I cannot tell you how many times I've come up with the next huge idea only to either forget about it or never act on it. Well, this won't necessarily solve those problems but it clearly will help identify which ideas are worth pursuing.
Google now has a search site dedicated to US Patents. Toss in a keyword and you will quickly see if your brainstorm produced a new concept or invention.
Sample search result when I searched for credit card:
Via del.icio.us


