USPTO Examiner INGRAM THOMAS P - Art Unit 3668

Recent Applications

Detailed information about the 100 most recent patent applications.

Application NumberTitleFiling DateDisposal DateDispositionTime (months)Office ActionsRestrictionsInterviewAppeal
18765848GLARE DETECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED VEHICULAR CONTROLJuly 2024March 2025Allow810NoNo
18761408Vehicle Guidance SystemJuly 2024June 2025Allow1210NoNo
18613373SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NAVIGATING LANE MERGES AND LANE SPLITSMarch 2024October 2024Allow710NoNo
18591118VEHICLE DISPATCH SYSTEM, VEHICLE DISPATCH METHOD, SERVER, USER TERMINAL, AND STORAGE MEDIUMFebruary 2024March 2025Allow1310NoNo
18588769RISK MITIGATION IN SPEED PLANNINGFebruary 2024December 2024Allow900NoNo
18545485Self-Driving Device Control SystemDecember 2023June 2025Allow1800NoNo
18544039ELECTRIC UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND AN INTELLIGENT METHOD OF PROTECTING ELECTRICITY THEREOFDecember 2023October 2024Allow1010NoNo
18535184REMOTE OPERATIONS USING IMMERSIVE TELEPRESENCEDecember 2023March 2025Allow1500NoNo
18513119Sparse Convolutional Neural NetworksNovember 2023September 2024Allow1010NoNo
18553481METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING OPERATING PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS OF A DEVICESeptember 2023May 2024Allow710NoNo
18367236NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND ROUTE SEARCH METHOD THEREOFSeptember 2023August 2024Allow1110NoNo
18549257METHOD FOR DETERMINING A MOTION PATH ON A SURFACESeptember 2023March 2025Allow1810NoNo
18240933LIDAR SENSOR DENOISING FOR ADVERSE CONDITIONS AND/OR NONSALIENT OBJECTSAugust 2023April 2025Allow2000NoNo
18279097APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OPERATING ELECTRONIC DETONATOR BLASTER WITH INTEGRATED FLIGHT FUNCTIONAugust 2023March 2025Allow1910NoNo
18231850VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICE, VEHICLE CONTROL METHOD, AND STORAGE MEDIUMAugust 2023April 2025Allow2000NoNo
18364587AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE SIMULATION SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING MOTION PLANNERSAugust 2023July 2024Allow1210NoNo
18228123MULTI-AXIS UPSET RECOVERY SYSTEMJuly 2023March 2025Allow2010NoNo
18266694METHOD FOR CONTROLLING MOTIONS OF QUADRUPED ROBOT BASED ON REINFORCEMENT LEARNING AND POSITION INCREMENTJune 2023March 2025Allow2210NoNo
18332881SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING BATTERY CELL PROVIDED IN ELECTRIC VEHICLEJune 2023June 2025Allow2410NoNo
18321578SENSOR PLAUSIBILITY USING GPS ROAD INFORMATIONMay 2023March 2024Allow1010NoNo
18196116MODULAR IMAGE CAPTURE SYSTEMSMay 2023March 2024Allow1000NoNo
18116982SECURE SYSTEM THAT INCLUDES DRIVING RELATED SYSTEMSMarch 2023February 2024Allow1100NoNo
18166121SENSOR CALIBRATION FOR AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONSFebruary 2023April 2025Allow2610NoNo
18163769TRAFFIC SIGNAL RECOGNITION DEVICE, TRAFFIC SIGNAL RECOGNITION METHOD AND VEHICLE CONTROL DEVICEFebruary 2023April 2025Allow2710YesNo
18161500System and Method for Presenting Autonomy-Switching DirectionsJanuary 2023June 2024Allow1610NoNo
18157204MANAGING REDUNDANT STEERING SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLESJanuary 2023March 2024Allow1410NoNo
18098779METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CROWD SOURCED DANGEROUS DRIVING DETECTION AND ACCIDENT MITIGATIONJanuary 2023February 2025Allow2510NoNo
18154462TORQUE SENSING FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE DRIVE SYSTEMJanuary 2023November 2024Allow2210YesNo
18096310SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF A VEHICULAR CRASHJanuary 2023May 2024Allow1610NoNo
18004614Systems, Methods and Devices for Map-Based Object's Localization Deep Learning and Object's Motion Trajectories on Geospatial Maps Using Neural NetworkJanuary 2023February 2025Allow2501NoNo
18069439TRUST ENHANCEMENT METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INTELLIGENT DRIVING SYSTEMDecember 2022April 2025Abandon2710NoNo
18081071WORKING ROBOT AND CONTROL METHODDecember 2022April 2025Allow2810NoNo
18008046INTELLIGENT BEAM PREDICTION METHODDecember 2022June 2025Abandon3110NoNo
17998867STAIRLIFT SAFETY SYSTEMNovember 2022June 2025Allow3110NoNo
17923114INTENTION-DRIVEN REINFORCEMENT LEARNING-BASED PATH PLANNING METHODNovember 2022August 2024Allow2110NoNo
17921258BATTERY SERVICE PROVIDING SYSTEM AND METHODOctober 2022April 2025Allow3010NoNo
18047678Method for Determining the Position of a VehicleOctober 2022February 2024Allow1610NoNo
17967643BACKLASH VIBRATION REDUCTION APPARATUS AND METHODOctober 2022September 2024Allow2300NoNo
17916051AUTONOMOUS MACHINE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING THE SAMESeptember 2022July 2024Allow2100NoNo
17956519VEHICLE, AND UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM AND METHOD INCLUDING THE SAMESeptember 2022March 2024Allow1810NoNo
17953840MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, MANAGEMENT METHOD AND PROGRAMSeptember 2022September 2024Allow2410NoNo
17939458SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE OPERATION OF AN AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTSeptember 2022June 2024Allow2200NoNo
17884660AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE TRIP ROUTINGAugust 2022February 2024Allow1810NoNo
17818466Vehicle Localization Based on Pose Corrections from Remote Vehicles in Parking GaragesAugust 2022December 2024Allow2910YesNo
17868686DRIVE TRAIN CONFIGURATIONS FOR A VEHICLE WITH MULTIPLE REVERSIBLE ENGINESJuly 2022August 2024Allow2510NoNo
17868015CONTROLLER, METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR VEHICLE CONTROLJuly 2022August 2024Allow2510NoNo
17861259Vehicle Guidance SystemJuly 2022April 2024Allow2110YesNo
17851322SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IN A TRANSPORTATION VEHICLEJune 2022February 2023Allow810NoNo
17850340GENERATION OF WEIGHTED MAP DATA FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE LOCALIZATIONJune 2022August 2024Allow2510YesNo
17842065SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PLANNING LANE-CHANGE ACTIONS CONSIDERING TRAFFIC STABILITY IN TARGET LANEJune 2022June 2025Allow3610YesNo
17824508SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR NAVIGATING LANE MERGES AND LANE SPLITSMay 2022November 2023Allow1810NoNo
17729376GLARE DETECTION SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATED VEHICULAR CONTROLApril 2022February 2024Allow2210NoNo
17724069SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING DRIVER SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IN A TRANSPORTATION VEHICLEApril 2022April 2024Allow2410NoNo
17717290DETECTING SENSOR DEGRADATION BY ACTIVELY CONTROLLING AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLEApril 2022February 2024Allow2210NoNo
17712559CONTROLLING MOVEMENT OF A VEHICLEApril 2022January 2024Allow2110NoNo
17657003PICK-UP/DROP-OFF ZONE HANDOFF BETWEEN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLESMarch 2022December 2023Allow2010NoNo
17698673Offline Tracking System for Autonomous Vehicle Control SystemsMarch 2022September 2024Allow3010YesNo
17753619STEERING WHEEL OVERLAY SIGNAL METHOD AND APPARATUSMarch 2022August 2024Allow3010NoNo
17638890VEHICLE INSPECTION SYSTEM AND ALIGNMENT METHODFebruary 2022February 2024Allow2400NoNo
17675029SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING ROAD INTERSECTION ON POINT CLOUD HEIGHT MAPFebruary 2022March 2025Allow3700NoNo
17567219SUGGESTING ALTERNATIVE PICKUP AND DROP OFF LOCATIONS FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLESJanuary 2022January 2024Allow2410NoNo
17562501FLIGHT COMPUTER SYSTEMS & METHODS TO DETERMINE AIRSPEEDDecember 2021December 2023Allow2310YesNo
17562283LANE DEPARTURE PREVENTION APPARATUSDecember 2021September 2023Allow2100NoNo
17557427LINEAR MOVEMENT FOR CONTROL POINT DETECTION VERIFICATIONDecember 2021April 2025Allow4010NoNo
17643358CONTROLLING MOVEMENTS OF A ROBOT RUNNING ON TRACKSDecember 2021October 2024Allow3410NoNo
17614229WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONNovember 2021August 2023Allow2010NoNo
17526514CALIBRATION OF SENSORS IN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE APPLICATIONSNovember 2021December 2024Allow3710YesNo
17520123VEHICLE DISPATCH SYSTEM, VEHICLE DISPATCH METHOD, SERVER, USER TERMINAL, AND STORAGE MEDIUMNovember 2021November 2023Allow2510YesNo
17518942VEHICLE DISPATCH SYSTEM, VEHICLE DISPATCH METHOD, SERVER, USER TERMINAL, AND STORAGE MEDIUMNovember 2021November 2023Allow2410YesNo
17516348ALIGNMENT VALIDATION IN VEHICLE-BASED SENSORSNovember 2021December 2024Allow3810YesNo
17512210VEHICLEOctober 2021August 2023Allow2110NoNo
17511087PROCESSOR AND SENSOR ARRAY FOR AUTONOMOUS TRUCKOctober 2021January 2024Allow2610NoNo
17509986LIDAR SYSTEMOctober 2021January 2024Allow2610YesNo
17498907RISK MITIGATION IN SPEED PLANNINGOctober 2021November 2023Allow2610NoNo
17498166Methods and Systems for Determining Diagnostic Coverage of Sensors to Prevent Goal Violations of Autonomous VehiclesOctober 2021July 2024Allow3310YesNo
17450540DETERMINING A MINIMUM STATE OF CHARGE FOR AN ENERGY STORAGE MEANS OF A VEHICLEOctober 2021September 2023Allow2310NoNo
17493648VEHICLE DRIVE ASSIST APPARATUSOctober 2021August 2023Allow2310NoNo
17481423ROAD QUALITY BASED ROUTINGSeptember 2021August 2023Allow2310YesNo
17473051ACCURACY VERIFICATION OF A PERCEPTION SYSTEM OF A VEHICLESeptember 2021March 2025Allow4211NoNo
17385425SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IN A TRANSPORTATION VEHICLEJuly 2021October 2022Abandon1520NoNo
17363986Sparse Convolutional Neural NetworksJune 2021August 2023Allow2510NoNo
17350780ONLINE VALIDATION OF LIDAR-TO-LIDAR ALIGNMENT AND LIDAR-TO-VEHICLE ALIGNMENTJune 2021September 2024Allow3910YesNo
17306554ELECTRIC UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND AN INTELLIGENT METHOD OF PROTECTING ELECTRICITY THEREOFMay 2021August 2023Allow2710NoNo
17229611FLEET OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES WITH LANE POSITIONING AND PLATOONING BEHAVIORSApril 2021October 2024Abandon4210NoNo
17282950METHOD FOR ESTIMATING DISTANCE TO AND LOCATION OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE BY USING MONO CAMERAApril 2021August 2024Allow4011NoNo
17178358REMOTELY CONTROLLING USE OF FEATURES BASED ON AUTOMATIC VALIDATION REQUESTSFebruary 2021July 2023Allow2910NoNo
17167862LIDAR SYSTEMFebruary 2021July 2021Allow610YesNo
17260493ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR VEHICLE, AND METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPERATING ELECTRONIC DEVICE FOR VEHICLEJanuary 2021July 2023Abandon3020NoNo
17148346AUTONOMOUS DATA MACHINES AND SYSTEMSJanuary 2021April 2023Allow2710NoNo
17141982DETECTING DEFECTS IN MAP DATAJanuary 2021March 2024Abandon3800NoNo
17129478APPROXIMATING A TIME OF AN ISSUEDecember 2020June 2023Allow3010NoNo
17126740AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE SIMULATION SYSTEM FOR ANALYZING MOTION PLANNERSDecember 2020May 2023Allow2910NoNo
17113562MOVING VEHICLEDecember 2020October 2023Allow3510NoNo
17113667ADAPTIVE AND PREDICTIVE CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEM USING INFRARED IMAGE-BASED IMAGINGDecember 2020September 2024Abandon4620NoNo
17106355Road Safety Analytics Dashboard and Risk Minimization Routing System and MethodNovember 2020January 2023Allow2620YesNo
16953296BALLISTIC ESTIMATION OF VEHICLE DATANovember 2020August 2023Allow3310NoNo
17097581DRONE-GUIDED PROPERTY NAVIGATION TECHNIQUESNovember 2020June 2023Allow3110NoNo
17093357Method for Determining the Position of a VehicleNovember 2020September 2022Allow2210YesNo
17086364MULTIMODAL MULTI-TECHNIQUE SIGNAL FUSION SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLEOctober 2020September 2023Allow3510NoNo
17085290SPATIALLY INVARIANT 3D CONVOLUTIONAL NETWORK OVER SPHERICAL COORDINATE INPUTOctober 2020January 2024Allow3800NoNo

Appeals Overview

This analysis examines appeal outcomes and the strategic value of filing appeals for examiner INGRAM, THOMAS P.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Decisions

Total PTAB Decisions
14
Examiner Affirmed
9
(64.3%)
Examiner Reversed
5
(35.7%)
Reversal Percentile
56.1%
Higher than average

What This Means

With a 35.7% reversal rate, the PTAB reverses the examiner's rejections in a meaningful percentage of cases. This reversal rate is above the USPTO average, indicating that appeals have better success here than typical.

Strategic Value of Filing an Appeal

Total Appeal Filings
30
Allowed After Appeal Filing
13
(43.3%)
Not Allowed After Appeal Filing
17
(56.7%)
Filing Benefit Percentile
69.6%
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, 43.3% 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 show good success rates. If you have a strong case on the merits, consider fully prosecuting the appeal to a Board decision.

Filing a Notice of Appeal is strategically valuable. The act of filing often prompts favorable reconsideration during the mandatory appeal conference.

Examiner INGRAM, THOMAS P - Prosecution Strategy Guide

Executive Summary

Examiner INGRAM, THOMAS P works in Art Unit 3668 and has examined 616 patent applications in our dataset. With an allowance rate of 88.1%, this examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications. Applications typically reach final disposition in approximately 27 months.

Allowance Patterns

Examiner INGRAM, THOMAS P's allowance rate of 88.1% places them in the 64% percentile among all USPTO examiners. This examiner has an above-average tendency to allow applications.

Office Action Patterns

On average, applications examined by INGRAM, THOMAS P receive 1.53 office actions before reaching final disposition. This places the examiner in the 38% 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 INGRAM, THOMAS P is 27 months. This places the examiner in the 58% percentile for prosecution speed. Prosecution timelines are slightly faster than average with this examiner.

Interview Effectiveness

Conducting an examiner interview provides a +4.8% benefit to allowance rate for applications examined by INGRAM, THOMAS P. This interview benefit is in the 29% 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, 28.1% of applications are subsequently allowed. This success rate is in the 41% 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.

After-Final Amendment Practice

This examiner enters after-final amendments leading to allowance in 32.9% of cases where such amendments are filed. This entry rate is in the 40% 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, 50.0% result in withdrawal of the rejection or reopening of prosecution. This success rate is in the 43% percentile among all examiners. Note: Pre-appeal conferences show below-average success with this examiner. Consider whether your arguments are strong enough to warrant a PAC request.

Appeal Withdrawal and Reconsideration

This examiner withdraws rejections or reopens prosecution in 58.8% of appeals filed. This is in the 28% percentile among all examiners. Of these withdrawals, 40.0% 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, 29.0% are granted (fully or in part). This grant rate is in the 21% 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 0.4% of allowed cases (in the 47% 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:

    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.