A 34-YEAR-OLD balloon vendor in Nanshan District has acquired 11 national patents in the past five years for a diverse range of inventions.
Zhang Feng, who only has a primary school education, quit his job as patrolman five years after moving to Shenzhen from Anhui Province in 1997. He then immersed himself entirely in inventing dozens of items of daily use, including a constant-temperature baby bottle, an inductive ashtray, an automatic bedpan for patients and a floor-accessible wheelchair.
The automatic bedpan and floor-accessible wheelchair were invented for Zhang’s uncle, a bone marrow cancer patient. Once a patient lying on the hospital bed presses a button, the board covering the bedpan moves away. The patient can also adjust the height of the bed.
Some businessmen have shown interest in Zhang’s inductive ashtray, which is in the shape of a bird. When the smoker’s hand reaches the “bird,” a hidden “mouth” emerges to “swallow” the ash.
However, inventing these items has not been cheap.
Zhang, who had 200,000 yuan (US$26,316) in the bank when he started out, now owes people 30,000 yuan. Since Zhang quit his job, the sole breadwinner in the family has been his wife, a supermarket employee.
However, the couple lost all their possession in a fire. Donations from kind-hearted residents in their neighborhood helped them through the difficulties.
“A man surnamed Chen donated 10,000 yuan with which I started a balloon stand,” said Zhang.Although the couple now make 4,000 to 5,000 yuan a month from business, but the amount is still far from compensate their losses in the fire.
Zhang said he does not invent for money but for the satisfaction he gets. (Cao Zhen)