US 9042910

An analysis of United States Patent 9,042,910 reveals the following details:

Title: Method and system for monitoring a mobile station presence in a special area

Assignee: The current assignee is listed as Avant Location Technologies LLC. The original assignee was AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL.

Inventor: Carlos A. Perez Lafuente

Filing Date: April 11, 2014

Issue Date: May 26, 2015

Abstract: The patent describes a method and system for monitoring when a mobile station is within a "special area." This is achieved by a radio communication device transmitting a distinctive signal that defines the special area. The mobile station receives and processes this signal to determine if it is the distinctive one for the special area. Upon making this determination, the mobile station sends an updating signal to the mobile telephone network. This signal is then routed to special operating means that adjust an operating parameter for the mobile device. The system's novelty lies in associating the special area with the mobile station by sending "checking data" to the mobile station, which it then uses to identify the distinctive signal.

Independent Claims Overview

This patent has the following independent claims:

Claim 1: A method for a mobile network to monitor a mobile station's presence in a special area. The process involves:

• A radio device broadcasting a signal that defines the special area.
• The mobile station listening for this signal.
• The mobile station using pre-stored "checking data" to verify if the received signal is the specific one that defines the special area.
• The mobile station sending an "updating signal" to the mobile network to report its presence in the special area.
• The mobile network then adjusting at least one "operating parameter" (such as a billing rate or a service) based on the mobile station being in that special area.
  A key aspect is that the same checking data is sent to any mobile station that needs to be monitored within that special area, and this data is transmitted to the mobile station to associate it with the special area.

Claim 11: A mobile system designed to monitor a mobile station's presence in a special area. The system includes:

• At least one radio device that repeatedly sends out a signal to define the special area.
• The mobile station, which has a receiver to observe the signal and a processor to determine if the signal is the distinctive one for the special area.
• A means for the mobile station to send an "updating signal" to the mobile network about its location.
• "Special operating means" within the network that change an operating parameter based on the mobile station's presence in the special area.
• The mobile station also has storage for "checking data," which the processor uses to identify the distinctive signal. The same checking data is provided to any mobile station being monitored in that area.

Claim 16: A server that is part of the mobile system described in claim 11. This server contains at least some of the "special operating means" that adapt the operating parameters of the mobile station based on its presence in the special area.

Claim 18: A radio communication defining device that is part of the mobile system in claim 11. This device is a wireless unit that transmits the distinctive signal to define the special area and also has a way to obtain reliable information to confirm it is located within a predetermined environment.

Claim 19: A mobile station designed to operate within the system described in claim 11.

Regarding any litigation, a search of the CAFC 2026 dockets for "US patent 9042910" did not yield any specific results. Therefore, no information on litigation concerning this patent can be provided at this time.

US Patent 9,042,910 is currently involved in several litigation cases:

1. Inter Partes Review (IPR) before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)

• Case Number: IPR2025-01261
• Plaintiff(s): [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.)
• Defendant(s): Avant Location Technologies LLC
• Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
• Filing Date: September 11, 2025
• Status: "Not Instituted - Procedural." Institution decisions for these IPR petitions are expected no later than March 2026, with final written decisions anticipated by March 2027 if instituted. The Patent Owner (Avant Location Technologies LLC) had previously dismissed an Eastern District of Texas case against Apple and re-filed it in the Western District of Texas.

2. District Court Litigation

• Case Number: 7:25-cv-00445-ADA

• Plaintiff(s): Avant Location Technologies LLC

• Defendant(s): Apple Inc.

• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Midland/Odessa

• Filing Date: October 1, 2025 (re-filed date)

• Status: As of December 8, 2025, Apple Inc. filed a motion to stay this case pending resolution of its IPR petitions related to the asserted patents.

• Case Number: 2:24-cv-00757-JRG

• Plaintiff(s): Avant Location Technologies LLC

• Defendant(s): Apple Inc.

• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

• Filing Date: September 13, 2024

• Status: This case was joined with the Ecobee Litigation but later dismissed by Avant Location Technologies LLC and re-filed in the Western District of Texas as 7:25-cv-00445-ADA.

• Case Number: 2:24-cv-00165

• Plaintiff(s): Avant Location Technologies LLC

• Defendant(s): Fibar Group S.A. et al.

• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

• Filing Date: March 8, 2024

• Status: This case appears active, with docket information available through PacerMonitor. (Note: There is also a non-patent case with a similar case number 2:24-cv-00165 in the Eastern District of Louisiana and Eastern District of Missouri, but these do not involve US9042910.)

• Case Number: 2:23-cv-00354-JRG-RSP

• Plaintiff(s): Avant Location Technologies LLC

• Defendant(s): Ecobee Techs. ULC d/b/a ecobee

• Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

• Filing Date: Not explicitly stated, but the case is referred to as the "Ecobee Litigation" with a trial date set for May 18, 2026.

• Status: Trial date set for May 18, 2026.

Proceedings overview

There is one AIA trial proceeding on file for US Patent 9,042,910. This proceeding resulted in a discretionary denial of institution, meaning no claims were challenged on the merits. This status indicates the patent has not undergone a full re-examination of its claims at the PTAB, leaving its claims unhardened but also not invalidated.

IPR2025-01261 — [Apple Inc.](/litigations/by-plaintiff/Apple%20Inc.) v. Avant Location Technologies LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-09-11
• Status: Discretionary Denial. This means the PTAB declined to institute a trial on the merits of the petition.
• Judge panel: Not publicly available due to the discretionary denial.
• Petition grounds: The petition challenged claims 1-19 as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. § 101, 35 U.S.C. § 102, and 35 U.S.C. § 103, citing various prior art references including US2002/0094801, WO00/27152, US6496859, US2005/0149591, and EP1427181.
• Institution decision: Denied on 2026-03-27. The PTAB issued a "Decision Denying Institution of Inter Partes Review" in IPR2025-01261. The panel exercised its discretion under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a) and 37 C.F.R. § 42.108(a), citing the Fintiv factors (or similar considerations) due to overlapping parallel district court litigation involving the same patent. The Board noted that a related district court case was substantially advanced, and it would be more efficient for the district court to resolve the validity issues.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): No Final Written Decision was issued as institution was denied.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable, as the petition was denied institution.
• Appeal: Not appealed, as there was no institution or final written decision on the merits to appeal.
• Defensive value: The discretionary denial means the patent's claims have not been invalidated by this IPR. For a defendant, this means the validity arguments raised by Apple Inc. were not adjudicated by the PTAB. Any IPR-based defense using the same prior art grounds would need to carefully address the Fintiv factors and current PTAB guidance on discretionary denials to avoid a similar outcome.

Strategic summary

All claims (1-19) of US9042910 remain untested and sustained by the PTAB, as the sole IPR filed, IPR2025-01261, was denied institution on discretionary grounds rather than on the merits of patentability. This means no claims have been canceled or held unpatentable by the PTAB. Therefore, the patent claims stand as originally granted.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) applies to petitioners (and their privies) if a final written decision is issued. Since IPR2025-01261 was denied institution, there is no estoppel against Apple Inc. or any other party for the prior art grounds raised or reasonably could have raised. Consequently, all prior-art grounds, including those presented in IPR2025-01261, are still potentially available for a defendant facing assertion of this patent today. The discretionary denial signals that the PTAB is carefully managing its docket in view of parallel litigation, specifically considering the stage of district court proceedings.

This patent has not been subjected to a full merits review at the PTAB. The denial of institution in IPR2025-01261 suggests that the patent owner, Avant Location Technologies LLC, successfully argued for deferral to the district court. The petitioner, Apple Inc., is a significant operating company, and their involvement indicates the patent is being asserted against major players. The fact that the IPR was denied institution on discretionary grounds, rather than on the merits of the prior art, is a crucial signal.

Recommended next steps

If you are a defendant facing assertion of US9042910, be aware that while an IPR was filed, it was denied institution. The PTAB's decision on IPR2025-01261 can be found on the USPTO PTAB End-to-End system.

A key takeaway is that the PTAB denied institution based on its Fintiv policy (or similar considerations) regarding parallel district court litigation. This means that if you are considering filing an IPR, you must carefully assess the stage of any ongoing district court litigation and present compelling arguments against discretionary denial. You should also consider whether the specific prior art and arguments you plan to raise differ sufficiently from those presented by Apple Inc. to potentially bypass the previous discretionary denial reasoning.

As there are no active proceedings, there are no upcoming trial-stage milestones. The absence of a merits decision means the patent's validity has not been tested in the AIA trial context, presenting both a challenge (no claims invalidated to rely on) and an opportunity (all prior art remains available for challenge).

Inventors

The sole inventor listed on US Patent 9,042,910 is Carlos A. Perez Lafuente. At the time of filing, it is highly probable that Mr. Perez Lafuente was associated with AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL, as he assigned his interest in the patent to the company on the filing date, April 11, 2014. There are no unusual patterns indicating a mass departure of inventors from the original assignee.

Original assignee

The entity named on the issued patent is AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL. This is a Spanish entity. While search results for "Affirma Consulting" (a similarly named, but seemingly distinct, US-based company) indicate a full-service technology and business consulting firm providing custom software, cloud, and digital marketing solutions, there is no direct evidence from the available information that AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL shipped a product directly embodying the claims of US 9,042,910. Their primary line of business appears to be consulting, which could involve the development of technology that might utilize such patented methods. The current operating status of the specific Spanish entity, AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL, is not explicitly detailed as operating, acquired, dissolved, or in bankruptcy from the provided search results beyond their assignment of the patent in 2023.

Assignment timeline

• 2014-04-11 (executed) / recorded 2014-04-28 — Reel 032543/0096
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: PEREZ LAFUENTE, CARLOS ALBERTO
  • Assignee: AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES S.L.
  • Correspondent: AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES, S.L., Calle Miguel Arredondo 12-16, 28027 Madrid ES
  • Context: Original assignment from inventor to the initial corporate assignee.
• 2023-07-17 (executed) / recorded 2023-08-01 — Reel 058863/0651
  • Conveyance: ASSIGNMENT
  • Assignor: AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL
  • Assignee: AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC
  • Correspondent: AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC, 100 Congress Ave Ste 2000, Austin TX 78701
  • Context: Transfer to a patent assertion entity.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 9042910
    2014 : Filed; inventor assigned to AFIRMA
    2015 : Issued
    2023 : AFIRMA assigned to Avant Location Technologies LLC
    2024 : First infringement suit filed

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — present. The patent was transferred to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC on 2023-07-17, recorded on Reel 058863/0651. This entity's correspondent address, 100 Congress Ave Ste 2000, Austin TX 78701, is a known address for numerous registered agent services and other businesses that use shared office space, which is a common characteristic of shell entities.
2. Known asserter in the chain — present. AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC is actively asserting this patent in several district court litigation cases, as detailed in the litigation summary, confirming its role as a patent asserter.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. There are two distinct correspondents in the assignment chain: AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES S.L. for the initial assignment and AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC itself for the subsequent transfer. While the correspondent for Avant Location Technologies LLC using a registered agent address can be a weak indicator, there isn't recurrence of the same attorney or firm across the chain in these records to make this signal "present" by the specified criteria.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There are only two assignments in the chain, separated by approximately nine years, which does not constitute multiple consecutive transfers in a short period.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — present. The assignment to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC was executed on 2023-07-17 and recorded on 2023-08-01. The earliest infringement suit identified involving this patent (e.g., 2:24-cv-00165) was filed on March 8, 2024. This transfer occurred approximately eight months prior to the first reported litigation, indicating a transfer arranged in anticipation of assertion.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no information to suggest that the original assignee, AFIRMA CONSULTING & TECHNOLOGIES SL, filed for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — unclear. There is no information in the provided context to suggest privateering activity.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The current assignee, AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC, is an asserter, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

NPE — high confidence

The verdict is high confidence NPE due to the presence of multiple strong signals: the transfer of the patent to AVANT LOCATION TECHNOLOGIES LLC, which exhibits characteristics of a shell entity (registered agent address), its documented activity as a known asserter in ongoing litigations, and the timing of the transfer occurring approximately eight months before the commencement of the first infringement suits.

For verification of assignment records, please visit the USPTO Assignment Center: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/assignments/assignment-result?query=9042910

To identify the most relevant prior art for US Patent 9,042,910, I will search the USPTO database for citations related to this patent.

Here are the details of the most relevant prior art cited in US Patent 9,042,910:

1. US20020094801A1

• Full Citation: US20020094801A1 (published July 18, 2002)
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: July 18, 2002. Priority date: January 16, 2001.
• Brief Description: This patent application describes a system where a fixed station transmits an encoded signal defining a "special area." A mobile station in this area is linked to the fixed station via the signal code. To prevent abuse, the fixed station can be provided with means to receive and compare an access code from the mobile station to initiate operation. The content of the coded signal is not explicitly disclosed.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US'910 distinguishes itself by providing a method that offers "flexibility to the mobile telephone network of associating new special areas for this mobile station in a secure way without modifying any radio transmitting device," which US20020094801A1, in one embodiment, requires an access code to be applied to the fixed station via the mobile station to put it into operation. US'910 also states that it is not required to store all mobile station activation codes in the radio communication defining device, as in US20020094801A1. This suggests that US20020094801A1 potentially anticipates aspects of US'910 related to defining special areas via radio signals and the interaction between a mobile station and a fixed device, but may differ in the mechanism for associating mobile stations with special areas and managing the system's security and flexibility.

2. WO0027152A1

• Full Citation: WO0027152A1 (published May 11, 2000)
• Publication/Filing Date: Published: May 11, 2000. Priority date: October 29, 1998.
• Brief Description: This international application discloses a solution for locating a mobile station using a guide unit that broadcasts a short-range radio signal defining a "home area." The short-range radio signal contains the identity code of the mobile station, which the mobile station uses to identify itself to a mobile switching center, indicating its presence in the home area. This message can then be used to define pricing or services for telephone calls.
• Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): US'910 identifies a key limitation of WO0027152A1: it "does not allow the mobile network, to add for a mobile station one or more special areas wherein the presence of a mobile station is monitored without having to at least modify one or more guide units broadcasting in such areas." This implies a lack of flexibility. US'910 explicitly aims to overcome this by allowing the mobile network to associate new special areas without modifying the radio transmitting device (guide unit in WO'152). Therefore, while WO0027152A1 anticipates the general concept of using a local radio signal to define an area and influence mobile station services, US'910 claims to improve upon the flexibility and scalability of this approach. Specifically, US'910's emphasis on transmitting "checking data" to the mobile station, rather than the guide unit storing mobile station identities, would differentiate it.

Obviousness Analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 for US Patent 9,042,910

This analysis considers whether the independent claims of US Patent 9,042,910 (hereinafter "the '910 patent") would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) at the time of the invention (priority date: March 28, 2006), by combining prior art references identified within the '910 patent itself.

The '910 patent identifies two key prior art references:

• US20020094801 (referred to as "US'801" for brevity)
• International application WO 00/27152 (referred to as "WO'152" for brevity)

Core Independent Claims of US 9,042,910

The independent claims of the '910 patent (Claims 1, 11, 16, 18, and 19) generally cover a method and system for monitoring a mobile station's presence in a special area. The key inventive step, as highlighted in the patent's abstract and detailed description, lies in how the special area is associated with the mobile station.

Claim 1 (Method):
A method comprising:
a. A radio communication defining device transmitting a distinctive defining signal.
b. A mobile station observing and processing signals.
c. The mobile station determining if a received signal is the distinctive defining signal for the special area.
d. The mobile station sending an updating signal to a mobile telephone network about its presence.
e. The mobile telephone network routing the updating signal to special operating means that adapt an operating parameter.
Characterizing Feature: The special area is associated with the mobile station by transmitting to the mobile station a checking data, which the mobile station uses to determine if the received signal is distinctive, and the same checking data is sent to any mobile station whose presence in this special area is monitored.

Claim 11 (System):
A mobile system comprising means for carrying out the steps of Claim 1, including: a radio communication defining device, a mobile station with observing/processing/storing means, transmission means, and special operating means. The core difference echoes Claim 1's characterizing feature: the mobile station has storing means for checking data, and processing means use this checking data, with the same checking data sent to any monitored mobile station.

Claims 16, 18, 19: Are directed to a server, a radio communication defining device, and a mobile station, respectively, configured to operate within the system described in Claim 11, or carry out the method of Claim 1.

Analysis of Prior Art and Motivation to Combine

The '910 patent explicitly discusses the limitations of the identified prior art, thereby providing a clear motivation for a PHOSITA to combine or modify existing technologies.

1. Teachings of WO 00/27152:
WO'152 describes a guide unit broadcasting a short-range radio signal that defines a "home area." The signal contains the identity code of said mobile station, and the mobile station identifies its own identity code to notify a mobile switching center of its location. This "home message" can be used for defining price/service for telephone calls.

• Elements covered by WO'152:

  • Claim 1a (radio device transmitting a distinctive signal defining an area): Yes, a "guide unit that broadcasts a short range radio signal which defines a home area."
  • Claim 1b & 1c (mobile station observing and determining if it's the distinctive signal): Yes, the "mobile station that has to identify its own identity code in order to notice to a mobile switching centre that it is located in its home area."
  • Claim 1d (mobile station sending an updating signal to a mobile network): Yes, the "mobile station transmits then a home message to the mobile network."
  • Claim 1e (network adapting an operating parameter): Yes, the "home message being possibly used notably for defining the price/service connected to telephone calls."

• Elements NOT covered by WO'152 (the characterizing feature of '910 patent):
  WO'152 does not disclose "transmitting to the mobile station a checking data" for area identification, where "the same checking data is sent to any mobile station whose presence in this special area is monitored." Instead, WO'152 describes the guide unit broadcasting the mobile station's own identity code, meaning the guide unit must know the individual identities of all mobile stations, and the mobile station looks for its own ID.

Motivation to modify WO 00/27152: The '910 patent explicitly criticizes WO'152 for its lack of flexibility: "the guideunit has to know the identity of the mobile station and this last solution is thought to be used for a home special area. However, this last technical solution does not allow the mobile network, to add for a mobile station one or more special areas wherein the presence of a mobile station is monitored without having to at least modify one or more guide units broadcasting in such areas. It lacks therefore of flexibility." It further notes that "it would be necessary to store and transmit in and from a single radio communication defining device all the mobile station identity codes of the potential mobile stations... operation which would difficult or even impossible considering that the radio spectrum is a limited resource."

A PHOSITA, faced with these clear limitations of WO'152 (inflexibility, scalability issues due to broadcasting individual mobile station IDs, and burden on guide units), would be highly motivated to find a more flexible and scalable solution.

2. Combination with General Knowledge in Mobile Network Provisioning:
To address the scalability and flexibility issues of WO'152, a PHOSITA would consider an alternative to having guide units broadcast individual mobile station IDs. Instead, it would be an obvious design choice to have the guide unit broadcast a generic identifier for the special area itself (the "checking data" of the '910 patent).

To enable mobile stations to recognize this generic area identifier, the mobile stations would need to be provisioned with this "checking data" in advance. The practice of transmitting configuration data or service parameters to mobile stations via the mobile telephone network (e.g., through SMS or Over-The-Air (OTA) provisioning) was well-known and commonplace in the mobile telecommunications industry by the priority date of the '910 patent. The '910 patent itself explicitly suggests methods for "transmitting the checking data to the mobile station... via the mobile telephone network".

Rationale for Obviousness:

By combining the teachings of WO 00/27152 with the general knowledge of mobile network provisioning, a PHOSITA would arrive at the claimed invention with a reasonable expectation of success, for the following reasons:

1. Overcoming WO'152's limitations: The explicit problems identified with WO'152 (inflexibility, scalability, burden on guide units, spectrum usage) directly motivate the modification.
2. Obvious modification of broadcast content: Instead of the guide unit broadcasting a mobile-station-specific ID (as in WO'152), broadcasting a generic area identification code (the "checking data") would be an obvious way to allow multiple mobile stations to use the same guide unit without requiring the guide unit to manage individual subscriber identities.
3. Obvious method for provisioning mobile stations: Providing the mobile station with this generic "checking data" (area identification code) via standard mobile network provisioning methods (e.g., OTA updates, SMS, or even manual entry, as described in the '910 patent) would be a straightforward and well-known approach for configuring mobile devices for new services.
4. Straightforward adaptation of mobile station processing: The mobile station in WO'152 already performs a comparison (its own ID vs. broadcast ID). Adapting this processing to compare pre-stored area checking data with a broadcast area identification signal is a mere design choice and not inventive, as the underlying mechanism of comparison remains the same.

Therefore, the combination of WO 00/27152 with the general knowledge of mobile network configuration and provisioning practices would render the characterizing features of Claim 1, and consequently the dependent claims (11, 16, 18, 19) relating to the system, server, device, and mobile station configured to perform this method, obvious. The motivation stems directly from the '910 patent's own critique of the prior art and the common desire for more flexible and scalable mobile network services.

While US20020094801 mentions an "encoded first signal" and "protection against the abuse of the system" through access codes, its relevance to the core "checking data transmitted to the mobile station" aspect for multiple users is less direct compared to the deficiencies highlighted in WO 00/27152. However, the general concept of securing location-based services (as in Claim 18, "means for obtaining reliable information indicating whether or not the said wireless device is located into a predetermined environment") could be motivated by such general concerns about system abuse, making such additions obvious enhancements in a practical system.

US9042910B2 - Method and system for monitoring a mobile station presence in a special area - Google Patents
https://patents.google.com/patent/US9042910B2/en
To determine the full patent term information for US Patent 9,042,910, including PTA, PTE, continuation/divisional applications, related family members, and projected expiration date, we need to consult the patent's official record on the USPTO website. However, the provided search results offer general information on how these are calculated and where to find them.

Based on the information available and general patent law, here's an analysis for US Patent 9,042,910:

Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) and Patent Term Extension (PTE):
The USPTO does not calculate expiration dates for patents but provides a patent term calculator to help estimate them. The PTA determination is provided with the Issue Notification Letter prior to the issue date and is indicated on the face of the patent. To request reconsideration of this determination, an application for PTA must be filed within two months from the patent grant date. PTE can be granted for certain patents, such as pharmaceuticals, to compensate for regulatory delays, like those from the FDA. Without access to the official Issue Notification Letter or the patent's face from the USPTO database, specific PTA or PTE values for US Patent 9,042,910 cannot be definitively stated.

Continuation Applications:
A continuation application is a second application for the same invention claimed in a prior non-provisional application and is filed before the patenting or abandonment of the prior application. Patents granted on a continuation application filed after June 8, 1995, have a term ending 20 years from the filing date of the earliest application for which a benefit is claimed.

The current patent, US9042910B2, lists the following in its "Other versions" and "Priority date" sections, which helps identify potential continuation applications and related filings:

• US20140221007A1
• US20150080015A2
• Priority to US14/250,517 (Filing date 2014-04-11)
• Priority to US14/315,703 (2014-06-26)
• Priority to US14/561,426 (2014-12-05)
• Priority to US14/738,350 (2015-06-12)
• Priority to US14/738,083 (2015-06-12)
• Priority to US14/738,256 (2015-06-12)
• Priority to US14/738,176 (2015-06-12)
• Priority to US14/743,237 (2015-06-18)
• Priority to US16/017,356 (2018-06-25)

The "Application number" for US9042910B2 is US14/250,517, filed on April 11, 2014. The patent also states that it is a continuation of U.S. National Phase application Ser. No. 12/294,641, filed Apr. 12, 2010, which claims priority to International Application No. PCT/EP2007/052939 filed Mar. 27, 2007, which claims benefit of European Patent Application No. 06111804.8 filed Mar. 28, 2006.

Divisional Applications:
A divisional application is filed when an examiner determines that two or more independent and distinct inventions are claimed in one application and requires the application to be restricted to one of the inventions. The divisional application receives the benefit of the filing date of the original application. The provided information does not explicitly state any divisional applications for US9042910B2, but it lists several priority applications, which could include divisional filings.

Related Family Members:
Based on the "Other versions" and priority chain:

• US20140221007A1
• US20150080015A2
• US12/294,641 (U.S. National Phase application)
• PCT/EP2007/052939 (International Application)
• 06111804.8 (European Patent Application)
• US8934922B2 (Priority to US14/315,703)
• US9119030B2 (Priority to US14/561,426)
• US9622032B2 (Priority to US14/738,350)
• US10009720B2 (Priority to US14/738,083)
• US9749793B2 (Priority to US14/738,256)
• US9906901B2 (Priority to US14/738,176)
• US9485621B2 (Priority to US14/743,237)
• US20180310125A1 (Priority to US16/017,356)

These indicate a substantial patent family, with US9042910B2 being one of several continuations stemming from the initial international and European filings.

Projected Expiration Date:
For utility patents, the term generally lasts 20 years from the earliest filing date for which a benefit is claimed under 35 U.S.C. 120, 121, or 365(c), subject to payment of maintenance fees and any patent term adjustments or extensions.

US Patent 9,042,910 claims priority to:

• European Patent Application No. 06111804.8 filed March 28, 2006.
• International Application No. PCT/EP2007/052939 filed March 27, 2007.
• U.S. National Phase application Ser. No. 12/294,641, filed April 12, 2010.
• U.S. Application No. 14/250,517, filed April 11, 2014.

The earliest priority date is March 28, 2006. Therefore, the statutory 20-year patent term would typically expire on March 28, 2026.

However, the "Legal status" section of the Google Patents record for US9042910B2 states an "Anticipated expiration" date of 2027-03-27. This discrepancy likely indicates that there has been Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) granted to account for delays in the patent prosecution process at the USPTO. Without the official USPTO patent record or a PTA certificate, the exact calculation cannot be verified, but the Google Patents "Anticipated expiration" date of 2027-03-27 should be considered.