Chop-n-Drop

1. Chop-n-Drop Ashwin D 10 Michigan

2. Things to think about as you complete your submission….. Take time to make your presentation impressive. Use diagrams, video, voice, and photos. You may include multiple slides for each step of the invention process.

3. Have a great idea for an invention (required step) Ooh! Dessert time. “ I will cut the strawberries today”, I said to my Mom. I got the cutting board out and got started. But within a few minutes, I realized that I had a problem. You see, I cut the tops off the strawberries and had put them in a pile on one side on the board and the halved strawberries on the other side. But that had led to reducing my cutting space on the board. Also now the two piles were so big they were starting to mix with each other. That meant I would have to sit down and separate out the scraps and the food that was cut. My mom just suggested using a separate bowl, but I thought there has to be a better way than taking out bowls. Hmm! Thinking time.

4. Investigate inventions and ideas of the past (required step) I checked the cutting boards available on the internet and found quite a few interesting ones. One called the Chef-n-prep has an attached collapsible colander on one end and a detachable transfer tray on the other end. Great, but I thought for the colander to work, we would always have to get the cutting board near an edge of the countertop. I was looking for something that would work anywhere, on the countertop or even on the floor. There were a lot of different cutting boards with great features, some could slide open to be able to drop the scraps into a bin below, others had bins underneath to store the cut food. However I was thinking of something even simpler than all that.

5. Draw pictures and diagrams to show your invention and how it might work.(required step) Cutting board Scrap bin Food bin

6. Build your prototype or model of your invention.

7. Test your invention. The way I tested my invention was by trying to solve the problem that started the idea itself. I cut strawberries just the way I had before. However this time I was able to slide the cut tops and drop them into the scraps container right away and the cut strawberries into its own container on the other side. This way I was able to keep the actual strawberries separated from the tops, without losing any cutting space on the board. Once I was done cutting, I detached the containers and dumped the scraps into the trash can and the cut strawberries into a plate for dessert. Yippee!! My invention worked!

8. Keep improving your invention. To improve my invention, in the future, I will like to add a stand for an Ipad/Iphone/ or any other smart device, so you can look at any recipe at any time without having to keep moving back and forth. If you have a device in use, it would be wise to have screen protector for that which would be added to the invention. I would also like to add bins of different sizes so you can hold more food for certain recipes.

9. Market your invention to people who might buy it. (required step) Are you sick of having to pick up all the leftover scraps? Are you sick of having scraps take over your cutting board? Well, this invention is the one for you. The Chop n’ Drop is the one of it’s kind, amazing cutting board people are lining up for. No more bowls lining up your prep station. With its detachable bins, waste goes easily onto one side and the cut food into the other. No more wasting time with added trips to the trash can. So chop to your heart’s content knowing that your prep time is almost cut down to nothing.