Southington Family Wins National Invention Contest

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A Southington family has won the top prize in a national invention contest.

"Dreamvention" contest sponsor Frito-Lay announced last week that the members of the White family of Southington took home the $250,000 top prize for their "Kid Safe Switch."

Voting began in November and ran until Jan. 6.

Jill and Joe White and their children, Audrey, 8; and Mia, 6, had families in the kitchen on their minds when entered the contest. The found an advertisement for it on a Frito Lay Variety Pack.

Jill White said it was a "light bulb moment," about a "common problem" in the house — Mom yelling to get away from the oven and the stove. One instance stood out — a day when the kids were making omelets with daddy, she said with a laugh.

The Whites then came up with the Kid Safe Switch. Audrey drew a picture of it and they submitted it.

The Kid Safe Switch is a sensor that can be placed on the oven. It detects body heat, otherwise known as infrared energy, and could detect when someone below the height of the oven top approaches the oven when the stove is on. There is an on/off switch so it can be deactivated when there is no cooking going on.

When the switch is on, the sensor will create a protective grid around a hot stove.

Jill White said the premise is, when a child approaches the oven, the device flashes a light and a loud alarm sounds. Not only will this deter children from going near the oven but it alerts the parent to the potential disaster, she said.

The four runner-up finalists from this year’s contest with a $10,000 prize were:

• The Copland family: Jennifer Copland and her sons Evan Maxwell Frye and Parker Frye from South Lyon, Mich., who submitted “Sole Riders”
• The Kamanda family: Miatta Kamanda and her family Alice Kamanda, Michael Kamanda, and Maada Kamanda from Fayetteville, Ga., who submitted “Glow the Way”
• The Marinkovic family: Mia Marinkovic and her son Evitt Smitt from Springfield, Ill., who submitted “Sleepy Heads”
• The Wilson family: Jacqueline Wilson, her husband Jeffrey Wilson and sons Charles Wilson and Maximus Wilson from Troy, Ala., who submitted “Robotic Toy Bin”

The inventions were marketed for the contest with ther help of MAKO Designs + Invent, a full-service consumer product development firm.

"We were amazed by the level of ingenuity from the five finalist families as they all submitted invention ideas that truly resonated with other familiesacross the country,” said Rhasheda Boyd, senior director of marketing, Frito-Lay North America. “The Dreamvention contest shows that any family can have the next great invention idea to solve an everyday family problem, and we are so proud that we were able to give them this platform to ‘dreamvent’ together again.”

Jill White said on Tuesday the family has just begun the process of researching the patent and marketing process.

"It's been a little overwhelming," she said, "But It's a good ovcerwhelming."

Photo Courtesy of the White Family

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