Lawrence Bernstein

Areas Lawrence Bernstein is Knowledgeable in:

Techniques Lawrence Bernstein Uses:

Lawrence Bernstein's Problem Solving Skills:

1. mechanical problem solving
2. new product design (patentable)
3. architecture
4. hand tool design
5. general problem solving (any field if promblem is defined)
6. product enhancement

Lawrence Bernstein's Problem Solving Experience:

1. The first tear off bottle cap. Created by the challenge "We just bought Thatcher Glass, the world's largest bottle company. What can you do for them". During lunch, on a napkin, I sketched the first tear off bottle cap. A year later, Thatcher was using it. (Shown at my web site in the Problem Solving page).
2. The first drip coffee maker. I was sent by Justin Dart to one of Dart Industries subsidiaries, West Bend Appliances, to solve problems and design new products for them. Speaking with the W.B. president, I asked him for his formula to produce good coffee. He said “run 180 degree water through the grounds, once, then return it to a preheated container”. Because percolators recycle the water continuously (not “once”), I realized they were not following his best coffee formula. I told him I’d send him something. Two weeks later I sent him the first drip coffee maker. (Also shown at my web site in the Problem Solving page).
3. Solution 3. An associate asked me if I could design an “electric wheel chair that didn’t look sick”. I answered, “let’s find out what’s wrong with the current solutions”. The result was a (patented) chair that weighed 52 pounds (compared to 250), that used a motor 10 times more efficient than traditional wheel chair motors (from a manufacturer who made model airplane motors – which had to be highly efficient), that adjusted its width and height as it moved from, for example, a dining table to a kitchen counter (eliminating the need for special furniture and allowing wide for TV and narrow for moving around tight spaces), and that looked more like elegant furniture than “sick”. (Also shown at my web site in the Home and Product Design pages).
4. Solution 4. Travelling a lot then, I wanted an exerciser I could pack in a brief case that provided a full workout. After research, I decided the best solution would involve “linear” (Isokinetic) stress, which would develop natural athlete type muscles rather than barbell created bulgy types, which would be especially appealing to female users. The result was Isotrainer (patented). It weighs approximately 3-1/2 pounds, fits in the bottom back half of briefcase, uses hydraulics and, optionally electronics, to duplicate all of the routines in a Nautilus gym, costs under $100 and is attractive. Options included pulse, load, and time elapsed. Also important and unique; Isotrainer’s stress was individually adjustable. (Shown at my web site in the New Product Design page).
5. Solution 5. Several toys designed under commissions from Mattel. (And a range of patented toys while chief designer for Diker Moe Associates in Los Angeles. During that year I also created numerous home appliances and other products).
6. While a Problem Solving Expert for Teltech, an executive with major photographic company called me with a problem stumping their engineers. They needed to be able to economically detect the proximity of a film slide placed inside camera but tolerances were killing them.. After a moment’s hesitation (because I felt it was obvious), I said “Have you considered spring loading the sensor. This time the hesitation was his. “My God! Thank you”.
7. Personally frustrated with the size, excessive required energy, non uniform toast of traditional toasters and needing to reach into a hot slot to remove toast, I recently created one with an approximately 1-1/2” x 3” footprint that toasts much faster, eliminates reaching in, is much more user friendly and costs less, primarily due to its considerable smaller size. I’m currently seeking a licensee.
8. You might want to visit the Product Design and Problem solving pages at my site for more on the above and others.
9. During my over 2 decades with Teltech (then Intota and now Guidelines), I solved many problems for their Clients. The M.O. is the Client pays a reasonable amount for a 20 minute problem solving telephone call (sometimes these lead to an ongoing relationship for brainstorming and further development). Within the allotted period, in most cases I was able to provide a well appreciated solution. In those cases where I was unable to provide a useful solution, I did not submit an invoice.
10. As a student at MIT, I passed a group of professors seated in the dining hall. They asked me to join them and told me they met once a week to solve problems/puzzles. They had 2 they couldn’t solve. One was: “In a kingdom with only truth sayers and liars, a visitor meets someone at a fork in the road. Ask him 1 question determining which road leads to Capital City”. I solved this problem by mathematical analogy. Ask the person a question requiring 2 yay or nay dependent steps (“If I asked you if the left road leads to Capital City would you say yes”. If he was a liar, he would mentally process the answer with –x-. If he was a truth sayer, +x+. In both cases, you receive the correct answer.
    
    The second was a King who received bags of tax coins each year from his 12 counties, one with counterfeit coins. With only 1 weight, find the counterfeit bag. The reason they couldn’t solve it: they assumed using unopened bags. (On request, I’ll detail the solution).