Extensions

For US patent 7292261, the following details regarding its term and family can be ascertained from the provided patent text and general USPTO information:

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA) and Extensions (PTE):
The Google Patents page for US7292261B1 indicates an "Adjusted expiration" date of 2020-11-01 [cite: Original Patent]. Given the filing date of 1999-08-20 [cite: Original Patent], the standard 20-year patent term from the earliest filing date (for applications filed after June 7, 1995) would typically result in an expiration around 2019-08-20. The difference between this standard term and the adjusted expiration date of 2020-11-01 suggests that Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) was applied, extending the patent term by approximately one year and two months. PTA is granted to compensate for certain delays caused by the USPTO during the prosecution of a utility or plant patent application.

There is no information within the provided patent text to suggest that Patent Term Extension (PTE) was applied. PTE typically applies to patents on certain human drugs, food or color additives, medical devices, animal drugs, and veterinary biological products to restore time lost during premarket government approval from a regulatory agency. The subject matter of US7292261 ("Virtual reality camera") does not fall into these categories.

Continuation Applications, Divisional Applications, and Related Family Members:
The Google Patents page for US7292261B1 lists several related applications through priority claims, indicating a patent family:

• Application number: US09/378,398 (which is the filing application for US7292261 itself, filed 1999-08-20) [cite: Original Patent]
• Priority to US11/515,498: Priority date 2006-08-31, which led to patent US8031223B2 [cite: Original Patent]. This is a later application claiming priority back to the '261 patent's family, likely a continuation or divisional.
• Priority to US11/935,344: Priority date 2007-11-05, which led to patent US7733368B2 [cite: Original Patent]. This is another later application claiming priority, likely a continuation or divisional.
• Priority to US13/220,579: Priority date 2011-08-29, which led to patent US9961264B2 [cite: Original Patent]. This is another later application claiming priority, likely a continuation or divisional.

Without direct access to the USPTO's Patent Public Search or Patent Center systems, it is not possible to definitively classify these as continuation or divisional applications, or to identify other specific characteristics. However, their later priority dates, referencing an earlier application in the family, are consistent with the characteristics of continuation or divisional applications.

Projected Expiration Date:
US patent 7292261 is marked as "Expired - Fee Related , expires 2020-11-01" on the Google Patents page [cite: Original Patent]. This indicates that the patent's term concluded on November 1, 2020, due to either reaching its adjusted expiration date or a failure to pay required maintenance fees [cite: Original Patent]. Given that the patent term has already ended, there is no "projected" expiration date; the patent has already expired.