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US

Tie Plate Separator and Method Thereof

US 9,038,542 In force
OverviewFamilyAssignmentsSources & methods

Term ends Sep 17, 2032 · High confidence

Filed Oct 22, 2012 as application 13/657,645 · Granted May 26, 2015
Base term plus 178 days of patent term adjustment (USPTO delay)
Today
20 years from filing
2012 2032
Clock starts
Mar 23, 2012
Term ends
Sep 17, 2032
Granted
May 26, 2015
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
178
Days of term adjustment
Read from the USPTO patent term adjustment record, not recalculated here.
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.
10
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 178 days past its 20-year base term on prosecution delay. 2 of 3 maintenance fees are paid so far. 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 23, 2012, when applications 13/428,796, 13/428,809 and 13/428,828, the earliest non-provisional applications in its chain, were filed (this one was filed Oct 22, 2012)Mar 23, 2032High confidence
Continuity chainEvery parent in the chain resolvedno changeHigh confidence
Patent term adjustment+178 days, USPTO patent term adjustment recordSep 17, 2032High confidence
Terminal disclaimer capNone on recordno cap appliedHigh confidence
Patent term extensionNone on fileno changeHigh confidence
Fee events2 of 3 maintenance fees paidIn forceHigh confidence
Computed term endThe steps above, in orderSep 17, 2032High confidence

This family

US 9,752,286In force
Mar 2035
Mar 2035
US 9,016,208In force
Nov 2032
Nov 2032
US 9,422,673In force
Dec 2033
Dec 2033
US 9,038,542this patent
Sep 2032
Sep 2032
US 9,328,465In force
Mar 2032
Mar 2032
US 9,745,150In force
Aug 2032
Aug 2032
US 9,745,132In force
Sep 2032
Sep 2032
US 10,316,471In force
Sep 2032
Sep 2032
8 of 10 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
Nov 2, 2012
Reel 29230, frame 374
Coots, William R.B & B Metals, Inc.Assignment of Assignor's Interest
Jun 15, 2026
Reel 74963, frame 148
B&B Rail Tech, LLCGraycliff Mezzanine IV (SBIC) LP, as Administrative AgentSecurity Interest
Jun 16, 2026
Reel 74975, frame 802
Auxo Rail Services II, LLC; Auxo Rail Holdings II, LLC; B&B Rail Tech, LLCMercantile BankSecurity Interest
Aug 13, 2026
Reel 75635, frame 966
B & B Metals, Inc.B&B Rail Tech, LLCAssignment 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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