USPTO Examiner WALKER CHRISTOPHER RICHARD - Art Unit 3645

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
18674783METHOD FOR DETECTING STRUCTURAL ABNORMAL AREA OF COAL AND ROCK MASSMay 2024August 2024Allow300NoNo
18459153SYNTHETIC SUBTERRANEAN SOURCEAugust 2023September 2024Allow1310NoNo
18341824ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCER WITH TRAPEZOIDAL, IRREGULARLY PITCHED, OR WIDENED TRANSDUCER ELEMENTSJune 2023April 2025Allow2110NoNo
18140990BEAMFORMING SONAR SYSTEMS FOR 360-DEGREE LIVE SONAR, AND ASSOCIATED METHODSApril 2023March 2025Allow2210YesNo
18005435SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADAPTIVELY REDUCING ACOUSTIC REFLECTIONS IN CAPACITIVE TRANSDUCERSJanuary 2023March 2025Allow2600NoNo
18150534METHOD OF OPERATING ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCERS, CORRESPONDING CIRCUIT AND DEVICEJanuary 2023June 2025Allow2910NoNo
18088599METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR POSITIONING AND CORRECTING VISUAL DATA BY SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHIC PROFILESDecember 2022March 2025Allow2610NoNo
18001958SYSTEMS AND METHODS CONFIGURED TO ENABLE POSITIONAL AND QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF NOISE EMISSIONS IN A TARGET AREADecember 2022November 2024Abandon2310NoNo
17992952SEISMIC ACQUISITION SYSTEM BASED ON FREQUENCY DOMAIN EXPANSION MEMS SENSORNovember 2022September 2024Allow2230NoNo
17993804OPTICAL MICROPHONENovember 2022March 2025Abandon2810NoNo
17918554ULTRASOUND DEVICE AND ULTRASOUND SYSTEM INCLUDING THE SAMEOctober 2022June 2025Abandon3220NoNo
17995170BEAMFORM PROCESSING FOR SONIC IMAGING USING MONOPOLE AND DIPOLE SOURCESSeptember 2022September 2024Allow2300NoNo
17915715ATTACHMENT FOR ULTRASONIC-WAVE TRANSMITTER/RECEIVERSeptember 2022November 2024Allow2610NoNo
17902563ULTRASONIC ARRAY TRANSCEIVER METHOD AND MODULE THEREOFSeptember 2022May 2024Allow2010NoNo
17908681MARINE SEISMIC IMAGINGSeptember 2022January 2025Allow2820YesNo
17823890METHOD OF STRATIGRAPHIC CALIBRATIONAugust 2022January 2025Allow2920NoYes
17889786MULTIPOLE SHEAR WAVE SPLITTINGAugust 2022November 2024Allow2720NoNo
17800145TRAJECTORY ESTIMATION DEVICE, TRAJECTORY ESTIMATION SYSTEM, TRAJECTORY ESTIMATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM RECORDING MEDIUMAugust 2022December 2024Allow2820NoNo
17798229WIND SPEED SPECIFICATION SYSTEM, WIND SPEED SPECIFICATION DEVICE, AND WIND SPEED SPECIFICATION METHODAugust 2022April 2025Abandon3230NoNo
17760335SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY ACQUIRING WIDE AZIMUTH AND OCEAN BOTTOM NODE SURVEYSAugust 2022June 2024Allow2210YesNo
17797711MANUAL ACOUSTIC AXIS ALIGNING METHOD FOR ULTRASONIC SOUND FIELD MEASURING SYSTEMAugust 2022April 2025Allow3210NoNo
17872412TARGET VELOCITY VECTOR DISPLAY SYSTEM, AND TARGET VELOCITY VECTOR DISPLAY METHOD AND PROGRAMJuly 2022November 2024Abandon2820NoNo
17813376SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ACOUSTIC BASED GESTURE TRACKING AND RECOGNITION USING SPIKING NEURAL NETWORKJuly 2022April 2025Allow3310NoNo
17812541TRIPLET ACOUSTIC RING ASSEMBLY, NESTED ARRAY, AND METHODJuly 2022May 2024Allow2210NoNo
17809308INTERFACE SENSOR AND OPERATING METHOD OF AN INTERFACE SENSORJune 2022May 2024Allow2310NoNo
17808651PUMP HARMONIC NOISE ADVISORJune 2022July 2024Allow2430YesNo
17836641UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE DETECTORJune 2022July 2024Abandon2520NoNo
17782367SPECTRAL ANALYSIS AND MACHINE LEARNING OF ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE OF WIRELINE STICKINGJune 2022August 2024Abandon2610NoNo
17735891APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR INSTALLING SENSOR DEVICE TO ACHIEVE A KNOWN MAGNETIC ORIENTATIONMay 2022June 2024Abandon2621NoNo
17733208ULTRASONIC DISTANCE SENSOR AND A METHOD FOR PROTECTING AN ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER IN AN ULTRASONIC DISTANCE SENSORApril 2022September 2024Allow2910NoNo
17773513ULTRASONIC TRANSCEIVERApril 2022April 2025Abandon3620NoNo
17723681OBSTACLE DETECTION APPARATUSApril 2022March 2024Allow2310NoNo
17719522ACOUSTIC WAVE ELEMENT, ACOUSTIC WAVE FILTER DEVICE, AND MULTIPLEXERApril 2022February 2025Allow3420YesNo
17713590ACOUSTIC WAVE RESONATOR, FILTER, AND MULTIPLEXERApril 2022December 2024Allow3310NoNo
17696400SIGNAL PROCESSING DEVICE, SIGNAL PROCESSING METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUMMarch 2022December 2023Allow2110YesNo
17693968UNDERWATER ULTRASONIC DEVICESMarch 2022July 2024Abandon2820NoNo
17689687METHOD FOR LOCATING SEISMIC ENERGY SOURCES FOR SUBSURFACE SURVEYINGMarch 2022March 2023Allow1200NoNo
17683258SEAFLOOR MULTI-WAVE SEISMIC SOURCE AND SEAFLOOR EXPLORATION SYSTEMFebruary 2022July 2023Allow1610YesNo
17637146WAVE SOURCE DIRECTION ESTIMATION DEVICE, WAVE SOURCE DIRECTION ESTIMATION METHOD, AND PROGRAM RECORDING MEDIUMFebruary 2022July 2024Abandon2920NoNo
17675245SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE RESONATOR, FILTER, AND COMMUNICATION DEVICEFebruary 2022January 2025Allow3520NoNo
17651300ACOUSTIC WAVE FILTER WITH MULTIPLE ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICES ON A SUBTRATEFebruary 2022March 2025Allow3720NoNo
17650987ATTITUDE SYNCHRONOUS SONAR SYSTEMFebruary 2022February 2024Abandon2420NoNo
17635304IMAGE PROCESSING APPARATUS, SYSTEM, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, AND IMAGE PROCESSING PROGRAMFebruary 2022July 2024Allow2920NoNo
17669606Cellular Automaton for Use in Long-Range Acoustic NetworksFebruary 2022November 2023Allow2120NoNo
17650206ULTRASONIC SENSORFebruary 2022December 2023Allow2200NoNo
17585599ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCER ARRAY COMBINATION AND ULTRASONIC IMAGING SYSTEM THEREOFJanuary 2022August 2023Abandon1910NoNo
17647887METHOD TO DETERMINE DRILLING-INDUCED ROCK DAMAGEJanuary 2022December 2024Allow3520NoNo
17647799METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SEISMIC PROCESSING USING VIRTUAL TRACE BINS BASED ON OFFSET ATTRIBUTES AND AZIMUTHAL ATTRIBUTESJanuary 2022January 2024Allow2420YesNo
17574468SYSTEM AND A METHOD FOR DETERMINING POSITIONS OF SENSOR UNITSJanuary 2022March 2024Abandon2620YesNo
17563808ON-DEVICE USER PRESENCE DETECTION USING LOW POWER ACOUSTICS IN THE PRESENCE OF MULTI-PATH SOUND PROPAGATIONDecember 2021March 2024Allow2730YesNo
17561697Method and Device for Increasing the Efficiency of an Emitting AntennaDecember 2021August 2024Abandon3210NoNo
17622135Communication System, Slave Station, and Communication MethodDecember 2021September 2024Abandon3330NoNo
17619885OPTICAL FIBER SENSING SYSTEM AND SOUND SOURCE POSITION IDENTIFICATION METHODDecember 2021January 2025Abandon3720NoNo
17617237METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING TOP AND BOTTOM DEPTH OF AN UNDER WATER MUD LAYERDecember 2021March 2025Allow3930NoNo
17614283SEISMIC SENSOR AND METHODS RELATED THERETONovember 2021January 2024Allow2600NoNo
17522019PIEZOELECTRIC TRANSDUCER WITH MODEL-BASED FIELD EQUALIZATIONNovember 2021March 2024Allow2800YesNo
17512354SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADVANCED SEISMIC SENSORSOctober 2021August 2023Abandon2210NoNo
17483639METHODS AND APPARATUS TO ADJUST TIME DIFFERENCE OF ARRIVAL DISTANCE VALUES USED FOR SOURCE LOCALIZATIONSeptember 2021June 2025Allow4410YesNo
17482319BODY VOLUME/SHAPE DETERMINATION USING HANDHELD DEVICESSeptember 2021August 2023Allow2320YesNo
17441372Low-Frequency Seismic Survey DesignSeptember 2021February 2025Allow4140NoNo
17447477TECHNIQUES TO RECONSTRUCT DATA FROM ACOUSTICALLY CONSTRUCTED IMAGES USING MACHINE LEARNINGSeptember 2021September 2024Allow3630NoNo
17470309ULTRASONIC SENSORSeptember 2021July 2024Allow3410NoNo
17435738END-FIRE SYNTHETIC APERTURE SONARSeptember 2021April 2024Abandon3210NoNo
17434250SEISMIC ACQUISITION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SEABED MINERAL EXPLORATIONAugust 2021June 2024Abandon3310NoNo
17422515MACRO COMPRESSED SENSING DATA ACQUISITIONJuly 2021May 2025Allow4630NoNo
17374320SYNTHETIC SUBTERRANEAN SOURCEJuly 2021July 2023Allow2410YesNo
17416794METHOD FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE OF A SODAR SYSTEMJune 2021March 2024Allow3320YesNo
17309719NETWORKED ACOUSTIC SENSOR UNITS FOR AN ECHO-BASED ENVIRONMENT DETECTIONJune 2021January 2025Abandon4340NoNo
17296855SEISMIC SOURCE AND WAVE DETECTOR INTEGRATED DEVICE AND METHOD FOR SEISMIC WAVE EXPLORATIONMay 2021November 2023Allow2910NoNo
17296761ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE CONTROL METHODMay 2021March 2023Allow2210NoNo
17320140METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING SEPARATION OF A PLURALITY OF MOVING OBJECTSMay 2021October 2023Abandon2910NoNo
17291850HYDROACOUSTIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEM AND RECEIVING APPARATUSMay 2021September 2023Allow2810NoNo
17288043METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ADAPTIVE BEAMFORMING OF ULTRASOUND SIGNALSApril 2021November 2024Allow4320NoNo
17286767SONAR SYSTEMApril 2021November 2023Allow3010NoNo
17286482METHOD FOR USING AN ACTIVE SONAR WITH A WIDE SPECTRAL EMISSION BAND AND SONAR SYSTEMApril 2021February 2024Allow3410NoNo
17232163SOUND VELOCITY PROFILE INVERSION METHOD BASED ON INVERTED MULTI-BEAM ECHO SOUNDERApril 2021May 2023Allow2500NoNo
17220423OBJECT DETECTION DEVICEApril 2021April 2023Allow2410YesNo
17218274METHOD FOR WALL DETECTION AND LOCALIZATIONMarch 2021April 2024Allow3720YesNo
17138940MULTI-MODE DISPERSION ENERGY IMAGING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR A FOUR-COMPONENT MARINE INTERFACE WAVE OF AN OCEAN BOTTOM SEISMOMETERDecember 2020December 2022Allow2310NoNo
17138984SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ULTRASONIC SIGNAL NOISE REMOVAL USING A DEEP NEURAL NETWORKDecember 2020March 2023Allow2610NoNo
17256672FPGA-BASED REAL-TIME PROCESSING SYSTEM AND METHOD APPLIED TO UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC POSITIONING AND REALIZING RECONFIGURABILITY AND MULTIPLE OUTPUTDecember 2020February 2024Allow3810YesNo
17058943ACOUSTIC BIOMETRIC IMAGING SYSTEM WITH ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE MATCHED OPAQUE MASKING LAYER, AND MANUFACTURING METHODNovember 2020April 2024Abandon4010NoNo
17076170SYSTEM FOR DETECTING DIRECTION OF A VEHICLE HONK AND DETERMINING LOCATION OF HONKING VEHICLEOctober 2020December 2022Allow2610YesNo
17025441SOUND SOURCE LOCALIZATION AUDIO TYPE DETECTIONSeptember 2020August 2024Allow4740YesNo
16978216ULTRASONIC-WAVE TRANSMITTER/ RECEIVERSeptember 2020February 2024Abandon4220NoNo
16968172Audio Receiver Device Calibration for Audio Communications Between a Broadcaster Device and a Receiver DeviceAugust 2020June 2024Allow4620YesNo
16925541METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DIRECTION FINDING AND CHANNEL SOUNDING USING PSEUDO-DOPPLER ANTENNA ARRAYJuly 2020October 2024Allow5130NoNo
16825986UNDERWATER POSITIONING SYSTEMMarch 2020September 2023Allow4211YesNo
16795201TECHNOLOGIES FOR DYNAMIC, REAL-TIME, FOUR-DIMENSIONAL VOLUMETRIC MULTI-OBJECT UNDERWATER SCENE SEGMENTATIONFebruary 2020November 2023Allow4530NoNo
16512429ULTRASONIC APPARATUSJuly 2019September 2023Allow5030YesNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner WALKER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
1
Allowed After Appeal Filing
0
(0.0%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
1
(100.0%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
7.2%
Lower 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, 0.0% of applications that filed an appeal were subsequently allowed. This appeal filing benefit rate is in the bottom 25% across the USPTO, indicating that filing appeals is less effective here than in most other areas.

Strategic Recommendations

Filing a Notice of Appeal shows limited benefit. Consider other strategies like interviews or amendments before appealing.

Examiner WALKER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner WALKER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD works in Art Unit 3645 and has examined 89 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 73.0%, this examiner has a below-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 28 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner WALKER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD's allowance rate of 73.0% places them in the 29% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has a below-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by WALKER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD receive 1.57 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 41% 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 WALKER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD is 28 months. This places the examiner in the 53% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +30.5% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by WALKER, CHRISTOPHER RICHARD. This interview benefit is in the 82% percentile among all examiners. Recommendation: Interviews are highly effective with this examiner and should be strongly considered as a prosecution strategy. Per MPEP § 713.10, interviews are available at any time before the Notice of Allowance is mailed or jurisdiction transfers to the PTAB.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 40.0% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 90% 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 27.6% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 30% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner shows below-average receptiveness to after-final amendments. You may need to file an RCE or appeal rather than relying on after-final amendment entry.

Pre-Appeal Conference Effectiveness

When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 0.0% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 16% percentile among all examiners. Note: Pre-appeal conferences show limited success with this examiner compared to others. While still worth considering, be prepared to proceed with a full appeal brief if the PAC does not result in favorable action.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 100.0% of appeals filed. This is in the 96% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 100.0% 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, 40.0% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 40% 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 0.0% 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 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 33% 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:

  • Prioritize examiner interviews: Interviews are highly effective with this examiner. Request an interview after the first office action to clarify issues and potentially expedite allowance.
  • 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.