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
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
18459213INTEGRATED SENSOR ASSEMBLYAugust 2023May 2024Allow921YesNo
18364969Multi-Wavelength LIDAR SystemAugust 2023February 2025Allow1900NoNo
18355782POSITION-BASED LASER RANGE FINDERJuly 2023April 2025Allow2110NoNo
18223777SENSING ELEMENT HAVING PIXELS EXPOSED BY APERTURES INCREASING ALONG DIFFERENT DIRECTIONSJuly 2023March 2025Allow2010NoNo
18212568ROBUST LASER SCANNING FOR GENERATING A 3D MODELJune 2023July 2025Allow2410YesNo
18211601RANGEFINDER, SIGHTING APPARATUS AND SHOOTING AUXILIARY DEVICEJune 2023November 2023Allow510NoNo
18143820MULTIPLE CHANNEL LOCATINGMay 2023June 2025Allow2520NoNo
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
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
18063993Shot Reordering in Lidar SystemsDecember 2022February 2025Allow2610NoNo
17955460RANGE-FINDING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DATA COMMUNICATION WITHIN THE SAMESeptember 2022March 2025Allow3010NoNo
17950178Multiplexed Light Detection and Ranging ApparatusSeptember 2022October 2023Allow1311NoNo
17931081FLASH LADAR COLLISION AVOIDANCE SYSTEMSeptember 2022March 2025Allow3010NoNo
17821245Methods And Apparatus For Acoustic Backscatter CommunicationAugust 2022April 2025Allow3110NoNo
17890990TECHNIQUES FOR ENHANCING LO AND RX OVERLAP IN FMCW LIDARS USING BIREFRINGENT CRYSTALSAugust 2022March 2023Allow710NoNo
17890881LIDAR SENSOR SYSTEMAugust 2022August 2023Allow1220YesNo
17882181TECHNIQUES FOR INCREASING EFFICIENCY OF A WAVEGUIDE OF A LIDAR SYSTEMAugust 2022March 2025Allow3210YesNo
17816842DATA ACQUISITION DEVICE, DATA CORRECTION METHOD AND APPARATUS, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICEAugust 2022May 2025Allow3320NoNo
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
178678263D VISION SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATICALLY CALIBRATED STEREO VISION SENSORS AND LIDAR SENSORJuly 2022June 2023Allow1120NoNo
17858977Optical Switching for Tuning Direction of LIDAR Output SignalsJuly 2022February 2025Allow3210NoNo
17857961SURVEYING INSTRUMENTJuly 2022September 2024Allow2710NoNo
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
17735547AVALANCHE DIODE BASED DETECTION DEVICEMay 2022May 2024Allow2510NoNo
17731411SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGINGApril 2022May 2025Allow3720NoNo
17712842TECHNIQUES TO ASSOCIATE PEAKS IN MULTI-TARGET SCENARIOS IN COHERENT LIDAR SYSTEMSApril 2022September 2024Allow2920NoNo
17710410TECHNIQUES FOR DOPPLER POINT SET REGISTRATIONMarch 2022April 2024Allow2410NoNo
17761953LIDAR SYSTEM FOR ANEMOMETRIC MEASUREMENTSMarch 2022May 2025Allow3800NoNo
17693641System and Method for Increasing Coherence Length in Lidar SystemsMarch 2022April 2024Allow2520NoNo
17678692METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR BINOCULAR RANGINGFebruary 2022March 2024Allow2510NoNo
17674537LIDAR TRANSMIT/RECEIVE SYSTEMFebruary 2022April 2024Allow2610YesNo
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
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
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
17530328COHERENT SIGNAL COMBINING WITH MULTIPLE-OUTPUTS FOR QUASI-CW LIDAR OPERATIONNovember 2021January 2024Allow2620YesNo
17525889ANTI-FOULING SYSTEM FOR SUBMERGED STRUCTURES AND METHOD FOR PREVENTING BIOFOULINGNovember 2021August 2024Allow3320NoNo
17520189Hyper Temporal Lidar with Controllable Variable Laser Seed EnergyNovember 2021May 2022Allow710NoNo
17506608System and Method for Measuring the Position of a Moving ObjectOctober 2021October 2023Allow2410NoNo
17506397METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR VEHICLE ODOMETRY USING COHERENT RANGE DOPPLER OPTICAL SENSORSOctober 2021January 2025Allow3910NoNo
17451154BEAM STEERING LADAR SENSOROctober 2021September 2024Allow3520NoNo
175028643D MAPPING IN 2D SCANNING DISPLAYOctober 2021March 2025Allow4111YesNo
17599805PROCESSING OF LIDAR IMAGESSeptember 2021December 2022Allow1410YesNo
17488018METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ARRAY BASED LIDAR SYSTEMS WITH REDUCED INTERFERENCESeptember 2021April 2024Allow3120NoNo
17471732TECHNIQUES FOR DETECTING CROSS-TALK INTERFERENCES IN LIDAR IMAGING SENSORSSeptember 2021September 2023Allow2510YesNo
17471781TECHNIQUES FOR DETECTING CROSS-TALK INTERFERENCES IN LIDAR IMAGING SENSORS WITH MULTIPLE LIGHT SOURCESSeptember 2021February 2024Allow2910NoNo
17435771OPTICAL FLUID FLOW VELOCITY MEASUREMENTSeptember 2021February 2025Allow4110NoNo
17463860BEAM DISPLACEMENT APPARATUS FOR LIGHT DETECTION AND RANGINGSeptember 2021January 2023Allow1630YesNo
17463336MULTIPLE TARGET LIDAR SYSTEMAugust 2021January 2023Allow1740YesNo
17458393MULTI-BEAM LIDAR SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTION USING THE SAMEAugust 2021August 2023Allow2310YesNo
17410809SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SENSING AN EDGEAugust 2021November 2023Allow2720NoNo
17407754USING A TWO-DIMENSIONAL SCANNER TO SPEED REGISTRATION OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL SCAN DATAAugust 2021July 2023Allow2310NoNo
17405618RIFLESCOPE WITH TURRET ENCODER CONTROLLED LASER RANGEFINDERAugust 2021June 2023Allow2100NoNo
17391832Collision Avoidance DeviceAugust 2021April 2025Allow4410NoNo
17387309Optical Vibration Detection System and MethodJuly 2021June 2023Allow2210NoNo
17383070METHOD OF OPERATING A COORDINATE MEASUREMENT DEVICEJuly 2021August 2023Allow2510NoNo
17382128OPTICAL DISTANCE MEASUREMENT SYSTEM USING SOLID STATE BEAM STEERINGJuly 2021October 2024Allow3930NoNo
17300477IMAGING SUBSYSTEMJuly 2021September 2023Allow2611NoNo
17372486LIDAR SENSING DEVICEJuly 2021May 2024Allow3430YesNo
17421913FLOW RATE SENSOR DEVICE AND FLOW RATE SENSOR DEVICE EQUIPPED WITH COVERJuly 2021March 2025Abandon4410NoNo
17366768Long Range Steerable LIDAR SystemJuly 2021August 2024Allow3740YesNo
17357395Wavelength Division Multiplexed LIDARJune 2021December 2023Allow3010NoNo
17351625SENSING ELEMENT HAVING PIXELS EXPOSED BY APERTURE INCREASING ALONG PREDETERMINED DIRECTIONJune 2021April 2023Allow2210NoNo
17349767TECHNIQUES FOR DOPPLER POINT SET REGISTRATIONJune 2021February 2022Allow810NoNo
17347440SCATTERER MEASUREMENT METHOD AND SCATTERER MEASUREMENT APPARATUSJune 2021March 2025Abandon4510NoNo
17339763TECHNIQUES TO ASSOCIATE PEAKS IN MULTI-TARGET SCENARIOS IN COHERENT LIDAR SYSTEMSJune 2021February 2022Allow810YesNo
17336342AUTOMATIC CALIBRATION METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SPATIAL POSITION OF LASER RADAR AND CAMERA SENSORJune 2021November 2021Allow610NoNo
17333281TECHNIQUES FOR PERIODIC SYNCHRONIZATION OF LIGHT SYSTEMMay 2021April 2022Allow1020YesNo
17297668AUTONOMOUS OPTRONIC MODULE FOR GEOLOCATED TARGET POINTING FOR A PORTABLE SYSTEM, AND CORRESPONDING SYSTEMMay 2021August 2024Abandon3820NoNo
17329413SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PULSED-WAVE LIDARMay 2021April 2022Allow1120YesNo
17318311STRUCTURED LIGHT PROJECTION THROUGH THE MINIMIZATION OF VISUAL ARTIFACTS BY WAY OF DELIBERATELY INTRODUCED OPTICAL ABERRATIONSMay 2021March 2024Allow3400NoNo
17314603TARGETING SYSTEMMay 2021August 2023Allow2710NoNo
17307896REIMAGING IN A LIDAR SYSTEMMay 2021December 2021Allow710YesNo
17244051TIME-OF-FLIGHT SENSOR AND METHOD OF MEASURING DISTANCE USING THE SAMEApril 2021April 2025Allow4710YesNo
17240676High Speed, Solid State Micromachining DeviceApril 2021February 2024Abandon3400NoNo
17234672MULTIPLE PIXEL SCANNING LIDARApril 2021July 2024Abandon3810NoNo
17232863SYSTEM FOR COHERENT IMAGING IN DYNAMIC ENGAGEMENTSApril 2021September 2023Allow2910NoNo
17285484CONTACTLESS POWER SUPPLY AND DATA COMMUNICATION DEVICE, AND SYSTEM HAVING ROTATION-DRIVE UNIT, USING SAMEApril 2021January 2025Abandon4510NoNo
17230567System and Method For Verifying ADAS Calibration Target SelectionApril 2021January 2025Allow4520YesNo
17228339LIDAR TRANSMIT/RECEIVE SYSTEMApril 2021March 2022Allow1220YesNo
17228346LIDAR TRANSMIT/RECEIVE SYSTEMApril 2021November 2021Allow710NoNo

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
11
Examiner Affirmed
8
(72.7%)
Examiner Reversed
3
(27.3%)
Reversal Percentile
42.2%
Lower than average

What This Means

With a 27.3% 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
27
Allowed After Appeal Filing
13
(48.1%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
14
(51.9%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
74.9%
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 above the USPTO average, suggesting that filing an appeal can be an effective strategy for prompting reconsideration.

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 1,414 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 90.0%, 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 90.0% places them in the 70% 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 1.46 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 34% 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 RATCLIFFE, LUKE D is 32 months. This places the examiner in the 33% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly slower than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +6.5% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by RATCLIFFE, LUKE D. This interview benefit is in the 34% 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, 40.8% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 91% 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 45.2% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 63% 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, 116.7% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 80% 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 66.7% of appeals filed. This is in the 46% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 45.5% 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, 37.0% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 33% 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 0.8% of allowed cases (in the 66% 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 45% 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.
  • 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.