Also listed on Ion Systems, Inc., an earlier holder on the record. The recorded assignments below show how it moved.
Term ends Jan 14, 2028 · High confidence
20-year base term ended Apr 8, 2024
Held by Illinois Tool Works Inc.
Filed Apr 5, 2006 as application 11/398,446 · Granted Nov 22, 2011
Base term plus 1376 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
2004
2028
Clock starts
Apr 8, 2004
Apr 8, 2004
Term ends
Jan 14, 2028
Jan 14, 2028
Granted
Nov 22, 2011
Nov 22, 2011
base term
patent term adjustment
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
1,376
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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 runs 1376 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. All three maintenance fees are recorded paid; no more fees are due. 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 application 10/821,773, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Apr 5, 2006) | Apr 8, 2024 | High confidence |
| Continuity chain | Every parent in the chain resolved | no change | High confidence |
| Patent term adjustment | +1376 days, USPTO patent term adjustment record | Jan 14, 2028 | 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 | In force | High confidence |
| Computed term end | The steps above, in order | Jan 14, 2028 | High confidence |
This family
| US 7,057,130 | Term ended 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 | this patent 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13, 2007 Reel 20245, frame 744 | Gefter, Peter, PH.D; Gehlke, Scott | MKS Instruments, Inc. | Assignment of Assignor's Interest |
| May 25, 2010 Reel 24434, frame 191 | MKS Instruments, Inc. | 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.
What's changing
Jan 2028
Term ends Jan 14, 2028. No further fees fall due before then
Note
The 1376 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay) are read from the USPTO record, not recalculated by us
Citations
18
later US patents cite this one
That is above 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.
In force means the term is running and no lapse is on record. It is not a finding that the patent is valid.