Business notebook: 4-28

4/28/2013

ACHIEVEMENTS

■ Brown & Brown Inc. has named Benjamin A. Goff executive vice president and profit center leader for its Perrysburg office. He had been vice president of employee benefits since 2008.

Business Achievements, with news of management promotions, corporate board appointments, and awards, runs each week. Send announcements by email to business@theblade.com or by fax to 419-724-6147. Write "Business Achievements" in the message field.

CALENDAR

■ Aspiring business owners are invited to meet national franchise representatives from the senior care, senior modifications, personnel/staffing, hair care, consumer retail, marketing, and light-manufacturing industries from 3-6 p.m. May 8 at the Holiday Inn French Quarter, 10630 Fremont Pike, Perrysburg. The event is presented by the Northern Ohio offices of FranNet, part of an international network of franchise specialists.

■ The Center for Innovative Food Technology will host a seminar on “Marketing Your Food Product Through Social Media” from 5-6 p.m. May 15 at the Northwest Ohio Cooperative Kitchen, 13737 Middleton Pike, Bowling Green. Cost: $25 per person or $40 for two people, includes light refreshments. Registration: ciftinnovation.org or email rsvp@ciftinnovation.org or call 419-535-6000, ext. 140.

Notice of business meetings must be received by The Blade 10 days before the event. Send items by email to business@theblade.com or by fax to 419-724-6147. Write “Business Calendar” in the message field.

CONVENTIONS

Listings include organizations, headquarters, and number of attendees expected as estimated by Destination Toledo:

■ Wednesday-Sunday: NatureScapes - Nature Photography Expo, Holiday Inn Express Perrysburg, 250, national

■ Friday-Sunday: The Forty Frame Game Bowling Tournament, Ramada Hotel Westgate, 150, regional.

■ Friday-Sunday: Shammy Burt Annual Handicap Bowling Tournament, Holiday Inn Express Oregon, 400, regional.

■ Friday-Sunday: Ohio State USBC Women's Bowling Tournament, Holiday Inn French Quarter, 300, state.

■ Saturday-May 12: Biggest Week in American Birding, Maumee Bay Lodge, 5,000, national.

AREA PATENTS

The following U.S, patents were granted to Lucas, Fulton, and Wood counties, Ohio, inventors in February, 2013, and published in the Official Gazette of the Patent and Trademark Office. For more information call the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library business technology department at 419-259-5209.

#8,384,624 Plasma-display panel; Jeffrey W. Guy, Toledo and Carol Ann Wedding, Toledo; assignors to Imaging Systems Technology Inc. Toledo.

#8,384,279 Composite ceramic electrode and ignition device therewith; William J. Walker, Toledo and James D. Lykowski, Temperance; assignors to Federal-Mogul Ignition Co., Southfield, Mich.

#8,383,929 Elongated photovoltaic devices, methods of making same, and systems for making same; Erel Milshtein, Cupertino, Calif., and Benyamin Buller, Sylvania; assignors to Solyndra LLC, Fremont, Calif.

#8,382,633 Axle shaft disconnect assembly; Kenneth Cooper, Toledo and James Krisher, Fort Wayne, Ind.; assignors to Dana Automotive Systems Group LLC , Maumee.

#8,377,524 High R-value window unit; Jason E. Theios, Toledo and Vijayen S. Veerasamy, Ann Arbor; assignors to Guardian Industries Corp., Auburn Hills, Mich.

#8,377,013 Needle for directional control of the injection of bone cement into a vertebral compression fracture; Ashok Biyani, Sylvania; assignor to the University of Toledo.

#8,374,886 Computer-based clinical laboratory ordering and reporting system with embedded consultation function; Bruce A. Friedman, Ann Arbor, and Francis Michael Walsh, Toledo; assignors to Atlas Development Corp., Calabasas, Calif.

#8,371,517 Powder gun deflector; Kui-Chiu Kwok, Gurnee, Ill., and John F. Schaupp, Sylvania; assignors to Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, Ill.

#8,370,017 Smart vehicle sensor; Dave Charles Weber, Toledo; David John Kubinski, Canton, Mich., and Michiel J. Van Nieuwstadt, Ann Arbor; assignors to Ford Global Technologies LLC, Dearborn, Mich.

#8,368,303 Gas-discharge device with electrical conductive bonding material; Daniel K. Wedding, Toledo; Oliver M. Strbik, III, Holland, and Carol Ann Wedding, Toledo; assignors to Imaging Systems Technology Inc., Toledo.

#8,367,992 Aircraft, missile, projectile, or underwater vehicle with reconfigurable control surfaces; Mehul Patel, Chandler, Ariz.; T. Terry Ng, Sylvania; Alan B. Cain, St. Louis; Zak Sowle, Cleveland, and Jack DiCocco, Medina, Ohio; assignors to Orbital Research Inc., Cleveland.