Lawyer was of a mind to invent some useful things.

RICK SHAPIRO'S Pancake Products fold down to a height of 3 inches and can be ready for use in seconds, he says.                                 PHOTO BY STACI DENNIS.

His creation could make beach visits easier to handle

LYNNHAVEN — Rick Shapiro may be a lawyer for Wilson, Hajek & Shapiro by trade, but he is an inventor at heart. "I always have crazy ideas floating around in my head," said Shapiro, 43, who lives in Broad Bay Point Greens with his wife, Tern, and two children. "And I finally got something down on paper."

Shapiro's initial meeting with inventors came when he was working his way through law school. He worked as a patent researcher, where he learned the criteria behind getting a patent.  "I didn't do anything with what I learned there for 15 years," said Shapiro, who is now a personal injury lawyer. "That was, until I saw people lugging around stuff at the beach and I thought I could invent something to make that process a lot easier."

Shapiro's idea was to make a wagon big enough to hold all the desired items but small enough to fit in the trunk without taking up all the space. That was the birth of "Pancake Products," collapsing wagons and carts.

Shapiro designed the collapsing wagons and carts with a pivoting wheel assembly so that the device folds down to 3 inches thick. No parts have to be removed, and — with practice — it takes about 17 seconds to break down the product. Shapiro has made three prototypes — a wagon, a cart and a folding stroller/jogger.

"I knew I had to get rid of the wheels and the axle if I wanted to get it in the car," Shapiro said. "Then one day on my way out to the car I thought of the perfect device, the pivoting wheel."

Shapiro used Styrofoam and a miniature toy wagon to make the first working prototype. He then moved on to his children's toys.  "My kids were real good about it," said Shapiro of Rachel, 8, and Dillon, 5. "They can even still play with most of their toys."

It took Shapiro six months to work out the drawings on paper. It has taken almost two years for Shapiro to get one of the several patents he wants secured. And it has taken him that long to market his product to potential distributors like Hippo Design and I-tech, a sporting goods company.

Phil Gurecki of Accurate Machine in Norfolk built the Pancake Products. The first debut of Pancake Products was in October at the Yankee Invention Expo in Connecticut. Shapiro said everyone at the show responded well to his invention.  "The goal is to one day have my products for sale in Toys R Us and Home Depot," Shapiro said. "The public seems to like the products, but the real trick is getting the manufacturers to see there is significant consumer demand." Shapiro said his Pancake Products will retail anywhere between $75 and $100. "I think I've really got something here and that is exciting," Shapiro said. "It is just a painstaking process getting all the kinks worked out.
 

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