Extensions

To provide a comprehensive analysis of US Patent 9,020,697 regarding patent term adjustments, extensions, related applications, and expiration, I will leverage the USPTO's Patent Public Search system and other reliable sources.

Patent Term Adjustments (PTA)

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) is granted to compensate for delays by the USPTO during patent prosecution. It adds days to the 20-year patent term from the earliest filing date. The USPTO calculates PTA at the time of patent issuance and includes it in the Issue Notification Letter.

To determine the specific PTA for US Patent 9,020,697, direct access to the patent's file wrapper in USPTO Patent Center would be necessary. This system provides detailed information on PTA calculations. Without this direct access, I cannot provide the exact number of PTA days for US9020697.

Patent Term Extensions (PTE)

Patent Term Extensions (PTE) are available for patents covering certain products, primarily human drugs, food or color additives, medical devices, animal drugs, and veterinary biological products, to restore patent term lost due to pre-market government approval delays. PTE is applied in addition to any PTA.

Based on the title "Vehicle-based multimode discovery" and the nature of the claimed invention, US Patent 9,020,697 does not appear to relate to a product subject to regulatory review by agencies like the FDA. Therefore, it is highly unlikely to have received any Patent Term Extension (PTE).

Continuation and Divisional Applications

• Continuation Applications: A continuation application is a second application for the same invention claimed in a prior non-provisional application and filed before the patenting or abandonment of the prior application.
• Divisional Applications: A divisional application is a later application for a distinct invention carved out of an earlier, broader application.

To definitively identify continuation and divisional applications, one would typically look at the "Related U.S. Application Data" section on the front page of the patent document itself or within the patent's file history in the USPTO Patent Center. Without direct access to the full patent document or its Patent Center file, I cannot provide a definitive list of continuation or divisional applications for US9020697.

However, the "Priority date" information on Google Patents for US9020697 lists several external priority claims from other US applications (e.g., US13/420,236, US13/420,240, US13/462,596, US13/462,593, US13/679,842, US13/678,762, US13/679,306, US13/840,240). These indicate a family of related applications, and some of these might be continuation or divisional applications to an earlier parent application, or parent applications to US9020697.

Related Family Members

Related family members typically include patents and patent applications that share a common priority date and cover the same or similar inventive concepts, potentially in different jurisdictions. These can include continuations, divisionals, continuation-in-part applications, and foreign equivalents.

As noted above, the Google Patents entry for US9020697 lists numerous priority claims to other US applications, which are considered related family members:

• US13/420,236 (US20130241720A1) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US13/420,240 (US20130245882A1) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US13/462,596 (US20130293452A1) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US13/462,593 (US20130293364A1) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US13/679,842 (US8979159B2) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US13/678,762 (US9296299B2) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US13/679,306 (US20130151088A1) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US13/840,240 (US20130282946A1) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]
• US14/684,856 (US9290153B2) [Reflected in Google Patents listing as a priority claim]

The application US14/253,312 is the application number for US9020697 itself.

Projected Expiration Date

The basic patent term for utility patents filed on or after June 8, 1995, is 20 years from the earliest claimed non-provisional filing date. This term can be extended by Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) or Patent Term Extension (PTE) if applicable.

For US Patent 9,020,697:

• Earliest Priority Date: March 14, 2012 (this is the earliest priority date listed on Google Patents).
• Calculated Base Expiration Date: March 14, 2012 + 20 years = March 14, 2032.

The Google Patents entry for US9020697 states an "Anticipated expiration" date of 2034-04-15. This date suggests that Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) has been applied to the patent. Without direct access to the USPTO Patent Center to view the specific PTA calculation for US9020697, the exact breakdown of the adjustment cannot be provided. However, subtracting the base expiration date (March 14, 2032) from the anticipated expiration date (April 15, 2034) indicates approximately 2 years and 1 month of PTA.

Therefore, the projected expiration date for US Patent 9,020,697, as indicated by Google Patents, is April 15, 2034.