USPTO Examiner FERGUSON KEITH - Art Unit 2648

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
19215803ACCESS REPEATER DEVICE AND METHOD OF DETECTING DISTRIBUTION OF UEs BASED ON INDUCED UE RESPONSEMay 2025June 2025Allow100NoNo
19057371ACCESS REPEATER DEVICE AND METHOD OF DETECTING DISTRIBUTION OF UEs BASED ON INDUCED UE RESPONSEFebruary 2025March 2025Allow100NoNo
18903496ACCESS REPEATER DEVICE AND METHOD OF DETECTING DISTRIBUTION OF UEs BASED ON INDUCED UE RESPONSEOctober 2024November 2024Allow100NoNo
18762470TABLET CASE WITH LOCKING HIGH-FRICTION KICKSTANDJuly 2024November 2024Allow510NoNo
18761226SCHEDULING SATELLITE DATA TRANSMISSIONS USING DIFFERING SETS OF GROUND STATIONSJuly 2024January 2025Allow700NoNo
18658408OPTIMIZING COVERAGE AND POWER USAGE IN A NETWORK DEPLOYING AN UNLICENSED BANDMay 2024July 2025Allow1400NoNo
18654879ACCESS REPEATER DEVICE AND METHOD OF DETECTING DISTRIBUTION OF UEs BASED ON INDUCED UE RESPONSEMay 2024July 2024Allow210NoNo
18594368PHONE SHELL WITH BUILT-IN SCREEN PROTECTORMarch 2024October 2024Allow820NoNo
18590697BEAM LAYOUT OPTIMISATIONFebruary 2024July 2025Allow1720NoNo
18437044TILTED EARTH-BASED ANTENNA SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF TILTING FOR COMMUNICATION WITH A SATELLITE SYSTEMFebruary 2024October 2024Allow900NoNo
18410700SCHEDULING REQUESTS FOR LOCATION DATAJanuary 2024February 2025Allow1310NoNo
18575421SYSTEM, NETWORK AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING THE AUDIO EXPERIENCE OF AN INDIVIDUAL CARRYING A LOW POWER WEARABLE DEVICE CONNECTED TO A NETWORKDecember 2023March 2026Allow2600NoNo
18575574ELECTRONIC DEVICE INTERACTION METHOD AND APPARATUSDecember 2023March 2026Allow2700NoNo
18544064CONFIGURABLE RADIO FREQUENCY EXPOSURE COMPLIANCE BASED ON REGIONDecember 2023November 2024Allow1110NoNo
18519757POWER TOOL AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONNovember 2023October 2024Allow1000NoNo
18507234ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING TRANSMISSION POWER BASED ON SAR AND METHOD FOR OPERATING SAMENovember 2023July 2025Allow2030NoNo
18499994COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, CONTROL APPARATUS, RELAY STATION, AND COMMUNICATION METHODNovember 2023February 2026Allow2810NoNo
18489771GEOGRAPHICALLY-DISTRIBUTED ELECTRONICALLY-STEERED ARRAY ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR GROUND-BASED UPLINK COMMUNICATIONSOctober 2023November 2025Allow2500NoNo
18471483DISTRIBUTED ADAPTIVE CODING AND MODULATIONSeptember 2023October 2025Allow2500NoNo
18282344INCOMING CALL VOLUME CONTROL METHOD AND ELECTRONIC DEVICESeptember 2023October 2025Allow2500NoNo
18467328ENHANCED RADIO WAVE EXPOSURE MITIGATION USING A COMBINATION OF PROXIMITY & INERTIAL SENSOR DATASeptember 2023September 2024Allow1210YesNo
18464632COGNITIVE RADIO DEVICE PROVIDING RADIO FREQUENCY (RF) JAMMER CAPABILITIES BASED UPON QUADRATIC UNCONSTRAINED BINARY OPTIMIZATION (QUBO) OBJECTIVE FUNCTION AND RELATED METHODSSeptember 2023December 2025Allow2700NoNo
18243065Apparatus Utilizing and Method of Partial Lamination for a Seamless Interface with Touchscreen FunctionalitySeptember 2023September 2024Allow1310NoNo
18237715MACHINE LEARNING DEVICE AND JAMMING SIGNAL GENERATION APPARATUSAugust 2023August 2025Allow2400NoNo
18237317SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLICATION OF DOPPLER CORRECTIONS FOR TIME SYNCHRONIZED STATIONARY TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER IN MOTIONAugust 2023October 2024Allow1400NoNo
18362901SCHEDULING SATELLITE DATA TRANSMISSIONS USING DIFFERING SETS OF GROUND STATIONSJuly 2023March 2024Allow800NoNo
18274399SUSPICIOUS AIRCRAFT COUNTERMEASURE DEVICE, SUSPICIOUS AIRCRAFT COUNTERMEASURE METHOD, AND RECORDING MEDIUMJuly 2023October 2025Allow2600NoNo
18262926POWER SAVING SATELLITE CONNECTION FOR LOW CAPABILITY DEVICEJuly 2023July 2025Allow2400NoNo
18356106GROUP-BASED RADIO RESOURCE ALLOCATION BETWEEN A TN AND AN NTN NETWORKSJuly 2023November 2025Allow2800NoNo
18354121SATELLITE COVERAGE USING EYE ORBITSJuly 2023December 2025Allow2910YesNo
18345023DIFFERENCE-BASED JAMMER DETECTION SYSTEMJune 2023October 2024Allow1500NoNo
18269190Battery Cover Color Change Method and Electronic DeviceJune 2023February 2026Allow3210NoNo
18208715RESOURCE DEPLOYMENT OPTIMIZER FOR NON-GEOSTATIONARY AND/OR GEOSTATIONARY COMMUNICATIONS SATELLITESJune 2023January 2024Allow800NoNo
18039708APPARATUS FOR HOLDING A SMART PHONEMay 2023July 2024Allow1320NoNo
18199629GEOLOCATION OF RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES USING SPACEBORNE PHASED ARRAYSMay 2023May 2024Abandon1210NoNo
18036117MULTI-STATIC SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR USING LOW EARTH ORBIT COLLECTIONMay 2023July 2025Allow2700NoNo
18142469HIGH-FREQUENCY SIGNAL PROCESSING APPARATUS AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUSMay 2023August 2023Allow300NoNo
18030478CO-LOCATED SATELLITES WITH GROUND BASED PROCESSINGApril 2023August 2025Allow2800NoNo
18130285DOPPLER-NULLING FOR DIRECTIONAL NETWORKS (SPATIAL AWARENESS)April 2023September 2025Allow3010YesNo
18126361JAMMER DETECTIONMarch 2023June 2025Allow2610NoNo
18028033CONFIGURATION OF A WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICE TO FACILITATE ANGLE-OF-ARRIVAL MEASUREMENTS AT A RE-CONFIGURABLE REPEATER DEVICEMarch 2023June 2025Allow2700NoNo
18188539DISTRIBUTED CARRIER WITH JOINT EQUALIZATIONMarch 2023January 2026Allow3410NoNo
18123392BASE STATION ANTENNAS HAVING STAGGERED LINEAR ARRAYS WITH IMPROVED PHASE CENTER ALIGNMENT BETWEEN ADJACENT ARRAYSMarch 2023November 2023Allow800NoNo
18123619Systems and Methods for Repairing Remotely Recorded Audio DataMarch 2023April 2024Allow1310NoNo
18123879TILTED EARTH-BASED ANTENNA SYSTEMS AND METHODS OF TILTING FOR COMMUNICATION WITH A SATELLITE SYSTEMMarch 2023October 2023Allow700NoNo
18181884RADIO FREQUENCY SIGNAL BOOSTERS SERVING AS OUTDOOR INFRASTRUCTURE IN HIGH FREQUENCY CELLULAR NETWORKSMarch 2023May 2024Allow1410NoNo
18044546DISPLAY METHOD AND ELECTRONIC DEVICEMarch 2023November 2025Allow3310NoNo
18178112BROADCAST SIGNAL PLAYBACK METHOD, MAP GENERATION METHOD, AND APPARATUSMarch 2023September 2025Allow4110NoNo
18115019COMMUNICATION CONTROL BASED ON FEEDBACK FROM REPEATER WIRELESS STATIONFebruary 2023February 2026Allow3620NoNo
18171881HIGH-FREQUENCY SIGNAL PROCESSING APPARATUS AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION APPARATUSFebruary 2023August 2024Allow1820NoNo
18167997CONFIGURATION OF A WIRELESS NETWORK CENTRALIZED UNIT (CU) AND MULTIPLE WIRELESS NETWORK DISTRIBUTED UNITS (DUS)February 2023October 2024Allow2110NoNo
18167432SCHEDULING REQUESTS FOR LOCATION DATAFebruary 2023September 2023Allow710NoNo
18018185A CONTROLLER FOR CONTROLLING WIRELESS COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A NODE AND A MASTER DEVICE IN A WIRELESS NETWORK AND A METHOD THEREOFJanuary 2023April 2025Allow2700NoNo
18101165Forward Error CorrectionJanuary 2023April 2025Allow2700NoNo
18013383POSITION DETERMINING METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND COMMUNICATION DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUMDecember 2022October 2025Allow3310NoNo
18147290SURFACE ELEMENT SEGMENTATION AND NODE GROUPING FOR INTELLIGENT REFLECTING DEVICESDecember 2022December 2025Allow3520NoNo
18069927MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE DETECTION AND MITIGATION UTILIZING USER EQUIPMENT TO OBJECT ASSOCIATIONSDecember 2022February 2026Allow3810YesNo
18002826REACTIVE JAMMING DETECTIONDecember 2022September 2024Allow2100NoNo
18002220COMMUNICATION METHOD, COMMUNICATION APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMDecember 2022August 2025Allow3210NoNo
18065355COVERAGE EXPANSION AND INTERFERENCE OPERATING MODES FOR A REPEATERDecember 2022April 2024Allow1600NoNo
18078838TECHNIQUES FOR IMPLEMENTING LEO SATELLITE NETWORKSDecember 2022December 2025Allow3610NoNo
18074880WIRELESS BATTERY-POWERED SWITCHDecember 2022February 2024Allow1430NoNo
18060217INTEGRATED MOBILITY TERMINAL FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONSNovember 2022December 2025Allow3610NoNo
18058994METHOD FOR OPTIMIZING MOBILE PHONE TERMINAL BASED ON PROBABILITY OF ENERGY CONSUMPTION-RELATED INTERRUPTIONNovember 2022May 2023Allow500NoNo
17990491SPATIAL AWARENESS NAVIGATION TECHNIQUES ON UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (SPATIAL AWARENESS)November 2022February 2025Allow2700NoNo
17925463WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, RELAY APPARATUS AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATION METHODNovember 2022December 2025Allow3720NoNo
17998666POWER COMPENSATION METHOD AND APPARATUS EMPLOYING WHITE SPACE OPTIMIZATION AND UTILIZATION TECHNOLOGYNovember 2022September 2025Abandon3410NoNo
17980237METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR EXTENDING WIRELESS COVERAGE WITH ONE OR MORE AUTONOMOUS DEVICESNovember 2022August 2025Allow3310YesNo
17978579SATELLITE CLUSTER SYSTEMNovember 2022February 2026Allow4030NoNo
17972298POWER TOOL AND METHOD FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONOctober 2022February 2023Allow400NoNo
17970875METHOD AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING TRANSMISSION POWER OF SIGNALOctober 2022February 2026Allow3930YesNo
18048028SCHEDULING SATELLITE DATA TRANSMISSIONS USING DIFFERING SETS OF GROUND STATIONSOctober 2022May 2023Allow610NoNo
17969407Radio Head Unit with Dynamically Updated Tunable Channel ListingOctober 2022July 2025Allow3310YesNo
17919575SATELLITE COMMUNICATION EARTH STATION AND COMMUNICATION CONTROL METHODOctober 2022June 2025Abandon3210NoNo
18046247TRANSMIT POWER LIMIT BASED ON SENSOR SPATIAL COVERAGEOctober 2022June 2025Allow3200NoNo
17957711PATH LOSS ESTIMATIONSeptember 2022September 2023Allow1120NoNo
17957881SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SPATIAL AWARENESS OVERLAY ONTO MOBILE AD HOC NETWORK (MANET) FREQUENT MESSAGE PREAMBLESSeptember 2022April 2025Allow3100NoNo
17954946FREQUENCY JAMMING DETECTION AND JAMMER DIRECTION DETECTIONSeptember 2022April 2025Allow3000NoNo
17907080SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM WITH NON-GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBITSSeptember 2022August 2023Allow1110NoNo
17934495TRANSMITTER HARDWARE SHARINGSeptember 2022February 2026Allow4130NoNo
17950291WIND FARM OFFSHORE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMSeptember 2022May 2025Allow3110NoNo
17941907SITUATIONAL AWARENESS (SA) IN RADIO SILENCE (SPATIAL AWARENESS)September 2022January 2025Allow2800NoNo
17940898SYSTEM AND METHOD USING PASSIVE SPATIAL AWARENESS FOR GEO NETWORK ROUTINGSeptember 2022March 2025Allow3000NoNo
17901871JOINT LINK-LEVEL AND NETWORK-LEVEL INTELLIGENT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DYNAMIC SPECTRUM ANTI-JAMMINGSeptember 2022June 2023Allow1000NoNo
17900328Network Employing Cube SatellitesAugust 2022July 2023Allow1111NoNo
17899090METHOD OF MANAGING ELECTRONIC DEVICES BASED ON GROUP ACCOUNT AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR PROVIDING THE SAMEAugust 2022May 2025Allow3210YesNo
17892114Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation With Adaptive Local OscillatorAugust 2022August 2023Allow1100NoNo
17890758HIGH PASS POWER SPLITTER/COMBINER WITH REDUCED CIRCUIT AREAAugust 2022August 2025Abandon3601NoNo
17817018RADIO-FREQUENCY CIRCUIT AND COMMUNICATION DEVICEAugust 2022November 2024Allow2800NoNo
17797094METHODS OF IDENTIFYING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS BETWEEN A RADIO FREQUENCY CIRCUIT AND A RADIO, AND RELATED RADIO FREQUENCY CIRCUITSAugust 2022March 2025Allow3120NoNo
17876948POST-EVENT MODIFICATION OF LOCAL CLOCK VALUES IN WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMJuly 2022June 2023Allow1010NoNo
17795228JAMMING SATELLITE AVOIDANCE METHOD AND MEGA-CONSTELLATION BUSINESS DEVICEJuly 2022January 2024Allow1810YesNo
17813553POSITIONING METHODS FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS THAT UTILIZE BEAMFORMED COMMUNICATIONJuly 2022September 2023Allow1420YesNo
17868513Electronic Devices with Hierarchical Management of Radio-Frequency ExposureJuly 2022January 2025Allow3000NoNo
17867113METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AGGREGATING POWER OUTAGE DATA AND UTILIZATIONJuly 2022March 2023Allow800NoNo
17866139METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR NULLING IN WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKSJuly 2022January 2025Allow3010NoNo
17812012SINGLE-CABLE RADIO ANTENNA SYSTEM FOR A VEHICLEJuly 2022August 2024Allow2600NoNo
17792325Power Efficient Non-Terrestrial Network Connection EstablishmentJuly 2022April 2025Allow3310NoNo
17857920SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR APPLICATION OF DOPPLER CORRECTIONS FOR TIME SYNCHRONIZED TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER IN MOTIONJuly 2022January 2025Allow3010NoNo
17851471PROCESSING INCOMING CALLS WHILE IN A DRIVING MODEJune 2022February 2025Abandon3210YesNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner FERGUSON, KEITH.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
2
Examiner Affirmed
1
(50.0%)
Examiner Reversed
1
(50.0%)
Reversal Percentile
74.0%
Higher than average

What This Means

With a 50.0% 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
7
Allowed After Appeal Filing
4
(57.1%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
3
(42.9%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
87.5%
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, 57.1% of applications that filed an appeal were subsequently allowed. This appeal filing benefit rate is in the top 25% across the USPTO, indicating that filing appeals is particularly effective here. The act of filing often prompts favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.

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 FERGUSON, KEITH - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner FERGUSON, KEITH works in Art Unit 2648 and has examined 446 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 92.8%, this examiner allows applications at a higher rate than most examiners at the USPTO. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 17 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner FERGUSON, KEITH's allowance rate of 92.8% places them in the 79% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner is more likely to allow applications than most examiners at the USPTO.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by FERGUSON, KEITH receive 0.95 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 7% 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 FERGUSON, KEITH is 17 months. This places the examiner in the 97% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications move through prosecution relatively quickly with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +5.8% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by FERGUSON, KEITH. This interview benefit is in the 32% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide a below-average benefit with this examiner.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 39.1% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 89% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs are highly effective with this examiner compared to others. If you receive a final rejection, filing an RCE with substantive amendments or arguments has a strong likelihood of success.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 48.5% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 73% 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, 66.7% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 54% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: Pre-appeal conferences show above-average effectiveness with this examiner. If you have strong arguments, a PAC request may result in favorable reconsideration.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 71.4% of appeals filed. This is in the 59% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 40.0% 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, 32.4% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 19% 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 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 21% percentile). This examiner rarely makes examiner's amendments compared to other examiners. You should expect to make all necessary claim amendments yourself through formal amendment practice.

Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 4.3% of allowed cases (in the 78% percentile). Per MPEP § 714.14, a Quayle action indicates that all claims are allowable but formal matters remain. This examiner frequently uses Quayle actions compared to other examiners, which is a positive indicator that once substantive issues are resolved, allowance follows quickly.

Prosecution Strategy Recommendations

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

  • RCEs are effective: This examiner has a high allowance rate after RCE compared to others. If you receive a final rejection and have substantive amendments or arguments, an RCE is likely to be successful.

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.