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US

Method and Apparatus for Coupling a Meter Register to an Automatic Meter Reading Communication Device

US 7,446,672 In force
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods

Term ends May 18, 2027 · High confidence

Filed Mar 24, 2005 as application 11/089,303 · Granted Nov 4, 2008
Base term plus 785 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
20 years from filing
2005 2027
Clock starts
Mar 24, 2005
Term ends
May 18, 2027
Granted
Nov 4, 2008
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
785
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.
2
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 785 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.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts Mar 24, 2005, when this application, 11/089,303, was filedMar 24, 2025High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustment+785 days, USPTO patent term adjustment recordMay 18, 2027High confidence
Terminal disclaimer capNone on recordno cap appliedHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events3 of 3 maintenance fees paidIn forceHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderMay 18, 2027High confidence

This family

US 7,446,672this patent
May 2027
May 2027
Application PCT/US2006/005120PCT application
no patent term
no patent term
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.
RecordedAssignorAssigneeConveyance
May 2, 2005
Reel 15969, frame 300
Johnson, Rex A.; Laverdiere, Derek B.M&FC Holding, LLCAssignment of Assignor's Interest
Sep 4, 2009
Reel 23196, frame 86
Sensus USA Inc.; M&FC Holding, LLCCredit SuisseSecurity Agreement
Jun 10, 2011
Reel 26426, frame 431
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch (F/K/A Credit Suisse First Boston), as Collateral AgentM&FC Holding, LLC (N/K/A Sensus Spectrum LLC); Smith Blair, Inc.; Invensys Metering Systems--North America Inc. (to Be Renamed Sensus Metering Systems--North America Inc.); Sensus USA Inc.; Axonn, L.l.c.Release of Patent Security Interest
Jun 10, 2011
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch (F/K/A Credit Suisse First Boston), as Collateral AgentM&FC Holding, LLC (N/K/A Sensus Spectrum LLC)Release of Patent Security Interest
Jun 10, 2011
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch (F/K/A Credit Suisse First Boston), as Collateral AgentSmith Blair, Inc.Release of Patent Security Interest
Jun 10, 2011
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch (F/K/A Credit Suisse First Boston), as Collateral AgentInvensys Metering Systems--North America Inc. (to Be Renamed Sensus Metering Systems--North America Inc.)Release of Patent Security Interest
Jun 10, 2011
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch (F/K/A Credit Suisse First Boston), as Collateral AgentSensus USA Inc.Release of Patent Security Interest
Jun 10, 2011
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch (F/K/A Credit Suisse First Boston), as Collateral AgentAxonn, L.l.c.Release of Patent Security Interest
Jun 12, 2011
Reel 26429, frame 487
Sensus USA Inc.; M&FC Holding LLC (N/K/A Sensus Spectrum LLC)Credit Suisse AG, as First Lien Collateral AgentSecurity Agreement
Jun 13, 2011
Reel 26429, frame 896
Sensus USA Inc.; M&FC Holding LLC (N/K/A Sensus Spectrum LLC)Credit Suisse AG, as Second Lien Collateral AgentSecurity Agreement
May 20, 2014
Reel 32945, frame 823
M&FC Holding, LLCSensus Spectrum LLCChange of Name
Apr 19, 2016
Reel 38474, frame 418
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Collateral AgentSensus USA Inc.; Sensus Spectrum LLC; Smith-Blair, Inc.Release Agreement
Apr 19, 2016
Reel 38474, frame 337
Sensus USA Inc.; Sensus Worldwide Limited; Sensus Spectrum LLC; Smith-Blair, Inc.Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Collateral AgentSecurity Agreement
Apr 19, 2016
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Collateral AgentSensus USA Inc.Release Agreement
Apr 19, 2016
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Collateral AgentSensus Spectrum LLCRelease Agreement
Apr 19, 2016
reel/frame not recorded
Credit Suisse AG, Cayman Islands Branch, as Collateral AgentSmith-Blair, Inc.Release Agreement

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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