USPTO Examiner SMITH MAURICE C - Art Unit 2877

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
19294071SYSTEMS AND TECHNIQUES FOR VEHICLE INSPECTION AND CONDITION ANALYSISAugust 2025December 2025Allow410NoNo
19009882SYSTEMS AND TECHNIQUES FOR VEHICLE INSPECTION AND CONDITION ANALYSISJanuary 2025April 2025Allow300NoNo
18870275METHODS FOR COMPENSATING MEASUREMENTS OF DEVICES UNDER TEST (DUTS) CAPTURED THROUGH PRESCRIPTION LENSES, AND ASSOCIATED IMAGING SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODSNovember 2024February 2025Allow300NoNo
18930946METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR RAMAN SIGNAL ANALYSISOctober 2024February 2025Allow400NoNo
18828306SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACTIVE HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING WITH SUPERCONTINUUM LIGHTSeptember 2024March 2025Allow610NoNo
18807328FLUORESCENCE POLARIZATION MEASUREMENT DEVICE, AND DEGREE OF POLARIZATION MEASUREMENT METHODAugust 2024February 2026Allow1800NoNo
18837827METHOD FOR MATCHING A COATING OF ANY GLOSS LEVELAugust 2024April 2025Allow810NoNo
18800748FLOW CYTOMETER, POSITION CALCULATION METHOD, AND PROGRAMAugust 2024February 2026Allow1800NoNo
18782098SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING AND CONTROLLING A SPECTRUM OF A LIGHT SOURCE OF A HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING SYSTEMJuly 2024March 2026Allow2030NoNo
18748347ACCESSORIES FOR OPTICAL SPECTROMETERSJune 2024September 2025Allow1500NoNo
18717560SPECTROSCOPIC DEVICEJune 2024January 2026Allow2000NoNo
18679648Optical Wastewater Pretreat SensorMay 2024January 2026Allow2000NoNo
18714941METHOD FOR MEASURING SURFACE PARAMETER OF COPPER FOIL, METHOD FOR SORTING COPPER FOIL, AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING SURFACE-TREATED COPPER FOILMay 2024October 2024Allow400NoNo
18711967DEVICE FOR INSPECTING A HUMAN BODY PORTION AND ASSOCIATED METHODMay 2024February 2026Allow2110NoNo
18659877SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DIFFERENTIAL COMPARATOR-BASED TIME-OF-FLIGHT MEASUREMENT WITH AMPLITUDE ESTIMATIONMay 2024July 2025Allow1410NoNo
18635232SPECKLE-BASED IMAGE DISTORTION CORRECTION FOR LASER SCANNING MICROSCOPYApril 2024October 2025Allow1820NoNo
18700225METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CALIBRATING A SPECTRAL IMAGING DEVICEApril 2024September 2024Allow600NoNo
18616014ENDPOINT DETECTION SYSTEM FOR ENHANCED SPECTRAL DATA COLLECTIONMarch 2024March 2025Allow1210YesNo
18611916OPTICAL DEVICE, SPECTROSCOPIC DEVICE, AND SPECTROSCOPIC METHODMarch 2024January 2026Allow2210NoNo
18690242SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING LASER-INDUCED BREAKDOWN SPECTROSCOPY MEASUREMENTS ON MOLTEN METAL SAMPLESMarch 2024January 2026Allow2210NoNo
18595426OPTICAL INTEGRATED DEVICE AND OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN REFLECTOMETERMarch 2024April 2025Allow1310NoNo
18443138MICROFLUIDIC IMAGE ANALYSIS SYSTEMFebruary 2024January 2025Allow1110NoNo
18434658IMAGE SENSOR AND METHOD OF OPERATINGFebruary 2024November 2024Allow910NoNo
18390007COLOR MEASURING SYSTEM AND PROGRAMDecember 2023October 2025Abandon2230NoNo
18542051ENHANCED FULL RANGE OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHYDecember 2023July 2024Allow700NoNo
18523463SPECTROMETERNovember 2023August 2024Allow910NoNo
18518036OPTICAL SYSTEM AND ASSAY CHIP FOR PROBING, DETECTING AND ANALYZING MOLECULESNovember 2023August 2025Allow2020NoNo
18516429Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering BiosensorNovember 2023October 2024Allow1110NoNo
18562332Fluorescence Imaging Probe and Handheld Imaging ProberNovember 2023October 2024Allow1000NoNo
18389125OPTICAL DETECTION SYSTEM, BLOOD CELL ANALYZER, AND PLATELET DETECTION METHODNovember 2023July 2025Allow2020NoNo
18476261TRAINING DOMAIN-BASED AI BOOSTING OF AN IOL DETERMINATIONSeptember 2023March 2025Allow1820NoNo
18240297ISOTOPE ISOLATIONAugust 2023January 2024Allow510YesNo
18276597INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, INFORMATION PROCESSING METHOD, AND PROGRAMAugust 2023August 2025Allow2410YesNo
18275499FILM THICKNESS ANALYSIS METHOD, FILM THICKNESS ANALYSIS DEVICE AND STORAGE MEDIUMAugust 2023July 2025Allow2410NoNo
18263422METHOD FOR THE COMPUTER ASSISTED DETERMINATION OF PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A POROUS LAYER DISPOSED ON A SURFACE OF SUBSTRATEJuly 2023July 2025Allow2410NoNo
18352337Light-Based Protractor and Use Thereof for Detection of Color Associated with Physical CoatingsJuly 2023December 2025Allow2900NoNo
18271198OPTICAL SYSTEM COMPRISING AN OPTICAL MULTIPLEXERJuly 2023October 2025Allow2810NoNo
18343469ELIMINATION OF OPTICAL GHOSTS IN OPTICAL SPECTRAL ANALYZERS THROUGH A SCANNING SPECTRAL FILTERJune 2023August 2025Allow2620YesNo
18341753LENS DEVICE, FILTER UNIT, AND IMAGING APPARATUSJune 2023September 2025Allow2600NoNo
18211018SPECTROSCOPE AND SPECTROSCOPE PRODUCTION METHODJune 2023November 2025Allow2900NoNo
18267744THRESHOLD GATING FOR FLOW CYTOMETRY METHODSJune 2023November 2025Allow2900YesNo
18335148METHOD FOR CALIBRATING A PARTICLE SENSOR, PARTICLE SENSOR, AND APPARATUS HAVING A PARTICLE SENSORJune 2023October 2025Allow2810NoNo
18334789MEASURING APPARATUS AND TESTING APPARATUS HAVING THE SAMEJune 2023March 2025Allow2100NoNo
18332717ISOTOPE ISOLATIONJune 2023August 2023Allow300NoNo
18207189METHOD FOR PRE-CALIBRATING AND CORRECTING MEASUREMENT ERRORS OF A SPECTROSCOPIC MEASUREMENT DEVICE, AND MEASUREMENT DEVICEJune 2023April 2025Allow2210NoNo
18328891APPARATUS FOR OPTICAL APPLICATIONS, SPECTROMETER SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AN APPARATUS FOR OPTICAL APPLICATIONSJune 2023February 2024Allow800NoNo
18203359NON-INVASIVE MEASUREMENT OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OR SUBSTANCE CONCENTRATIONS IN HUMAN TISSUEMay 2023March 2024Allow1010NoNo
18323490SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND METHOD OF NON-DESTRUCTIVELY DETERMINING PETIOLE NUTRIENT VALUES IN NEAR REAL-TIME USING A PORTABLE SPECTROPHOTOMETERMay 2023October 2025Allow2910NoNo
18254023CHARACTERIZATION OF A RADIATION PULSE BY TIME-RESOLVED OPTICAL GATINGMay 2023February 2025Allow2100NoNo
18038111FLUID QUALITY MONITORINGMay 2023February 2025Allow2100NoNo
18144815System, Method and Apparatus for Forming Machine Learning SessionsMay 2023July 2025Allow2610NoNo
18144157DEVICE FOR DETERMINING FISH GENDERMay 2023July 2023Allow300NoNo
18312241REDUCED FALSE POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION FOR SPECTROSCOPIC CLASSIFICATIONMay 2023April 2024Allow1110NoNo
18311989OUTLIER DETECTION FOR SPECTROSCOPIC CLASSIFICATIONMay 2023October 2024Allow1710NoNo
18251494OPTICAL THIN-FILM HYDROGEN SENSING MATERIAL BASED ON TANTALUM OR OTHER GROUP V ELEMENT ALLOYMay 2023April 2025Allow2310NoNo
18251530METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING A CONCENTRATION OF A COMPONENT IN A FLUIDMay 2023July 2023Allow200NoNo
18034163SENSOR AND LOCKING DEVICE THEREFORApril 2023November 2024Allow1900NoNo
18250628WRITING UTENSIL, LIGHT DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING A LIGHT CONDITIONApril 2023July 2025Abandon2710NoNo
18300602METHOD OF AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTING THE CONCENTRATION OF BRINE CONSTITUENTSApril 2023October 2025Allow3010NoNo
18299601DEPLOYABLE MICRO-SPECTROMETER BULLETSApril 2023March 2025Allow2310NoNo
18025743EQUOL MEASUREMENT KIT AND EQUOL MEASUREMENT METHODMarch 2023February 2025Allow2310NoNo
18119018High-Resolution Defocus Compensating SpectrographMarch 2023October 2025Allow3220NoNo
18024218SOLVENT-BASED INKS AND COATINGS FOR FOOD CONTACT APPLICATIONSMarch 2023September 2023Allow710NoNo
18174411Systems and Methods for Measuring Emissions from a BuildingFebruary 2023May 2023Allow300NoNo
18173056OPTICAL SENSOR OF BIO-MOLECULES USING INTERFEROMETERFebruary 2023March 2024Allow1310NoNo
18165477Hyperspectral Sensing System and Method for Qualitative Analysis of FluidsFebruary 2023January 2025Allow2310YesNo
18162385METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ENHANCED PHOTO-THERMAL IMAGING AND SPECTROSCOPYJanuary 2023September 2024Allow2010YesNo
18007447ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION SPECTRUM DETECTION SYSTEMJanuary 2023April 2025Allow2610YesNo
18159194METHOD FOR ADAPTING A LAB SETPOINT COLOR VALUE OF MULTICOLORED PRINTED PRODUCTSJanuary 2023July 2023Allow610NoNo
18159216MULTI-SECTIONED WINDOW FOR SPECTROSCOPIC DEVICEJanuary 2023February 2025Allow2510NoNo
18101448SYSTEM AND METHOD OF PROVIDING INCOHERENT COUPLING OF A LASER INTO A HIGH FINESSE OPTICAL CAVITYJanuary 2023September 2023Allow810NoNo
18099922SensorJanuary 2023April 2025Allow2710NoNo
18017252INSPECTION METHOD FOR OPTICAL FIBER, INSPECTION DEVICE FOR OPTICAL FIBER, AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING OPTICAL FIBER-WOUND BOBBINJanuary 2023August 2025Allow3010NoNo
18155892DUAL BEAM SINGLE SPATIAL MODE LASER FOR HANDHELD LIBS INSTRUMENTS AND SIMILAR APPLICATIONSJanuary 2023February 2025Allow2500YesNo
18149539RAPID DETECTION OF ZINC PYRITHIONE BY SERSJanuary 2023July 2025Allow3120NoNo
18092394RADIO FREQUENCY TAGGING OPTICAL SPECTROMETER AND METHOD FOR MEASUREMENTS OF OPTICAL SPECTRAJanuary 2023September 2024Allow2100NoNo
18090837HOMODYNE TIME-DOMAIN ACOUSTO-OPTIC IMAGING FOR LOW-GAIN PHOTODETECTORSDecember 2022February 2025Allow2510NoNo
18145983DISTRIBUTED CONTINUOUS HIGH-ACCURACY BIDIRECTIONAL DISPLACEMENT FIBER-OPTIC MEASUREMENT SYSTEM AND MEASUREMENT METHOD THEREOFDecember 2022October 2025Allow3310NoNo
18083228LASER DEVICE WITH SAFETY INTERLOCK AND SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT FOR USE WITH THE SAMEDecember 2022November 2024Allow2310NoNo
18082822SPARK SPECTROMETRY FOR INCLUSIONS CONTENT DISTRIBUTION ON THE SURFACE OF LARGE SIZE METALLIC MATERIALSDecember 2022October 2024Allow2210NoNo
18001406BENDING-IMPARTING DEVICE FOR MEASURING BENDING LOSS, AND BENDING TEST DEVICEDecember 2022January 2025Allow2510NoNo
18063213Dual-Comb SpectroscopyDecember 2022August 2023Allow800NoNo
18000938METHOD AND ANALYZER TO CORRECT FOR UNKNOWN INTERFERENCES IN A PATIENT BLOOD SAMPLEDecember 2022January 2025Allow2510NoNo
17999331RAMAN OPTICAL BIOMARKER FOR SHADE AVOIDANCE SYNDROME IN PLANTSNovember 2022August 2024Allow2100NoNo
17989605IMAGE SENSOR AND METHOD OF OPERATINGNovember 2022September 2023Allow1020NoNo
17987268COMPACT MODULATION TRANSFER FUNCTION COLORIMETERNovember 2022February 2023Allow310NoNo
17998675A METHOD AND A SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING A SPECTRAL SIGNATURE OF A COMPOUND SPECIMENNovember 2022March 2025Allow2810NoNo
17983136SURFACE-ENHANCED RAMAN SCATTERING BIOSENSORNovember 2022August 2023Allow900NoNo
18052401SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TINTING USING LOW-RESOLUTION SPECTROPHOTOMETERNovember 2022October 2023Allow2120YesNo
17922412METHOD OF DETECTING THE PRESENCE OF A PATHOGEN IN A BIOLOGICAL LIQUIDOctober 2022March 2025Allow2910NoNo
17997473COMPACT SNAPSHOT DUAL-MODE INTERFEROMETRIC SYSTEMOctober 2022September 2024Allow2300NoNo
17973391DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING LASER DISPLACEMENTOctober 2022October 2024Allow2310NoNo
17996899PORTABLE HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING DEVICEOctober 2022August 2024Allow2200NoNo
18046452NIRAF Calibration Sheath PhantomOctober 2022January 2025Allow2720NoNo
17918317CONTAMINANT ANALYZING METROLOGY SYSTEM, LITHOGRAPHIC APPARATUS, AND METHODS THEREOFOctober 2022January 2025Allow2720YesNo
18045189GATE-TUNABLE ENTANGLED PHOTON PAIR GENERATIONOctober 2022November 2024Allow2500NoNo
17962552TDLAS ARCHITECTURE FOR WIDELY SPACED WAVELENGTHOctober 2022July 2025Allow3320NoNo
17915009PHASE DIFFERENCE MEASURING DEVICE, BEAM OUTPUT APPARATUS AND PHASE DIFFERENCE MEASURING METHODSeptember 2022March 2025Allow3010NoNo
17902819Using a Strong Optical Beam to Detect a Weak Optical BeamSeptember 2022June 2024Allow2100NoNo
17908994OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY (OCT) APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AN OPTICAL COHERENCE TOMOGRAPHY APPARATUSSeptember 2022October 2024Allow2510NoNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner SMITH, MAURICE C.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
7
Examiner Affirmed
3
(42.9%)
Examiner Reversed
4
(57.1%)
Reversal Percentile
82.1%
Higher than average

What This Means

With a 57.1% reversal rate, the PTAB has reversed the examiner's rejections more often than affirming them. This reversal rate is in the top 25% across the USPTO, indicating that appeals are more successful here than in most other areas.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
27
Allowed After Appeal Filing
13
(48.1%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
14
(51.9%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
76.7%
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, 48.1% 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 SMITH, MAURICE C - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner SMITH, MAURICE C works in Art Unit 2877 and has examined 762 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 87.5%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 22 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner SMITH, MAURICE C's allowance rate of 87.5% places them in the 67% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by SMITH, MAURICE C receive 1.37 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 21% 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 SMITH, MAURICE C is 22 months. This places the examiner in the 89% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications move through prosecution relatively quickly with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a -3.9% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by SMITH, MAURICE C. This interview benefit is in the 6% 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, 29.5% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 56% 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 56.3% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 82% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner is highly receptive to after-final amendments compared to other examiners. Per MPEP § 714.12, after-final amendments may be entered "under justifiable circumstances." Consider filing after-final amendments with a clear showing of allowability rather than immediately filing an RCE, as this examiner frequently enters such amendments.

Pre-Appeal Conference Effectiveness

When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 88.9% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 67% 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 74.1% of appeals filed. This is in the 63% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 45.0% 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, 47.6% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 43% 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 0.7% of allowed cases (in the 63% 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 4.8% of allowed cases (in the 80% 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:

  • Consider after-final amendments: This examiner frequently enters after-final amendments. If you can clearly overcome rejections with claim amendments, file an after-final amendment before resorting to an RCE.

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.