When Sam Morrison designed a pillow to make his wife’s car rides more comfortable, he didn’t plan a journey of his own.
The Stark County native has invented about 10 products. The Add On Head Rest was the first he patented.
“I designed the headrest out of necessity for my wife,” Morrison says. “Because it worked so well for her, she said, ‘Why not market these?'”
In the process, Morrison discovered that his invention was more than a comfortable addition to a typical automobile seat. It also has the potential to reduce neck injuries resulting from accidents.
Morrison’s son-in-law, David Braendel, who has a background in sales and marketing, joined the effort to market the product.
When Braendel showed the headrest to a chiropractor who studies how injuries occur during car accidents, he suggested having the item tested for its safety potential.
Texas A & M’s Accident Reconstruction Program crash tested the wedge-shaped cushions, using human subjects. The headrest proved “highly effective in reducing the damaging forces” that cause whiplash.
The impact tests, which involve volunteers, are done at low speeds.
“The problem with most cars is there is simply too much space between the back of the head and the headrest,” Braendel says. “During a rear-end collision, the head travels 12 to 18 inches with a force as great as seven g’s in a quarter of a second. That’s twice as much force as an astronaut experiences when he takes off in a rocket.”
While that might seem like a great selling point, Braendel says they are still having problems marketing the pillow, which sells for $24.95. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found more than half the vehicles on the road have “poor” head-restraint designs and only five out of more than 200 models tested have a “good” rating.
“It’s difficult convincing people they need the product,” Braendel says. “We know seat belts save lives but we had to mandate it as law before people would use them. The headrest won’t get to that point, but it does provide safety and comfort.”
Morrison and Braendel originally approached the medical community as a marketing outlet.
“It hasn’t worked as well as we’d hoped,” Braendel says. “We would like to think physicians have a preventative point of view, but from their lack of orders, I would have to say that belief has fallen short.”
The two are marketing the product through their Web site, catalogs and mail-order companies. They hope to have the product represented on a home-shopping network such as QVC and they plan to approach chain department stores like Wal-Mart.
“We’re also hoping to do an ‘informercial’ and get more medical professionals involved,” Braendel says.
Morrison founded Morrison Tire in 1969. He lived in Stark County for 53 years before moving to Charlotte, N.C., several years ago “for the warmer weather.”
Among his other inventions are a product called “foot slick,” which helps water-skiers slip into ski boots without injury; a specialized “swab bucket” for repairing tires; and a more efficient method for inflating truck tires.
How to reach Wedge Support Products: (888) 800-7117
