My dad has his name on a few, here’s one. I know there’s more but they’re too old to find in a search.
My Dad does as well. When I found this out, I thought (and still do) that it was the coolest thing ever.
I helped my ex get his - funky self-suspended backpack. You could rock climb with over 50 pounds (4 stone) in it and not worry about balance.
Have a few ideas myself, but nothing actually patented… yet
Just a week or so ago a college friend of mine received his first patent. It’s some sort of chemical engineering thing that I was unable to understand.
–Cliffy
My Dad had several, but since he was in the employ of a Major Electorinics/Communications Company, I think they were all registered in the company’s name.
An friend of a classmate’s dad (doesn’t count much, I guess 
) holds the patent for the hair scrunchie.
Quite a few of the people I work with have them.
There all for rather obscure, specific to the point of absurdity, scientific methods/pieces of equipment.
A guy I used to babysit eons ago holds several for prosthetic joints - he’s a tool maker and he worked with a couple of doctors developing them. Pretty impressive considering what a brat he was as a child!
I used to work in product development for a company that manufactured storm drain pollution control systems. A big part of my job was writing provisional patent applications for every hare-brained idea that came across someone’s desk. I had my name on a couple of them (still pending), and I wrote the disclosure, although not the claims, for a bunch more.
Guy I know has a patent for a computer peripheral. You won’t be seeing it at CompUSA, though–it’s kinda specialized.
My dad had a few and I work with a guy with more than you can imagine. He dreams up wierd shit, and patents it. Doesn’t do anything with it, mind you, but he has the patent!
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
My cousin was part of this one while he was at IBM.
My husband has a few.
I know all kinds of people with patents. There are many millions of patents out there. It’s hard to imagine that someone doesn’t know anyone with a patent.
Haj
Skammer - using the patent search link, you can search for “Assignee Name = <your Dad’s company>” and “Inventor Name = <your Dad>” and find his patent.
I’m the inventor of more than one, as are several people I work with. Not that it means anything, since they are the intellectual property of my employer. [sub]If you must, search for “Assignee name = Microsoft” and “Title contains presentation” or “Title contains slide”[/sub]
Most of my friends are engineers and most of them have patents. One of my friends started a business called Everybook with a patent for a two-screen laptop.
Bunch of people, since I worked as various telecom and research related companies over the past 15 years. My brother has a ton, and got patent of the year at his company last year.
An engineer I worked with has several, mostly for specialized control system components. I prepared the drawings for one of them. It was a fun project, but lots of work.
My Dad has two dealing with the security locks that power companies put on electric meter rings.
I co-hold three with a buddy of mine-my contribution being the electronic controls for an automated exhaust fume removal system.
I have Thanksgiving dinner every year with at least six patent attorneys and inventors.
(slight hijack: Patent attorneys are, as a rule, very interesting people)