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INNOVATION RESOURCES

Hurphy Durphy

Breakthrough:
A safety device that helps to keep infant seats anchored securely in a car by preventing the accidental release of seat belts.

Inventor:
Imogen Mirmikidis, Australia

Financial reward:
$500,000 +

The Story:

A scary moment in her car was the spark that inspired Imogen Mirmikidis to create Hurphy Durphy, a multi-award winning safety device for car child seats.

Mirmikidis was driving down a busy freeway at about 100 kilometers an hour and as she approached an exit noticed that her one-year-old son was swinging across the back seat in his unrestrained car seat. A passenger the previous day had unwittingly released the seatbelt buckle that had been securing his capsule.

Potential Danger

When she stopped she examined the seat to see how far it would stretch without being anchored. It could reach the ceiling or the door, thereby rendering the restraint system useless. It made her realize how easily seatbelt buckles that secure infant seats can become undone, and how difficult it can be to see when this has happened.

Thinking about what might have been had she had an accident or stopped suddenly Mirmikidis searched baby shops and the Internet for a product to keep seats secure. Finding nothing suitable she went into action.

"Realizing that all child restraints with a five-point harness have the potential to become unanchored, I decided to do something about it," said Mirmikidis

An Inventor is Born

She started scribbling some design ideas and invented a sturdy seatbelt buckle cover called Hurphy Durphy. The device is made of neoprene and plastic with an extra strong Velcro fastener which camouflages the buckle and prevents people accidentally knocking the release button.

During her research Mirmikidis discovered that more than five hundred children are killed every year on Australian roads and that an incorrectly fitted car restraint increases the risk of life-threatening injuries seven fold.

Constructing a Prototype

Mirmikidis acquired some off cuts of neoprene and took it to a friend's house who sewed it up to create a rough and ready model.

She had no money to invest in her idea and so applied for and received a grant for the initial IP costs.

She also sought out industrial design lecturers for their advice and for contacts in the plastic design field to perfect the prototype.

Securing Investment

Once she had approved the final design Mirmikidis set up a company for investors. She was so committed to her idea that she remortgaged the family home. And she turned to friends and family for help.

"I was a bit cheeky and had a family and friends clause," she told one interviewer. "It said if I lose all of their money they're never allowed to mention it ever again and we all just love each other. Everyone's been quite happy with that - they all understand."

Her network of supporters also helped her find a manufacturer overseas, but with two small children she couldn’t visit and so asked a friend to travel to China in her place. She felt she needed someone on the ground to communicate her ideas.

Ready for Market

All in all it took more than three years of research, development and testing before Hurphy Durphy was ready for market, and this included an assessment by the Motor Vehicle Certification Board.

It's now available in hundreds of retail outlets across Australia and via her company's website. When she first registered Hurphy Durphy with search engine Goggle she received her first international order within an hour

Critical and Commercial Success

As well as being a hit with consumers Hurphy Durphy has also garnered numerous awards for the ingenuity of its inventor. These include the 2008 ICWA (Insurance Commission of Western Australia) Road Safety Award for Safe Vehicles, and runner up in the inaugural West Australian Consumer Protection Awards for Child Safety.

Mirmikidis embarked on a steep learning curve to develop her first product and because of this experience now advises other mothers who are thinking about becoming inventors. And she has many more innovative ideas in the pipeline.

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