USPTO Examiner RATCLIFFE LUKE D - Art Unit 3645

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
19181277METHOD FOR DETERMINING ERROR COMPONENT OF PHOTOELECTRIC THEODOLITE AND METHOD FOR COMPENSATING ERROR COMPONENT OF PHOTOELECTRIC THEODOLITEApril 2025June 2025Allow200NoNo
18993152LIGHT GRID WITH DISTANCE MEASUREMENTJanuary 2025August 2025Allow710YesNo
18884949METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ARRAY BASED LIDAR SYSTEMS WITH REDUCED INTERFERENCESeptember 2024January 2025Allow510NoNo
18783026METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ARRAY BASED LIDAR SYSTEMS WITH REDUCED INTERFERENCEJuly 2024January 2025Allow610NoNo
18616886HIGH-ACCURACY, FAST, AND PHASE-BASED LASER RANGING METHODMarch 2024July 2024Allow300NoNo
18514635Systems and Methods for IQ DetectionNovember 2023January 2025Allow1410YesNo
18469002Method And System For Doppler Detection And Doppler Correction Of Optical Chirped Range DetectionSeptember 2023July 2025Allow2220YesNo
18459213INTEGRATED SENSOR ASSEMBLYAugust 2023May 2024Allow921YesNo
18452821Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) Device Range Aliasing Resilience by Multiple HypothesesAugust 2023July 2025Allow2310NoNo
184498863D VISION SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATICALLY CALIBRATED STEREO VISION SENSORS AND LIDAR SENSORAugust 2023August 2025Allow2410NoNo
18364969Multi-Wavelength LIDAR SystemAugust 2023February 2025Allow1900NoNo
18228460LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATIONJuly 2023September 2025Abandon2510NoNo
18355782POSITION-BASED LASER RANGE FINDERJuly 2023April 2025Allow2110NoNo
18223777SENSING ELEMENT HAVING PIXELS EXPOSED BY APERTURES INCREASING ALONG DIFFERENT DIRECTIONSJuly 2023March 2025Allow2010NoNo
18352798LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) SENSOR SYSTEM INCLUDING TRANSCEIVER DEVICEJuly 2023July 2025Allow2420YesNo
18350442Resolving Return Signals Among Pixels in Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) Lidar SystemsJuly 2023January 2026Abandon3010NoNo
18212568ROBUST LASER SCANNING FOR GENERATING A 3D MODELJune 2023July 2025Allow2410YesNo
18211601RANGEFINDER, SIGHTING APPARATUS AND SHOOTING AUXILIARY DEVICEJune 2023November 2023Allow510NoNo
18197448Remote Distance Estimation System and MethodMay 2023October 2025Allow2920NoNo
18143820MULTIPLE CHANNEL LOCATINGMay 2023June 2025Allow2520NoNo
18248693APD SENSOR AND RANGING SYSTEMApril 2023March 2026Allow3500NoNo
18296382THREE-DIMENSIONAL TOWERED CHECKERBOARD FOR MULTI-SENSOR CALIBRATION, AND LIDAR AND CAMERA JOINT CALIBRATION METHOD BASED ON THE CHECKERBOARDApril 2023December 2023Allow811NoNo
18194094Beam Displacement Apparatus for Light Detection and RangingMarch 2023April 2025Allow2510YesNo
18129157THREE-DIMENSIONAL HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING SYSTEMS AND METHODS USING A LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGING (LIDAR) FOCAL PLANE ARRAYMarch 2023June 2025Allow2720NoNo
18123759SINGLE APERTURE LASER RANGE FINDERMarch 2023March 2025Allow2410YesNo
18183748Eye-Safe Scanning LIDAR SystemMarch 2023March 2024Allow1220YesNo
18176851Processing Of Lidar ImagesMarch 2023October 2025Allow3200NoNo
18164995LIDAR Sensor Assembly Including Joint Coupling FeaturesFebruary 2023March 2025Allow2510NoNo
18104632LIDAR SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATIONFebruary 2023May 2023Allow300NoNo
18160836Systems and Methods for IQ DetectionJanuary 2023October 2023Allow920YesNo
18157951Laser Safety ComparatorJanuary 2023January 2026Allow3610YesNo
18064010DISTANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICEDecember 2022March 2026Allow3910NoNo
18063993Shot Reordering in Lidar SystemsDecember 2022February 2025Allow2610NoNo
17983352POINT CLOUD MOTION COMPENSATION METHOD AND APPARATUS, STORAGE MEDIUM, AND LIDARNovember 2022February 2026Allow4010NoNo
17982104OBJECT DETECTION SYSTEM AND OBJECT DETECTION METHODNovember 2022November 2025Abandon3610NoNo
17971069Three-Dimensional Object DetectionOctober 2022August 2025Allow3420YesNo
17958717TRANSIT LOCATION SYSTEMS AND METHODS USING LIDAROctober 2022July 2025Allow3410NoNo
17954470ELECTRONIC DEVICESeptember 2022November 2025Allow3810NoNo
17955460RANGE-FINDING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DATA COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE SAMESeptember 2022March 2025Allow3010NoNo
17935540LIDAR SENSOR THAT MEASURES HORIZONTAL ANGLE USING STEP DIFFERENCE AND LIGHT REFLECTANCESeptember 2022February 2026Allow4110NoNo
17951177LASER TRANSCEIVER SYSTEM, LIDAR, AND AUTONOMOUS DRIVING APPARATUSSeptember 2022February 2026Allow4110NoNo
17950796METHOD AND AEROSOL MEASURING DEVICE FOR DETERMINING THE PARTICLE VELOCITY OF AN AEROSOLSeptember 2022March 2026Allow4210NoNo
17950178Multiplexed Light Detection and Ranging ApparatusSeptember 2022October 2023Allow1311NoNo
17931081FLASH LADAR COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMSeptember 2022March 2025Allow3010NoNo
17901724OPTICAL DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING A HOSTILE OPTICAL COMPONENTSeptember 2022January 2026Allow4110NoNo
17821245Methods And Apparatus For Acoustic Backscatter CommunicationAugust 2022April 2025Allow3110NoNo
17890881LIDAR SENSOR SYSTEMAugust 2022August 2023Allow1220YesNo
17890990TECHNIQUES FOR ENHANCING LO AND RX OVERLAP IN FMCW LIDARS USING BIREFRINGENT CRYSTALSAugust 2022March 2023Allow710NoNo
17889865ONLINE LIDAR INTENSITY NORMALIZATIONAugust 2022February 2026Allow4210YesNo
17882181TECHNIQUES FOR INCREASING EFFICIENCY OF A WAVEGUIDE OF A LIDAR SYSTEMAugust 2022March 2025Allow3210YesNo
17797095APPARATUS FOR GENERATING BACKSCATTER HISTOGRAM DATA FOR DETERMINING A DIFFUSE BACKSCATTER DURING AN OPTICAL RUNTIME MEASUREMENT AND A METHODAugust 2022December 2025Allow4110NoNo
17880485AUTOMATIC MULTI-LASER BORE-SIGHTING FOR RIFLE MOUNTED CLIP-ON FIRE CONTROL SYSTEMSAugust 2022February 2026Abandon4310NoNo
17816842DATA ACQUISITION DEVICE, DATA CORRECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICEAugust 2022May 2025Allow3320NoNo
17874292Multi-line sensors in sensing systems for robotic applicationsJuly 2022February 2026Abandon4310NoNo
17872614OPTOELECTRONIC SENSOR AND METHOD FOR DETECTING AN OBJECT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLE OF TRIANGULATIONJuly 2022December 2024Allow2910NoNo
17870566SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PULSED-WAVE LIDARJuly 2022December 2024Allow2910NoNo
17759099THREE-DIMENSIONAL MEASUREMENT DEVICE FOR GENERATING THREE-DIMENSIONAL POINT POSITION INFORMATIONJuly 2022September 2025Allow3800NoNo
17813631SYSTEM AND METHOD OF IMPROVING LASER SCANNER UNAMBIGUITYJuly 2022September 2025Allow3800NoNo
178678263D VISION SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATICALLY CALIBRATED STEREO VISION SENSORS AND LIDAR SENSORJuly 2022June 2023Allow1120NoNo
17861745TECHNIQUES FOR DETECTION THRESHOLD ADJUSTMENT FOR KNOWN TARGET DETECTIONJuly 2022February 2026Allow4310NoNo
17861497TUNABLE LIDAR FOR SIMULTANEOUS RANGING AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORINGJuly 2022September 2025Allow3810NoNo
17858977Optical Switching for Tuning Direction of LIDAR Output SignalsJuly 2022February 2025Allow3210NoNo
17857961SURVEYING INSTRUMENTJuly 2022September 2024Allow2710NoNo
17856586POWER AND SECURITY ADJUSTMENT FOR FACE IDENTIFICATION WITH REFLECTIVITY DETECTION BY A RANGING SENSORJuly 2022August 2025Allow3810NoNo
17849366Techniques for Synchronization to Improve Scans in FMCW LiDAR SystemsJune 2022April 2025Allow3310YesNo
17846496DISTANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICE USING TWO ALGORITHMSJune 2022April 2025Allow3410NoNo
17826533DETECTION DEVICE AND DETECTION METHOD USING AVALANCHE DIODE ARRAY AND CALIBRATION MATRIX GENERATING METHOD THEREOFMay 2022July 2024Allow2510NoNo
17748777ADDRESSABLE PROJECTOR FOR DOT BASED DIRECT TIME OF FLIGHT DEPTH SENSINGMay 2022November 2025Allow4210YesNo
17745312TECHNIQUES FOR PEAK DETECTION IN A LIDAR SYSTEM USING WEIGHTED METRICS AND BAND SELECTIONMay 2022November 2025Allow4210NoNo
17739064Time-of-Flight Sensor with Structured Light IlluminatorMay 2022July 2025Allow3920YesNo
17735547AVALANCHE DIODE BASED DETECTION DEVICEMay 2022May 2024Allow2510NoNo
17731411SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGINGApril 2022May 2025Allow3720NoNo
17724509NON-SOLID MATERIAL DETECTION METHOD, NON-SOLID MATERIAL DETECTION DEVICE, DISTANCE COMPUTING DEIVCE, DISTANCE COMPUTING METHODApril 2022January 2026Allow4511NoNo
17715303HYBRID LIDAR RECEIVER AND LIDAR METHODSApril 2022July 2025Allow4011YesNo
17714296DISTANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEMApril 2022November 2025Abandon4410NoNo
17712842TECHNIQUES TO ASSOCIATE PEAKS IN MULTI-TARGET SCENARIOS IN COHERENT LIDAR SYSTEMSApril 2022September 2024Allow2920NoNo
17657667DISTANCE MEASURING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DETERMINING DIRT ON WINDOWApril 2022November 2025Allow4410NoNo
17710410TECHNIQUES FOR DOPPLER POINT SET REGISTRATIONMarch 2022April 2024Allow2410NoNo
17700976Surveying SystemMarch 2022November 2025Allow4410NoNo
17761953LIDAR SYSTEM FOR ANEMOMETRIC MEASUREMENTSMarch 2022May 2025Allow3800NoNo
17693641System and Method for Increasing Coherence Length in Lidar SystemsMarch 2022April 2024Allow2520NoNo
17688933Multi-sensor depth mappingMarch 2022December 2025Allow4510NoNo
17686697OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DISTANCE MEASUREMENTMarch 2022December 2025Allow4510NoNo
17678692METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BINOCULAR RANGINGFebruary 2022March 2024Allow2510NoNo
17674537LIDAR TRANSMIT/RECEIVE SYSTEMFebruary 2022April 2024Allow2610YesNo
17667148ULTRAFAST 3D IMAGING TECHNIQUE EMPLOYING EVENT-DRIVEN CAMERASFebruary 2022January 2026Allow4710YesNo
17431972VEHICULAR SENSING SYSTEM AND VEHICLEJanuary 2022July 2025Allow4610NoNo
17583190TIME-RESOLVING IMAGE SENSOR FOR RANGE MEASUREMENT AND 2D GREYSCALE IMAGINGJanuary 2022October 2023Allow2110NoNo
17628982SCHEIMPFLUG CORRELATION LIDARJanuary 2022November 2024Allow3400NoNo
17578085METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR INCREASED PRECISION AND IMPROVED RANGE IN A MULTIPLE DETECTOR LIDAR ARRAYJanuary 2022June 2025Allow4110NoNo
17627962RANGING SENSOR, METHOD FOR DRIVING THE SAME, AND RANGING MODULEJanuary 2022September 2025Allow4410NoNo
17575193LIDAR-DRIVEN MMWAVE BEAM MANAGEMENTJanuary 2022March 2025Allow3810YesNo
17568360AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE LIDAR SYSTEM USING A WAVEGUIDE ARRAYJanuary 2022July 2024Allow3030YesNo
17565347TECHNIQUES FOR FIBER TIP RE-IMAGING IN LIDAR SYSTEMSDecember 2021March 2024Allow2620YesNo
17563305RECEIVING SYSTEM FOR LIDAR, LIDAR AND METHOD FOR INHIBITING GHOST LINESDecember 2021August 2025Allow4310NoNo
17555655SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGINGDecember 2021September 2022Allow910NoNo
17545070TECHNIQUES FOR GENERATION OF HIGH BRIGHTNESS BEAMS USING A RIDGE WAVEGUIDEDecember 2021June 2022Allow610NoNo
17539913CONSTRUCTION VERIFICATION SYSTEM, METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTDecember 2021September 2024Allow3410NoNo
17531587HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR GEOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AND MARKING AN INTERSECTION POINTNovember 2021July 2025Allow4410NoNo
17530328COHERENT SIGNAL COMBINING WITH MULTIPLE-OUTPUTS FOR QUASI-CW LIDAR OPERATIONNovember 2021January 2024Allow2620YesNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner RATCLIFFE, LUKE D.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
14
Examiner Affirmed
10
(71.4%)
Examiner Reversed
4
(28.6%)
Reversal Percentile
45.3%
Lower than average

What This Means

With a 28.6% reversal rate, the PTAB affirms the examiner's rejections in the vast majority of cases. This reversal rate is below the USPTO average, indicating that appeals face more challenges here than typical.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
30
Allowed After Appeal Filing
14
(46.7%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
16
(53.3%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
75.6%
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, 46.7% 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 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 RATCLIFFE, LUKE D - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner RATCLIFFE, LUKE D works in Art Unit 3645 and has examined 1,385 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 89.4%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 32 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner RATCLIFFE, LUKE D's allowance rate of 89.4% places them in the 71% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by RATCLIFFE, LUKE D receive 1.48 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 25% 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 RATCLIFFE, LUKE D 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 +6.8% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by RATCLIFFE, LUKE D. This interview benefit is in the 35% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews provide a below-average benefit with this examiner.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 40.6% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 92% 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 43.9% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 67% 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, 107.7% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 79% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: Pre-appeal conferences are highly effective with this examiner compared to others. Before filing a full appeal brief, strongly consider requesting a PAC. The PAC provides an opportunity for the examiner and supervisory personnel to reconsider the rejection before the case proceeds to the PTAB.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 62.2% of appeals filed. This is in the 40% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 43.5% 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.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 39.0% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 28% 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 0.9% of allowed cases (in the 65% 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 0.2% of allowed cases (in the 52% percentile). This examiner issues Quayle actions more often than average when claims are allowable but formal matters remain (MPEP § 714.14).

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.
  • Request pre-appeal conferences: PACs are highly effective with this examiner. Before filing a full appeal brief, request a PAC to potentially resolve issues without full PTAB review.

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.