Idea Generation Part 1

Phone Car Mount

Mind Map

Exaptation

Passions

• Outdoor sports/activities — backpacking, climbing, camping, canoeing, biking, running, longboarding

• Low poly digital art
• Music — listening & discussing, making playlists, playing tuba & trombone

Interests

• Books and movies — especially science fiction & fantasy
• Sneakers & fashion
• Building computers
• Travel

Areas of Expertise — Courses on:

• History — ancient & medieval technology, architecture, and culture
• Horticulture — propagation of houseplants, succulents, fruits & vegetables, etc
• Coding — Python & Java

Ideas:

• Leonardo Da Vinci “balestra gigante” crossbow-shaped phone mount that holds the phone in place with the string and tension from bow arms
• Phone mount made out of fabric commonly found in sneakers (canvas, suede, fly-knit meshes, rubber soles, etc), allowing for variety of styles and customization
• Mount with low poly textured non-slip surface; pyramidal base cradles phone between textured panel and slope of pyramid
• Car stereo replacement — old school boombox with cutout for a phone and charging port in place of cassette tray; physical media buttons synced to phone
• Heavy duty, extra durable car mount with built-in swappable portable batteries that charge while driving for camping/going from location to location; clips to two vents

• Mount styled after Han Solo frozen in carbonite: Han’s hands grip top of phone (fingers on spring-loaded hinges) or contain magnets
• Tuba-shaped brass or plastic mount with a slot that aligns with speaker grill; acoustic amplification of navigation audio through tuba bell
• Mini canoe that sits on dash panel; phone sits horizontally inside canoe
• Mini climbing harness that holds bottom corners of phone with “leg loops”; “waist loop” supports middle of phone
• Succulent planter that sits on dash panel and supports phone, utilizes sunlight to add foliage to car interior

TILMAG

Functional requirements for a phone car mount:

• Maintains phone’s orientation
• Allows for easy mounting/dismounting
• Resists motion
• Protects phone (or is at least non-abrasive)

TILMAG Matrix crossing 4 functional requirements of a phone car mount

List of ideas stemmed by using TILMAG to cross these products:

1. Phone swaddled by a cloth wrap; could offer an assortment of fabrics and patterns
2. Phone braced by frame with adjustable straps
3. Phone mounted with wide elastic bands, either across corners or vertically and horizontally
4. Phone strapped into place with soft silicone and “belt buckle” system across body
5. Phone “buckled in” with seatbelt-type apparatus running diagonal and horizontal to phone
6. A phone mount that incorporates bubble wrap or a similar vibration dampening material (silicone?) to cushion phone from bumps
7. Phone case that slides into a flash hot shoe
8. Phone platform with adjustable lifting and tilting capabilities like a hospital stretcher or scissor lift
9. Phone case with with sliding panel to reveal velcro, opposite texture adhered to car
10. Double sided suction cup for connection to car and phone
11. Easel shaped cradle in center console or on dash
12. Battery holder styled spring-loaded compartment with a ribbon for releasing the phone

SCAMPER

Substitute

• Replace ball and socket joint with dual axis hinge
• Replace 12V cigarette lighter charger with solar panels
• Replace 12V charger with a wind turbine on top of/in front of car
• Change manufacturing process to 3D printing of custom sized mounts, eliminating need for variability in each mount
• Replace a side grips and cradle with a phone case that has a central mounting point
• Change the packaging by incorporating a window to allow consumers to test device compatibility
• Recruit artisans to replace mass-produced components like rubber and plastic with hand-crafted metalwork, sculptures, or carved wood

Combine

• Mount phone to ashtrays in older cars via double-sided spring system that inserts into ashtray, pushing against sides
• Mount phone to emergency brake handle/gear stick
• Mount phone to sun visor in place of mirror
• Merge vent-based mount with an air freshener
• Combine mount with FM transmitter
• Combine mount with speakers to amplify audio directions and music
• Combine phone holder with wireless earbud charging case

Adapt

• Emulate phone bike mounts with multi-directional silicone bands
• Incorporate an action camera mounting system like GoPro
• Incorporate camera tripod screw mounting method with omni-directional positioning via hinges
• Incorporate camera flash mounting method via hot shoe with springs to hold phone in place
• Emulate runners’ phone holders by putting the phone inside a pocket with a transparent front
• Incorporate transparent drybag concept (like for use on boats or camping) for extreme weather contexts or for cars with open tops
• Emulate a kangaroo pouch to hold phone
• Emulate a Gameboy with a similarly styled mount, where the phone is inserted where a game cartridge would typically go and phone display is mirrored on Gameboy screen; map buttons to media controls

Magnify

• Extend mount horizontally to span multiple vents and fit 2+ phones
• Exaggerate extension from mounting point with a long bendable arm, allowing for a multitude of viewing angles and positions
• Extend bottom cradle to create shelf space for a wallet (or other items commonly removed from pockets while driving)

Modify

• Removable mount that serves as a portable phone stand so it can be used more often outside of the car
• Cube-shaped mount that attaches to car on one side and has magnets on all of the other faces for mounting multiple phones or simply more positioning options
• Instead of mounting in front of driver, mount phone to the headrest posts have it wrap around to face the driver
• Mobile charging station: Add multiple built-in charging ports side by side for phone, headphones, smartwatch, portable battery, etc

Put to other use

• Mount phone to the back of a plane seat for watching movies
• Attach mount to a headboard or wall near bed for watching movies/TV
• Mount phone out of reach of a bed to make it more difficult to snooze alarms
• Mount phone alongside monitor for a workstation setup
• Attach mount to cabinet doors/undersides to follow along with recipes when cooking
• Mount to tile inside/outside shower for easy access to music controls, weather, news, etc
• Mount phone to a guitar or other instrument to follow along with digital sheet music

Eliminate

• Bottom cradle portion can be eliminated if there are side grips present
• Side grips and cradle are unnecessary through the use of a magnet
• Movable joint/adjustable arms are non-essential; a fixed mount would suffice
• Drastically reduce size with more powerful magnets/electromagnets. Adhere metal plate to dashboard, connect magnet, then adhere secondary metal plate to phone
• Reduce material by implementing wireframe structure
• Omit arm component; mount phone to vent/dash directly
• Eliminate charging function to decrease cost, materials, weight, etc

Reverse/Rearrange

• Orient phone on horizontal plane on top of dash panel instead of vertically in front of dash
• Position mount so that phone faces windshield; place a small (translucent?) mirror opposite from phone screen and display directions backward to reduce phone interaction and distractions
• Removable car GPS that has calling capabilities → GPS first, phone second
• Clamp that grips phone along top or bottom bezel instead of across width
• A mechanism where the phone is inserted into a box horizontally and a system of mirrors reflect the light so that it displays on a vertical panel

TRIZ

Contradiction #1: A mount must be able to securely hold the phone, but not be so bulky that it damages the car or is too heavy to remain in place.

Feature to improve: weight of a stationary object

Feature to preserve: length of a stationary object

Contradiction #2: Make the mounting process easier without compromising the security of the mount

Feature to improve: ease of operation

Feature to preserve: stability of the object

Contradiction #3: Allow for a mount to fit a variety of phones/cars without making it too complex

Feature to improve: adaptability or versatility

Feature to preserve: device complexity

10 Ideas

4 People

The four people who will be joining me for a brainstorming session are Charlie, Henry, Ziyi, and Kush. We will be meeting on Thursday, October 31 in Rapson from 5:30–6:30 PM.

Timeline:

Wed 10/16: Spend at least half an hour beginning mind map process; start considering brainstorming session candidates; publish outline and timeline by 10 pm

Thu 10/17: Continue mind map idea generation; write down passions and interests and try to find connections between those and car mounts

Fri 10/18: Begin SCAMPER generation process; ask potential candidates for their interest and availability

Sat 10/19: Continue SCAMPER; work on TILMAG

Mon 10/21: Select applicable TRIZ principles and list ideas stemming from these; select 10 best ideas from all 5 methods

Tue 10/22: Sketch 10 best ideas; upload images and write textual portions of blog

Wed 10/23: Publish blog by 10 pm; go over key presentation points to keep it concise yet thorough