About the Invention

Death or injury to pedestrians from traffic accidents in dim light conditions can be prevented if visibility of the pedestrians is increased. Safety for bikers and hikers, snowmobilers or anyone at risk on the roads is Lise Devost Reckler's obsession. This New Brunswick woman, a seamstress by trade, has invented a harness called the ProteXion Plus Harness for adults as well as children. Instead of a full jacket, which safety crews wear, Lisa's lightweight reflective harness is a simple X on the front and an X on the back. It reflects light up to 1/3 kilometer (about 1000 feet). The harness weighs only about 125 grams (4 oz.), and because it folds into its own pouch, it can be carried in a pocket. This pouch has a reflective strip on the outside and can simply be strapped on an arm or leg.

Reckler holds patents for her product in both the U.S. and Canada (1995 and1997). When the U.S. patent was approved, Reckler says she cried with relief and exhaustion following years of effort and expense leading to this approval. Reckler credits her brother and sister with encouraging her to "do something practical" to prevent traffic accidents to pedestrians like the one which killed her uncle and which almost killed her sister.

In developing the business plan, Reckler had help from Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency, as well as a loan. At peak production she had 13 employees but they are all gone now and her building is up for sale. She has a second mortgage on her house and is in danger of losing her house to the bank. She says she cannot give up. At this point she has invested about $10,000 in patents, owes Atlantic Canada about $30,000 and has unsold inventory of 4000 pieces. What went wrong? She cannot find a marketer. She has gone to trade shows, given away prototypes, hired a marketing agent who absconded with her products, worked with a U.S. intellectual property firm which vanished and she still is trying to get her product out. She has had publicity: the New Brunswick Ministry of Transportation made a video, and she is seen as a woman of invention.

From the Waterloo School of Business, she has since learned that it is not necessary to get the full patent right away. Instead, to have "patent pending" status, which costs only about $1500, allows an inventor to test the marketing of the product and proceed with more assurance of success. She has a web site and is hoping to sell her harness on-line.

About the Inventor

Lise Devost Reckler is 51, a single mother who completed her formal schooling as an adult. She has taken courses in marketing, a hotel and restaurant course and a bookkeeping course at the grade 12 level. She had a fabric shop and still sews for customers from her house. Recently, Lise has gone back to waitressing in order to keep some cash coming in. After a late night on the job, she sits at her computer searching the internet for opportunities to market her product. She has one daughter, Jeannie, who is 19 years old and is studying biochemistry at university.

Her advisor, Marc Babineau from Atlantic Canada, says Lise has the characteristics necessary in a successful inventor: a good product and tenacity. He has a ProteXion Plus harness, and when he goes running, he wears it in its reflective packet on his leg. Now, all she needs are buyers. Through her website, Lise hopes to increase knowledge of the ProteXion Plus Harness, with the goal that soon it will become a standard safety accessory.