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Doorstop for people with physical disabilities

Shared by Ana Duarte on 2016-04-11 18:02

About the solution

When Robert was a child he went through a lot of painful operations to get him with only partial use of his left arm and hand.

Duff and his 17-year-old son, Juliano, had the idea of taking the standard doorstop base, using a wood wedge, and attaching a dial stick to it — a simple alteration that made it easy to prop a door open without having to bend down. “People think of janitorial work as a no-brainer job, but you do have to have the right tools to do it well,” Duff said. “I realized if this was something helpful for us to use, it had the potential to benefit lots of other people, too.”

This invention has ergonomic benefits, because propping open doors without bending over benefits cleaning personnel because it means less stress on back, knees, and legs.

Since the first version, Duff worked to develop a prototype, which he changed several times before producing a doorstop with a wedge-shaped rubber base coupled with a broom-style 30-inch handle.

Robert founded his own company, Duff's Doorstopper LLC, in 2007, having all patents registered.

Adapted from: http://www.disabled-world.com/assistivedevices/doorstop.php

More info: http://duffsdoorstopper.com/

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DISCLAIMER: This story was written by someone who is not the author of the solution, therefore please be advised that, although it was written with the utmost respect for the innovation and the innovator, there can be some incorrect statements. If you find any errors please contact the patient Innovation team via info@patient-innovation.com

About the author

Robert Duff, born in USA, was born with cerebral palsy and invented a doorstop with a handle. One time, he was carrying cleaning equipment through an automatic closing door. He damaged the finish of an expensive office door. The owner made him pay the repair, which cost several hundred dollars. That’s what made him create the Duff’s Doorstoper.

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