No pingpong partner? No problem, if you have a table tennis delivery device patented by a Hale'iwa inventor.

Have trouble keeping your car's rims from grinding against roadside curbs? Then you may need a rim protector created by a Waipahu inventor.

These and other ideas by local inventors were worthy of patents last year. Overall the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded Hawai'i inventors 124 patents in 2007 for a variety of devices including a mousetrap, boat hull, hovercraft and even an 'ukulele.

Whether these and other patented ideas become a commercial success remains to be seen. For inventors, the odds of striking gold with a patent are long. That's because inventors often still need to raise money, market and distribute their new product.

Kaimuki entrepreneur Art Simpson, who received his fifth patent in 2007, is still waiting for the world to beat a path toward his better mousetrap.

"I'm waiting for that," said Simpson, owner of World Pest Control in downtown Honolulu. "But it's a question of time. It's a little difficult because the existing mousetraps have been out there a long time and people are used to them, so it's not like you're introducing an entirely new product."

Simpson's SAF-SET mousetrap has fewer parts than the typical mousetrap and reduces the risk of accidentally snapping a finger rather than a rodent.

PROTECTING RIGHTS

Patents, which can cost $1,000 or more to obtain, protect the right of inventors to profit from their ideas. Among the Hawai'i organizations receiving patents last year were the University of Hawai'i, Hoku Scientific, Navatek, Nanopoint, Hoana Medical and Cardax Pharmaceuticals. In some instances patents were awarded to non-Hawai'i-based companies that employed inventors residing in Hawai'i.

Patent activity can be a barometer for an area's ability to innovate. However, Hawai'i, with its tourism/agriculture-based economy, generates relatively few patents. Hawai'i ranked 49th among the 50 states in patents issued per 1 million people, according to a recent report issued by the Corporation for Enterprise Development.

Still, the ability of Hawai'i inventors to innovate seems to be increasing. Hawai'i's 2007 patent total of 124 was higher than the 10-year average of 114 patents assigned to Hawai'i inventors between 1998 and 2007. Last year, Hawai'i inventors received a record 137 patents.

Hawai'i's patent-winning ideas in 2007 ranged from the mundane: a toothbrush sanitizer, a lipstick carrying case and a body wash, to the highly technical: a hovercraft, an underwater wing and a car passenger restraint system.

Ken Sanders of Kailua and his son, John Jr., received four patents last year including three covering hovercraft designs and technology. The two hope to build a small-scale prototype of an unmanned aerial surveillance vehicle this year.

"We do see it being very valuable to various customers; among them would be (the Department of) Homeland Security, military and various private corporations that need perimeter control," Ken said.

2007 PATENTS

Other Hawai'i patents sought to solve medical problems such as female sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular disease.

'Aiea-based Cardax Pharmaceuticals received its first patent in 2007 relating to a method of producing the antioxidant astaxanthin. Cardax is developing a drug for inflammatory cardiovascular disease.

"This is the first of what we expect will be several patents that are awarded," said Cardax Chief Executive David Watumull. "We have applied for more than 35 patents. We worked many years and spent millions of dollars working on these patents. They're the cornerstone of what this company is about."

Among the other patents awarded to local inventors in 2007 were: