Sunday February 15, 2009
Not full of hot air
Story and photos by GRACE CHEN
Peter Lee has come up with an invention that will tide you over if your car tyres deflate.
WHEN Peter Lee announced to friends and family that he had just patented his latest invention – a flat tyre assist system – the reaction was one of skepticism.
It would have been different, joked the 63-year-old Elvis impersonator, if he had been a university professor instead of a hip-gyrating performer in a shiny sequined suit.
Peter Lee with his invention that helps to prevent further damage to deflated tyres and saves the driver from having to change tyres mid journey. Still, he surmised, it wouldn’t hurt to add an element of rock ’n’ roll in what he hopes will be the future must-have in automobiles.
In explaining his invention, Lee revealed that the flat tyre assist system (“Flatech” for short) is basically a second smaller solid rubber tyre fitted to a car’s existing wheel which will rotate together while the car is being driven.
The device, which weighs about 3-4kg per unit, does not interfere with road function as it will not be in contact with the road as long as the car tyres are inflated.
In the event of a puncture, the spare will support the damaged wheel, allowing the vehicle to be driven at a lower speed (not exceeding 40 km per hour) to a safer location for repairs.
“Without the system, the driver would have to stop in the event of a deflated wheel or the tyre walls will crumble and cause the rims permanent damage,” explained Lee, who hails from Taiping but now lives in Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Lee showing how the device fits onto the wheel of a car. And it is in the act of stopping, he pointed out, which will expose driver to the risk of robbery or another vehicle slamming into the stalled car.
The idea came to Lee in 2004 after he had read a newspaper report of a fatal accident which had taken place after the driver stopped within an emergency lane to change a flat tyre.
“It is a great pity to see that lives can be so abruptly cut short by negligence. This is not to say that my invention will solve every automobile mishap but I hope that it will play a part in preventing the unwanted in the event of tyre puncture,” said Lee.
Of course, Lee had to endure small doses of ridicule for his idea.
“In fact, I only told my family and friends about the system after I had obtained the patent certificate from the Intellectual Property Corporation Of Malaysia (MyIPO) last July 31. They couldn’t imagine that a happy-go-lucky character like me would have an inventive streak,” said Lee with a laugh.
Little did his buddies know that Lee, a retired businessman who used to sell PA systems, did have an affinity for mechanical and electrical devices.
A close-up view of Lee’s Flatech device which is like a second wheel fitted to the existing tyre. He is not averse to taking out his top engine for a gasket change and a de-carbonising clean-up.
He even changes his car’s brakes and shock absorbers himself.
Lee can also be quite the handyman at home and his recent triumphs include repairing a rice cooker and an iron.
“They were destined for the garbage bin until I opened them up and discovered that all the rice cooker needed was a new fuse and the iron, a cable replacement. Didn’t cost me more than one ringgit,” he explained.
Lee had earlier invited his critics for a test drive. With an investment of RM10,000, Lee sought a welder’s help to outfit all four tyres of his car with the system.
In one experiment, Lee drove from Tapah to Taiping on four purposely deflated tyres with his wife and two sons on board.
The successful completion of Lee’s journey prompted him to toy with the idea of production and that was when he found a rubber manufacturer from Ipoh to improvise on the prototype.
Rubber was the natural choice for Lee’s invention because of its resilient and shock-absorbing qualities.
For this project, the manufacturer specially formulated a type of buthyle rubber and while the wear-and-tear resistance test is still ongoing, they have revealed that the rubber has the ability to withstand a pressure of one ton.
Though this is Lee’s first invention, he is optimistic that it will do well.
“I have had comments that this has already been done overseas and that I should not waste my time.
“In my opinion, a sure way to ensure that a project will not take off is not to do anything about it.
“I believe that inventions are to make life easier so we have to think out of the box and not be afraid of ridicule. Though not everything can be a success, you will never know if you don’t try,” said Lee.
For Flatech enquiries or should you need an Elvis impersonator, call Peter Lee at 019-644 1148.
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