Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.
| Application Number | Title | Filing Date | Disposal Date | Disposition | Time (months) | Office Actions | Restrictions | Interview | Appeal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18868811 | Load Handling Device For A Transportation Unit And A Transportation Unit | November 2024 | March 2025 | Allow | 4 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18823273 | ELECTRICALLY POWERED POWER MACHINE | September 2024 | July 2025 | Allow | 10 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18798435 | APPARATUS FOR TRANSFERRING SUBSTRATE IN VACCUM CHAMBER | August 2024 | November 2024 | Allow | 3 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18648595 | WORKPIECE TRANSFER APPARATUS | April 2024 | September 2024 | Allow | 5 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18637965 | Robot Having Second Robot Arm with Second End Effector in A Second Retracted Position | April 2024 | October 2025 | Allow | 18 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18626565 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFER DEVICE INCLUDING HOUSING PROVIDED WITH FAN | April 2024 | February 2025 | Allow | 10 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18612521 | SUBSTRATE REVERSING METHOD WITH REVERSING MECHANISM | March 2024 | May 2025 | Allow | 14 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18436027 | INTELLIGENT GARBAGE SORTING ROBOT | February 2024 | July 2024 | Allow | 5 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18433016 | DIE INSPECTION SORTING SYSTEM WITH LIMITING GROOVE FORMED ON SURFACE OF LIMITING BLOCK | February 2024 | June 2025 | Allow | 17 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18294250 | GRIPPING DEVICE FOR CRATES | February 2024 | March 2026 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18417370 | MULTIPLE SEMICONDUCTOR DIE CONTAINER LOAD PORT | January 2024 | November 2024 | Allow | 10 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18575102 | OVERHEAD TRAVELING CARRIER WITH LEFT AND RIGHT ARMS AND SUPPORTS | December 2023 | March 2026 | Allow | 26 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18574817 | WAFER CLEANING APPARATUS AND WAFER TRANSFER DEVICE | December 2023 | January 2025 | Allow | 12 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18539613 | Transport Device with Muting Device | December 2023 | October 2025 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18532406 | Transport Vehicle with Grip Drive Section | December 2023 | March 2026 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18521446 | SUBSTRATE FLIPPING IN VACUUM FOR DUAL SIDED PVD SPUTTERING | November 2023 | November 2024 | Allow | 12 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18515616 | INTERFACE TOOL | November 2023 | December 2025 | Allow | 25 | 4 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18514818 | SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING A SUBSTRATE IN CLEANING MODULES | November 2023 | March 2026 | Allow | 27 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18509543 | SUBSTRATE HANDLING DEVICE WITH ADJUSTABLE JOINTS | November 2023 | October 2025 | Allow | 23 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18388550 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD | November 2023 | September 2024 | Allow | 10 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18559079 | HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT DEVICE AND PRODUCTION APPARATUS | November 2023 | November 2025 | Allow | 24 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18503133 | SYSTEM FOR A SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION FACILITY WITH A ROBOTIC ARM CONFIGURED TO ROTATE THE CARRIER | November 2023 | February 2026 | Allow | 27 | 4 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18484562 | APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE USING THE SAME | October 2023 | February 2026 | Allow | 28 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18554411 | GRIPPING DEVICE AND INDUSTRIAL ROBOT | October 2023 | July 2025 | Allow | 21 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18476223 | CALIBRATION OF AN ALIGNER STATION OF A PROCESSING SYSTEM | September 2023 | December 2025 | Allow | 27 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18551287 | PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE TRANSFER METHOD WITH FIRST AND SECOND SUCTION PATHS | September 2023 | October 2025 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18281383 | WORK MACHINE ARM, WORK IMPLEMENT, AND WORK MACHINE | September 2023 | October 2025 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18462429 | TRANSFER ROBOT | September 2023 | October 2025 | Allow | 26 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 18453917 | SUBSTRATE TREATING APPARATUS WITH POSTURE TURNING UNIT | August 2023 | January 2026 | Allow | 29 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18366488 | Tray Feeder Tray Pulling Mechanism | August 2023 | March 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18230929 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFER APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEM | August 2023 | March 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18358393 | TRANSFER APPARATUS | July 2023 | January 2026 | Allow | 30 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 18273050 | TIRE TRANSPORT APPARATUS | July 2023 | June 2025 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18352467 | APPARATUS FOR TRANSPORTING SUBSTRATE AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING SUBSTRATE | July 2023 | April 2025 | Abandon | 21 | 2 | 1 | Yes | No |
| 18349605 | OBJECT TRANSPORT SYSTEM | July 2023 | March 2026 | Allow | 32 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 18213339 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFERRING DEVICE | June 2023 | January 2026 | Allow | 31 | 4 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18211810 | Transport Apparatus With Pulley With A Non-Circular Profile | June 2023 | January 2025 | Allow | 19 | 0 | 1 | No | No |
| 18265168 | END EFFECTOR ATTACHMENT APPARATUS, END EFFECTOR, AND ROBOT ARM MECHANISM | June 2023 | September 2025 | Allow | 28 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18201270 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFER MECHANISM AND SUBSTRATE TRANSFERRING METHOD | May 2023 | January 2024 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18199438 | SKID-STEER LOADER IMPLEMENT | May 2023 | December 2023 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18317312 | DOCKING DEVICE WITH MOVEABLE FRAME AND SEALING COMPONENT | May 2023 | October 2024 | Allow | 17 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18035289 | INDUSTRIAL ROBOT | May 2023 | November 2025 | Allow | 31 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 18251317 | MANAGEMENT DEVICE AND MANAGEMENT METHOD, AND WORK DEVICE | May 2023 | March 2026 | Allow | 34 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18141673 | Robot Having Arm with Parallel Paths | May 2023 | January 2024 | Allow | 9 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18307900 | EXCAVATOR BOOM EXTENSION | April 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18139878 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFER SYSTEM AND ATMOSPHERIC TRANSFER MODULE | April 2023 | February 2025 | Abandon | 22 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18299019 | WAFER PICKING AND PLACING APPARATUS | April 2023 | March 2025 | Abandon | 23 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18132503 | X-SHAPED CROSS TUBE | April 2023 | December 2025 | Abandon | 32 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18190549 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD | March 2023 | June 2025 | Abandon | 27 | 4 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18182702 | TRANSFER ROBOT | March 2023 | January 2025 | Allow | 22 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18117593 | WAFER POD TRANSFER ASSEMBLY | March 2023 | January 2024 | Allow | 11 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18024508 | ROBOT AND SUBSTRATE ORIENTATION EXAMINATION METHOD | March 2023 | September 2025 | Allow | 30 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18024554 | SUBSTRATE CONVEYING ROBOT | March 2023 | November 2024 | Allow | 21 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18024498 | ROBOT AND HAND ORIENTATION ADJUSTMENT METHOD | March 2023 | March 2025 | Allow | 25 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18117259 | WAFER TRANSFER APPARATUS WITH ALIGNER | March 2023 | November 2024 | Allow | 21 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18024640 | SUBSTRATE CONVEYING ROBOT SYSTEM | March 2023 | April 2025 | Allow | 25 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18115044 | WAFER STOCKER | February 2023 | July 2023 | Allow | 5 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18107701 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATING LOAD LOCKS INTO A FACTORY INTERFACE FOOTPRINT SPACE | February 2023 | July 2024 | Allow | 17 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18161218 | Damping element for excavator buckets | January 2023 | March 2026 | Allow | 37 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18161583 | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS | January 2023 | January 2025 | Abandon | 24 | 2 | 0 | Yes | Yes |
| 18159360 | SUBSTRATE TREATING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE TRANSPORTING METHOD | January 2023 | November 2025 | Allow | 34 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18100974 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFER ROBOT FOR TRANSFERRING SUBSTRATE IN VACUUM CHAMBER | January 2023 | February 2025 | Allow | 25 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18154097 | SUBSTRATE LOADER | January 2023 | September 2025 | Abandon | 32 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18016044 | CONVEYING DEVICE AND ROBOT SYSTEM | January 2023 | May 2025 | Allow | 28 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 18154104 | PRE-ALIGNER | January 2023 | October 2025 | Abandon | 33 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 18145164 | TRANSPORT APPARATUS WITH LINEAR BEARING | December 2022 | July 2024 | Allow | 18 | 2 | 0 | Yes | Yes |
| 18010180 | Robot Head For The Withdrawal Of Glass Containers | December 2022 | March 2025 | Allow | 27 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18073559 | WAFER TRANSFER APPARATUS AND WAFER TRANSFER METHOD | December 2022 | December 2024 | Allow | 24 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 18071400 | METHOD AND SYSTEM OF OPERATING SUBSTRATE PROCESSING BY CALCULATING WAFER THICKNESS OUT OF WAFER MAPPING PROCESS | November 2022 | June 2025 | Allow | 30 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17999751 | LIFTING ATTACHMENT FOR LIFTING CONTAINERS | November 2022 | August 2025 | Allow | 33 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17925344 | TOOL FOR HANDLING SUBSTRATES WITH OVERHEAD SCREEN AND HANDLING METHODS AND EPITAXIAL REACTOR | November 2022 | March 2026 | Allow | 40 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17998010 | GRIPPING DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING A MAGNETIC DIPOLE ROD | November 2022 | July 2025 | Allow | 32 | 4 | 0 | No | No |
| 18051144 | SUBSTRATE TREATING APPARATUS | October 2022 | November 2023 | Allow | 13 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17972946 | WAFER CARRIER, WAFER ACCESS DEVICE AND WAFER CARRIER AND ACCESS ASSEMBLY HAVING THE SAME | October 2022 | August 2023 | Allow | 10 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 18049030 | ROTATIONAL INDEXER WITH ADDITIONAL ROTATIONAL AXES | October 2022 | February 2023 | Allow | 4 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17972187 | SEMICONDUCTOR CARRIER STORAGE SYSTEM, SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION SYSTEM INCLUDING THE SAME, AND SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION METHOD USING THE SAME | October 2022 | February 2026 | Allow | 40 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17965907 | Substrate Transport with Unequal Number of Drive Shafts and Arm Links | October 2022 | February 2024 | Allow | 16 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17771279 | DRIVE DEVICE | October 2022 | October 2025 | Abandon | 42 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17961882 | SUBSTRATE HANDLING DEVICE WITH ADJUSTABLE JOINTS | October 2022 | July 2023 | Allow | 10 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17938336 | SUBSTRATE HANDLING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF HANDLING SUBSTRATE | October 2022 | May 2024 | Allow | 19 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17934918 | SEMICONDUCTOR PROCESSING SYSTEMS USING JIGS | September 2022 | August 2025 | Allow | 35 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17913590 | SPREADER, CONTAINER HANDLING EQUIPMENT COMPRISING SPREADER, AND METHOD OF LIFTING A TRANSPORT CONTAINER | September 2022 | April 2025 | Allow | 31 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17912579 | SUBSTRATE TREATING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE REVERSING METHOD | September 2022 | December 2023 | Allow | 15 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17802137 | WAFER HANDLING ROBOT WITH RADIAL GAS CURTAIN AND/OR INTERIOR VOLUME CONTROL | August 2022 | May 2023 | Allow | 9 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17895167 | WORKPIECE TRANSFER METHOD AND WORKPIECE TRANSFER SYSTEM | August 2022 | March 2025 | Abandon | 31 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17801802 | SUBSTRATE HOLDING HAND AND SUBSTRATE TRANSFERRING ROBOT | August 2022 | November 2024 | Allow | 27 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17797731 | HORIZONTAL ARTICULATED ROBOT AND SUBSTRATE TRANSFER SYSTEM COMPRISING SAME | August 2022 | August 2025 | Allow | 36 | 3 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17856424 | GRIPPER TRUCK ASSEMBLY, MACHINING SYSTEM, AND METHOD OF MOVING A WORKPIECE WITH RESPECT TO A MACHINING STATION | July 2022 | January 2024 | Allow | 19 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17788647 | CONVEYANCE SYSTEM FOR TRANSFERRING FRAME WAFER | June 2022 | August 2023 | Allow | 14 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17807660 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFER APPARATUS | June 2022 | May 2024 | Abandon | 23 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17786090 | EQUIPMENT FOR THE LOGISTICS OF SLAB-SHAPED ARTICLES | June 2022 | June 2025 | Allow | 36 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17824408 | TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OF A CASSETTE AND METHOD OF AUTO TEACHING A POSITION OF A CASSETTE | May 2022 | March 2024 | Abandon | 22 | 2 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17779873 | SUBSTRATE TRANSFER APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEM | May 2022 | May 2023 | Allow | 11 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
| 17664666 | ROBOT | May 2022 | January 2025 | Abandon | 32 | 1 | 0 | No | No |
| 17742228 | VACUUM ROBOT APPARATUS FOR VARIABLE PITCH ACCESS | May 2022 | January 2024 | Abandon | 20 | 1 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17738051 | SKID-STEER LOADER IMPLEMENT | May 2022 | November 2022 | Allow | 7 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17723154 | Substrate Transfer Robot For Transferring Substrate In Vacuum Chamber | April 2022 | June 2024 | Allow | 26 | 0 | 0 | Yes | No |
| 17767874 | Working machine and assembly comprising such a machine | April 2022 | February 2025 | Allow | 35 | 3 | 0 | No | No |
| 17716396 | REPOSITIONABLE ROBOT RISER | April 2022 | April 2024 | Allow | 25 | 2 | 0 | No | No |
| 17657758 | MULTIPLE TRANSPORT CARRIER DOCKING DEVICE | April 2022 | January 2023 | Allow | 9 | 0 | 0 | No | No |
This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner MCCLAIN, GERALD.
With a 25.0% 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.
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, 47.1% 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.
⚠ 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 MCCLAIN, GERALD works in Art Unit 3652 and has examined 649 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 81.0%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 23 months.
Examiner MCCLAIN, GERALD's allowance rate of 81.0% places them in the 52% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.
On average, applications examined by MCCLAIN, GERALD receive 1.42 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 22% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues significantly fewer office actions than most examiners.
The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by MCCLAIN, GERALD is 23 months. This places the examiner in the 87% percentile for prosecution speed. Applications move through prosecution relatively quickly with this examiner.
Conducting an examiner interview provides a -0.1% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by MCCLAIN, GERALD. This interview benefit is in the 12% percentile among all examiners. Note: Interviews show limited statistical benefit with this examiner compared to others, though they may still be valuable for clarifying issues.
When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 24.9% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 37% 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 27.0% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 38% 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.
When applicants request a pre-appeal conference (PAC) with this examiner, 76.9% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 61% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: Pre-appeal conferences show above-average effectiveness with this examiner. If you have strong arguments, a PAC request may result in favorable reconsideration.
This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 74.2% of appeals filed. This is in the 63% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 39.1% occur early in the appeal process (after Notice of Appeal but before Appeal Brief). Strategic Insight: This examiner shows above-average willingness to reconsider rejections during appeals. The mandatory appeal conference (MPEP § 1207.01) provides an opportunity for reconsideration.
When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 62.0% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 67% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Note: Petitions show above-average success regarding this examiner's actions. Petitionable matters include restriction requirements (MPEP § 1002.02(c)(2)) and various procedural issues.
Examiner's Amendments: This examiner makes examiner's amendments in 1.4% of allowed cases (in the 71% 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 3.0% of allowed cases (in the 74% 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.