Two LAX TSA Employees Turned a Paper Towel Tube and Glove Box Into a Patented Invention
A paper towel tube and an empty glove box turned into something much bigger for two TSA employees at Los Angeles International Airport. Their idea now has a U.S. patent.
TSA Manager Kevin Peinado and Program Analyst Maria Maranon were looking for a better way to organize supplies used during checked baggage searches. Officers needed easy access to things like Notices of Inspection, baggage keys, and zip ties.
The first version was about as simple as it gets. TSA said it started with a paper towel tube duct-taped to an empty glove box.
The design changed quite a bit from there. On August 4, Peinado and Maranon were officially granted a U.S. design patent for the finished notice holder.
It Started With A Storage Problem
Embedded media follows. Please allow a moment for it to load.
TSA said officers at LAX needed a better place to keep Notices of Inspection, which are left inside a bag after TSA searches it, and other supplies during checked bag searches. Some notices were kept in drawers or set on top of equipment.
Peinado and Maranon developed the first holder and showed it to baggage officers. They kept making changes based on what the officers said they needed.
Later versions had magnets on the back. Officers could place the holder where they wanted it and move it to a different height when needed.
They Made New Versions With A 3D Printer
The paper towel tube and glove box were only the beginning. TSA said Peinado and Maranon later used computer-aided design and a 3D printer to make new versions of the holder.
An earlier look at TSA’s Lift program in 2024 showed one of those versions. It had spaces for Notices of Inspection, zip ties, cutters and TSA keys.
Baggage officers tried the prototypes and told the team what worked and what didn’t. Peinado and Maranon kept changing the holder before settling on the final design. Soon other parts of LAX wanted them too.
The Patent Was Filed In 2024
U.S. patent records show the application was filed on April 2, 2024. Peinado and Maranon are both listed as inventors.
The patent was granted on August 4, 2026, under number D1,139,627. The U.S. government, represented by the Secretary of Homeland Security, is listed as the assignee.
It is a design patent for the ornamental design of the notice holder. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office also lists Peinado and Maranon in its August patent records.
TSA announced the patent in September. LAX Federal Security Director Jason Pantages said it was one of the first patents submitted through TSA’s Lift innovation program.
