Middle Tennessee

Nissan North America Inc. of Franklin received two patents:

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,269, entitled “Vehicle cargo bed” invented by David Kovie of Livonia, Mich.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,098, entitled “Vehicle interior assembly” invented by Christopher James Biggs of New Hudson, Mich. and Michael Eberlein of Plymouth, Mich.

Universal Safety Response Inc. of Franklin received U.S. Patent No. 7,862,252, entitled “Vehicle barrier system” invented by Matthew A. Gelfand of Brentwood, Brad Grubb of White House, and Jon Jackson of Fairview.

Landmark Digital Services LLC of Nashville received U.S. Patent No. 7,865,368, entitled “System and methods for recognizing sound and music signals in high noise and distortion” invented by Avery Li-Chun Wang and Julius O. Smith III of Pal Alto, Calif.

James M. Henry of McEwen is the sole named inventor on U.S. Patent No. D630,298, entitled “Adjustable flow hose nozzle.”

Lionel Terrence Borders of Westmoreland is the sole named inventor on U.S. Patent No. D630,110, entitled “Sports fan clock.”

Also naming Middle Tennessee inventors:

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,356, entitled “Busway water resistant joint pack or plug-in unit joint” invented by Timothy O’Leary of Antioch, Wesley Travis and Thomas N. Lesieur of Murfreesboro.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,865,320, entitled “High density metering system” invented by Ronald W. Carter of Murfreesboro and Avery Long of Madison, Ala., and assigned to Square D Co. of Palatine, Ill.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,864,010, entitled “Method for coding field emission structures” invented by James L. Richards of Fayetteville, Larry W. Fullerton of New Hope, Ala., and Mark D. Roberts of Huntsville, Ala., and assigned to Cedar Ridge Research LLC of New Hope, Ala.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,864,009, entitled “Method for coding two-dimensional field emission structures” invented by James L. Richards of Fayetteville, Larry W. Fullerton of New Hope, Ala., and Mark D. Roberts of Huntsville, Ala., and assigned to Cedar Ridge Research LLC of New Hope, Ala.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,864,011, entitled “System and method for balancing concentric circular field emission structures” invented by James L. Richards of Fayetteville, Larry W. Fullerton of New Hope, Ala., and Mark D. Roberts of Huntsville, Ala., and assigned to Cedar Ridge Research LLC of New Hope, Ala.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,879, entitled “Fabrics with v-guides” invented by Mark J. Levine of Hendersonville and John VanHandel of Appleton, Wis., and assigned to Albany International Corp. of Albany, N.Y.

East Tennessee

Lodge Manufacturing Co. of South Pittsburg received U.S. Patent No. D630,061, entitled “Serving dish” invented by Robert Kellermann and Larry Raydo of South Pittsburg.

Taylor Brands LLC of Kingsport received U.S. Patent No. D630,292, entitled “Baton grip” invented by Cheng Yang-Fu of Taipei, Taiwan.

Eastman Chemical Co. of Kingsport received five patents:

• U.S. Patent No. 7,863,483, entitled “Carboxylic acid production process” invented by Philip Edward Gibson of Kingsport and Kenny Randolph Parker of Afton.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,863,481, entitled “Versatile oxidation byproduct purge process” invented by Philip Edward Gibson of Kingsport and Kenny Randolph Parker of Afton.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,863,477, entitled “Polyester production system employing hot paste to esterification zone” invented by Bruce Roger DeBruin of Lexington, S.C.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,863,407, entitled “Integrated polyester production facility” invented by Bruce Roger DeBruin of Lexington, S.C., and Allan R. Rothwell of Gray.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,863,405, entitled “Removal of residual acetaldehyde from polyester polymer particles” invented by Rodney Scott Armentrout, Frederick Leslie Colhoun and Michael Paul Ekart of Kingsport, and Bruce Roger DeBruin of Lexington, S.C.

Provectus Pharmatech Inc. of Knoxville received U.S. Patent No. 7,863,047, entitled “Intracorporeal medicaments for photodynamic treatment of disease” invented by H. Craig Dees and Timothy C. Scott of Knoxville, Eric A. Wachter of Oak Ridge, Walter G. Fisher of Knoxville, and John Smolik of Loudon.

Paul Kirby Webb of Soddy Daisy is the sole named inventor on U.S. Patent No. D630,309, entitled “Short lipped oval sink” and on U.S. Patent No. D630,308, entitled “Short lipped single bowl sink.”

Henry C. Roberts of Jasper is the sole named inventor on U.S. Patent No. D630,293, entitled “Fork-shaped fishing lure.”

Richard H. Scoggins of Georgetown is the sole named inventor on U.S. Patent No. 7,861,700, entitled “Slingshot pouch.”

Dean Preston Smith of Knoxville and Edward Roger Adams of Englewood are the named co-inventors on U.S. Patent No. 7,864,060, entitled “Wetness detection device.”

Other patents naming inventors from East Tennessee:

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,789, entitled “Circulating fluidized bed power plant having integrated sulfur dioxide scrubber system with lime feed” invented by Lawrence H. Gatton Jr. of Knoxville and George D. Mylchreest of Simsbury, Conn., and assigned to Alstom Technology Ltd. of Baden, Germany.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,771, entitled “APC process parameter estimation” invented by Scott A. Boyden of Knoxville and Stephen Piche of Austin, Texas, and assigned to Alstom Technology Ltd.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,864,342, entitled “Apparatus and method for measuring displacement of a curved surface using dual laser beams” invented by Joseph H. Butler of Knoxville and Richard M. Weiss of Tequesta, Fla., and assigned to The Richard M. Weiss Revocable Trust of Tequesta.

West Tennessee

Lasco Fittings Inc. of Brownsville received U.S. Patent No. D630,305, entitled “Fitting” invented by Samuel P. Adams of Jackson, Robert P. Scifres of Brownsville, Joseph W. Ghering of Jackson, David A. McAllister of Lakeland and John C. McDonald of Germantown.

Buckman Laboratories International Inc. of Memphis received U.S. Patent No. 7,862,688, entitled “Methods to control organic contaminants in fibers” invented by George S. Thomas of Collierville.

Dennis Bishop of Memphis is the sole named inventor on U.S. Patent No. 7,863,508, entitled “String alignment peg.”

Maytag Corp. received U.S. Patent No. 7,862,665, entitled “Pump system for a drawer-type dishwasher” invented by Rodney M. Welch of Jackson, Kristen K. Hedstrom and Mark E. Palm of Orlando.

Warsaw Orthopedic Inc. received five patents:

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,618, entitled “Expandable vertebral body implants and methods of use” invented by John White of Bartlett and Jason A. Edie of Memphis.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,597, entitled “System for stabilizing a portion of the spine” invented by Larry Gause of Memphis, Dusty Anna Needham of Eads, Robert Weakley and Kenneth S. Shipp of Collierville, and Benjamin Garden of Cordova.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,595, entitled “Instruments and methods for stabilization of bony structures” invented by Kevin T. Foley of Germantown, Michael C. Sherman of Memphis, and Jeff R. Justis of Gulf Breeze, Fla.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,591, entitled “Intervertebral prosthetic device for spinal stabilization and method of implanting same” invented by Jonathan Dewey and Thomas Carls of Memphis, Eric C. Lange of Collierville, Kent M. Anderson of Memphis, Matthew M. Morrison of Cordova, Aurelien Bruneau of Memphis, Fred J. Molz IV of Birmingham, Ala., and Jean Taylor of Cannes, France.

• U.S. Patent No. 7,862,590, entitled “Interspinous process spacer” invented by Roy Lim of Germantown and Michael C. Sherman of Memphis.

Smith & Nephew Inc. of Memphis received U.S. Patent No. 7,862,570, entitled “Surgical positioners” invented by Thomas A. Russell of Collierville, Lauralan Terrill-Grisoni of Cordova, Patrick J. Culley of Memphis, Therise Ruffin of Collierville and Kevin Raburn of Memphis.

Delta Life Sciences Inc. of Memphis received U.S. Patent No. 7,862,532, entitled “Punctum plugs having insertion guides and strengthening beams” invented by George W. Murray of Memphis.

David Skelton of Bartlett is a named co-inventor on U.S. Patent No. 7,861,980, entitled “Hanger for rain gutter device,” along with Russell Verbrugge of Holland, Mich., Hal Klaus of Highland, Ill., and Robert Heilman of Byron Center, Mich.

— Compiled by R. Parrish Freeman Jr. of intellectual property law firm Waddey & Patterson P.C.