By: Marilyn Mahoney
The Cue bathroom privacy door handle
This article was originally written and submitted as part of a Canada 150 Project, the Innovation Storybook, to crowdsource stories of Canadian innovation with partners across Canada. The content has since been migrated to Ingenium’s Channel, a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.
Apr 10, 2017
Media
Hi,
The following article was written by Keith Liles on our new product. We’ve also been featured on Fox News, Canadian Insider, Mobile Syrup among other news sources. Please take a few seconds to read this and if you’d like more information, our press release or even an interview with the founder and inventor please don’t hesitate to let me know. Thank you so much for your time! Have a wonderful day!
Cue Handles - You’ll Really Want To Get A Hold Of This Tech
The handle turns. The locked door thuds. The voice on the other side is compelled to respond with something like, “Just a minute.” We’ve all been on both sides of this most awkward door. At parties, at home, public bathrooms, we’ve all endured these graceless encounters.
Though not on the same crisis level as, say, a nuclear standoff, CUE has a simple solution for these washroom meetings that we can all appreciate. CUE is “a smart door handle that allows users to discreetly use the washroom and notify others when it’s ‘safe’ to enter.”
The sleek door handle fits with just about any door and is straightforward enough for anyone to understand. It works like this. Once you’re inside the bathroom, you push the lock and a lock icon illuminates on the other side to let others know that the bathroom is occupied.
No more disturbing the person in the bathroom. No more having to reveal your presence while you’re in the bathroom. There’s even an illuminated lock icon on the inside of the handle as well, so you can use the bathroom with confidence.
On your way out, you push an hourglass button that initiates a five-minute sequence of red, yellow and green lights that alerts anyone waiting to when the washroom will be ready to enter.
Founder Cory Mahoney found inspiration to make CUE when his mother was diagnosed with Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis. Her disease made her feel uncomfortable using residential or public washrooms, and Cory, being a thoughtful and innovative son, set out to alleviate her stress.
If you’re suffering from disease, the last thing you need added to your life is embarrassment or more stress. Shoot, even if you’re healthy you could do without such avoidable discomfort. As the startup says, this is “privacy you can handle.”
CUE means business when it talks about helping to alleviate the embarrassment and stigma associated with using the bathroom. The company donates 10% of its profits to Chive Charities and 15% overall to charities that support sufferers of Crohn’s and Colitis.
Ready to introduce this smart and tactful measure of privacy to your world? You can see the handle in action and learn more about the company by visiting cuehandles.com. Even better, you can back CUE’s Kickstarter campaign and help see that door handles are shipped out in mass this November. The odds favor you’ll be thanking yourself before long that you did.
Sincerely,
Cory Mahoney
President & Founder
1.403.805.6749
Marilyn Mahoney
