If he could roll back the years, Mark Noonan is not sure he would pick a big, ungainly looking, wheeled snow shovel as his breakthrough invention.
A decade after the Wovel (rhymes with shovel) laid an initial, wobbly foundation for his New Canaan invention shop, Noonan is unveiling the Nootools brand as he readies additional gadgets for the market.
Noonan unveiled his plans at a late May seminar at Fairfield University sponsored by the Inventors Association of Connecticut, as part of the group”™s monthly seminar series featuring various tips and problems associated with the process of inventing and commercializing products.
If not quite in the league of famed gadget inventor and infomercial star Ron Popeil, Noonan is nevertheless scooping out his own spot in the pantheon of local inventors with his Leaf Loader ”“ now offered at Walmart ”“ and another five products into the pipeline of some 50 he is contemplating.
If the Wovel ”“ now known as the Snow Wolf ”“ added up to years of backbreaking entrepreneurial sweat for Noonan even as it helped reduce back pains for some of its 25,000 owners, the New Canaan resident said it also served as a foundation for his Structured Solutions L.L.C. as he waded through the strenuous process of patenting and commercializing ideas for new products.
As Noonan rebrands the company as Nootools, other gadgets include his PaintGards gizmos for eliminating air inside paint cans that can create a crusty top layer; and Raxstars used to secure skis and snowboards to auto roof racks.
Noonan also has patent applications to solve other vexations of modern living, including unwieldy protective covers for mobile devices (his cover rolls snugly over the device); tangled leashes on dog walks (think elastic); and the impact of sun and rain on outdoor furniture (spooled covers that are unrolled to cover the article).
If suburban hassles remain Nootools”™ focus, dip below the surface and one can track other arenas for his inventive energy ”“ including submarines. On file with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is his idea for a telescoping device to shield sonar arrays at high speeds, with the idea of decreasing the disruptive effects of rushing water on signals. Noonan said software improvements have since helped sonar overcome the same problems, making it doubtful his invention will find its way onto U.S. Navy subs, but he does not rule out adapting the technique for use in other applications.
The Snow Wolf occurred to him after discovering he was using his knee as a lever to scoop up snow in an effort to save strain on an ailing back. Mounted on a nearly three-foot diameter wheel, the Wovel allows one to scoop snow, lever it aloft, pivot, wheel it to another location and dump it. In 2006, the Wovel won best-new-product accolades from Time magazine and Popular Science, as well as at the European Hardware Show.
If the Wovel is particularly useful for handling wet, heavy snow, it may have limitations in punishing winters like this past year, when successions of storms create walls of snow higher than the Wovel can clear at maximum elevation.
Still, he estimates Structure Solutions has sold 25,000 units to date and expects to sell another 15,000 Snow Wolf products next winter. As of late May, Structured Solutions was out of stock of the Snow Wolf, which is made in Minnesota.
Noonan said the device remains his most difficult product to sell, due in part to its unusual-looking appearance and in part to minor flaws that he has since ironed out over nearly a dozen design tweaks. If the process of invention and commercialization is getting easier, it took a lot of practice.
“It takes 20 different disciplines to bring a product to market ”“ it”™s not just one,” Noonan said. “Asking the right question is critical. ”˜How do you make a better snow shovel?”™ is not a good question. ”˜How do you make a snow shovel with a lever and pivot point?”™ is the right question.”
