reelight magnic competitor on kickstarter

[SA_SA_SA]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1651132789/neo-worlds-most-powerful-friction-free-bikelight/description

surely a 2 point or more mounting would be better?

[andrew_s]

Looks like a re-hash of the Magnic light, which has been available for a couple of years.
(original kickstarter), (buy here)
The Magnic spins the magnets on a vertical axis (i.e radial wrt the wheel) with a single coil surrounding the lot, rather than horizontal (parallel to the wheel axle) with one coil per magnet. The original version was of similar brightness - about 100 lumens apiece, and was on if the wheel was moving, but the current version seems to have modes.

I wouldn't trust that the band-on mounting will be properly satisfactory - the Magnic had one if you couldn't use the preferred brake mounts, and it made it difficult to set and keep the rim/light gap suitably small and keep it there. There's also the same problem in that it assumes that you don't have a rack or anything else that gets in the way. My rear Magnic went out of use when I fitted a rack (I never had a front).

[les186]

Good review of the Reelight rl770, which is the top of the range set, at http://audaxcycling.blogspot.co.uk/2013 ... hting.html.

[mjr]

It looks like a souped-up version of the Reelight City viewtopic.php?f=5&t=89867 which will not work if your wheel contains steel and a surprising number of aluminium wheels contain steel strengtheners. My Reelight City are still not yet in use, as I've only just got an unlit bike that I think can use them! (but I'll probably discover that's got steel strengtheners in the rim once I try...)

[SA_SA_SA]

A pity they don't make the lamp separate from the generator as an option....

[tykeboy2003]

A pity they don't make the lamp separate from the generator as an option....

Agree totally. Not so much for the front but I have a rack on the back of both my bikes with one of these sort of things on top. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bontrager/rack-trunk-bag-deluxe-ec037518

Same goes for the Magnic lights.

Seems a perfectly reasonable (and popular) option to me.

[ConRAD]

... looks like a re-hash of the Magnic light...

What I’m pretty disappointed of is that these “new” revolutionary bike lights seem to be presently advertised as to be covered by a sort of a (pending) “new patent” technology.
Now, I remember that roughly two or three years ago, or so, Magnic Light, after a long “kickstarter” prototyping process, was already a patented design.
So, since I believe that “eddy currents”, as a particular case of stray currents, cannot be patented in their own very basic concept, how is it possible now to read in the Reelight (proprietary) advertisements things like this one:

… they are battery free bicycle lights powered by a new patent pending technology, which takes advantages of Eddy Currents generated by the rotating aluminum rim on your bike … these revolutionary bike lights are powered by eddy currents generated when the wheel rim passes the light ..

Question: is it possible/legal/acceptable to re-patent something just changing horizontal to vertical rotation or single-coil to a multi-coil arrangement ???

... can't believe it !!

(edit: corrected rellight into Reelight)

[[XAP]Bob]

Add the words 'on a mobile device'

[ConRAD]

… as far as I understand, “Kickstarter” is supposed to be a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity.
Yes, “creativity” !!! So how can they accept and promote projects that from the point of view of creativity have absolutely nothing?

[ConRAD]

... hey, just a moment, I've been checking right now on the official web site of Magnic Light, it says: "International Patent Pending PCT/EP/2012/001431" ... perhaps "PENDING" means that everybody in the meantime can apply for the same design ?

[andrew_s]

Other people can apply for a patent, but if the Magnic guy applied first, he'll get the patent if anyone gets it.
Whether the Reelight people can also get a patent will depend on whether the Magnic guy's patent application was just for his specific design, or a more general application of the use of Lenz's law to spin the rotor of a regular generator.
Lenz's law is demonstrated by a number of youtube videos showing magnets being dropped through copper tubes

[ConRAD]

Well, as far as I know nobody will ever argue about the patentability of a universal law like the Lenz's law, nor anybody will think to apply for a patent just changing the number of contacts in a relay, the coils confuguration in a transformer, the number of poles in a motor or generator... and so forth.
Now, what I can see in the Magnic Light is that the inventor used, for the very first time ever, a very particular case of the Lenz' law, commonly known as Eddy Currents, to get a certain arrangement of permanent magnets to enter into rotation when set close to a rotating rim in the intent to produce electricity.
The Reelight design is for me just a variation on the theme; as I said, just changing the rotation axis, number of poles, coils, external design, colour or anything else is IMO totally out of the scope of any "creativity" or "invention" concept.

[SA_SA_SA]

I thought the term patent pending was regarded as meaningless....

[ConRAD]

… “PENDING” for ever I’m afraid since the guy of Magnic Light started to speak about his invention a little bit too early and with too many details through the “kickstarter” platform, thus making the whole thing available to the entire world all at once ... not quite a good strategy I’d say !!

[mjr]

… “PENDING” for ever I’m afraid since the guy of Magnic Light started to speak about his invention a little bit too early and with too many details through the “kickstarter” platform, thus making the whole thing available to the entire world all at once ... not quite a good strategy I’d say !!

That doesn't preclude the patent being granted as long as you can show that it's not obvious and that you thought of it first. Patents cannot be avoided by "clean room re-creation" like copyright or designs, but it's hard to show you were first which is why filing races sometimes occur.

It is odd if it's been pending for some time, though. I thought they granted any old rubbish but that's maybe only the USA with software