USPTO Examiner ZHANG FAN - Art Unit 2682

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
18584120METHODS AND PRINTING SYSTEM FOR PEER-TO-PEER OUTPUT MANAGEMENTFebruary 2024February 2026Allow2430YesNo
18545501Smooth and Jump-Free Rapid Target AcquisitionDecember 2023August 2025Allow2010NoNo
18506363IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMNovember 2023April 2025Allow1700NoNo
18459758METHOD AND DATA PROCESSING SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING RADIOLOGICAL VISUALIZATION DATASeptember 2023February 2026Allow2910YesNo
18228196COMPUTER-IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR DETERMINATION OF A BONE CEMENT VOLUME OF A BONE CEMENT FOR A PERCUTANEOUS VERTEBROPLASTYJuly 2023November 2025Allow2710NoNo
18358158QUASI-NEWTON MRI DEEP LEARNING RECONSTRUCTIONJuly 2023December 2025Allow2910NoNo
18341663IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF THE IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUMJune 2023October 2025Allow2840YesNo
18205238INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUMJune 2023November 2025Allow2910YesNo
18204931Using a Custom Printer Driver to Automatically Electronically Create, Capture and Manage all Documents Utilized in a TransactionJune 2023January 2024Allow810YesNo
18326548EYE TRACKER WITH HARDWARE FILTERING AND SOFTWARE SORTINGMay 2023October 2025Allow2810YesNo
18311640EFFECTIVE LEVERAGING OF SYNTHETIC DATA FOR DEPTH ESTIMATION MACHINE LEARNING MODELSMay 2023October 2025Allow2910NoNo
18251683SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONVOLUTION OF AN IMAGEMay 2023January 2026Allow3310NoNo
18311215METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR DETECTING INTERPROXIMAL SPACESMay 2023October 2025Allow2910YesNo
18141469METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AGGREGATE ASSET ROUTINGMay 2023May 2025Allow2530YesNo
18251220DECREASED QUANTIZATION LATENCYApril 2023December 2025Abandon3210NoNo
18296400DOMAIN ADAPTION FOR PROSTATE CANCER DETECTIONApril 2023November 2025Allow3220NoNo
18128272SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING INTERVENTIONAL PROCEDURES USING GRAPH NEURAL NETWORK MODELMarch 2023February 2026Allow3510NoNo
18184066COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR QUANTIFYING AND PREDICTING THE PROGRESSION OF INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASEMarch 2023November 2025Allow3210YesNo
18178120SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED LESION DETECTION USING MAGNETIC RESONANCE FINGERPRINTING DATAMarch 2023November 2025Abandon3310NoNo
18173254ESTABLISHING METHOD OF MENISCUS TEAR ASSISTED DETERMINATION PROGRAM, MENISCUS TEAR ASSISTED DETERMINATION SYSTEM, AND METHOD FOR MENISCUS TEAR ASSISTED DETERMINATIONFebruary 2023November 2025Abandon3210NoNo
18100658PRINTING SYSTEM AND METHODS TO MANAGE PRINTING DEVICES ACCORDING TO INFORMATION FOR EACH PRINTING DEVICEJanuary 2023June 2024Abandon1720NoNo
18157253IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS PERFORMING PRINTING PERMISSION PROCESS TO PERMIT PRINTINGJanuary 2023August 2023Allow610NoNo
17992386IMAGE ANALYZER AND STORAGE MEDIUMNovember 2022January 2026Allow3810NoNo
18053421IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUSNovember 2022January 2024Allow1410NoNo
17921117PRINT JOB LIFE CYCLESOctober 2022July 2024Abandon2120NoNo
17891075Using a Custom Printer Driver to Automatically Electronically Create, Capture and Manage all Documents Utilized in a TransactionAugust 2022April 2025Abandon3220NoNo
17871745IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHODJuly 2022June 2024Allow2340YesNo
17869276IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUMJuly 2022July 2024Allow2330YesNo
17826114WORKFLOW SYSTEM, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, QUALITY REPORT DATA CREATION METHOD, AND MEDIAMay 2022February 2024Allow2110YesNo
17664280APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR EDITING DATA AND PROGRAMMay 2022November 2023Allow1830YesNo
17737425IMAGE TRANSMISSION APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF IMAGE TRANSMISSION APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMMay 2022January 2025Abandon3240YesNo
17734608Non-Invasive Method Of Evaluating Blood Cell Measurement And Non-Invasive Blood Cell Measurement Evaluating SystemMay 2022September 2024Allow2900NoNo
17769374METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR AQUIRING VISITOR INFORMATIONApril 2022July 2025Allow3930NoNo
17720626METHOD AND DEVICE WITH IMAGE PROCESSINGApril 2022March 2026Allow4730YesNo
17766688Grid-Based Enrollment for Face AuthenticationApril 2022September 2024Allow3000NoNo
17708584INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND PRINTING SYSTEMMarch 2022March 2025Allow3530YesNo
17707149PERSONALIZED ONLINE LEARNING FOR ARTIFICIAL REALITY APPLICATIONSMarch 2022July 2025Allow4010YesNo
17707090METHODS AND PRINTING SYSTEM USING ADAPTIVE CONSUMABLE ESTIMATION IN PRINTING OPERATIONSMarch 2022February 2024Allow2310NoNo
17681351LANE DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A VEHICLEFebruary 2022February 2025Allow3620NoNo
17678761APPARATUS, METHOD AND COMPUTER READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM FOR CLASSIFYING MENTAL STRESS USING CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORK AND LONG-SHORT TERM MEMORY NETWORKFebruary 2022November 2025Abandon4510NoNo
17669760METHOD AND APPARATUS WITH CALIBRATIONFebruary 2022September 2025Allow4320YesNo
17628665INSPECTION METHOD AND APPARATUSJanuary 2022October 2024Abandon3310NoNo
17570752INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM AND MANAGEMENT APPARATUSJanuary 2022July 2023Allow1810NoNo
17559461Artificial Reality Applications Through Virtual Object Definitions and InvocationDecember 2021June 2025Abandon4210NoNo
17556157SYSTEM FOR REFINING A SIX DEGREES OF FREEDOM POSE ESTIMATE OF A TARGET OBJECTDecember 2021November 2024Allow3500NoNo
17541264INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUMDecember 2021March 2025Allow3910NoNo
17539247SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING FACIAL IMAGE ANONYMIZATIONDecember 2021September 2024Allow3410NoNo
17538823INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUSNovember 2021April 2025Abandon4050YesNo
17613458METHOD, DEVICE AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM FOR AUTOMATICALLY DETECTING HEMODYNAMICALLY SIGNIFICANT CORONARY STENOSISNovember 2021September 2025Abandon4620NoNo
17455417Output Validation of an Image Reconstruction AlgorithmNovember 2021February 2026Allow5140NoYes
17527492PRINT CONTROL APPARATUS, PRINT CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUM STORING PRINT CONTROL PROGRAMNovember 2021October 2025Abandon4740YesNo
17521812INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER READABLE MEDIUM STORING INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAMNovember 2021June 2025Allow4330NoNo
17519794SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED SIMULATION OF TEETH TRANSFORMATIONNovember 2021July 2025Allow4430NoNo
17503417SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FACILITATING AUTONOMOUS TARGET SELECTIONOctober 2021December 2023Allow2600NoNo
17500088Smooth and Jump-Free Rapid Target AcquisitionOctober 2021October 2023Allow2400NoNo
17495241SERVER AND NON-TRANSITORY STORAGE MEDIUM STORING INSTRUCTIONS EXECUTABLE BY INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUSOctober 2021August 2023Allow2220NoNo
17491794HISTORICAL CROP STATE MODEL, PREDICTIVE CROP STATE MAP GENERATION AND CONTROL SYSTEMOctober 2021October 2024Allow3610YesNo
17476247TOOL FOR COUNTING AND SIZING PLANTS IN A FIELDSeptember 2021November 2024Abandon3910NoNo
17475630SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER-ACCESSIBLE MEDIUM FOR IMAGE RECONSTRUCTION OF NON-CARTESIAN MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING INFORMATION USING DEEP LEARNINGSeptember 2021November 2024Abandon3810NoNo
17469376INVENTORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN A REFRIGERATOR APPLIANCESeptember 2021November 2024Allow3820NoNo
17384283MULTI-SCALE OUTPUT TECHNIQUES FOR GENERATIVE ADVERSARIAL NETWORKSJuly 2021February 2025Allow4320YesNo
17423157METHOD OF VISUALIZING A DYNAMIC ANATOMICAL STRUCTUREJuly 2021October 2024Allow3920YesNo
17374057INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD OF INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMJuly 2021September 2024Allow3820YesNo
17418692METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING IMAGES, DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUMJune 2021June 2024Allow3620YesNo
17308243METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR IMAGE STYLE TRANSFERMay 2021March 2024Abandon3420NoNo
17232890SKY REPLACEMENT COLOR HARMONIZATIONApril 2021June 2025Abandon5040YesNo
17212023Method and Apparatus for Predicting Result of Appearance Changing OperationMarch 2021April 2024Abandon3610NoNo
17210717VERIFICATION APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR, AND NON-TRANSITORY COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM THAT PERFORM VERIFICATION FOR A FIRST REGION BY A FIRST ALGORITHM AND FOR A SECOND REGION BY A SECOND ALGORITHMMarch 2021March 2024Allow3620NoNo
17210250MEDICAL IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD AND SYSTEM AND DATA PROCESSING METHODMarch 2021November 2024Allow4430YesNo
17198536METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DIRECTLY PRINTING MULTIPLE DOCUMENTS STORED OVER MULTIPLE/DIFFERENT CLOUD LOCATIONSMarch 2021October 2023Allow3150YesNo
17195891IMAGE RECOGNITION METHOD AND COMPUTING DEVICEMarch 2021September 2023Allow3010NoNo
17181518METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROCESSING INFORMATION, DEVICE, AND MEDIUMFebruary 2021May 2024Abandon3930YesNo
17161383PRINTING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR, AND PROGRAMJanuary 2021February 2024Abandon3760YesNo
17157334INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, PRINTING APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMJanuary 2021May 2024Allow3950YesNo
17142324INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND MEDIUMJanuary 2021May 2023Allow2840NoNo
17126312ADJUSTING VEHICLE MODELS BASED ON ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONSDecember 2020August 2025Allow5650YesYes
17087005ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOFNovember 2020October 2023Allow3620NoNo
16805651CONFIGURING PRINTING DEVICESFebruary 2020November 2023Allow4570YesNo
15814011Redirection of a File Based on Distance Between Physical Ports of an Intermediate DeviceNovember 2017February 2018Allow300NoNo
15499268OPTIMIZING BALANCE BETWEEN DUPLEX PRINT JOB PERFORMANCE AND DUPLEX PRINT ENGINE WEARApril 2017April 2019Allow2420YesNo
15475872HOT FOLDER CREATION AND MANAGEMENTMarch 2017November 2018Allow2010NoNo
15297252IMAGE PROCESSING DEVICE, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, METHOD FOR PROCESSING IMAGE, AND NON-TRANSITORY RECORDING MEDIUMOctober 2016October 2017Allow1210NoNo
15295729IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND IMAGE FORMING METHODOctober 2016October 2017Allow1210NoNo
15069090INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS AND STORAGE MEDIUMMarch 2016July 2017Allow1610YesNo
14974703IMAGE FORMING SYSTEM AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUSDecember 2015January 2017Allow1310NoNo
14964123Identifying Problematic Printers by Applying Markov Chain ModelDecember 2015April 2017Allow1610YesNo
14924505IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD OPERATION ACCORDING TO PHOTOGRAPHED IMAGE DATA CONTENTOctober 2015November 2016Allow1210NoNo
14827818IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS HAVING NEAR-FIELD WIRELESS COMMUNICATION FUNCTION, CONTROL METHOD THEREFOR, AND STORAGE MEDIUMAugust 2015March 2019Allow4380YesNo
14806060INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUM STORING PROGRAMJuly 2015August 2016Allow1310NoNo
14647551Receipt Printing System, Control Method Of A Receipt Printing System, And Control DeviceMay 2015July 2018Allow3850YesNo
14076359IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS WITH A MOVABLE TAG READER FOR SENSING TAGS AT VARIOUS LOCATIONSNovember 2013March 2015Allow1610NoNo
14009409PRINTING SYSTEM, PRINT RELAY SERVER, METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SERVER, AND PROGRAMOctober 2013June 2015Allow2010NoNo
13649180PRINT SYSTEM HAVING AN INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE EXECUTE PROCESSING REQUEST WITH ENCRYPTED CONTROL INFORMATION FROM A PRINT CONTROL DEVICEOctober 2012December 2014Allow2610NoNo
13562146MODIFYING ELECTRONIC DATA LAYOUT FOR EFFICIENT PRINTING OF ELECTRONIC DATAJuly 2012October 2014Allow2610NoNo
13434727PRINTING APPARATUS, METHOD, AND PROGRAM FOR SELECTING, DISPLAYING, AND PRINTING GROUP IMAGES BASED ON SELECTED DATESMarch 2012February 2013Allow1110NoNo
13401823USER SELECTED SETTING UPDATE BETWEEN IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUSES ON A NETWORKFebruary 2012October 2012Allow810YesNo
13344466SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UPDATING A USER INTERFACE FOR A PRINTING DEVICEJanuary 2012May 2015Allow4040YesNo
13332994IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING DOCUMENT SCANNING AREA FROM AN APEX POSITION AND A READING REFERENCE POSITIONDecember 2011July 2012Allow710YesNo
13327543SCHEDULED AND SECURED CLOUD PRINT SERVICESDecember 2011November 2016Allow5970YesNo
13302939IMAGE FORMING APPARATUSNovember 2011November 2014Allow3620NoNo

Appeals Overview

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

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
1
Examiner Affirmed
1
(100.0%)
Examiner Reversed
0
(0.0%)
Reversal Percentile
10.0%
Lower than average

What This Means

With a 0.0% reversal rate, the PTAB affirms the examiner's rejections in the vast majority of cases. This reversal rate is in the bottom 25% across the USPTO, indicating that appeals face significant challenges here.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
3
Allowed After Appeal Filing
1
(33.3%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
2
(66.7%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
52.9%
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, 33.3% 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 face challenges. Ensure your case has strong merit before committing to full Board review.

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

Examiner ZHANG, FAN - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner ZHANG, FAN works in Art Unit 2682 and has examined 83 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 86.7%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 38 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner ZHANG, FAN's allowance rate of 86.7% places them in the 65% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by ZHANG, FAN receive 2.52 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 73% 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 ZHANG, FAN is 38 months. This places the examiner in the 30% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly slower than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a -2.5% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by ZHANG, FAN. This interview benefit is in the 8% 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, 24.4% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 36% 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 37.8% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 57% 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, 0.0% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 12% percentile among all examiners. Note: Pre-appeal conferences show limited success with this examiner compared to others. While still worth considering, be prepared to proceed with a full appeal brief if the PAC does not result in favorable action.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 75.0% of appeals filed. This is in the 65% percentile among all examiners. 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, 100.0% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 91% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Note: Petitions are frequently granted regarding this examiner's actions compared to other examiners. Per MPEP § 1002.02(c), various examiner actions are petitionable to the Technology Center Director, including prematureness of final rejection, refusal to enter amendments, and requirement for information. If you believe an examiner action is improper, consider filing a petition.

Examiner Cooperation and Flexibility

Examiner's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 22% 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 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 29% percentile). This examiner issues Quayle actions less often than average. Allowances may 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:

    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.