Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.
| Application Number | Title | Filing Date | Disposal Date | Disposition | Time (months) | Office Actions | Restrictions | Interview | Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19102866 | FRACTURE CHARACTERIZATION WHILE DRILLING | February 2025 | June 2025 | Allow | 4 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18914028 | LIDAR AND MOBILE DEVICE | October 2024 | March 2025 | Allow | 5 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18809262 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VEHICULAR LIDAR AND COMMUNICATION UTILIZING A VEHICLE HEAD LIGHT AND/OR TAILLIGHT AND COMMUNICATING WITH VEHICLE SUBSYSTEMS | August 2024 | October 2024 | Allow | 2 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18779023 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VEHICULAR LIDAR AND COMMUNICATION UTILIZING A VEHICLE HEAD LIGHT AND/OR TAILLIGHT AND LOAD BALANCING BETWEEN LIGHT OR OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS AND RADIOFREQUENCY COMMUNICATIONS | July 2024 | October 2024 | Allow | 2 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18675797 | ADAPTIVE CODING FOR LIDAR SYSTEMS | May 2024 | August 2024 | Allow | 2 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18662246 | TECHNIQUES TO USE POWER SPECTRUM DENSITY IN COHERENT LIDAR SYSTEMS | May 2024 | February 2025 | Allow | 9 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18652664 | SAME-PATH AND SYNCHRONOUS DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ATMOSPHERE DATA | May 2024 | July 2024 | Allow | 2 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18639643 | ROTATING COMPACT LIGHT RANGING SYSTEM | April 2024 | January 2025 | Allow | 9 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18596256 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VEHICULAR LIDAR AND COMMUNICATION UTILIZING A VEHICLE HEAD LIGHT AND/OR TAILLIGHT AND COMMUNICATING WITH VEHICLE SUBSYSTEMS | March 2024 | June 2024 | Allow | 4 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18595114 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR EFFICIENT MULTI-RETURN LIGHT DETECTORS | March 2024 | June 2025 | Allow | 16 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18436425 | UPDATING CONTOUR MAPS FOR BODIES OF WATER | February 2024 | April 2025 | Allow | 14 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18516646 | LIDAR Sensor System Including Integrated Modulator | November 2023 | October 2024 | Allow | 11 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18387873 | HYPERSPECTRAL SONAR | November 2023 | July 2025 | Allow | 20 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18387521 | MULTIMISSION AND MULTISPECTRAL SONAR | November 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18374212 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVED CHIRPED LIDAR | September 2023 | June 2025 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18244386 | AIRBORNE TOPO-BATHY LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHODS THEREOF | September 2023 | October 2024 | Allow | 13 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18362775 | Accurate Photo Detector Measurements For Lidar | July 2023 | July 2024 | Allow | 12 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18347784 | Light Ranging Device Having An Electronically Scanned Emitter Array | July 2023 | July 2024 | Allow | 13 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18340386 | MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUS LASER BEAM EMISSION AND ILLUMINATION WHILE ENSURING EYE SAFETY | June 2023 | December 2024 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18337064 | Configurable array of single-photon detectors | June 2023 | July 2024 | Allow | 13 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18197798 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VEHICULAR LIDAR AND COMMUNICATION UTILIZING A VEHICLE HEAD LIGHT AND/OR TAILLIGHT | May 2023 | January 2024 | Allow | 8 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18196231 | ADAPTIVE CODING FOR LIDAR SYSTEMS | May 2023 | June 2025 | Abandon | 25 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18308271 | TECHNIQUES FOR ADJUSTING A BEAM PATTERN IN A LIDAR SYSTEM | April 2023 | March 2024 | Allow | 11 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18137273 | SONAR DATA COMPRESSION | April 2023 | October 2024 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18299039 | TIME-OF-FLIGHT SENSING DEVICE AND METHOD THEREOF | April 2023 | July 2024 | Allow | 15 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18129078 | TIME OF FLIGHT SENSOR RECORDED WITH COMPENSATION PARAMETERS | March 2023 | June 2024 | Allow | 15 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18167589 | Method and System for Identifying Entangled Photons without Classical Information Sharing | February 2023 | May 2024 | Allow | 15 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18159546 | VELOCITY ESTIMATION USING LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) SYSTEM | January 2023 | July 2023 | Allow | 6 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18100912 | AUTONOMOUS GATING SELECTION TO REDUCE NOISE IN DIRECT TIME-OF-FLIGHT DEPTH SENSING | January 2023 | July 2024 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18093781 | LASER RECEIVING DEVICE, LIDAR, AND INTELLIGENT INDUCTION APPARATUS | January 2023 | March 2025 | Abandon | 26 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 18093100 | Systems and Methods for Acoustic and/or Electromagnetic Imaging | January 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 27 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18089221 | DUAL ACOUSTIC PRESSURE AND HYDROPHONE SENSOR ARRAY SYSTEM | December 2022 | June 2024 | Abandon | 17 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18008017 | CONTROLLING FRAME RATE OF ACTIVE REFLECTED WAVE DETECTOR | December 2022 | May 2023 | Allow | 6 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18059831 | DUAL DATA ENCODING IN A PULSE WIDTH MODULATION SIGNAL | November 2022 | June 2025 | Allow | 31 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17988001 | Methods And Systems For Acoustic Machine Perception For An Aircraft | November 2022 | April 2024 | Allow | 17 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17978649 | TECHNIQUES FOR PROCESSING AMPLITUDE MODULATION (AM) AND FREQUENCY MODULATION (FM) IN SEPARATE PATHS FOR SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF RANGE AND VELOCITY IN AN FMCW LIDAR SYSTEM | November 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 15 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17977937 | TECHNIQUES FOR BEAM PATTERN ADJUSTMENTS IN A LIDAR SYSTEM | October 2022 | January 2023 | Allow | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17963088 | TECHNIQUES FOR TIME DOMAIN AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL FOR A FREQUENCY MODULATED CONTINUOUS WAVE (FMCW) LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) SYSTEM | October 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 15 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17930464 | ACOUSTIC MODEL ACOUSTIC REGION OF INFLUENCE GENERATION | September 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 16 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17898123 | LIGHT PROJECTING METHOD AND DEVICE | August 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 14 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17890099 | ARCHITECTURE OF SINGLE SUBSTRATE ULTRASONIC IMAGING DEVICES, RELATED APPARATUSES, AND METHODS | August 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 14 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17886671 | INTERLACED SCAN PATTERNS FOR LIDAR SYSTEM | August 2022 | March 2024 | Allow | 19 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17798082 | PARAMETER ADJUSTMENT DEVICE, TRAINING DEVICE, AND MEASUREMENT SYSTEM | August 2022 | January 2023 | Allow | 6 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17857103 | System and Method for Generating Motion-Stabilized Images of a Target Using Lidar and Video Measurements | July 2022 | March 2024 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17845771 | HYBRID ULTRASOUND TRANSMITTER | June 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 16 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17842549 | TECHNIQUES TO USE POWER SPECTRUM DENSITY IN COHERENT LIDAR SYSTEMS | June 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 19 | 2 | 0 | No | Yes |
| 17839311 | TECHNIQUES FOR SCAN PATTERN BEAM ALIGNMENT | June 2022 | November 2023 | Allow | 17 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17781733 | TIME-OF-FLIGHT SENSING FOR HORTICULTURE | June 2022 | July 2025 | Allow | 37 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17826774 | TECHNIQUES FOR MODE AREA EXPANSION OF OPTICAL BEAM IN A LIDAR SYSTEM | May 2022 | November 2023 | Allow | 17 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17777235 | OBJECTIVE, USE OF AN OBJECTIVE AND MEASUREMENT SYSTEM | May 2022 | February 2024 | Abandon | 21 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 17662595 | ROTATING COMPACT LIGHT RANGING SYSTEM | May 2022 | July 2023 | Allow | 14 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17738959 | LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATION | May 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 17 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17735912 | VIBRATING PIPE LOCATOR | May 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 17 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17730698 | FRACTURE WAVE DEPTH, BOREHOLE BOTTOM CONDITION, AND CONDUCTIVITY ESTIMATION METHOD | April 2022 | May 2023 | Allow | 12 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17713121 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING DETECTION OF A RETURN SIGNAL IN A LIGHT RANGING AND DETECTION SYSTEM | April 2022 | September 2023 | Allow | 17 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17656747 | SONAR APPARATUS | March 2022 | February 2024 | Abandon | 23 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17703020 | UPDATING CONTOUR MAPS FOR BODIES OF WATER | March 2022 | December 2023 | Allow | 21 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17686924 | ELECTRONIC TRACKING DEVICE AND RELATED SYSTEM | March 2022 | July 2023 | Allow | 16 | 0 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17651695 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING SIGNAL DIRECTION | February 2022 | October 2023 | Allow | 20 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17675997 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR EFFICIENT MULTI-RETURN LIGHT DETECTORS | February 2022 | November 2023 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17675857 | TECHNIQUES FOR AUTOMATIC GAIN CONTROL IN A TIME DOMAIN FOR A SIGNAL PATH FOR A FREQUENCY MODULATED CONTINUOUS WAVE (FMCW) LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) SYSTEM | February 2022 | June 2022 | Allow | 4 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17668008 | MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUS LASER BEAM EMISSION AND ILLUMINATION WHILE ENSURING EYE SAFETY | February 2022 | March 2023 | Allow | 13 | 2 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 17587279 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL PREDICTION METHOD BASED ON GEOLOGY-SEISMOLOGY FOR FAVORABLE METALLOGENIC SITE OF SANDSTONE-TYPE URANIUM DEPOSIT | January 2022 | May 2022 | Allow | 3 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17582306 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MEASURING AN OBJECT | January 2022 | June 2025 | Allow | 41 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17597459 | Pulsed-Coherent Electronic Front End for Lidar and Radar Detection and Ranging | January 2022 | January 2025 | Allow | 36 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17554189 | Switchable Multi-Lens Lidar Receiver | December 2021 | October 2022 | Allow | 10 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17619890 | Light-Based Position Measurement Device with Atmospheric Correction | December 2021 | February 2023 | Allow | 14 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17619559 | ULTRASONIC MATRIX IMAGING DEVICE | December 2021 | June 2023 | Allow | 18 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17545404 | POINT LAYOUT SYSTEM USING SINGLE LASER TRANSMITTER | December 2021 | June 2023 | Allow | 19 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17538816 | Accurate Photo Detector Measurements For Lidar | November 2021 | April 2023 | Allow | 17 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17611048 | OPTICAL REMOTE SENSING | November 2021 | March 2022 | Allow | 4 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17512054 | LASER RADAR | October 2021 | December 2023 | Allow | 26 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17512576 | TECHNIQUES FOR DETECTION PROCESSING WITH AMPLITUDE MODULATION (AM) AND FREQUENCY MODULATION (FM) PATHS FOR SIMULTANEOUS DETERMINATION OF RANGE AND VELOCITY | October 2021 | June 2022 | Allow | 8 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17507701 | GMAPD DATA NORMALIZATION USING BERNOULLI TRIALS | October 2021 | May 2025 | Allow | 42 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17503076 | TECHNIQUES TO COMPENSATE FOR MIRROR DOPPLER SPREADING IN COHERENT LIDAR SYSTEMS BY POWER SPECTRUM DENSITY | October 2021 | April 2022 | Allow | 6 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17500113 | LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATION | October 2021 | January 2022 | Allow | 4 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17489069 | Ranging Method, Radar, and Vehicle-Mounted Radar | September 2021 | June 2025 | Allow | 45 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17485838 | OPTICAL ALIGNMENT FOR BEAM CORRECTION | September 2021 | April 2022 | Allow | 7 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17482983 | Hyper Temporal Lidar with Elevation-Prioritized Shot Scheduling | September 2021 | January 2023 | Allow | 16 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17479199 | AIRBORNE TOPO-BATHY LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHODS THEREOF | September 2021 | April 2023 | Allow | 19 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17473844 | TIME-OF-FLIGHT SENSOR, DISTANCE MEASURING SYSTEM, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE | September 2021 | March 2025 | Allow | 43 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17461027 | DIGITAL HOLOGRAPHY METROLOGY SYSTEM | August 2021 | February 2025 | Allow | 42 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17461738 | NEAR SURFACE IMAGING AND HAZARD DETECTION | August 2021 | January 2024 | Allow | 29 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17458660 | LiDAR DEVICE AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME | August 2021 | September 2023 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17310855 | MEASUREMENT APPARATUS, RANGING APPARATUS, AND MEASUREMENT METHOD | August 2021 | January 2025 | Allow | 41 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17384799 | PRISM AND MULTI-BEAM LIDAR SYSTEM | July 2021 | April 2025 | Allow | 45 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17380304 | OPTICAL BEAM STEERING DEVICES AND SENSOR SYSTEMS INCLUDING THE SAME | July 2021 | March 2023 | Allow | 20 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17377456 | IN-VEHICLE IMAGING APPARATUS | July 2021 | April 2025 | Allow | 45 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17310082 | MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICE | July 2021 | May 2025 | Allow | 46 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17375108 | MULTIMISSION AND MULTISPECTRAL SONAR | July 2021 | August 2023 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17419826 | SURFACE EMITTING LASER MODULE, OPTICAL DEVICE, AND SURFACE EMITTING LASER SUBSTRATE | June 2021 | May 2025 | Allow | 46 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17359511 | MULTIMISSION AND MULTISPECTRAL SONAR | June 2021 | August 2023 | Allow | 26 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17304247 | Ultrasound Imaging Transducer Array with Integrated Apodization | June 2021 | July 2023 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17347174 | ACCURATE PHOTO DETECTOR MEASUREMENTS FOR LIDAR | June 2021 | November 2021 | Allow | 5 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17309543 | REGISTRATION OF USERS OF A PASSENGER TRANSPORT SYSTEM | June 2021 | January 2025 | Allow | 44 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17334693 | HYPERSPECTRAL SONAR | May 2021 | September 2023 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17332107 | DISTANCE MEASUREMENT SENSOR AND DISTANCE MEASUREMENT METHOD | May 2021 | June 2025 | Abandon | 48 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17331882 | METHOD FOR ALIGNING CALIBRATION DEVICE WITH VEHICLE BASED ON WHEEL ALIGNER AND CALIBRATION SYSTEM | May 2021 | January 2025 | Allow | 44 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17329816 | TIME MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND TIME MEASUREMENT UNIT | May 2021 | February 2025 | Allow | 45 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17325039 | LIDAR SYSTEM WITH OPTICAL CIRCULATOR | May 2021 | April 2024 | Allow | 35 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner HULKA, JAMES R.
With a 56.8% 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.
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, 40.2% 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.
✓ 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 HULKA, JAMES R works in Art Unit 3645 and has examined 1,030 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 80.5%, this examiner has a below-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 34 months.
Examiner HULKA, JAMES R's allowance rate of 80.5% places them in the 43% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has a below-average tendency to allow applications.
On average, applications examined by HULKA, JAMES R receive 1.67 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 47% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues fewer office actions than average, which may indicate efficient prosecution or a more lenient examination style.
The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by HULKA, JAMES R is 34 months. This places the examiner in the 24% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications take longer to reach final disposition with this examiner compared to most others.
Conducting an examiner interview provides a +7.4% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by HULKA, JAMES R. This interview benefit is in the 38% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide a below-average benefit with this examiner.
When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 27.0% 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.
This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 24.3% 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.
When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 58.8% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 47% 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.
This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 61.1% of appeals filed. This is in the 33% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 33.3% 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.
When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 36.6% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 32% 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's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 33% percentile). This examiner makes examiner's amendments less often than average. You may need to make most claim amendments yourself.
Quayle Actions: This examiner issues Ex Parte Quayle actions in 0.7% of allowed cases (in the 53% percentile). This examiner issues Quayle actions more often than average when claims are allowable but formal matters remain (MPEP § 714.14).
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.