This blog is intended for Patrick's invention ideas, most of which are somewhat unrealistic, quite futuristic, or downright ridiculous. But some of his inventions are not only good ideas, but they've become functioning realities in the Chow household. For that reason I'd like to introduce the Chow Patent Award, to bestowed upon Chow-original inventive solutions to life's little problems.
Chow Patent 1 is awarded for the Everclose Freezer.
Anyone who's visited our home in the last two years knows we have a recurring problem with our otherwise perfectly functioning refrigerator/freezer unit: the freezer door has a tendency to stay ajar.
It took Patrick very little time to diagnose the problem. When a hungry user closes the refrigerator door, the force of the closing bounces the freezer door open. And it just hangs open. It's not open wide enough that you can see from looking across the room, but without a seal the ice cream melts, the outside of the fridge becomes freezing cold, and frost forms all over the inside of the freezer.
Patrick's first attempted solution was to adjust the adjustable door hinge. No good.
His next attempted solution was to load the fridge and freezer doors differently so they weren't at such great risk of flying open. No good.
His next attempted solution was to fix the user error causing the problem ("Just close it gently every time and check to be sure the freezer door is still closed"). Needless to say, no good.
His next attempted solution was to buy a new hinge for the doors and rehang them. No good.
But finally, he hit upon the ultimate, now-Chow-Patented, full functioning solution: Everclose Freezer.
Using only masking tape and fridge magnets (why else would they be called fridge magnets?) he affixed a row of magnets to the freezer seal and though these magnets are individually weak, together they have just enough magnetic power to pull the freezer door closed when it bounces open. Since installation of the Everclose Freezer solution, our freezer has been problem free.