FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 11, 2003) – Double Decker® Stroller, Inc., a manufacturer of Double Decker® and Triple Decker® strollers for infants, has overcome a major challenge in expanding its market with the help of the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP).
     The strollers manufactured by Double Decker Stroller are used by families with twins or triplets and are designed so that baby car seats can be “locked” on the stroller. Consumers have to buy only a removable car seat for each child and attach it to the stroller. However, the strollers could be used with car seats produced by only one of the leading car seat manufacturers.
     Double Decker Strollers wanted to make their stroller locking mechanism compatible with another major brand of car seats in order expand their market. The company did not want to redesign the stroller and was looking for a cost-effective solution to make the locking mechanism adaptable to other car seats.
     Marshajene Schaaf, president of Double Decker Stroller, decided to contact SATOP for help. SATOP provides free engineering assistance to small businesses with technical challenges through the donations of time and expertise from 30 Space Alliance Partners.
      SATOP put Schaaf in touch with Richard Wood, P.E., senior vice president at AJT & Associates, a SATOP Alliance Partner in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Within a few weeks, Wood presented Schaaf with a simple, cost-effective solution using plastic, flexible hose purchased at Home Depot.
     Wood’s prototype solution consisted of placing the hose over the existing cross bars of the stroller, allowing the second brand of car seat to be locked in place securely. “After analyzing what it would take to secure the car seat in place, it became a challenge to provide the fix with a simple accessory item,” explained Wood. “I ended up using a few inches of flexible, plastic hose slit lengthwise over the cross bar to act as a bushing.” Wood tested his solution by pushing the stroller, with car seats attached, around the AJT offices.
     Schaaf said that she was impressed with the adapter device Wood provided because it required no tooling changes to the existing stroller and will be easy for consumers to attach. The adapter also can be sent out to existing customers so that they can have the option of using another brand of car seat with the stroller.
     “Thanks to SATOP we are now able to expand our market because our new stroller model can now accommodate both of the major car seat brands,” Schaaf said. “As a small company, it would have been almost impossible for us to access the engineering expertise of someone like Richard Wood without the help from SATOP.”