerpt) Read more at poststar.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: carstarter; dodge; engineering; gallagher; mcgarry; newyork; poststar; saratogasprings; student
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Here you have the provervial million dollar idea. Here is a link: Post-Star
1 posted on 06/04/2006 12:57:32 PM PDT by Read2Know
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To: Read2Know

Here's hoping she's not ripped off.


2 posted on 06/04/2006 1:05:22 PM PDT by CAWats (And I will make no distinction between terrorists and the democrats.)
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To: Read2Know

Good for her! Hope she does well with it.


3 posted on 06/04/2006 1:09:40 PM PDT by Bigg Red (Never trust Democrats with national security.)
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To: Read2Know

Her first mistake was buying a Lumina. Perhaps she should use her phone to call a wrecker to haul that piece of sh*t to the junkyard.


4 posted on 06/04/2006 1:10:18 PM PDT by rickmichaels
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To: Read2Know

Hmmmmmmmm....not many engineering majors looked like that when I went to school.


5 posted on 06/04/2006 1:11:06 PM PDT by randog (What the...?!)
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To: Read2Know

She looks like she might inspire a few million dollar ideas! Good for her:) looks and brains, the perfect combination.


6 posted on 06/04/2006 1:11:33 PM PDT by calex59 (No country can survive multiculturalism. Dual cultures don't mix, history has taught us that!)
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To: Read2Know

Very clever, but ...
I guess the cat is out of the bag. This is terrible. I assume that readers are thinking what I am thinking.


7 posted on 06/04/2006 1:11:45 PM PDT by docbnj
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To: Read2Know

I wonder if it takes 2 cell phones?


8 posted on 06/04/2006 1:13:35 PM PDT by ChadGore (VISUALIZE 62,041,268 Bush fans. We Vote.)
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To: docbnj
Very clever, but ... I guess the cat is out of the bag. This is terrible. I assume that readers are thinking what I am thinking.

Relax. THEY have been using cellphone ringers to trigger realys for years.

The good thing is they never published, patented them or sold them, so she will not have Prior Art problems.

9 posted on 06/04/2006 1:14:15 PM PDT by Gorzaloon
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To: Read2Know


Nice rack, I'd motor boat'em...


10 posted on 06/04/2006 1:15:56 PM PDT by in hoc signo vinces ("Houston, TX...a waiting quagmire for jihadis. American gals are worth fighting for!")
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To: in hoc signo vinces


Oppppppssss...she's still in HS, nevermind...

Good idea on the cell phone, great kid.../ducking from flying objects...


11 posted on 06/04/2006 1:16:59 PM PDT by in hoc signo vinces ("Houston, TX...a waiting quagmire for jihadis. American gals are worth fighting for!")
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To: Read2Know

$50 says Nokia or one of the other manufacturers will have it as an expensive, optional feature, long before her patent is granted. Too bad.


12 posted on 06/04/2006 1:17:25 PM PDT by butternut_squash_bisque (The recipe's at my FR HomePage. Try it!)
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To: Read2Know

I bet GM's On Star engineers are red in face and green with envy.


13 posted on 06/04/2006 1:17:28 PM PDT by razorback-bert (Kooks For Kinky)
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To: randog
Hmmmmmmmm....not many engineering majors looked like that when I went to school.

"For all her electronic wizardry, Sarah plans to pursue computer science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the fall. (RPI doesn't even know about her new starter.)"

SWOON ....thud....

14 posted on 06/04/2006 1:18:13 PM PDT by Gorzaloon
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To: razorback-bert
Good point. I bet in the not too distant future, police will be able to remotely turn off your engine if you don't pull over when requested.
15 posted on 06/04/2006 1:22:45 PM PDT by Read2Know
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To: docbnj
Dependable cell service would be the biggest problem. Here's how I would do it:

Use an inverter/transformer to plug in a phone charger.

Use the ringer on the phone to close a relay to the starter.

Mount it all under the dash, or stuffed away within the crew cabin to prevent the elements from getting to the phone.

You could block all calls on the receiving phone, so that it only receives from one phone number.

16 posted on 06/04/2006 1:22:59 PM PDT by ChadGore (VISUALIZE 62,041,268 Bush fans. We Vote.)
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To: Read2Know
By employing a cell phone, Sarah said, a car can be started from anywhere -- not just the 500-foot to 2,000-foot range offered by traditional remote starters.

Who's going to need to start their car when they're more than 2000 feet away? If she's starting her car more than half a mile away, she needs to get to work on that remote driving cellphone device so that she can get her car to come to her.
17 posted on 06/04/2006 1:25:25 PM PDT by kenth
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To: butternut_squash_bisque
$50 says Nokia or one of the other manufacturers will have it as an expensive, optional feature, long before her patent is granted. Too bad.

She's got the date from the Provisional.

They had better have their checkbooks ready.

At what the poor kids is going to shell out for the patent process, the best thing that could happen for her would be a buyout. It would be far cheaper for any interested cellphone companies to do it that way, also.

Imagine her as the plaintiff in a Jury Trial..the David And Goliath sympathy would be a very Bad Thing for the company that infringed.

Most corporations are very aware of the laser lawsuit settlement, and the Sears quick-change socket wrench invented in a garage..and what happened to the Big Guys when it got to a jury.

The only way the trial would last more than day would be if the Court liked having her around a little longer....haha...

18 posted on 06/04/2006 1:26:06 PM PDT by Gorzaloon
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To: Read2Know

About 35 years ago, I got a $50 ticket in the People's Republic of Maryland for leaving my car running unattended while it warmed up on a cold winter morning.


19 posted on 06/04/2006 1:26:37 PM PDT by savedbygrace (SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST (I'M YELLING ON PURPOSE))
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To: kenth

When your are mad at your girl/boy friend call their car and let it run out of gas.


20 posted on 06/04/2006 1:27:39 PM PDT by razorback-bert (Kooks For Kinky)
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