USPTO Examiner MERLINO DAVID P - Art Unit 3665

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
18845201Vehicle Travel Control Method and Vehicle Travel Control DeviceSeptember 2024February 2025Allow520NoNo
18752907METHODS FOR COOPERATIVE DECISION-MAKING ON LANE-CHANGING BEHAVIORS OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES BASED ON BAYESIAN GAMEJune 2024August 2024Allow200NoNo
18693031Driving Control Method and Driving Control DeviceMarch 2024July 2025Allow1520YesNo
18691274Driving Control Method and Driving Control DeviceMarch 2024June 2025Allow1530NoNo
18438204SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VIRTUALLY TOWING AN AUTONOMOUS ELECTRIC-POWERED TRAILERFebruary 2024April 2025Allow1430YesNo
18506500Continuing Lane Driving PredictionNovember 2023March 2025Allow1620NoNo
18480809BIG TELEMATICS DATA CONSTRUCTING SYSTEMOctober 2023June 2024Allow810NoNo
18364918BIG TELEMATICS DATA NETWORK COMMUNICATION FAULT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEMAugust 2023March 2025Allow2020YesNo
18221324Methods and Systems for Generating Revised Jam ConditionsJuly 2023June 2025Allow2430YesNo
18341231SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MATCHING AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE TO A RIDERJune 2023June 2025Allow2320NoNo
18339986PREDICTION OF PEDESTRIAN ENTERING THE DRIVABLE SPACEJune 2023October 2024Allow1610YesNo
18338915DRIVING PATTERNSJune 2023September 2024Allow1510NoNo
18298772System, Method and Software for Displaying a Distance MarkingApril 2023January 2025Allow2120NoNo
18123907Navigation with Drivable Area DetectionMarch 2023March 2025Allow2400NoNo
18113453AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF VEHICLE MOVEMENT TO FACILITATE LANE-SPLITTINGFebruary 2023March 2025Abandon2560YesNo
18109871METHOD FOR AUTONOMOUSLY WEEDING CROPS IN AN AGRICULTURAL FIELDFebruary 2023February 2025Allow2420YesNo
18017424WORK VEHICLE HAVING A CONTROLLER THAT CONTROLS THE HYDRAULIC CYLINDERS AND THE ELECTRICALLY DRIVEN MOTOR ON A BASIS OF A DISTRIBUTION RATIO OF A FIRST TORQUE AND A DISTRIBUTION RATIO OF A SECOND TORQUEJanuary 2023April 2025Allow2710NoNo
18154892PHOTOMETRIC STEREO FOR VEHICLE NAVIGATIONJanuary 2023February 2025Allow2510YesNo
18088707TEST METHOD FOR AUTOMATIC DRIVING, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICEDecember 2022June 2025Abandon3010NoNo
18145223SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CAPTURING AND OFFLOADING DIFFERENT INFORMATION BASED ON EVENT TRIGGER TYPEDecember 2022July 2024Allow1920NoNo
18002589ROCKET CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING LANDING OPERATION OF ROCKETDecember 2022January 2025Allow2510NoNo
18068558SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR VEHICLE MOTION PLANNINGDecember 2022August 2024Allow2010NoNo
18064992VEHICLE POSITIONING ABNORMALITY INSPECTION METHOD AND CAR COMPUTERDecember 2022February 2025Allow2710YesNo
18079139EMERGENCY VEHICLE INTERACTIONDecember 2022April 2025Allow2850YesNo
17976477DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM AND METHODOctober 2022July 2024Allow2120YesNo
18050590Gaming To Improve Route GuidanceOctober 2022August 2024Allow2200NoNo
17940384VALIDATION OF OCCLUSIONS IDENTIFIED WITHIN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DRIVING ENVIRONMENTSSeptember 2022November 2024Allow2710YesNo
17905015SELF-LOCALIZATION DEVICEAugust 2022September 2024Allow2510NoNo
17819316Sensor matrix for rider monitoringAugust 2022February 2025Abandon3010NoNo
17686361AN AUTONOMOUS WORKING SYSTEM, AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE AND A TURNING METHOD THEREOFMarch 2022October 2024Abandon3221YesNo
17666043MOVEMENT CONTROL SYSTEM AND MOVING OBJECTFebruary 2022April 2025Allow3820YesNo
17562926SYSTEM AND METHOD OF USING A MACHINE LEARNING MODEL TO PLAN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES ROUTESDecember 2021December 2024Abandon3620NoNo
17452419SIMULATOR FOR EVALUATING VEHICULAR LANE CENTERING SYSTEMOctober 2021July 2024Allow3320NoNo
17449623SYSTEM AND METHOD IN VEHICLE PATH PREDICTION BASED ON ODOMETRY AND INERTIAL MEASUREMENT UNITSeptember 2021April 2025Allow4230NoNo
17467391NAVIGATION WITH SUN GLARE INFORMATIONSeptember 2021December 2024Abandon3940YesNo
17404386ELECTRIC MARINE PROPULSION SYSTEM AND CONTROL METHOD WITH EMERGENCY DEPLETION MODEAugust 2021May 2025Abandon4531NoNo
17423739METHOD FOR TRAINING A TRAJECTORY FOR A VEHICLE, AND ELECTRONIC VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEMJuly 2021February 2025Allow4340NoNo
17370617METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING AIRCRAFTJuly 2021June 2024Allow3520NoNo
17276356UNDERWATER VEHICLE SYSTEM AND WORKING METHODMarch 2021October 2024Allow4330YesNo
17200353CONNECTED VEHICLE MANEUVERING MANAGEMENT FOR A SET OF VEHICLESMarch 2021May 2025Abandon5060YesNo
17110337DRIVING ASSISTANCE CONTROL APPARATUS, DRIVING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM, AND DRIVING ASSISTANCE CONTROL METHOD FOR VEHICLEDecember 2020September 2024Allow4640YesNo
15835990ENHANCED VEHICLE MONITORINGDecember 2017April 2020Allow2820NoNo
15794098ENHANCED VEHICLE MONITORINGOctober 2017April 2020Allow2920NoNo
15421557SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NOTIFYING AN OCCUPANT OF A CAUSE FOR A DEVIATION IN A VEHICLEFebruary 2017September 2019Allow3120YesNo
15373529DRIVING FORCE CONTROL SYSTEM FOR VEHICLEDecember 2016December 2018Allow2500NoNo
15341634VEHICLE BEHAVIOR CONTROL DEVICENovember 2016November 2019Allow3631YesNo
15334328Method for Detecting a Malfunction of at Least One Sensor for Controlling a Restraining Device of a Vehicle, Control Apparatus and VehicleOctober 2016December 2018Allow2510NoNo
15128011ROTATION DRIVE APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTION MACHINESeptember 2016August 2018Allow2310YesNo
15125979DAMPER CONTROL DEVICESeptember 2016August 2018Allow2310NoNo
15183566AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE STEERING CONTROL METHODS AND SYSTEMSJune 2016May 2018Allow2311NoNo
14890414APPARATUS FOR GUIDING AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE TOWARDS A DOCKING STATIONNovember 2015September 2018Allow3430YesNo
14654419Method for Combined Determining of a Momentary Roll Angle of a Motor Vehicle and a Momentary Roadway Cross Slope of a Curved Roadway Section Traveled by the Motor VehicleJune 2015August 2017Allow2620NoNo
14739313METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A MULTI-MODE POWERTRAIN SYSTEM INCLUDING AN ENGINE HAVING STOP/START CAPABILITYJune 2015May 2017Allow2311NoNo
14697406MOBILE TERMINAL AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE MOBILE TERMINALApril 2015October 2017Allow3030NoNo
14682215Transporting Residue of Vehicle Position Data Via Wireless NetworkApril 2015December 2016Allow2010YesNo
14682222Transporting Residue of Vehicle Position Data Via Wireless NetworkApril 2015August 2016Allow1600NoNo
14682239Transporting Residue of Vehicle Position Data Via Wireless NetworkApril 2015August 2016Allow1600NoNo
14127077Motor Vehicle Having a Driver Assistance UnitDecember 2013April 2016Allow2820NoNo
14070051CONTROL APPARATUS FOR HYBRID VEHICLENovember 2013February 2015Allow1600NoNo
14066752SHOVEL AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING SHOVELOctober 2013August 2014Allow1020YesNo
13976614ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLESeptember 2013November 2015Allow2920NoNo
13919001Method and device for vehicle stop and starting and position-lamps displaySeptember 2013June 2016Allow3641NoNo
13967263METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING SPACECRAFT MANEUVERSAugust 2013September 2014Allow1300NoNo
13960768WEARABLE ELECTRONIC APPARATUS, DATA ANALYZER, AND TRAVEL RECORD CONTROL METHODAugust 2013February 2016Allow3140NoNo
13202917ELECTRIC POWER STEERING APPARATUSJune 2013October 2014Allow3810NoNo
13989222ROUTE SELECTION SYSTEM, METHOD AND PROGRAMMay 2013August 2014Allow1520YesNo
13832481TRANSPORTING RESIDUE OF VEHICLE POSITION DATA VIA WIRELESS NETWORKMarch 2013January 2015Allow2211YesNo
13829699CONTROL APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR VEHICLEMarch 2013April 2015Allow2520YesNo
13798381APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING A SEAT OCCUPANCYMarch 2013April 2014Allow1410NoNo

Appeals Overview

No appeal data available for this record. This may indicate that no appeals have been filed or decided for applications in this dataset.

Examiner MERLINO, DAVID P - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner MERLINO, DAVID P works in Art Unit 3665 and has examined 64 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 87.5%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 25 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner MERLINO, DAVID P's allowance rate of 87.5% places them in the 63% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by MERLINO, DAVID P receive 1.89 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 60% percentile for office actions issued. This examiner issues a slightly above-average number of office actions.

Prosecution Timeline

The median time to disposition (half-life) for applications examined by MERLINO, DAVID P is 25 months. This places the examiner in the 69% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a -5.7% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by MERLINO, DAVID P. This interview benefit is in the 3% 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.

Request for Continued Examination (RCE) Effectiveness

When applicants file an RCE with this examiner, 23.1% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 22% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Insight: RCEs show lower effectiveness with this examiner compared to others. Consider whether a continuation application might be more strategic, especially if you need to add new matter or significantly broaden claims.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 62.1% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 84% percentile among all examiners. Strategic Recommendation: This examiner is highly receptive to after-final amendments compared to other examiners. Per MPEP § 714.12, after-final amendments may be entered "under justifiable circumstances." Consider filing after-final amendments with a clear showing of allowability rather than immediately filing an RCE, as this examiner frequently enters such amendments.

Petition Practice

When applicants file petitions regarding this examiner's actions, 18.2% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 10% 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 0.0% of allowed cases (in the 35% 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 35% 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:

  • Consider after-final amendments: This examiner frequently enters after-final amendments. If you can clearly overcome rejections with claim amendments, file an after-final amendment before resorting to an RCE.

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.