Lapsed Nov 1, 2023 on the fee record · High confidence
20-year base term ends Dec 22, 2026
Third maintenance fee unpaid; grace period ended.
Held by NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
Filed Dec 22, 2006 as application 11/643,932 · Granted Nov 1, 2011
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
Lapsed Nov 1, 2023
2006
2026
Clock starts
Dec 22, 2006
Dec 22, 2006
No longer in force
Nov 1, 2023
Nov 1, 2023
Granted
Nov 1, 2011
Nov 1, 2011
Term would have run to
Dec 22, 2026
Dec 22, 2026
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.
None
Terminal disclaimer
No disclaimer on this record.
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.
8
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 Dec 22, 2026: its 20-year base term, with no adjustment for prosecution delay. 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 Dec 22, 2006, when this application, 11/643,932, was filed | Dec 22, 2026 | 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 | 2 of 3 maintenance fees paid | lapsed Nov 1, 2023 | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Nov 1, 2023 | High confidence |
This family
| US 8,047,611 | this patent Nov 2023 | Nov 2023 |
| US 7,851,728 | In force Jul 2028 | Jul 2028 |
| US 8,492,649 | Lapsed on the fee record Jul 2021 | Jul 2021 |
| US 8,267,356 | Lapsed on the fee record Sep 2020 | Sep 2020 |
| US 9,153,463 | In force Feb 2033 | Feb 2033 |
| US 10,276,410 | In force Sep 2032 | Sep 2032 |
6 of 8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 9, 2007 Reel 18921, frame 342 | Ichisugi, Morihiro; Terashima, Daijiro | NHK Spring Co., 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.
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Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.
Citations
1
later US patent cites this one
That is below the median of utility patents granted in 2011 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.