Innovative levelling and stabilizing hydraulic system seeks global partner
Ross and Tony still have coffee a dozen years down the track. That's FLAT's inventor, Tony Pike at right.
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Article Summary
March 8, 2006 One day about 12 years ago, Tony Pike called in to have a coffee at a friend’s Bondi Trattoria restaurant on Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach. As his friend Ross put the coffee on the table, it tilted slightly on the uneven stonework floor and the coffee spilled. Ross looked up as he was adjusting the table legs with some folded cardboard, and he said to Tony, “whoever solves this table stability problem will become a billionaire - it’s the biggest single problem in hospitality worldwide.” A decade later, after working on the problem on-and-off between other projects, Tony finally solved the problem by developing an innovative, levelling and stabilizing hydraulic system which is now patented as the FLAT (Fluid Locking & Adjustment Technology) system. FLAT is based upon an interconnected series of hydraulic actuators to provide horizontal support on uneven surfaces and then locks to provide stability at the chosen level or angle the user requires. What was conceived as a table and chair stabilisation system for the hospitality industry appears to have potential for solving problems in many military and aviation situations, with dozens of domestic and industrial applications (http://www.flat.net.au/index.php?id=8#" target="_blank">see demonstration movies) seeking the system.
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