Lapsed Oct 28, 2020 on the fee record · Medium confidence
20-year base term ended Nov 18, 2025
Why Medium: A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) with no resolved reference, so the term may end earlier.
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by Horiba, Ltd.
Filed Nov 18, 2005 as application 11/281,481 · Granted Oct 28, 2008
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Oct 28, 2020
2005
2026
Clock starts
Nov 18, 2005
Nov 18, 2005
No longer in force
Oct 28, 2020
Oct 28, 2020
Granted
Oct 28, 2008
Oct 28, 2008
Term would have run to
Nov 18, 2025
Nov 18, 2025
base term
after the term ends
fee events
Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know
None
Term adjustment
No prosecution delay on this record.
Unresolved
Terminal disclaimer
On file, reference document not resolved, so the date above is an upper bound. We do not guess the cap.
2 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.
52
Family applications on record here
Applications sharing this one's continuity chain whose file history this site holds. The family may have others.
Its term would have run to Nov 18, 2025: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. A terminal disclaimer is on file with no resolved reference, so no cap is applied and none is guessed. Confidence: Medium. 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 Nov 18, 2005, when this application, 11/281,481, was filed | Nov 18, 2025 | 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 | Disclaimer on file (approved), reference document not resolved | no cap applied, and none guessed | Medium confidence |
| Patent term extension | None on file | no change | High confidence |
| Fee events | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Oct 28, 2020 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Oct 28, 2020 | Medium confidence |
This family
| US 6,707,535 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2016 | Mar 2016 |
| Application 11/042,165 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 7,981,689 | In force Nov 2027 | Nov 2027 |
| US 7,901,631 | Lapsed on the fee record Mar 2015 | Mar 2015 |
| US 7,443,502 | this patent Oct 2020 | Oct 2020 |
| US 7,400,406 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2020 | Jul 2020 |
| Application 11/755,403 | Abandoned not computed | not computed |
| US 7,688,449 | In force Jul 2027 | Jul 2027 |
8 of 52 applications in this family shown, earliest filings first. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 18, 2005 Reel 17252, frame 804 | Nozawa, Shigenori; Matsumoto, Shigeki | Ushiodenki Kabushiki Kaisha | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 16, 2011 Reel 26281, frame 867 | Ushiodenki Kabushiki Kaisha | Rohm Co., Ltd. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 1, 2019 Reel 49049, frame 16 | Rohm Co., Ltd. | Horiba, Ltd. | 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.
What's changing
Note
A terminal disclaimer is on file and its reference is not resolved. No cap is applied and none is guessed
Open question
A terminal disclaimer is on file (approved) and its reference document is not resolved. A disclaimer would cap the term earlier than Oct 28, 2020. We will not guess the cap.
Citations
2
later US patents cite this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2008 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.