In 1991, inspired to help the citizens of Africa, Trevor Baylis created the wind-up radio. With a substantial lack of electricity or batteries, information was hard to spread across the continent and during this time, the AIDS crisis was rampant. By creating a radio that could run off of a crank, Baylis helped deliver the news to hundreds of thousands of people in Africa. Baylis’ U.S. patent for the crank radio issued in June 1999, as U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,310.
Baylis went on to invent a shoe that could generate electricity as you walked. He also developed products for people with disabilities such as one-handed scissors. He created the Trevor Baylis Foundation which hoped to help inventors protect their work.
Trevor Baylis passed away on March 5, 2018 at age 80. We appreciate his contribution to society.
For more information about patents and intellectual property matters, please contact Pamela K. Riewerts, Esq., partner at Oliver & Grimsley, LLC. Pamela may be reached via email at: pamela@olivergrimsley.com