Holidaymakers who fly with no-frills budget airlines often face heavy charges for excess baggage. Arun Malhotra of Cranford, Middlesex, is patenting a neat way to avoid this (GB 2378255).
An otherwise conventional suitcase has a digital weighing mechanism, similar to those found in bathroom scales, built into its base. To find out how heavy the case is, pressure-sensitive legs are pulled out from the base, and the scale gives an instant read-out on an LCD screen near the case鈥檚 handle. Malhotra suggests that every night while on holiday, you weigh that day鈥檚 souvenirs in the case, to make sure you鈥檙e not in for a shock when you check in to fly home.
