Image: Contributed
A lot can be done with a single patent, and one Kelowna entrepreneur is a prime example.
Bill Ferguson runs iGuardFire, the company that produces the iGuardStove kitchen fire safety unit.
The unit uses a motion sensor and automatic shutoff to help prevent kitchen fires before they start, but Ferguson has taken that relatively simple technology and built it out into a surprisingly comprehensive home safety system.
For years, Ferguson’s uncle held the patent on the technology, but Ferguson admitted the man “wasn’t much of a marketer,” so the business never really got off the ground.
However, even though the iGuardStove languished somewhat, Ferguson’s uncle still held a patent on stove safety technology involving a motion sensor.
That legal lockdown has proved important, Ferguson says, because it prevented anyone else from putting a similar product on the market, sidelining products that would be potential competitors today.
“A motion sensor is the logical way to control a stove if you’re not going to be around, so having that patent was a big deal,” Ferguson said.
Several years ago, Ferguson took control of the iGuardStove, after licensing the patent from his uncle and completely redesigning the unit.
Ferguson is an electrician by trade, and a bit of a tinkerer as well. He said his uncle’s former device was fairly clunky, and looked kind of like “cold-war-era technology.”
When he set about overhauling the unit, he realized it was built around a technology that presented far more opportunities than simple stove safety.
The iGuardStove is built on a simple concept. The device links to the oven, and monitors movement in the kitchen through a motion sensor.
When the stovetop or oven is on, and the sensor doesn’t detect any movement in the kitchen for a set amount of time, it shuts the heat source off.
However, Ferguson realized the product also put a motion sensor directly in the heart of the home. By linking that sensor to a wireless network, Ferguson was able to transform the iGuardStove from a simple safety device into a far more comprehensive emergency system.
“You’ve got a motion sensor in there, and it’s triggering certain data events all the time, why can’t you have the motion sensor do this, and all these other things?” he asked.
Anyone who buys an iGuardStove can sign up for an online account, where they can remotely access all of the data from the sensor.
One of Ferguson’s biggest markets is adult parents who use the iGuardStove to help keep their aging parents safe in their own home.
The online account means users know exactly how often the emergency shutoff is triggered. They can also remotely shut off the stove, or even set up an override so it can’t be turned on at all.
They can also set it up so they receive direct text message alerts if the emergency shutoff is activated.
Ferguson even tells the story of one customer who’s aging mother was beginning to suffer from dementia. The mother always seemed tired, but since no care workers were at her house overnight, they had no way of knowing what was going on.
However, using the motion sensor tools on the online account, the daughter was able to see her mother activating the iGuardStove’s motion sensor multiple times a night, telling her she wasn’t sleeping.
That information allowed doctors to adjust the mom’s medication to help deal with the problem.
“All that is just in your stove device because we’ve got a motion sensor. So we’re protecting the house from fires, and we’re giving information you just can’t get elsewhere,” Ferguson says. “This is just such a simple thing to use, but it can help in so many ways–it’s incredible.”
All Biz Profiles Stories
