USPTO Examiner CAIRNS THOMAS R - Art Unit 2468

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
19242933METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TARGET END UE SUPPORTING CANDIDATE U2U RELAY DISCOVERY IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMJune 2025July 2025Allow100YesNo
19086920METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOTE UE SUPPORTING LINK IDENTIFIER UPDATE PROCEDURE IN UE-TO-UE RELAY COMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMMarch 2025May 2025Allow200YesNo
19073769METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR TRIGGERING SIDELINK RELAY RLC CHANNEL RELEASE IN UE-TO-UE RELAY COMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMMarch 2025May 2025Allow200NoNo
19070372APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SPECTRUM EFFICIENT CELLULAR V2X TRANSMISSION IN VEHICULAR NETWORKSMarch 2025June 2025Allow300NoNo
18979271SPECTRAL SHAPING FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONSDecember 2024February 2025Allow300YesNo
18946281METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENHANCING LOCAL ID ALLOCATION FOR MULTIPLE END UES FOR UE-TO-UE RELAY COMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMNovember 2024November 2025Allow1230YesNo
18916052METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING PC5 RADIO LINK FAILURE IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMOctober 2024January 2025Allow300NoNo
18909543METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING END-TO-END PC5 RADIO LINK FAILURE IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMOctober 2024January 2025Allow410NoNo
18779540DETERMINING WHETHER AN INACTIVE RELAY WTRU MAY INDEED SERVE A NETWORK-INITIATED CONNECTION AT A REMOTE SERVED WTRUJuly 2024October 2024Allow300NoNo
18778299DEVICE TO DEVICE RELAY CONNECTION ESTABLISHMENT AND CONFIGURATIONJuly 2024January 2025Allow610YesNo
18778509METHODS FOR PRIVACY PROTECTION USING COORDINATION OF INITIAL CONNECTION RELEASE DURING RELAY RESELECTIONJuly 2024February 2025Allow710YesNo
18777889SIDELINK FEEDBACK INFORMATIONJuly 2024September 2024Allow200YesNo
18665889SIDELINK CAPABILITY INFORMATION TRANSMISSION AND SECURITY BETWEEN PEER TERMINALSMay 2024February 2025Allow900YesNo
18653605CONSISTENT SIDELINK LISTEN BEFORE TALK FAILUREMay 2024July 2024Allow210YesNo
18616761SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVED UPLINK COVERAGEMarch 2024December 2024Allow900NoNo
18595008METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR UE-TO-UE RELAY TRANSMITTING SIDELINK UE INFORMATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMMarch 2024July 2024Allow410NoNo
18686219SPECTRAL SHAPING FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONSFebruary 2024April 2025Allow1400YesNo
18421961NON-INFRASTRUCTURE ULTRA-WIDEBAND WIRELESS POSITIONING METHOD AND SYSTEM USING LATENCY COMMUNICATION AND OVERHEARJanuary 2024February 2026Allow2500NoNo
18407473AID SYNCHRONIZATION WHEN BSS COLOR SWITCH OCCURS IN A NETWORKJanuary 2024February 2026Allow2500YesNo
18542503SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MANAGING MEDICAL DEVICE NETWORK COMMUNICATIONDecember 2023January 2026Allow2500NoNo
18542478PROBE-AS-A-SERVICE IN A SLICE FOR A CELLULAR NETWORKDecember 2023January 2026Allow2500NoNo
18532987LOW-POWER DISTRIBUTED COMPUTINGDecember 2023January 2026Allow2500NoNo
18518011METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING DISCOVERY INTEGRATED INTO DIRECT LINK ESTABLISHMENT PROCEDURE IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMNovember 2023October 2024Allow1150YesNo
18388975ACCESS POINT AND COMMUNICATION METHODNovember 2023December 2025Allow2520YesNo
18379491METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTI-PATH TRANSMISSION SCENARIO 1 BUFFER STATUS REPORTING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMOctober 2023August 2024Abandon1010NoNo
18377923METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SELECTIVE BROADCAST ACKNOWLEDGMENT IN WIRELESS VEHICULAR COMMUNICATIONOctober 2023October 2025Allow2400NoNo
18377707Location Based Sidelink (SL) Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) Feedback TransmissionOctober 2023October 2024Allow1300NoNo
18475377POSITIONING REFERENCE UNIT SELECTIONSeptember 2023January 2024Allow300NoNo
18280376METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PERFORMING WIRELESS COMMUNICATION RELATED TO SL RESOURCES IN NR V2XSeptember 2023November 2025Allow2600NoNo
18547854SIDELINK DISCONTINUOUS RECEPTION CONFIGURATIONAugust 2023October 2025Allow2500NoNo
18274656METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING AND DEALING WITH AN INCORRECT SYSTEM TIME OF A ROAD USERJuly 2023September 2025Allow2500NoNo
18227229APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR REPORTING CSI IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMJuly 2023August 2025Allow2500NoNo
18354418TRANSMISSION APPARATUS, RECEPTION APPARATUS, TRANSMISSION METHOD, AND RECEPTION METHODJuly 2023March 2024Allow800YesNo
18261359TERMINAL AND RADIO BASE STATIONJuly 2023August 2025Allow2500NoNo
18218013METHOD AND DEVICE FOR MULTI-CARRIER TRANSMISSION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONJuly 2023July 2025Allow2500NoNo
18259364Network Node, Wireless Communication Device and Methods for Configuring Side-Link Resources in Wireless Communication NetworkJune 2023August 2025Allow2500YesNo
18258668TERMINAL, BASE STATION AND COMMUNICATION METHODJune 2023August 2025Allow2600NoNo
18257053METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING TRANSMISSION RESOURCE, AND COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUMJune 2023March 2026Allow3310NoNo
18205477METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ACQUIRING VEHICLE TO EVERYTHING COMMUNICATION POLICYJune 2023March 2024Allow1000YesNo
18201060EXPANSION OF PACKET DATA WITHIN PROCESSING PIPELINEMay 2023March 2025Allow2220NoNo
18253532MANAGEMENT OF INTERFERENCE ON A V2X CHANNEL, BY DISABLING A FUNCTION ON A VEHICLEMay 2023August 2023Allow300YesNo
18199149Mobility Robustness in a Cellular NetworkMay 2023November 2024Allow1800YesNo
18315694COMMISSIONING AND CONTROLLING LOAD CONTROL DEVICESMay 2023February 2024Allow900YesNo
18140166METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING RADIO COMMUNICATION RELATED TO MAC RESET IN NR V2XApril 2023July 2025Allow2700NoNo
18136790SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CHANNEL OCCUPANCY TIME SHARING AND SUBCHANNEL INTERLACINGApril 2023June 2025Allow2600NoNo
18031430AN AUTOMATIC READING SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR INSTALLING A PLURALITY OF BATTERY-POWERED STATIONARY MEASURING DEVICES AT A PLURALITY OF DISTRIBUTED INSTALLATION LOCATIONSApril 2023May 2025Allow2500NoNo
18247786METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING INTERFERENCE DUE TO SL DRX OPERATION-RELATED SWITCHING OF RF MODULE IN NR V2XApril 2023October 2025Allow3000YesNo
18192007METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SELECTING RESOURCE IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMMarch 2023July 2025Allow2800NoNo
18127377APPARATUS, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAMMarch 2023May 2025Allow2600NoNo
181899815G PRB BLANKING SYSTEM WITH 5G PHONE TO PREVENT INTERFERENCE WITH SATELLITE SIGNAL TRANSMISSIONMarch 2023May 2025Allow2600NoNo
18121393AUDIO SYNCHRONIZATION IN WIRELESS SYSTEMSMarch 2023November 2024Allow2000NoNo
18118851METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TRANSMITTING DMRS FOR PSSCH IN NR V2XMarch 2023February 2024Allow1100NoNo
18180658MEASUREMENT REPORTING CONFIGURATION FOR AIDING THE SORTING OF BEAM/CELL LEVEL MEASUREMENTSMarch 2023August 2024Allow1720YesNo
18179318V2X Sidelink Channel DesignMarch 2023March 2025Allow2410NoNo
18040063TERMINAL AND COMMUNICATION METHODJanuary 2023January 2026Allow3620YesNo
18158706METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING POSITIONING BASED ON CONGESTION CONTROL IN NR V2XJanuary 2023August 2025Allow3100NoNo
18016610METHOD AND DEVICE FOR SIDELINK COMMUNICATION BASED ON DRXJanuary 2023July 2025Allow3000NoNo
18096753METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PERFORMING DRX OPERATION FOR EACH POWER-SAVE MODE IN NR V2XJanuary 2023July 2025Abandon3050NoNo
18094622METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REPORTING HARQ FEEDBACK TO BASE STATION IN NR V2XJanuary 2023July 2024Allow1930YesNo
18091076METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING SIDELINK RELAY ADAPTATION LAYER FOR UE-TO-NETWORK RELAY IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMDecember 2022March 2023Allow300YesNo
18013247METHOD FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN USER TERMINAL AND NETWORK, AND TERMINAL, NETWORK DEVICE AND APPARATUSDecember 2022January 2026Allow3720NoNo
18084907OPERATION METHOD OF SIDELINK RELAY, AND SIDELINK RELAY THEREFORDecember 2022March 2026Allow3920NoNo
18085567METHOD FOR DETERMINING RELAY SCHEME, AND DEVICEDecember 2022November 2025Allow3520NoNo
18011464THIRD STAGE SIDELINK CONTROL INFORMATION DESIGNDecember 2022April 2025Allow2700YesNo
18083533STATEFUL SERVICES ON STATELESS CLUSTERED EDGEDecember 2022February 2025Allow2610YesNo
18075082OPERATION METHOD OF UE ASSOCIATED WITH SCI IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMDecember 2022April 2023Allow500YesNo
17927726NETWORK OPTIMIZATION METHOD, SERVER, CLIENT DEVICE, NETWORK SIDE DEVICE, NETWORK DEVICE, SYSTEM AND MEDIUMNovember 2022June 2025Allow3000NoNo
17976256Method for Implementing Wi-Fi Peer-To-Peer Service and Related DeviceOctober 2022August 2025Allow3410NoNo
18049310METHODS, APPARATUS, AND LIGHTWEIGHT VEHICLEOctober 2022December 2025Allow3710NoNo
17964660METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RRC CONNECTION ESTABLISHMENT TO SUPPORT UE-TO-NETWORK RELAYING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMOctober 2022September 2023Allow1140YesNo
17917633DEVICE TO DEVICE RELAY CONNECTION ESTABLISHMENT AND CONFIGURATIONOctober 2022January 2026Abandon3920NoNo
17916892DATA PACKET DELAY JITTER MONITORING METHOD AND DEVICEOctober 2022August 2025Allow3410NoNo
17916742INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEM SERVICE DISSEMINATIONOctober 2022September 2025Allow3600YesNo
17916685RESOURCE ATTRIBUTE CONFIGURATIONOctober 2022April 2025Allow3000NoNo
17956174METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REMOTE USER EQUIPMENT (UE) TO PERFORM DIRECT TO INDIRECT PATH SWITCHING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMSeptember 2022August 2023Abandon1120NoNo
17955657SIDELINK TRANSMISSION AND RECEPTION METHODS AND APPARATUSESSeptember 2022February 2025Allow2900NoNo
17935080MANAGING SIGNALS ON MULTIPLE WIRELESS LINKSSeptember 2022August 2025Allow3510NoNo
17950372USER EQUIPMENT PROCESSING CAPABILITY FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS WITH RATE SPLITTINGSeptember 2022July 2025Allow3410NoNo
17949877SIDELINK COMMUNICATIONSeptember 2022April 2023Allow720YesNo
17912717TERMINAL AND COMMUNICATION METHODSeptember 2022June 2025Allow3310YesNo
17946589METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING INTER-UE COORDINATION INFORMATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND APPARATUS THEREFORSeptember 2022February 2025Allow2900YesNo
17939496Communication Method and Communications ApparatusSeptember 2022February 2024Allow1700NoNo
17897347V2X COMMUNICATION SYSTEM WITH AUTONOMOUS DRIVING INFORMATIONAugust 2022October 2024Allow2620NoNo
17893565DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING RADIO RESOURCE IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMAugust 2022December 2024Allow2810YesNo
17821787SUPPORTING MOVEMENT OF 5G PROTOCOL DATA UNIT SESSIONS TO HIGHER PRIORITY NETWORK ROUTESAugust 2022January 2025Allow2900NoNo
17887914METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INDICATING SIDELINK RADIO LINK FAILURE IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMAugust 2022August 2023Allow1200NoNo
17799335COMMUNICATION METHOD AND DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUMAugust 2022November 2023Allow1500NoNo
17886531METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING RESOURCES TO BE SENSED FOR DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATION IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMAugust 2022March 2025Allow3110NoNo
17880529Network Performance Monitoring DevicesAugust 2022November 2024Allow2800YesNo
17759845UPLINK CONTROL INFORMATION MULTIPLEXING FOR DYNAMIC SPECTRUM SHARINGJuly 2022March 2025Allow3110NoNo
17814471MODE 1 NETWORK ENTITY INITIATED NETWORK CODING HANDOVERJuly 2022March 2025Allow3110YesNo
17871390METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR A REMOTE USER EQUIPMENT (UE) TO SUPPORT DIRECT TO INDIRECT COMMUNICATION PATH SWITCHING IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMJuly 2022January 2023Allow620YesNo
17870748SIDELINK RESERVATION ACROSS FREQUENCY BANDSJuly 2022June 2024Allow2320YesNo
17813507DOWNLINK FEEDBACK INFORMATION WITH PHYSICAL DOWNLINK CONTROL CHANNEL REPETITIONJuly 2022January 2025Allow3010YesNo
17868003METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ACQUIRING SYSTEM INFORMATIONJuly 2022August 2023Allow1300NoNo
17866545METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING UE-TO-NETWORK RELAY COMMUNICATION IN A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMJuly 2022August 2023Allow1300YesNo
17860737METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING SIGNAL OF SIDELINK FEEDBACK CHANNEL IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEMJuly 2022September 2023Allow1400YesNo
17854740METHOD AND DEVICE FOR FEEDBACK REGARDING RECEPTION OF DCI ASSOCIATED WITH SIDELINK IN NR V2XJune 2022July 2023Allow1300NoNo
17787154METHOD TO COMMUNICATE BETWEEN SYNCHRONIZED MOBILE DEVICES, STORAGE MEDIUM AND MOBILE DEVICEJune 2022January 2025Allow3110NoNo
17837149METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RELAYING OR RECEIVING MESSAGEJune 2022January 2023Allow710YesNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner CAIRNS, THOMAS R.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
12
Examiner Affirmed
7
(58.3%)
Examiner Reversed
5
(41.7%)
Reversal Percentile
64.3%
Higher than average

What This Means

With a 41.7% reversal rate, the PTAB reverses the examiner's rejections in a meaningful percentage of cases. This reversal rate is above the USPTO average, indicating that appeals have better success here than typical.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
22
Allowed After Appeal Filing
10
(45.5%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
12
(54.5%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
74.0%
Higher 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, 45.5% of applications that filed an appeal were subsequently allowed. This appeal filing benefit rate is above the USPTO average, suggesting that filing an appeal can be an effective strategy for prompting reconsideration.

Strategic Recommendations

Appeals to PTAB show good success rates. If you have a strong case on the merits, consider fully prosecuting the appeal to a Board decision.

Filing a Notice of Appeal is strategically valuable. The act of filing often prompts favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.

Examiner CAIRNS, THOMAS R - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner CAIRNS, THOMAS R works in Art Unit 2468 and has examined 343 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 85.4%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 23 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner CAIRNS, THOMAS R's allowance rate of 85.4% places them in the 62% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by CAIRNS, THOMAS R receive 1.46 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 24% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues significantly fewer office actions than most examiners.

Prosecution Timeline

The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by CAIRNS, THOMAS R is 23 months. This places the examiner in the 85% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications move through prosecution relatively quickly with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +20.1% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by CAIRNS, THOMAS R. This interview benefit is in the 64% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide an above-average benefit with this examiner and are worth considering.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 33.8% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 74% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs show above-average effectiveness with this examiner. Consider whether your amendments or new arguments are strong enough to warrant an RCE versus filing a continuation.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 19.6% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 24% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner rarely enters after-final amendments compared to other examiners. You should generally plan to file an RCE or appeal rather than relying on after-final amendment entry. Per MPEP § 714.12, primary examiners have discretion in entering after-final amendments, and this examiner exercises that discretion conservatively.

Pre-Appeal Conference Effectiveness

When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 22.2% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 28% 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 63.6% of appeals filed. This is in the 43% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 23.8% occur early in the appeal process (after Notice of Appeal but before Appeal Brief). Strategic Insight: This examiner shows below-average willingness to reconsider rejections during appeals. Be prepared to fully prosecute appeals if filed.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 8.2% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 8% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Note: Petitions are rarely granted regarding this examiner's actions compared to other examiners. Ensure you have a strong procedural basis before filing a petition, as the Technology Center Director typically upholds this examiner's decisions.

Examiner Cooperation and Flexibility

Examiner's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 0.6% of allowed cases (in the 62% percentile). This examiner makes examiner's amendments more often than average to place applications in condition for allowance (MPEP § 1302.04).

Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 0.7% of allowed cases (in the 57% percentile). This examiner issues Quayle actions more often than average when claims are allowable but formal matters remain (MPEP § 714.14).

Prosecution Strategy Recommendations

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

  • Plan for RCE after final rejection: This examiner rarely enters after-final amendments. Budget for an RCE in your prosecution strategy if you receive a final rejection.

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.