USPTO Examiner NICKERSON SAMANTHA K - Art Unit 3645

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
19230613APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PSEUDO THERMAL LIGHT SOURCE GHOST IMAGING AND RANGE SENSING USING NARROW-BAND SPONTANEOUS EMISSIONJune 2025October 2025Allow410NoNo
19095116HYBRID SOLID-STATE LIDAR WITH INCREASED SIGNAL DYNAMIC RANGE AND CONTROL METHODMarch 2025December 2025Allow910NoNo
19086197LIDAR 3D TARGET DETECTION METHOD BASED ON REGION PILLAR FEATURE FUSION AND SYSTEM THEREOFMarch 2025October 2025Allow710NoNo
19032920SYSTEM AND TECHNIQUES FOR DISCOVERY AND TRACKING OF OBJECTS IN SPACEJanuary 2025January 2026Allow1220NoNo
18745248METHOD FOR CALIBRATION OF CAMERA AND LIDAR, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM RECORDED ON RECORDING MEDIUM FOR EXECUTING METHOD THEREFORJune 2024August 2025Allow1430YesNo
18384631LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHODOctober 2023June 2024Allow821YesNo
18034962METHOD FOR IDENTIFYING A CHANGE OF A RANGE OF A LIDAR SENSORMay 2023April 2024Allow1220NoNo
18025241Method And Device For The Dynamic Extension of a Time-of-Flight Camera SystemMarch 2023October 2023Allow810NoNo
18023938CONTAINER POSITIONING METHOD AND APPARATUS BASED ON MULTI-LINE LASER DATA FUSIONFebruary 2023October 2023Allow810NoNo
18082063LIGHT SCANNING APPARATUS, ADJUSTMENT METHOD OF LIGHT SCANNING APPARATUS, AND STORAGE MEDIUMDecember 2022December 2023Abandon1210NoNo
18058688SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FOREIGN OBJECT DETECTION IN WIRELESS POWER TRANSFERNovember 2022September 2024Allow2111NoNo
17944849LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) SENSOR SYSTEM INCLUDING BISTATIC TRANSCEIVERSeptember 2022November 2023Allow1421YesNo
17576874PHASED ARRAY EMISSION APPARATUS, LIDAR, AND AUTOMATED DRIVING DEVICEJanuary 2022January 2024Allow2410NoNo
17538455COMPACT LIDAR SYSTEMNovember 2021November 2025Allow4710YesNo
17520601OPTICAL PHASED ARRAY, METHOD FOR IMPROVING REDUCING A PHASE ERROR THEREOF, LIDAR, AND INTELLIGENT APPARATUSNovember 2021February 2024Allow2820NoNo
17379763SCAN MIRROR SYSTEMS AND METHODSJuly 2021January 2026Abandon5410NoNo
17330519VEHICULAR OBJECT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMMay 2021May 2025Abandon4710NoNo
17318971LINE BEAM SCANNING OPTICAL SYSTEM AND LASER RADARMay 2021January 2023Allow2010NoNo
17239264LiDAR SYSTEMS AND METHODS DETERMINING DISTANCE TO OBJECT FROM LiDAR SYSTEMApril 2021August 2025Allow5110NoNo
17228117DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SCANNING MEASUREMENT OF THE DISTANCE TO AN OBJECTApril 2021September 2021Allow500NoNo
17228335METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SIDELOBE SUPPRESSION IN PHASE ENCODED DOPPLER LIDARApril 2021January 2022Allow910YesNo
17224934PHOTOCURRENT NOISE SUPPRESSION FOR MIRROR ASSEMBLYApril 2021October 2023Abandon3011NoNo
17224931PHOTOCURRENT NOISE SUPPRESSION FOR MIRROR ASSEMBLYApril 2021November 2023Abandon3111NoNo
17182455LIDAR SYSTEMFebruary 2021October 2021Allow811YesNo
17170494DETERMINING PHASE ORDERS IN ToF IMAGINGFebruary 2021December 2025Allow5810NoNo
17169647Power Modulation for a Rotary Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) DeviceFebruary 2021February 2026Allow6010YesNo
17264223SMART NAVIGATION METHOD AND SYSTEM BASED ON TOPOLOGICAL MAPJanuary 2021October 2025Allow5710NoNo
17149943METHOD FOR IMPLEMENTING A LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING LIDAR DEVICE IN A MOTOR VEHICLEJanuary 2021August 2025Allow5510YesNo
17260485DEVICE AND METHOD FOR INSPECTING SENSOR SYSTEMJanuary 2021April 2025Abandon5110NoNo
17130521LIGHT SCANNERDecember 2020June 2021Allow600NoNo
17251749APPROACHES, APPARATUSES AND METHODS FOR LIDAR APPLICATIONS BASED ON-MODE-SELECTIVE FREQUENCY CONVERSIONDecember 2020September 2025Allow5710YesNo
17114456LIDAR WITH GUARD LASER BEAM AND ADAPTIVE HIGH-INTENSITY LASER BEAMDecember 2020December 2025Abandon6020NoNo
17101146LIDAR SYSTEM WITH SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIERNovember 2020February 2026Allow6011NoNo
17099086LiDAR with Signal-Resonance Range EnhancementNovember 2020May 2021Allow611NoNo
17086266TECHNIQUES FOR MITIGATING LAG-ANGLE EFFECTS FOR LIDARS SCANSOctober 2020April 2021Allow611YesNo
17032192LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHODSeptember 2020May 2024Allow4310YesNo
17024014Ladar System with Adaptive ReceiverSeptember 2020June 2021Allow900NoNo
17022522DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SCANNING MEASUREMENT OF THE DISTANCE TO AN OBJECTSeptember 2020January 2021Allow400NoNo
17019884WIRELESS CHARGING DEVICE AND OPERATION METHOD THEREOFSeptember 2020October 2024Allow4910NoNo
17010919SCANNING ASSEMBLY FOR A DETECTION SYSTEMSeptember 2020September 2024Allow4810YesNo
16978073OPTIMIZED TIME OF FLIGHT VISION CAMERA FOR A MULTI-CAMERA ENVIRONMENTSeptember 2020October 2024Allow4910NoNo
17000744Method and System For Laser Phase Tracking for Internal Reflection Subtraction in Phase-Encoded LidarAugust 2020February 2023Allow2910YesNo
16994109LIDAR WINDOW BLOCKAGE DETECTIONAugust 2020February 2021Allow610NoNo
16931218SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR IMPROVING DETECTION OF A RETURN SIGNAL IN A LIGHT RANGING AND DETECTION SYSTEMJuly 2020May 2023Abandon3440NoNo
16928487RAINBOW PARTICLE IMAGING VELOCIMETRY FOR DENSE 3D FLUID VELOCITY IMAGINGJuly 2020September 2024Allow5020NoYes
16928823METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SIDELOBE SUPPRESSION IN PHASE ENCODED DOPPLER LIDARJuly 2020January 2021Allow610YesNo
16927127INDUSTRIAL SAFETY SENSORJuly 2020December 2020Allow510NoNo
16912786LADAR SENSOR FOR LANDING, DOCKING AND APPROACHJune 2020June 2024Allow4801NoNo
16909306MULTIPLE PIXEL SCANNING LIDARJune 2020May 2022Allow2321NoNo
16829125PATTERN RECOGNITION USED TO CHARACTERIZE LIDAR WINDOW OBSTRUCTIONMarch 2020January 2024Allow4640YesNo
16648617TARGET TRACKING DEVICE COMPRISING A PHOTODETECTOR WITH QUANDRANTSMarch 2020May 2021Allow1420NoNo
16784745Lidar System with Semiconductor Optical AmplifierFebruary 2020September 2020Allow811YesNo
16783550PROVIDING SPATIAL DISPLACEMENT OF TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE MODES IN LIDAR SYSTEMFebruary 2020March 2021Allow1411YesNo
16780080System, Method, and Computer Program Product for Automatically Configuring a Detection DeviceFebruary 2020March 2021Allow1421YesNo
16773409LIDAR SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE COMPARATORS AND TIME-TO-DIGITAL CONVERTERSJanuary 2020November 2024Allow5720YesNo
16741475ESTIMATION OF MOTION USING LIDARJanuary 2020April 2023Abandon3910NoNo
16693157MULTI-BEAM LIDAR SYSTEMS WITH TWO TYPES OF LASER EMITTER BOARDS AND METHODS FOR DETECTION USING THE SAMENovember 2019April 2020Allow510YesNo
16686391DIRECTION AND DOPPLER SHIFT IN RANGING SYSTEMS AND METHODSNovember 2019October 2022Allow3510NoNo
16681663METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR LASER PHASE TRACKING FOR INTERNAL REFLECTION SUBTRACTION IN PHASE-ENCODED LIDARNovember 2019April 2020Allow600YesNo
16679110SCAN MIRROR SYSTEMS AND METHODSNovember 2019March 2021Allow1630NoNo
16658400METHOD FOR OPTICALLY SCANNING AND MEASURING AN ENVIRONMENT USING A 3D MEASUREMENT DEVICE AND NEAR FIELD COMMUNICATIONOctober 2019April 2024Allow5410NoNo
16564842LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHODSeptember 2019June 2020Allow911NoNo
16553426Photonics DeviceAugust 2019March 2024Allow5410NoNo
16539240ADAPTIVE CODING FOR LIDAR SYSTEMSAugust 2019January 2020Allow6010NoNo
16515356MULTI-WAVELENGTH RISLEY PRISMS FOR LASER BORE-SIGHTINGJuly 2019October 2019Allow300YesNo
16513071SPACE-BASED LIDAR SYSTEMJuly 2019July 2024Allow6020NoNo
16456426CLASSIFYING OBJECTS WITH ADDITIONAL MEASUREMENTSJune 2019October 2020Allow1521YesNo
16450534DELAY TIME CALIBRATION OF OPTICAL DISTANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODSJune 2019August 2024Allow6021YesNo
16445146SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR OPTICAL DISTANCE MEASUREMENTJune 2019February 2024Allow5610NoNo
16436903OPTICAL GROUND TRACKING APPARATUS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR USE WITH BURIED UTILITY LOCATORSJune 2019July 2022Allow3720NoNo
16464033RECEIVING DEVICE FOR AN OPTICAL DETECTION APPLIANCE, DETECTION APPLIANCE AND DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEMMay 2019April 2024Allow5920NoNo
16414969Reflectance Sensing with Time-of-Flight CamerasMay 2019September 2023Allow5210NoNo
16415748Parallel Photon CountingMay 2019April 2020Allow1110NoNo
16395598ACTIVELY ALIGNED SOLID-STATE LIDAR SYSTEMApril 2019January 2025Abandon6021NoNo
16393388ALIGNING SENSORS ON VEHICLES USING SENSOR OUTPUTApril 2019June 2024Allow6011NoNo
16390923SCAN PATTERNS FOR LIDAR SYSTEMSApril 2019April 2023Allow4810NoNo
16385931Dynamically Interlaced Laser Beam Scanning 3D Depth Sensing System and MethodApril 2019July 2023Allow5111NoNo
16383258ENERGY EFFICIENT, HIGH RESOLUTION LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING IMAGING RECEIVER WITH LARGE FIELD-OF-VIEWApril 2019July 2023Allow5111NoNo
16378836LONG-RANGE LASER RANGEFINDERApril 2019July 2020Allow1500YesNo
16379782SINGLE PASS PEAK DETECTION IN LIDAR SENSOR DATA STREAMApril 2019October 2022Allow4320NoNo
16378315ADJUSTING RECEIVER CHARACTERISTICS IN VIEW OF WEATHER CONDITIONSApril 2019August 2023Allow5321NoNo
16376009INDUSTRIAL SAFETY SENSORApril 2019March 2020Allow1110NoNo
163727583D RANGE IMAGING METHOD USING OPTICAL PHASED ARRAY AND PHOTO SENSOR ARRAYApril 2019November 2022Allow4400NoNo
16364604OVERSAMPLNG AND TRANSMITTER SHOOTING PATTERN FOR LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) SYSTEMMarch 2019June 2023Allow5111YesNo
16356046ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF LADAR SYSTEMS USING SPATIAL INDEX OF PRIOR LADAR RETURN DATAMarch 2019January 2020Allow1020NoNo
16356936LASER PROCESSING DEVICE AND LASER PROCESSING SYSTEMMarch 2019August 2019Allow500NoNo
16356922LASER PROCESSING DEVICE AND LASER PROCESSING SYSTEMMarch 2019August 2019Allow500NoNo
16299095Optical Sensor SystemMarch 2019March 2023Allow4911NoNo
16292367Integrated optoelectronic moduleMarch 2019March 2023Allow4830NoNo
16286227TRACKING APPARATUS AND TRACKING METHODFebruary 2019May 2023Abandon5110NoNo
16285191SENSING DEVICE WITH CONICAL REFLECTOR FOR MAKING TWO-DIMENSIONAL OPTICAL RADARFebruary 2019January 2023Allow4721YesNo
162835682-DIMENSIONAL STEERING SYSTEM FOR LIDAR SYSTEMSFebruary 2019November 2023Allow5660YesNo
16283577MULTI-WAVELENGTH PULSE STEERING IN LIDAR SYSTEMSFebruary 2019July 2023Allow5331YesNo
16280274LIDAR SENSING SYSTEMFebruary 2019April 2023Abandon5010NoNo
16270639DISTANCE MEASURING APPARATUS AND MOBILE BODY INCLUDING THE SAMEFebruary 2019October 2022Allow4420NoNo
16267638Range-Enabled Three-Dimensional Imaging System and Associated MethodsFebruary 2019July 2022Allow4212NoNo
16262984LEARNING METHOD AND LEARNING DEVICE FOR INTEGRATING IMAGE ACQUIRED BY CAMERA AND POINT-CLOUD MAP ACQUIRED BY RADAR OR LIDAR CORRESPONDING TO IMAGE AT EACH OF CONVOLUTION STAGES IN NEURAL NETWORK AND TESTING METHOD AND TESTING DEVICE USING THE SAMEJanuary 2019May 2019Allow300NoNo
16255502AIRBORNE LIDAR PULSE RATE MODULATIONJanuary 2019February 2023Allow4930NoNo
16240843MOBILE THREE-DIMENSIONAL MEASURING INSTRUMENTJanuary 2019March 2023Abandon5010NoNo
16236780COMPUTATION OF THE ANGLE OF INCIDENCE OF LASER BEAM AND ITS APPLICATION ON REFLECTIVITY ESTIMATIONDecember 2018October 2022Allow4520YesNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner NICKERSON, SAMANTHA K.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
5
Examiner Affirmed
1
(20.0%)
Examiner Reversed
4
(80.0%)
Reversal Percentile
90.4%
Higher than average

What This Means

With a 80.0% 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 NICKERSON, SAMANTHA K - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner NICKERSON, SAMANTHA K works in Art Unit 3645 and has examined 654 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 86.1%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 32 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner NICKERSON, SAMANTHA K's allowance rate of 86.1% places them in the 64% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by NICKERSON, SAMANTHA K receive 1.59 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 30% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues fewer office actions than average, which may indicate efficient prosecution or a more lenient examination style.

Prosecution Timeline

The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by NICKERSON, SAMANTHA K is 32 months. This places the examiner in the 52% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +15.1% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by NICKERSON, SAMANTHA K. This interview benefit is in the 54% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide an above-average benefit with this examiner and are worth considering.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 35.0% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 78% 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 47.8% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 72% 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, 36.4% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 35% 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.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 83.3% of appeals filed. This is in the 77% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 44.0% 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.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 25.4% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 13% 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 0.2% of allowed cases (in the 51% 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 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 38% 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:

  • 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.
  • Appeal filing as negotiation tool: This examiner frequently reconsiders rejections during the appeal process. Filing a Notice of Appeal may prompt favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.

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.