Assignment history

Inventors

• David M. Wilz, Sr.: Employed by Metrologic Instruments, Inc. at the time of filing.
• Carl Harry Knowles: Founder of Metrologic Instruments, Inc. and also employed by Metrologic Instruments, Inc. at the time of filing.

No unusual patterns were observed, as both inventors appear to have been associated with the original assignee, Metrologic Instruments, Inc., at the time of filing.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent is Metrologic Instruments Inc.

Metrologic Instruments Inc. was an automated identification and data capture (AIDC) company headquartered in Blackwood, New Jersey. They designed, manufactured, and marketed bar code decoding hardware, adaptive optical solutions, and high-speed image processing software, including a broad line of barcode scanners such as the Voyager series. The company had over 350 registered patents by 2006.

Metrologic Instruments Inc. was acquired by an investor group led by Francisco Partners in September 2006, and subsequently acquired by Honeywell in July 2008 for approximately $720 million. Metrologic Instruments Inc. currently operates as a division within Honeywell's Imaging & Mobility business. Therefore, its current status is acquired and it functions as a division of an operating company.

Assignment timeline

The following is a chronological list of recorded assignments for U.S. Patent No. 6,076,733, as found in the USPTO Assignment Center and Google Patents records.

• 1997-11-10 (executed) / recorded (date not specified in Google Patents) — Reel/Frame: (not provided, but exists)

  • Conveyance: Assignment of Assignors Interest
  • Assignor: KNOWLES, C. HARRY, WILZ, DAVID M., SR.
  • Assignee: METROLOGIC INSTRUMENTS, INC.
  • Correspondent: (not recorded for this entry)
  • Context: Original assignment of patent rights from inventors to the operating company.

• 2004-11-15 (executed) / recorded 2004-11-23 — Reel 010992/0971

  • Conveyance: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
  • Assignee: METROLOGIC INSTRUMENTS, INC.
  • Correspondent: NOT RECORDED
  • Context: Release of a security interest held by a financial institution.

• 2007-02-28 (executed) / recorded 2007-03-20 — Reel 019253/0732

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: METEOR HOLDING CORP., METROLOGIC INSTRUMENTS, INC., OMNIPLANAR, INC.
  • Assignee: MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED
  • Correspondent: BRUCE M EISEN, ESQ., WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, 60 STATE STREET, 28TH FLOOR, BOSTON, MA 02109. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Grant of a security interest to Morgan Stanley, likely related to financing preceding Metrologic's acquisition by Honeywell.

• 2007-02-28 (executed) / recorded 2007-03-20 — Reel 019253/0754

  • Conveyance: SECURITY AGREEMENT
  • Assignor: METEOR HOLDING CORP., METROLOGIC INSTRUMENTS, INC., OMNIPLANAR, INC.
  • Assignee: MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED
  • Correspondent: BRUCE M EISEN, ESQ., WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, 60 STATE STREET, 28TH FLOOR, BOSTON, MA 02109. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Grant of a second security interest to Morgan Stanley, likely related to financing preceding Metrologic's acquisition by Honeywell.

• 2009-08-12 (executed) / recorded 2009-09-08 — Reel 024409/0173

  • Conveyance: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST
  • Assignor: MORGAN STANLEY & CO. INCORPORATED
  • Assignee: OMNIPLANAR, INC., METEOR HOLDING CORPORATION, METROLOGIC INSTRUMENTS, INC.
  • Correspondent: BRUCE M EISEN, ESQ., WILMER CUTLER PICKERING HALE AND DORR LLP, 60 STATE STREET, 28TH FLOOR, BOSTON, MA 02109. This correspondent recurs in this chain.
  • Context: Release of security interests from Morgan Stanley after Honeywell's acquisition of Metrologic.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 6076733
    1997 : Filed by Metrologic Instruments Inc
         : Inventors assign to Metrologic
    2000 : Patent issued
    2004 : PNC Bank security interest released
    2007 : Security agreements to Morgan Stanley
    2008 : Metrologic acquired by Honeywell
    2009 : Morgan Stanley security released

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer: Not present. The recorded transfers are either from inventors to an operating company or involve security interests with financial institutions, not transfers to licensing-only shell entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain: Not present. Metrologic Instruments Inc. and Honeywell are operating companies, and PNC Bank and Morgan Stanley are financial institutions, none of which are known patent asserters.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain: Present. Bruce M Eisen, Esq. of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP is listed as the correspondent on Reel 019253/0732, 019253/0754, and 024409/0173.
4. Cascading transfers: Not present. The records show security agreements and their releases, not consecutive ownership transfers through multiple LLCs.
5. Pre-litigation transfer: Not present. No litigation history for this patent has been found, and the transfers are related to corporate financing and acquisition events.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale: Not present. Metrologic Instruments Inc. was acquired by Honeywell, not dissolved or liquidated through bankruptcy proceedings.
7. Privateering: Unclear. While Metrologic was acquired by Honeywell (an operating company), there is no evidence from the assignment records or public litigation data to suggest that Honeywell used this patent for privateering.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE): Not present. The patent ownership chain does not terminate at a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. The assignment records for US Patent 6,076,733 primarily document the initial assignment from inventors to Metrologic Instruments Inc. and subsequent security agreements related to corporate financing and acquisitions (specifically leading up to Honeywell's acquisition of Metrologic in 2008). No direct transfers of patent ownership to known NPEs or shell entities are present. The patent has expired, and no litigation was found.

USPTO Assignment Center Search: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/