Marie Van Brittan Brown
If in case you have a house safety system, it is best to thank Marie Van Brittan Brown. She was a Black girl inventor who designed the primary residence safety system greater than 50 years in the past. Whereas Brown’s invention was a bit forward of its time and never everybody was prepared for it simply but, it created the groundwork for future developments in safety. Even throughout the previous few years, a number of inventors have referred to her work when describing their very own concepts for residence safety measures. Regardless of how consequential her invention was, Marie Van Brittan Brown didn’t have a background in know-how or safety. Learn on to study extra about what impressed her to design the system and the way it labored.
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Who was Marie Van Brittan Brown?
Marie Van Brittan Brown was born on October 22, 1922, in Queens, New York. Upon ending her training, Brown turned a nurse. She married Albert Brown, an electronics technician. She and her husband had two youngsters: Albert Brown Jr. and Norma Brown. Marie lived in Queens till February 2, 1999, when she died.
What Motivated Brown to invent a safety system?
Marie and her husband Albert lived in Jamaica, Queens, which was not the most secure neighborhood. As a nurse, her shifts didn’t match the usual hours that almost all of her neighbors labored, and she or he typically got here residence at odd hours. As an electronics technician, Brown’s husband Albert was typically away from residence at evening, that means that she was not solely coming residence late, however was residence alone.
Feeling secure in your individual house is necessary, however together with her odd work hours, the truth that her husband was typically gone, and the excessive crime fee in her neighborhood, Brown didn’t really feel secure. All of those elements motivated Brown to take measures to maintain her and her residence secure. She devised plans and had her husband assist with a number of the electrical elements essential for the system to work.
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Marie Van Brittan Brown and Albert L. Brown safety system design, courtesy U.S. Patent and Trademark Workplace
How the Dwelling Safety System Labored
As talked about earlier, Brown’s invention was fairly superior, particularly for the Nineteen Sixties. It featured a number of totally different elements that labored collectively, permitting Brown to observe who was outdoors her door and even discuss to them by means of a speaker.
One important a part of the system was the peepholes alongside the entrance of the door. Every of those peepholes had been positioned at a distinct degree, making it attainable to see youngsters and adults of various heights. A digital camera was connected alongside the within of the door. It was motorized and capable of transfer up and down between the totally different peepholes. The digital camera despatched video to a monitor, permitting Brown and others to observe the entrance porch from inside the home.
If guests, both anticipated or surprising, confirmed up, Brown may talk with them through the built-in microphone and speaker. She may simply let in welcome company by unlocking the door with a distant management. For undesirable company, Brown may faucet a button to ship an alert to the native police division.
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Marie Van Brittan Brown and husband Albert featured in a New York Occasions article
The Influence of Brown’s Invention
In 1966, Brown and her husband requested a patent for his or her residence safety system. Marie was listed because the lead inventor on the patent software. Although its patent was accredited in 1969, Brown’s safety system was by no means produced or offered to the general public. The precise reasoning isn’t clear, however it’s seemingly associated to how costly the system would have been and the low probability that buyers can be prepared to spend that a lot cash on it.
Nonetheless, even if Brown by no means made cash from her invention, it performed a big position within the improvement of future safety programs. As many as 35 U.S. patent candidates have referenced her system of their functions. It laid the groundwork to make all of as we speak’s technologically superior safety programs—together with distant door locks, video surveillance programs, set off alarms, and lots of extra—attainable. It simply goes to point out the impression that an invention devised in a storage or residence can have on our future.
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Dwelling Safety Right this moment
Right this moment, residence safety is a $56.9 billion greenback trade. It’s anticipated to proceed rising, reaching $84.4 billion in 2027. These are numbers that had been most likely unfathomable to Marie Van Brittan Brown in 1966. Shoppers seeking to shield their residence have a number of choices obtainable to them. They will rent an expert safety firm to outfit their residence with alarms, cameras, movement detectors, and different safeguards. Alternatively, there are a number of DIY safety programs, corresponding to Ring, Wyze, and SimpliSafe, that people should buy and set up on their very own.
