Term ended Apr 8, 2024 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Apr 8, 2024
Held by Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Filed Apr 8, 2004 as application 10/821,773 · Granted Jun 6, 2006
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Term ended Apr 8, 2024
2004
2026
Clock starts
Apr 8, 2004
Apr 8, 2004
Term ended
Apr 8, 2024
Apr 8, 2024
Granted
Jun 6, 2006
Jun 6, 2006
base term
after the term ends
fee events
Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
3 of 3
Maintenance fees paid
Three maintenance fees fall due, at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years from grant. This counts the ones the record shows paid.
6
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
This patent's term is its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees were paid, so no fee lapse ended it. Confidence: High. from the record
How we calculated this date
One row per rule, each showing its own input and what it did to the date. A step we could not verify says so instead of resolving itself.
| Step | Input | Date after this step | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base term, 20 years from filing | Clock starts Apr 8, 2004, when this application, 10/821,773, was filed | Apr 8, 2024 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Terminal disclaimer cap | None on record | no cap applied | High confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 3 of 3 maintenance fees paid | term ended | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Apr 8, 2024 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,057,130 | this patent Apr 2024 | Apr 2024 |
| Application PCT/US2005/009093 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,479,615 | Term ended Mar 2025 | Mar 2025 |
| US 8,063,336 | In force Jan 2028 | Jan 2028 |
| Application PCT/US2006/019817 | PCT application no patent term | no patent term |
| US 7,679,026 | Term ended Nov 2024 | Nov 2024 |
The applications whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Assignments
Assignment documents as recorded at the USPTO, oldest first, with the reel and frame each was recorded at. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership, and the absence of a later one is not evidence that the last one still stands.
| Recorded | Assignor | Assignee | Conveyance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8, 2004 Reel 15214, frame 605 | Gefter, Peter; Gehlke, Scott | Ion Systems, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| Dec 19, 2011 Reel 27408, frame 642 | Ion Systems, Inc. | Illinois Tool Works Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
Sources
Google Patents · The patent document at USPTO · Assignment records at USPTO
USPTO account required: This application in Patent Center · USPTO's maintenance fee lookup
Maintenance fee events come from USPTO's own fee records. Its fee lookup asks for the patent number and the application number.
Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.
Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
Citations
53
later US patents cite this one
That is top 25% of utility patents granted in 2006 in our data, the only group it is compared against.
How we rank
Every date shows its work: the base term, any term adjustment or extension, any disclaimer cap, and the maintenance fee record, each with a confidence tier. How this record was built
Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.