Read through the detail and compare it to your idea - is it the same or how does my idea differ?

When you find an what appears to be an identical idea, note the "(51) International Patent Classification" number - copy and paste is best. This number indicates how the patent office has classified the patent and you now use this number to find other relevant patents.

Click on the link 'Worldwide 30 million documents' on the espacenet homepage and paste the International Patent Classification number in the IPC box. This will provide a list of relevant patents.

The problem is that there maybe other keywords which are used to describe your idea.

Repeat the operation with as many permutations of keywords which describe your idea.

Good luck!