The Story So Far…
Dr. Tony Moreton has invented and developed a new SELF INFLATING CUSHION that avoids the need for any type of air valve, the main drawback of all current inflatable products. The system employs a unique self sealing system and works in a similar manner as to when air becomes trapped inside a plastic bag. Very easy and rapid to inflate and deflate, the product can be used at events or concerts, sports events visits to the park or seaside and for sitting on a wall or wet bench. It can also be used as a very comfortable back rest, as a pillow in the car or on a plane or as a children’s booster cushion say in the cinema or at a restaurant. The original idea was prompted by reading an article about a new type of portable cardboard seat. This, together with many years of sitting on hard uncomfortable stadium seats whilst supporting his eldest son Adam, a member of Pinewood Judo Club, at International Judo competitions all over the UK and Northern Europe, led to a search of available, easily portable seating products. An inflatable system seemed to be the way forward, but it occurred to Tony that it should be possible to devise a product that avoided the huffing and puffing of conventional inflatables and the subsequent wrestling with the air valve to let them down. Following the initial idea, Tony with the help of a close friend Dave Kirby, developed and tested various methods and seal types. Raw material PVC was obtained in the form of children’s water slides and other inflatable products from local stores. They then purchased a heat welder, PVC glue and Velcro and proceeded to produce prototypes during evenings and weekends under a cloak of tight secrecy. Once the concept had been adequately proven a Patent Application and Trademark submission were submitted.
A search for possible collaborators to assist with bringing the cushion into mass production and to market led the duo, after a number of false starts, to another Oxfordshire based company ABC Inflatables Ltd in Banbury.
From the outset the partnership of the two companies was a resounding success and after some ten months of close working and perseverance with their Chinese factory, initial hand samples and then pre-production testing samples led to the first batch of EEZI-SIT RTM cushions landing in the UK late in March. These are now being sold online and marketed to events and promotions companies. We are also in advanced discussions with Sumed International (UK) Ltd. who specialise in the manufacture of pressure relieving cushions, in relation to the medical market on an exclusive basis.
Initial feed-back has been extremely positive and whilst it remains to be seen if this product will lead to a career changing moment for Tony Moreton and Dave Kirby the process has been an enjoyable and enlightening voyage of discovery so far. In any event, Tony’s youngest son, Harry, is now about to begin Judo competitions for the first time at the age of eight and so at least the Moreton family and friends will be able to sit a little more comfortably at some of the venues in the future!
