Inventor keeps laps cool

Lapinator blocks heat from laptops.

By Fred Bazzoli Shaw News Service Geneva

Jeff Ward would like to think his new business fell into his lap. But while the idea was easy, the execution was not. The simple idea of shielding a person from the heat generated by a laptop computer proved complicated and took almost two years before it was ready for prime time. But now, Ward hopes his Lapinator sells like hot cakes.

For a home-grown business, Lapinator, Inc. is off to an encouraging start. In his first two months, approximately 150 have been sold in Internet venues such as eBay. The product now is in Geneva's Viking Office Supply and Ward is working to get the message out to technology retail outlets.

The Lapinator, which sells for an introductory price of $24.95, weighs in at only 11 ounces, is thin enough to slide into a briefcase or computer bag and solves one of technology's most vexing problems- that over baked sensation emanating from hot technology.

Ward, a Geneva resident for the past six years who works as a systems and data base programmer, was looking for a business he could start. That's when the inspiration hit him approximately two years ago.

"As I was sitting in a chair, the light bulb, hit," he said. "Truly using your laptop in your lap is a problem. I wanted to come out of my office and have my children know who their dad was."

But using a laptop for extended periods, especially models with high-speed processors such as the Pentium 4 can be difficult. Ward says some models run at as much as 150 degrees and he noted that, in a highly publicized case, a Swedish scientist suffered burns in his lap area after working on a report for about an hour. In his initial design, Ward thought about sing Thinsulate, a cloth insulating material from Minnesota Mining and Mfg. on a piece of acrylic Plexiglas. While it was the right material in principle, it was less than perfect in practice.

"One of the problems was that the Thinsulate was good at keeping laptop heat out, but it was also good at keeping in," he said.

Time, testing and counsel from friends eventually evolved the Lapinator into its present form-a closed cell foam body with Thinsulate inset into it, covered by cloth. Ward also added a pair of small self-adhesive "legs" that boost the base by three-quarters of an inch off the lap or table. The final design does its job well.

Ward measured the heat from a Dell Inspiron laptop running on the Lapinator at 125; the temperature below the Lapinator was only 73, just 3 degrees more than room temperature.

Ward did a lot of his research for his product on the Internet, and also cited valuable help from other interested individuals as he discussed his ideas with them.

For example, he contacted Boyt Luggage, of Iowa Falls, Iowa, for assistance with production issues and has formed a friendship with the company's Rick Coffman.

"They gave me a free education in luggage construction, sewing and retailing," Ward said.

His effort has also received area support. He received consulting assistance from Al Hauschild of Hauschild Enterprises in Saint Charles, which now does the final assembly of the product. His relationship with his patent attorney, John Schaerli of Miner Enterprises, came as a result of a friendship of their wives. The company that makes the foam core is American Excelsior of Lombard.

For now, the Lapinator is available on eBay, the auction Website and the company's own website, www.lapinator.com. Ward also is testing the retail markets by selling the device at Viking office Supply in Geneva. He's added a salesman, based out of North Aurora, and is pursuing contacts at large computer retailers.

"It's much more difficult than I thought, because you have to create your own market," he said. "The key is to get that first big retailer, to convince them that this is exactly what the mobile professional needs."

It's been a long and grinding road, this Lapinator career, Ward acknowledged.

"When you look at the product, you say, 'Two years to produce that?'" he said. "But to get everything together was a major undertaking. I knew it would be work, but it's a lot like having children, there's nothing that prepares you for having children. You get to the point that you realize you can't give up after a year's worth of work on it."

--Jeff Ward may be contacted by calling (630) 232-1433.