Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.
| Application Number | Title | Filing Date | Disposal Date | Disposition | Time (months) | Office Actions | Restrictions | Interview | Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18919443 | SELF-ADAPTIVE ALL-FIBER LASER ULTRASONIC MEASURING INSTRUMENT | October 2024 | December 2024 | Allow | 2 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18821091 | PERFORMANCE TEST BENCH DEVICE FOR CENTRIFUGAL COMPRESSOR UNDER VARIABLE WORKING CONDITION OF ENGINE | August 2024 | February 2025 | Allow | 6 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18745907 | Geotechnical centrifuge platform-based earthquake fault simulation system | June 2024 | September 2024 | Allow | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18609031 | SAMPLE PREPARATION CARTRIDGES AND APPARATUSES | March 2024 | November 2024 | Allow | 8 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18437773 | TRACKING CONTINUOUSLY SCANNING LASER DOPPLER VIBROMETER SYSTEMS AND METHODS | February 2024 | November 2024 | Allow | 9 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18400735 | INDOOR TEST DEVICE FOR SIMULATING A VIBRATION PILE SINKING PROCESS AND TESTING A BEARING CAPACITY THEREOF AND TEST METHOD THEREOF | December 2023 | March 2024 | Allow | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18399635 | CANTILEVERED TEST FIXTURE FOR VIBRATION TESTING | December 2023 | June 2024 | Allow | 5 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18394711 | CAPACITIVE SENSOR SYSTEMS AND METHOD | December 2023 | August 2024 | Allow | 8 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18544579 | ACOUSTIC SIGNAL BASED ANALYSIS OF BATTERIES | December 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 15 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18564974 | DEFLECTION CALIBRATION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR LASER TYPE HIGH-SPEED DEFLECTION TESTER | November 2023 | June 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18502737 | Bearing Monitoring/Analysis System | November 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 18 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 18488665 | PHOTOACOUSTIC REMOTE SENSING (PARS), AND RELATED METHODS OF USE | October 2023 | November 2024 | Abandon | 13 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18461383 | System and Method for Acoustically Detecting Cross Bores | September 2023 | June 2024 | Allow | 9 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18225694 | PHOTOACOUSTIC SPECTRUM PHASE LOCKING METHOD, APPARATUS, AND SYSTEM | July 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18351562 | Line Volume Calibration Systems And Methods | July 2023 | April 2025 | Allow | 21 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 18342298 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING CHARACTERISTICS OF A SURFACE PORTION ON AN AIRCRAFT | June 2023 | June 2025 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18340317 | Method for Operating a Magnetic-Inductive Flowmeter and a Corresponding Magnetic-Inductive Flowmeter | June 2023 | June 2025 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18333561 | ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE MEASURING SYSTEM AND ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE MEASURING METHOD | June 2023 | August 2023 | Allow | 2 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18205822 | TEST FIXTURE FOR SUPPORTING A DEVICE UNDER TEST | June 2023 | February 2025 | Allow | 20 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18326611 | Reference-Free Load-Modulated Longitudinal Rail Stress Measurement Using Ultrasonic LCR Waves | May 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18322755 | PHOTOACOUSTIC DETECTOR UNIT, PHOTOACOUSTIC SENSOR AND ASSOCIATED PRODUCTION METHODS | May 2023 | April 2024 | Allow | 10 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18320056 | PHOTOACOUSTIC DEVICE INCLUDING A LIGHT GUIDE SYSTEM CONFIGURED TO TRANSMIT LIGHT THROUGH AN ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE (EMI)-REDUCING LAYER | May 2023 | July 2025 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18249526 | METHOD AND TOOL FOR DETECTING DEFECTS ON A WIND TURBINE GENERATOR BLADE | April 2023 | June 2025 | Allow | 26 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18134788 | SENSOR SYSTEM AND METHOD | April 2023 | February 2024 | Allow | 10 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18133335 | ULTRASONIC INSPECTION APPARATUS | April 2023 | April 2025 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18030007 | METHOD FOR DETECTING MISASSEMBLY OR MISALIGNMENT DURING OPERATION OF INNER TRAY, AND BATTERY CELL ACTIVATION TRAY | April 2023 | April 2025 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18130192 | THERMOACOUSTIC MEASUREMENT PROBE | April 2023 | November 2023 | Allow | 7 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18192801 | Site effect simulator | March 2023 | September 2023 | Allow | 5 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18191788 | MULTIPLE CHANNEL LASER ULTRASONIC SYSTEM | March 2023 | April 2025 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18180409 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL CONTINUOUS SCANNING LASER VIBROMETRY FOR 3D OR IN-PLANE VIBRATION MEASUREMENTS | March 2023 | January 2025 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18178252 | PSEUDO-STATIC TEST DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SEISMIC BEHAVIOR OF CONNECTION JOINTS OF WALLBOARD | March 2023 | May 2023 | Allow | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18115790 | AIR-COUPLED ULTRASONIC PLANE STRESS DETECTION METHOD FOR COMPOSITE MATERIAL BASED ON DUAL-MODAL SOUND-TIME RATIOS OF LAMB WAVE | March 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18116229 | TRANSPARENT ULTRASONIC SENSOR-BASED ULTRASONIC OPTICAL COMPOSITE IMAGING SYSTEM | March 2023 | April 2025 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18023782 | Test Jig and Test Method | February 2023 | September 2024 | Allow | 19 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18114717 | Automatic Liquid Transfer Optimization Pipetting Apparatus and Method | February 2023 | October 2023 | Allow | 8 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18041630 | ACOUSTIC IMAGING TECHNIQUES USING MACHINE LEARNING | February 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18041585 | GLAZING WITH A REUSABLE VIBRATION SENSOR | February 2023 | March 2025 | Abandon | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18040581 | JOINED BODY TESTING METHOD, JOINED BODY TESTING DEVICE, AND JOINED BODY | February 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18096319 | FILTERLESS NON-DISPERSIVE INFRARED SENSING DEVICES AND METHODS | January 2023 | August 2024 | Allow | 19 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18095003 | GAS SENSOR FOR MEASURING GAS CONCENTRATION | January 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18004775 | Tubular sleeve for measuring the viscoelasticity of a product to be analysed | January 2023 | January 2025 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18014809 | ELASTOMERIC SENSOR COMPONENT WITH AN INTEGRATED SENSOR MODULE | January 2023 | February 2025 | Allow | 26 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18069264 | Line Volume Calibration Systems And Methods | December 2022 | April 2023 | Allow | 4 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18077213 | DEFECT DETECTION DEVICE AND DEFECT DETECTION METHOD | December 2022 | July 2024 | Allow | 19 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18008756 | BLASTING DEVICE AND METHOD THEREOF FOR MEASURING BLAST VIBRATION | December 2022 | October 2024 | Allow | 22 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18058803 | COMPACT PHOTOACOUSTIC DETECTION DEVICE | November 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 11 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17993024 | METHODS INCLUDING PANEL BONDING ACTS AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES INCLUDING CAVITIES | November 2022 | September 2023 | Allow | 10 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17999201 | TRACE DETECTION DEVICE | November 2022 | March 2025 | Allow | 28 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17985852 | System for Calculating Weight Center Deviation from Vehicle Geometric Center | November 2022 | December 2024 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17976156 | FLUID DENSITY FROM TUNABLE ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE MATCHING | October 2022 | September 2024 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18050178 | RADIATION SOURCE DEVICE | October 2022 | July 2024 | Allow | 21 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17996800 | METHOD FOR MONITORING A CORIOLIS MASS FLOW METER | October 2022 | November 2024 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18048567 | TRACKING CONTINUOUSLY SCANNING LASER DOPPLER VIBROMETER SYSTEMS AND METHODS | October 2022 | November 2023 | Allow | 13 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17917272 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MEASURING MICRO-VIBRATION INFLUENCE OF SPATIAL ORIENTATION MEASURING INSTRUMENT | October 2022 | May 2024 | Allow | 20 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17952125 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DETECTING CHEMICAL OR BIOLOGICAL SPECIES | September 2022 | August 2023 | Allow | 11 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17946700 | THERMOACOUSTIC MEASUREMENT PROBE | September 2022 | December 2022 | Allow | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17931010 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING COMBINE EFFICIENCY | September 2022 | July 2024 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17899312 | DOUBLE-TABLE VIBRATION TESTING DEVICE | August 2022 | December 2024 | Abandon | 28 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17897451 | SENSOR MODULE, SENSOR MODULE INSTALLATION DEVICE, AND MOUNTING METHOD OF SENSOR MODULE | August 2022 | January 2025 | Allow | 29 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17802432 | Corrosion Testing Device | August 2022 | June 2024 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17891742 | SHEAR-TYPE VIBRATION-ULTRASONIC COMPOSITE SENSOR AND MEASURING DEVICE | August 2022 | July 2023 | Allow | 11 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17800322 | System and Method for Photoacoustic Inspection of an Object | August 2022 | January 2025 | Allow | 29 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17870918 | ANTHROPOMORPHIC TEST DEVICE WITH SHOULDER ASSEMBLY, USE OF SAID TEST DEVICE AND MANUFACTURE OF A SHOULDER ASSEMBLY FOR AN ANTHROPOMORPHIC TEST DEVICE | July 2022 | December 2024 | Abandon | 29 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17868545 | MEASURING DENSITY OF MULTIPHASE FLUIDS | July 2022 | October 2024 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17868099 | RAMSEY SPECTROMETER, OPTICAL LATTICE CLOCK, AND RAMSEY SPECTROSCOPIC METHOD | July 2022 | September 2024 | Allow | 26 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17812169 | EQUIPMENT FOR SEALING-PERFORMANCE TEST | July 2022 | September 2024 | Allow | 27 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17791805 | VIBRATION EXCITING SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR TESTING AERO-ENGINE ROTOR | July 2022 | April 2024 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17758183 | DATA RETRIEVAL, EVENT RECORDING AND TRANSMISSION MODULE CONNECTABLE TO SAFETY AND RELIEF VALVES | June 2022 | February 2024 | Allow | 20 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17756491 | MEASURING ARRANGEMENT AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING PROPERTIES OF A MATERIAL TO BE EXTRUDED WHILE A SCREW-EXTRUSION PROCESS IS BEING CARRIED OUT | May 2022 | March 2024 | Allow | 21 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17779516 | TESTING OF A LUMINESCENCE IMAGING APPARATUS WITH INCLINED CONTAINERS OF LUMINESCENCE SUBSTANCE | May 2022 | February 2025 | Allow | 32 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17779350 | ASSESSING A FLOW OF A SPRAYED COATING | May 2022 | April 2024 | Allow | 23 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17664780 | METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR MONITORING SENSOR HEALTH AND GAS RESPONSE FOR CATALYTIC PELLISTOR POISONING | May 2022 | March 2025 | Allow | 34 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17664169 | LOST CIRCULATION MATERIAL EVALUATION | May 2022 | May 2024 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17774666 | Method Of Diagnosing Degradation Of Electrode Active Material For Lithium Secondary Battery | May 2022 | December 2024 | Allow | 31 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17755067 | SAMPLE-COLLECTING DEVICE CAPABLE OF QUANTITATIVE SAMPLING | April 2022 | August 2024 | Allow | 28 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17769888 | PROPAGATION TIME MEASUREMENT DEVICE | April 2022 | September 2024 | Allow | 29 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17721882 | ULTRASONIC FOURIER TRANSFORM ANALOG COMPUTING APPARATUS, METHOD, AND APPLICATIONS | April 2022 | September 2023 | Allow | 17 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17719906 | SAMPLE COLLECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PREPARING A PLURALITY OF LIQUID SAMPLES FOR SAMPLE PROCESSING | April 2022 | May 2025 | Abandon | 37 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17768410 | METHOD OF MONITORING THE INTERIOR OF A SUBSEA PIPELINE | April 2022 | April 2024 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17654286 | Monitoring Device of Liquid Pipeline | March 2022 | March 2024 | Allow | 24 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17638504 | MAGNETIC-INDUCTIVE FLOW METER AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A MAGNETIC-INDUCTIVE FLOW METER | February 2022 | May 2024 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17638665 | MEMS-BASED PHOTOACOUSTIC CELL | February 2022 | June 2024 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17678359 | ULTRASONIC PROBE AND ULTRASONIC INSPECTION DEVICE | February 2022 | April 2024 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17677254 | ULTRASONIC PROBE AND ULTRASONIC INSPECTION DEVICE | February 2022 | August 2023 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17675871 | CALIBRATING A PLURALITY OF SENSORS IN A SYSTEM FOR OBTAINING ANIMAL DATA FROM A GROUP OF ANIMALS | February 2022 | May 2025 | Allow | 38 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17673409 | Method and Apparatus for Analysing Samples of Biomolecules Using Mass Spectrometry with Data-Independent Acquisition | February 2022 | August 2024 | Allow | 30 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17671607 | AUTOMATICALLY-CLEANABLE THICKENING PERFORMANCE EVALUATION INSTRUMENT FOR DRILLING LOST CIRCULATION MATERIALS | February 2022 | February 2024 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17671809 | Parallel Clock Salinity Sensor | February 2022 | October 2024 | Allow | 32 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17665834 | INSPECTION DEVICE, PROCESSING DEVICE AND INSPECTION METHOD | February 2022 | February 2023 | Allow | 13 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17633487 | Roof Module for Forming a Vehicle Roof Comprising a Cooler | February 2022 | May 2024 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17649818 | ACOUSTIC PROFILING TECHNIQUES FOR NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING | February 2022 | November 2023 | Allow | 21 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17632233 | CONTINUOUS WAVE SONIC ANALYZER | February 2022 | June 2024 | Allow | 29 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17631849 | PHOTOACOUSTIC GAS SENSOR DEVICE | January 2022 | August 2024 | Allow | 31 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17588857 | METHOD OF DESIGNING A FIXTURE FOR A VIBRATION TESTING SYSTEM AND A VIBRATION TESTING SYSTEM HAVING THE TEST FIXTURE | January 2022 | June 2023 | Allow | 16 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17587117 | METHOD FOR DETERMINING THE DENSITY OF A SHEET OF MATERIAL USING A MAGNETIC FORCE FEEDBACK ACTUATOR POSITIONER | January 2022 | January 2023 | Allow | 12 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17587114 | SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING THE DENSITY OF A SHEET OF MATERIAL USING A MAGNETIC FORCE FEEDBACK ACTUATOR POSITIONER | January 2022 | June 2023 | Allow | 16 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17585653 | Assisting Device for Blade Detection | January 2022 | October 2024 | Allow | 32 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17583923 | MULTI-DEGREE-OF-FREEDOM IMPEDANCE FIXTURE FOR AUTOMATED FREQUENCY RESPONSE FUNCTION MEASUREMENTS | January 2022 | June 2023 | Allow | 16 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17629225 | Transducer, Loosening Detection System and Loosening Detection Method | January 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 24 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17628602 | MAGNETIC-INDUCTIVE FLOW METER AND METHOD FOR OPERATING A MAGNETIC-INDUCTIVE FLOW METER | January 2022 | June 2024 | Allow | 28 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner NATH, SUMAN KUMAR.
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, 50.0% 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.
✓ Filing a Notice of Appeal is strategically valuable. The act of filing often prompts favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.
Examiner NATH, SUMAN KUMAR works in Art Unit 2855 and has examined 394 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 82.7%, this examiner has a below-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 28 months.
Examiner NATH, SUMAN KUMAR's allowance rate of 82.7% places them in the 49% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has a below-average tendency to allow applications.
On average, applications examined by NATH, SUMAN KUMAR receive 1.24 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 22% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues significantly fewer office actions than most examiners.
The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by NATH, SUMAN KUMAR is 28 months. This places the examiner in the 52% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.
Conducting an examiner interview provides a +22.4% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by NATH, SUMAN KUMAR. This interview benefit is in the 71% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide an above-average benefit with this examiner and are worth considering.
When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 31.5% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 57% 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.
This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 27.4% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 30% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner shows below-average receptiveness to after-final amendments. You may need to file an RCE or appeal rather than relying on after-final amendment entry.
This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 100.0% of appeals filed. This is in the 93% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 50.0% occur early in the appeal process (after Notice of Appeal but before Appeal Brief). Strategic Insight: This examiner frequently reconsiders rejections during the appeal process compared to other examiners. Per MPEP § 1207.01, all appeals must go through a mandatory appeal conference. Filing a Notice of Appeal may prompt favorable reconsideration even before you file an Appeal Brief.
When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 47.1% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 54% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Note: Petitions show above-average success regarding this examiner's actions. Petitionable matters include restriction requirements (MPEP § 1002.02(c)(2)) and various procedural issues.
Examiner's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 0.3% of allowed cases (in the 52% 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 8.6% of allowed cases (in the 86% 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.
Based on the statistical analysis of this examiner's prosecution patterns, here are tailored strategic recommendations:
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.