The Patent Finder
US

Methods and Systems for Guarding a Charge Transfer Capacitance Sensor for Proximity Detection

US 7,521,942 Term ended
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods
Collateral for a security interest recorded Sep 27, 2017 (Wells Fargo Bank, National Association).

Term ended Jun 3, 2026 · High confidence

Filed Oct 29, 2007 as application 11/926,411 · Granted Apr 21, 2009
Base term, 20 years from filing
Today
20 years from filing
Term ended Jun 3, 2026
2006 2026
Clock starts
Jun 3, 2006
Term ended
Jun 3, 2026
Granted
Apr 21, 2009
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.
No effect
Terminal disclaimer
Resolved from the filed document, referencing US 7,262,609, US 7,417,441, to Jun 3, 2026. The term already ends on or before that date, so the cap shortened nothing.
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.
16
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. A terminal disclaimer is resolved from the filed document, and it ends no earlier than this term, so it shortens nothing. 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.
StepInputDate after this stepConfidence
Base term, 20 years from filingClock starts Jun 3, 2006, when application 11/445,856, the earliest non-provisional in its chain, was filed (this one was filed Oct 29, 2007)Jun 3, 2026High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustmentNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Terminal disclaimer capDisclaimer resolved from the filed document (refs US 7,262,609, US 7,417,441)resolves to Jun 3, 2026, no earlier than this term, so no changeHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events3 of 3 maintenance fees paidterm endedHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderJun 3, 2026High confidence

This family

US 7,301,350Term ended
Jun 2026
Jun 2026
US 7,449,895In force
Nov 2026
Nov 2026
US 7,262,609Term ended
Jun 2026
Jun 2026
US 7,417,441Term ended
Jun 2026
Jun 2026
US 7,777,501Term ended
Jun 2026
Jun 2026
US 7,521,941Lapsed on the fee record
Apr 2021
Apr 2021
US 7,902,842Term ended
Jun 2026
Jun 2026
US 7,521,942this patent
Jun 2026
Jun 2026
8 of 16 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.
RecordedAssignorAssigneeConveyance
Oct 3, 2014
Reel 33888, frame 851
Synaptics IncorporatedWells Fargo Bank, National AssociationSecurity Interest
Dec 30, 2015
Reel 37387, frame 206
Reynolds, Joseph KurthSynaptics IncorporatedAssignment of Assignor's Interest
Sep 27, 2017
Reel 44037, frame 896
Synaptics IncorporatedWells Fargo Bank, National AssociationSecurity 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.

The Patent Finder CompaniesExpirationsCalculatorWatchlistPricing MethodologyCorrectionsLegalPrivacysupport@thepatentfinder.com Updated Nov 14, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 14, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) Part of 137 Finder · © 2026 137 Finder LLC · Sources cited