USPTO Examiner CRUTCHFIELD CHRISTOPHER M - Art Unit 2466

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
18737009Configuration of Secondary Control Channel Group by Base StationJune 2024April 2025Allow1010NoNo
18643189Measurement Reporting Method and Related DeviceApril 2024December 2025Allow1920NoNo
18604903CHANNEL CONFIGURATION METHOD, AND APPARATUSMarch 2024March 2026Allow2400NoNo
18604223USER EQUIPMENT AND BASE STATION PERFORMING TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OPERATIONSMarch 2024December 2024Allow910YesNo
18601256METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SYSTEM INFORMATION MANAGEMENT IN A WIRELESS SYSTEMMarch 2024January 2025Allow2710NoNo
18434618MAINTAINING PROCESSING CORE AFFINITY FOR FRAGMENTED PACKETS IN NETWORK DEVICESFebruary 2024November 2024Allow1010NoNo
18527812GEOGRAPHICALLY REDUNDANT AND HIGH AVAILABILITY SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE FOR A HYBRID CLOUD CELLULAR NETWORKDecember 2023November 2024Allow1110NoNo
18495044METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST (HARQ) FEEDBACK PERFORMANCE OF ENHANCED MOBILE BROADBAND (eMBB) WHEN IMPACTED BY LOW LATENCY TRAFFICOctober 2023August 2024Allow1010NoNo
18474438Timing Advance Triggering Measurement Report For FR2 HandoverSeptember 2023January 2026Allow2810NoNo
18472913DYNAMIC TDD UPLINK/DOWNLINK CONFIGURATION USING DCISeptember 2023August 2024Allow1110NoNo
18469198METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROVIDING MULTICASTING AND BROAD1CASTING IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMSeptember 2023March 2026Allow3010YesNo
18243234RANDOM ACCESS PROCEDURE FALLBACKSeptember 2023January 2025Allow1720YesNo
18462801MEDIUM ACCESS PROTOCOL DATA UNIT ASSEMBLY IN WIRELESS SYSTEMSSeptember 2023August 2025Allow2330YesNo
18229690WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICES, NETWORK CONNECTION NODES, SYSTEMS AND METHODSAugust 2023December 2024Allow1720NoNo
18225620System, Security and Network Management Using Self-Organizing Communication Orbits in Distributed NetworksJuly 2023July 2024Allow1210NoNo
18351332INFORMATION TRANSMISSION METHODJuly 2023March 2026Allow3220NoNo
18344285COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUSJune 2023November 2025Allow2810NoNo
18212677HIGH-AVAILABILITY EGRESS ACCESS WITH CONSISTENT SOURCE IP ADDRESSES FOR WORKLOADSJune 2023June 2025Allow2410NoNo
18256625UNIFIED CHANNEL STATE INFORMATION FRAMEWORK FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATIONSJune 2023February 2026Allow3211NoNo
18203251Configuration of Secondary Control Channel Group by Base StationMay 2023January 2024Allow810NoNo
18038997RADIO ACCESS NETWORK RESOURCE GRANT ALLOCATION AND RELATED ASPECTSMay 2023January 2026Allow3220NoNo
18201968RELAY MODE CONFIGURATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, RELAY COMMUNICATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND DEVICEMay 2023July 2024Allow1430YesNo
18309033Filtering VPN and VRF Routes on Import and ExportApril 2023October 2025Allow2910NoNo
18308604OPTIMIZED WAY TO VALIDATE THE NTN CELLApril 2023October 2025Allow2910NoNo
18248918WIRELESS SENSING RESOURCE COORDINATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMApril 2023October 2025Allow3010NoNo
18030941USER EQUIPMENTS, BASE STATIONS, AND METHODSApril 2023September 2025Allow3010NoNo
18030421METHOD FOR HANDLING NON SMALL DATA TRANSMISSION RADIO BEARER DURING SMALL DATA TRANSMISSION AND APPARATUS THEREOFApril 2023August 2025Allow2910NoNo
17917975METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPERATING HARQ PROCESS IN NR V2XMarch 2023December 2025Allow3810NoNo
180435173GPP, 5G, AND LTE RANDOM ACCESS RESPONSE TIMING ADVANCE COMMAND CODING FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY-RELATED BREACHFebruary 2023September 2025Allow3010NoNo
18112210COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND RELATED METHODS OF OPERATIONFebruary 2023October 2023Allow810NoNo
18169696MAINTAINING PROCESSING CORE AFFINITY FOR FRAGMENTED PACKETS IN NETWORK DEVICESFebruary 2023November 2023Allow910NoNo
18019521Method to Indicate Cell Support for Reduced Capability UEFebruary 2023August 2025Allow3010NoNo
18019243TERMINAL APPARATUS, BASE STATION APPARATUS, AND METHODFebruary 2023March 2026Allow3720NoNo
18104832MEDIUM ACCESS PROTOCOL DATA UNIT ASSEMBLY IN WIRELESS SYSTEMSFebruary 2023May 2023Allow400NoNo
18158272PACKET SENDING METHOD, DEVICE, AND SYSTEMJanuary 2023July 2025Allow3010NoNo
18005718RADIO LINK MONITORING AND RECOVERY METHOD, APPARATUS, AND DEVICE, AND MEDIUMJanuary 2023October 2025Allow3320NoNo
18013929FALSE CELL DETECTION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKDecember 2022October 2025Allow3320NoNo
18011985METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ALLOCATING FREQUENCY RESOURCES IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMDecember 2022July 2025Allow3110NoNo
18058928BANDWIDTH CONSTRAINT FOR MULTIPATH SEGMENT ROUTINGNovember 2022July 2023Allow810NoNo
17992861TRAFFIC CONDITION AWARE SEMIPERSISTENT SCHEDULINGNovember 2022July 2025Allow3210NoNo
17998768VEHICLE, INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSCEIVER, APPARATUS, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR DETERMINING A PHYSICAL LAYER CONFIGURATION FOR A RADIO LINKNovember 2022November 2025Allow3620NoNo
18052680DYNAMIC TDD UPLINK/DOWNLINK CONFIGURATION USING DCINovember 2022June 2023Allow810NoNo
17968930COMMUNICATION METHOD AND COMMUNICATION APPARATUSOctober 2022February 2026Abandon4020NoNo
17960670Aggregated Cloud Networking for a Hybrid Cellular NetworkOctober 2022January 2025Allow2810NoNo
17960672Geographically Redundant and High Availability System Architecture for a Hybrid Cloud Cellular NetworkOctober 2022August 2023Allow1110NoNo
17904656METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING, BY USER EQUIPMENT, BEAM MANAGEMENT SIGNAL IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM SUPPORTING SIDELINK, AND APPARATUS THEREFORAugust 2022November 2024Allow2700NoNo
17880800UPLINK TRANSMISSION METHOD AND APPARATUSAugust 2022February 2025Allow3010NoNo
17876785ACCESSING A SATELLITE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND A LAND BASED WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMJuly 2022April 2025Allow3310NoNo
17875694METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATIONJuly 2022December 2024Allow2910NoNo
17866093REFERENCE SIGNAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR FAST PANEL SWITCHING AND ANTENNA SWITCHINGJuly 2022November 2025Allow4030NoNo
17863777CONFIGURABLE NETWORK SWITCH FOR INDUSTRIAL CONTROL SYSTEMS INCLUDING DETERMINISTIC NETWORKSJuly 2022May 2023Allow1010NoNo
17758310INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAMJuly 2022March 2025Abandon3210NoNo
17790518METHOD PERFORMED BY USER EQUIPMENT, AND USER EQUIPMENTJuly 2022November 2024Allow2910NoNo
17849166COMMUNICATION METHOD AND SYSTEM, AND DEVICEJune 2022May 2025Allow3520NoNo
17842442RRC CONNECTION MANAGEMENT METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND DEVICEJune 2022May 2023Allow1110NoNo
17841395METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING HYBRID AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST (HARQ) FEEDBACK PERFORMANCE OF ENHANCED MOBILE BROADBAND (eMBB) WHEN IMPACTED BY LOW LATENCY TRAFFICJune 2022August 2023Allow1420NoNo
17785108CONTROL APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUMJune 2022August 2025Abandon3820NoNo
17830579Measurement Reporting Method and Related DeviceJune 2022January 2024Allow1920NoNo
17745350INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, RECORDING MEDIUM, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, AND TERMINAL DEVICEMay 2022September 2024Allow2810NoNo
17743858NODE/NETWORK AGGREGATION GATEWAY DEVICEMay 2022April 2023Allow1120NoNo
17756035METHOD FOR INFORMATION TRANSMISSION AND DEVICEMay 2022August 2025Allow3930NoNo
17755700Access Control at a Relay User EquipmentMay 2022October 2024Allow3010NoNo
17736709TRANSMISSION METHOD AND TERMINAL DEVICEMay 2022November 2024Allow3010NoNo
17726732DEEP PACKET INSPECTION IN A FRONTHAUL NETWORK OF A CLOUD RADIO ACCESS NETWORKApril 2022April 2023Allow1210NoNo
17660128FIREWALL LOAD BALANCING WITH TUNNEL SWITCHING PROTOCOLSApril 2022August 2024Allow2810YesNo
17770660NETWORK ENTITY FOR SYNCHRONIZATION OVER A PACKET-BASED FRONTHAUL NETWORKApril 2022February 2025Allow3420YesNo
17713537FEEDBACK CHANNEL MAPPING AND MULTIPLEXING HARQ REPORTS IN NR SIDELINK COMMUNICATIONApril 2022August 2024Allow2910NoNo
17765882TERMINAL AND RADIO COMMUNICATION METHODApril 2022August 2024Allow2910NoNo
17763898METHOD BY WHICH USER TERMINAL TRANSMITS SIGNAL IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND USER TERMINAL THEREFORMarch 2022September 2024Allow3010NoNo
17698727UPLINK DATA TRANSMISSION METHOD AND APPARATUSMarch 2022March 2026Allow4811NoNo
17698441METHOD AND APPARATUS OF HANDLING PERIODIC SIDELINK RESOURCES AND DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMMarch 2022February 2025Allow3520YesNo
17698994SCHEDULING POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL TRANSMISSIONS ACROSS DIFFERENT SUBCARRIER SPACINGSMarch 2022March 2024Allow2300NoNo
17691890TERMINAL APPARATUS AND BASE STATION APPARATUSMarch 2022November 2024Allow3220NoNo
17687793DATA LINK ERROR FEEDBACK SIGNALINGMarch 2022January 2023Allow1010YesNo
17651150Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request HARQ Feedback Information Transmission Method and ApparatusFebruary 2022March 2025Allow3720NoNo
17586204Distributed Routing Controllers for Multi-Region SDWANJanuary 2022October 2023Allow2110NoNo
17575464Gateway Arrangements for Wireless Communication NetworksJanuary 2022October 2023Allow2120NoNo
17647563MULTI-LINK COMMUNICATIONS OF A WIRELESS NETWORKJanuary 2022July 2024Allow3120NoNo
17569305SINGLE FREQUENCY NETWORK TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATION INDICATOR (TCI) STATE ACTIVATIONJanuary 2022November 2024Allow3510NoNo
17624184FREQUENCY DOMAIN RESOURCE ALLOCATION FOR INTERLACED TRANSMISSIONDecember 2021August 2025Allow4440NoNo
17565111METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DATA RETRANSMISSION BASED ON AUTOMATIC REPEAT REQUEST IN COMMUNICATION NETWORKDecember 2021March 2025Allow3820YesNo
17620629TRANSMISSION CONTROL METHOD AND PROGRAMDecember 2021May 2024Allow2910NoNo
17644205POWER CONTROL PARAMETER CONFIGURATIONS FOR PHYSICAL UPLINK SHARED CHANNELS IN THE PRESENCE OF SPATIAL DIVISION MULTIPLEXINGDecember 2021June 2024Allow3020YesNo
17643374USER TERMINAL AND BASE STATIONDecember 2021October 2023Allow2230YesNo
17543403DELAYCAST QUEUE PRIORITIZATIONDecember 2021October 2025Allow4620NoNo
17541465Method and Apparatus for Implementing MulticastDecember 2021April 2024Allow2810NoNo
17533998METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPTOELECTRONIC MATCHINGNovember 2021November 2023Allow2310NoNo
17532776DIAGNOSING AND RESOLVING ISSUES IN A NETWORK USING PROBE PACKETSNovember 2021October 2023Allow2220YesNo
17521686System, Security and Network Management Using Self-Organizing Communication Orbits in Distributed NetworksNovember 2021March 2023Allow1610NoNo
17607969COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND COMMUNICATION METHODNovember 2021October 2024Allow3620NoNo
17607900METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR SIGNAL TRANSMISSION, SIGNAL MEASUREMENT REPORTING, AND POSITIONINGNovember 2021July 2025Allow4430NoNo
17514149METHOD, DEVICE, EXTENDER, AND COMPUTER MEDIUM FOR AUTOMATICALLY RESTORING CONNECTIONOctober 2021July 2023Allow2010NoNo
17607820USER EQUIPMENT, BASE STATIONS AND SIGNALING FOR MULTIPLE ACTIVE CONFIGURED GRANTSOctober 2021May 2024Allow3110NoNo
17509954DMRS for 5G Things Communication SystemOctober 2021January 2023Allow1510NoNo
17509074INTENT-BASED NETWORK VIRTUALIZATION DESIGNOctober 2021December 2022Allow1410NoNo
17506461USER EQUIPMENT AND BASE STATION PERFORMING TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION OPERATIONSOctober 2021December 2023Allow2600NoNo
17503230MESSAGE TRANSMISSION METHOD AND RELATED DEVICESOctober 2021May 2023Allow1900NoNo
17501156CROSS-RELAY INTERFERENCE MITIGATION IN WIRELESS RELAYS THAT SERVE WIRELESS USER DEVICESOctober 2021September 2022Allow1100NoNo
17496065Configuration of Secondary Control Channel GroupOctober 2021January 2023Allow1610NoNo
17594197INTERLEAVING FOR CODE BLOCKOctober 2021February 2024Allow2810NoNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
10
Examiner Affirmed
8
(80.0%)
Examiner Reversed
2
(20.0%)
Reversal Percentile
32.0%
Lower than average

What This Means

With a 20.0% reversal rate, the PTAB affirms the examiner's rejections in the vast majority of cases. This reversal rate is below the USPTO average, indicating that appeals face more challenges here than typical.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
29
Allowed After Appeal Filing
5
(17.2%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
24
(82.8%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
20.9%
Lower than average

Understanding Appeal Filing Strategy

Filing a Notice of Appeal can sometimes lead to allowance even before the appeal is fully briefed or decided by the PTAB. This occurs when the examiner or their supervisor reconsiders the rejection during the mandatory appeal conference (MPEP § 1207.01) after the appeal is filed.

In this dataset, 17.2% of applications that filed an appeal were subsequently allowed. This appeal filing benefit rate is in the bottom 25% across the USPTO, indicating that filing appeals is less effective here than in most other areas.

Strategic Recommendations

Appeals to PTAB face challenges. Ensure your case has strong merit before committing to full Board review.

Filing a Notice of Appeal shows limited benefit. Consider other strategies like interviews or amendments before appealing.

Examiner CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M works in Art Unit 2466 and has examined 660 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 82.3%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 30 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M's allowance rate of 82.3% places them in the 55% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M receive 2.12 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 57% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues a slightly above-average number of office actions.

Prosecution Timeline

The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M is 30 months. This places the examiner in the 60% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +1.7% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by CRUTCHFIELD, CHRISTOPHER M. This interview benefit is in the 21% percentile among all examiners. Note: Interviews show limited statistical benefit with this examiner compared to others, though they may still be valuable for clarifying issues.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 26.0% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 42% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs show below-average effectiveness with this examiner. Carefully evaluate whether an RCE or continuation is the better strategy.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 35.0% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 52% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner shows above-average receptiveness to after-final amendments. If your amendments clearly overcome the rejections and do not raise new issues, consider filing after-final amendments before resorting to an RCE.

Pre-Appeal Conference Effectiveness

When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 42.1% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 39% percentile among all examiners. Note: Pre-appeal conferences show below-average success with this examiner. Consider whether your arguments are strong enough to warrant a PAC request.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 67.7% of appeals filed. This is in the 53% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 47.6% occur early in the appeal process (after Notice of Appeal but before Appeal Brief). Strategic Insight: This examiner shows above-average willingness to reconsider rejections during appeals. The mandatory appeal conference (MPEP § 1207.01) provides an opportunity for reconsideration.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 38.8% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 28% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Note: Petitions show below-average success regarding this examiner's actions. Ensure you have a strong procedural basis before filing.

Examiner Cooperation and Flexibility

Examiner's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 3.8% of allowed cases (in the 82% percentile). Per MPEP § 1302.04, examiner's amendments are used to place applications in condition for allowance when only minor changes are needed. This examiner frequently uses this tool compared to other examiners, indicating a cooperative approach to getting applications allowed. Strategic Insight: If you are close to allowance but minor claim amendments are needed, this examiner may be willing to make an examiner's amendment rather than requiring another round of prosecution.

Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 20% percentile). This examiner rarely issues Quayle actions compared to other examiners. Allowances typically come directly without a separate action for formal matters.

Prosecution Strategy Recommendations

Based on the statistical analysis of this examiner's prosecution patterns, here are tailored strategic recommendations:

  • Examiner cooperation: This examiner frequently makes examiner's amendments to place applications in condition for allowance. If you are close to allowance, the examiner may help finalize the claims.

Relevant MPEP Sections for Prosecution Strategy

  • MPEP § 713.10: Examiner interviews - available before Notice of Allowance or transfer to PTAB
  • MPEP § 714.12: After-final amendments - may be entered "under justifiable circumstances"
  • MPEP § 1002.02(c): Petitionable matters to Technology Center Director
  • MPEP § 1004: Actions requiring primary examiner signature (allowances, final rejections, examiner's answers)
  • MPEP § 1207.01: Appeal conferences - mandatory for all appeals
  • MPEP § 1214.07: Reopening prosecution after appeal

Important Disclaimer

Not Legal Advice: The information provided in this report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. You should consult with a qualified patent attorney or agent for advice specific to your situation.

No Guarantees: We do not provide any guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of the statistics presented above. Patent prosecution statistics are derived from publicly available USPTO data and are subject to data quality limitations, processing errors, and changes in USPTO practices over time.

Limitation of Liability: Under no circumstances will IronCrow AI be liable for any outcome, decision, or action resulting from your reliance on the statistics, analysis, or recommendations presented in this report. Past prosecution patterns do not guarantee future results.

Use at Your Own Risk: While we strive to provide accurate and useful prosecution statistics, you should independently verify any information that is material to your prosecution strategy and use your professional judgment in all patent prosecution matters.