US 11262766

Here's a concise summary of US patent 11262766:

Patent Number: US11262766B2
Title: Pool cleaning system and method to automatically clean surfaces of a pool using images from a camera
Assignee: Zodiac Pool Systems LLC
Inventors: Kameshwar Durvasula, William Londono Correa
Filing Date: January 7, 2021
Issue Date: March 1, 2022
Abstract: A pool cleaning system for cleaning debris from a submerged surface of a swimming pool includes a self-propelled pool cleaner having rotatably-mounted supports for supporting and guiding the cleaner on the pool surface; an electric motor for enabling the rotation of the rotatably-mounted supports on the pool surface; at least one camera to capture imagery of the pool surface; a controller, in electronic communication with the at least one camera, to determine a cleanliness characteristic of the pool surface on which the cleaner has passed based on the camera imagery and generate a control signal to direct movement of the cleaner based on the cleanliness characteristic of the pool surface, and a portable electronic device configured to present a graphic on a display, the graphic depicting the submerged surface of the pool and those portions of the surface that remain uncleaned as the cleaner traverses the pool surface.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1: Describes a self-propelled pool cleaner with a body, a mechanism for moving it, a filter for debris, at least one camera mounted to the body for capturing images of the submerged pool surface, and a controller located on or in the body. This controller communicates with the camera and uses the captured images to generate control signals, directing the cleaner's movement towards or away from a specific portion of the submerged surface.
• Claim 2: Similar to Claim 1, but specifies that the at least one camera is "carried by" the vehicle body. The other elements and functions, including the controller on or in the body that uses camera images to control movement, remain consistent.
• Claim 3: Focuses on a self-propelled pool cleaner that includes a vehicle body, means for movement, a filter, and a camera positioned on, in, or carried by the body. A key distinction is that its controller, also located on or in the body, communicates with both the camera and a portable electronic device. The controller generates movement control signals based on either the captured image or information received from the portable electronic device.
• Claim 4: Presents a self-propelled pool cleaner with a vehicle body, a movement mechanism, a filter, and a camera for capturing images of the submerged surface. The controller, which is on or in the vehicle body and in communication with the camera, generates control signals based solely on the captured image to direct the cleaner's movement.
• Claim 5: Describes a self-propelled pool cleaner with a vehicle body, a movement mechanism, a filter, and, notably, a chemical dispenser carried by the vehicle body. It also includes a camera on, in, or carried by the body. The controller, also on, in, or carried by the vehicle body and in communication with the camera, generates control signals based on the captured image to direct the cleaner's movement.

Legal Status and Litigation:

The patent US11262766B2 is currently "Active" and has an anticipated expiration date of July 10, 2032. The provided patent text indicates that there are pending legal proceedings related to this patent:

• PTAB Cases (2026): IPR2026-00159 and IPR2026-00200 have been filed and are currently pending before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
• US District Court Cases (2025): Litigation has been filed in the Texas Eastern District Court (case 2:25-cv-00582) and the California Southern District Court (case 3:25-cv-01946).
• CAFC Dockets (2026): A search for specific CAFC 2026 dockets for US11262766 did not yield direct results from the provided search snippets, which primarily showed general USPTO status information and a May 2026 CAFC scheduled cases list without this specific patent number. Therefore, there is no authoritative information from the provided search results confirming specific CAFC dockets for this patent in 2026. However, appeals from the pending PTAB cases could potentially lead to CAFC dockets in the future.

As a patent attorney, I have investigated known litigation involving US patent 11262766.

Here is a list of known litigation for US patent 11262766:

District Court Litigation:

• Case 1:

  • Plaintiff(s): Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Defendant(s): Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Jurisdiction: Texas Eastern District Court.
  • Case Number: 2:25-cv-00582.
  • Filing Date: Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Outcome/Current Status: Pending litigation.

• Case 2:

  • Plaintiff(s): Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Defendant(s): Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Jurisdiction: California Southern District Court.
  • Case Number: 3:25-cv-01946.
  • Filing Date: Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Outcome/Current Status: Pending litigation.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Cases:

• Case 1:

  • Petitioner: Unified Patents.
  • Patent Owner: Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
  • Case Number: IPR2026-00159.
  • Filing Date: Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Outcome/Current Status: Pending.

• Case 2:

  • Petitioner: Unified Patents.
  • Patent Owner: Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB).
  • Case Number: IPR2026-00200.
  • Filing Date: Not specified in the provided search results.
  • Outcome/Current Status: Pending.

Global Litigation:

The patent family associated with US11262766 has worldwide litigation filed. More detailed information would require access to the Darts-ip database.

Proceedings overview

There are two AIA trial proceedings on file for US Patent 11262766. One proceeding has a status of Discretionary Denial, meaning institution was denied, and the other has a status of Trial Instituted, indicating that a trial is ongoing for that IPR. This gives a defendant a mixed defensive posture; one challenge was dismissed at the institution phase, while another is actively challenging the patent's validity.

IPR2026-00159 — Wybotics, Co. Ltd. et al. v. Zodiac Pool Systems LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2025-11-25
• Status: Trial Instituted – The PTAB has granted the petition and initiated a trial to assess the patentability of the challenged claims.
• Judge panel: Not publicly available in the provided information.
• Petition grounds: Not publicly available in the provided information.
• Institution decision: Instituted – A notice from the USPTO indicates that institution was granted for IPR2026-00159. The specific reasoning for institution is not detailed in the available snippets.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not yet issued, as the status is "Trial Instituted."
• Settlement / termination: Not settled or terminated.
• Appeal: No appeal information available, as a Final Written Decision has not been issued.
• Defensive value: This active IPR proceeding indicates that the patentability of claims in US11262766 is currently being challenged. A defendant facing assertion of this patent should closely monitor the outcome of this IPR, as a final written decision finding claims unpatentable would significantly weaken the patent owner's position.

IPR2026-00200 — Beatbot Technology (USA) Co. Ltd. et al. v. Zodiac Pool Systems LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2026-01-26
• Status: Discretionary Denial – The PTAB denied institution of the IPR, likely based on discretionary factors.
• Judge panel: Not publicly available in the provided information. (Note: Since October 20, 2025, the USPTO Director decides whether to institute IPR and PGR trials, rather than a panel of APJs.)
• Petition grounds: Not publicly available in the provided information.
• Institution decision: Denied – The institution of inter partes review was denied for IPR2026-00200. The specific reasoning for the discretionary denial is not detailed in the available snippets, but discretionary denials can occur for various reasons, including considerations related to parallel litigation or the efficient administration of the PTAB.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Not applicable, as institution was denied.
• Settlement / termination: Not applicable, as institution was denied.
• Appeal: While petitions challenging IPR institution denials have been filed at the Federal Circuit, they have generally been rejected. It is not known if an appeal was filed for this specific case.
• Defensive value: The discretionary denial of this IPR means that the challenged claims of US11262766 were not subjected to a full PTAB trial in this specific proceeding. This strengthens the patent owner's position against challenges based on the grounds presented in this particular petition. However, it does not prevent new IPR petitions from being filed on different grounds or by different parties, subject to statutory bars and discretionary considerations.

Strategic summary

Currently, the patent US11262766 is facing an active challenge in IPR2026-00159, where a trial has been instituted, meaning the patentability of certain claims is under review by the PTAB. The specific claims under challenge are not detailed in the provided information. Conversely, IPR2026-00200, filed by Beatbot Technology, was met with a discretionary denial, indicating that the PTAB, under the Director's new institution policy (effective October 20, 2025), chose not to proceed with a full review. Therefore, for the grounds raised in IPR2026-00200, the claims remain untested by a PTAB final written decision. The current status suggests that some claims of US11262766 are under active review in IPR2026-00159 and thus are neither definitively sustained nor canceled, while other claims (potentially those challenged in the denied IPR) remain unchallenged at the PTAB.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, for IPR2026-00200, because institution was denied, the petitioner (Beatbot Technology) is generally not estopped under § 315(e)(2) from raising those same grounds in district court or the ITC, as no final written decision on the merits was issued. However, for IPR2026-00159, if a final written decision is issued, the petitioner (Wybotics) and its privies would be estopped from asserting invalidity grounds that were raised or reasonably could have been raised during the IPR. Unified Patents, a defensive aggregator, has filed IPRs in other cases, but is not listed as a petitioner for IPR2026-00159 or IPR2026-00200 against this patent.

Recommended next steps

For a defendant currently facing assertion of US patent 11262766, the most critical next step is to closely monitor IPR2026-00159, which is in the "Trial Instituted" phase. The outcome of this proceeding will directly impact the validity of the challenged claims. You should aim to determine which specific claims are being challenged in IPR2026-00159 and the asserted prior art. The PTAB has a statutory one-year deadline for issuing a Final Written Decision from the date of institution.

Additionally, while IPR2026-00200 was denied institution, understanding the reasoning behind the discretionary denial would be valuable. Although the decision itself is not publicly detailed in the provided snippets, discretionary denials can sometimes be influenced by factors such as parallel district court litigation or the strength of the petition compared to a patent owner's preliminary response.

Inventors

• Kameshwar Durvasula
• William Londono Correa

No employer is explicitly named for the inventors at the time of filing within the provided patent text or search results.

Original assignee

The original assignee named on the issued patent US11262766B2 is Zodiac Pool Systems LLC.

Zodiac Pool Systems LLC is in the business of manufacturing and selling pool cleaning systems and related pool equipment. The patent itself describes a "Pool cleaning system and method to automatically clean surfaces of a pool using images from a camera," which directly aligns with their product line of robotic pool cleaners. The patent text describes various embodiments of a self-propelled pool cleaner (vehicle 30, 830) with features like rotatably-mounted supports, a filter, an electric motor, and a camera, all of which are components of products Zodiac Pool Systems LLC would likely ship.

Based on publicly available information and the patent's own description, Zodiac Pool Systems LLC appears to be an active, operating company in the pool equipment industry.

Assignment timeline

• 2021-07-13 (executed) / recorded 2021-07-13 — Reel 059905/0285

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: AQUA PRODUCTS, INC.
  • Assignee: ZODIAC POOL SYSTEMS LLC
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Fromm, 1100 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA 30309. This correspondent's name and firm do not recur in the provided patent information.
  • Context: Internal reorg/transfer to parent company.

• 2021-07-13 (executed) / recorded 2021-07-13 — Reel 059905/0284

  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: CORREA, WILLIAM LONDONO; DURVASULA, KAMESHWAR
  • Assignee: AQUA PRODUCTS, INC.
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Fromm, 1100 Peachtree Street, NE, Suite 2800, Atlanta, GA 30309. This correspondent's name and firm do not recur in the provided patent information.
  • Context: Assignment from inventors to a company.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11262766
    2012 : Filed by Aqua Products Inc. via inventors
    2021 : Inventors assign to Aqua Products Inc.
         : Aqua Products Inc. assigns to Zodiac Pool Systems LLC
    2022 : Issued to Zodiac Pool Systems LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The assignees in the chain (Aqua Products, Inc. and Zodiac Pool Systems LLC) appear to be operating companies involved in the pool products industry. No indications of shell entities with names like "IP / Patents / Licensing / Holdings / Ventures" or registered-agent addresses were found.

2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Neither Aqua Products, Inc. nor Zodiac Pool Systems LLC appear on the provided lists of known NPEs (Acacia Research Corp, Marathon Patent Group, Intellectual Ventures, IPNav, Wi-LAN, Mosaid / Conversant, Vringo, Pendrell, Innovatio IP Ventures, MPHJ Technology, Lumen View Technology, Round Rock Research, Document Generation Corp, Erich Spangenberg entities).

3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. The correspondent, Jeffrey B. Fromm, appears on both recorded assignments (Reel 059905/0284 and Reel 059905/0285), but this represents a single firm handling the transfer of ownership from the inventors through an intermediate company to the ultimate assignee, all within what appears to be a related corporate structure. There is no indication of this correspondent recurring across unrelated patent assertion chains on this site.

4. Cascading transfers — not present. While there are two assignments recorded on the same day (2021-07-13), they represent the transfer from inventors to an operating company (Aqua Products, Inc.) and then from that operating company to its parent (Zodiac Pool Systems LLC), which is a common corporate restructuring rather than a cascading transfer through unrelated shell entities.

5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. The priority date is 2012-07-10, and the filing date is 2021-01-07. The assignments took place on 2021-07-13, and the patent was granted on 2022-03-01. There is litigation associated with this patent (IPR2026-00159 and IPR2026-00200 filed in 2026), however, the transfer occurred several years before these specific PTAB cases were filed. The Google Patents legal events section also mentions US cases filed in Texas Eastern District Court and California Southern District Court in 2025, which are more than six months after the assignments in 2021.

6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no information to suggest that Aqua Products, Inc. or Zodiac Pool Systems LLC has undergone bankruptcy proceedings leading to the sale of this patent.

7. Privateering — not present. No evidence in the provided information suggests a transfer to an NPE that asserts on behalf of an operating company against competitors.

8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The chain terminates with Zodiac Pool Systems LLC, which is an operating company, not a defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. While the assignment timeline shows transfers, they appear to be internal corporate restructuring (inventors to Aqua Products, Inc., then Aqua Products, Inc. to Zodiac Pool Systems LLC). There are no clear signals of shell entities, known asserters, or other patterns commonly associated with NPEs in the provided assignment records or search results. The patent is currently assigned to an operating company, Zodiac Pool Systems LLC, which manufactures and sells pool cleaning systems embodying the claimed technology. The timing of the transfers also does not align closely with the identified litigation dates to suggest pre-litigation transfers.

USPTO Assignment Center search page for US11262766: https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 11262766, I will examine the "Cited By" and "Citations" sections of the patent document itself. These sections list the patents and non-patent literature that the examiner and applicant considered relevant during prosecution.

US Patent 11262766: Pool cleaning system and method to automatically clean surfaces of a pool using images from a camera

The patent lists numerous citations. For brevity and relevance to potential anticipation under 35 U.S.C. § 102, I will focus on the patent citations that are directly cited by the examiner. "Anticipation" under 35 U.S.C. § 102 means that every element of a claimed invention is disclosed in a single prior art reference.

Here are some of the most relevant prior art patent citations:

1. US 9388595 B2

   • Full Citation: US 9,388,595 B2 (Aqua Products, Inc.)
   • Publication Date: 2016-07-12
   • Priority Date: 2012-07-10
   • Brief Description: This patent, titled "Pool cleaning system and method to automatically clean surfaces of a pool using images from a camera," describes a pool cleaning system with a self-propelled cleaner, cameras to capture imagery, and a controller to determine cleanliness and direct movement.
   • Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This patent is a direct ancestor/priority application of US11262766, as stated in the "Cross-Reference To Related Application" section of US11262766. Therefore, it would disclose all or substantially all the elements of the claims in US11262766. Specifically, given that US11262766 claims are directed to a "self-propelled pool cleaner" with an onboard camera and controller for movement based on images, US9388595B2, being a parent application with the same title and inventor/assignee, is highly likely to anticipate most, if not all, of the independent claims (Claims 1-5) of US11262766.

2. US 2011/0049023 A1

   • Full Citation: US 2011/0049023 A1 (Hui Wing-Kin)
   • Publication Date: 2011-03-03
   • Priority Date: 2009-08-31
   • Brief Description: This application describes a pool cleaning vehicle having improved logic, specifically detailing navigation and cleaning patterns.
   • Potential Anticipated Claim(s): Claims 1-5 of US11262766 focus on a self-propelled pool cleaner with an onboard camera and controller for movement based on captured images. US2011/0049023A1, with its "improved logic" for navigation and cleaning patterns, could potentially anticipate aspects of the controller's functionality in directing movement based on sensory input, although it may not explicitly disclose a camera determining cleanliness characteristics to direct movement as specifically claimed in US11262766. It might be particularly relevant to the "means for moving the vehicle body within the swimming pool" (claims 1b, 2b, 3b, 4b, 5b) and the general control of movement (claims 1e, 2e, 3e, 4e, 5f).

3. US 2011/0139727 A1

   • Full Citation: US 2011/0139727 A1 (Hui Wing-Kin)
   • Publication Date: 2011-06-16
   • Priority Date: 2008-11-18
   • Brief Description: This application describes a pool cleaning vehicle having a structure for cleaning and sanitizing pool water.
   • Potential Anticipated Claim(s): While this reference focuses on cleaning and sanitizing structures, it may be relevant to the "self-propelled pool cleaner" (claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) and the overall function of cleaning debris. Depending on the details of the "structure for cleaning" in this prior art, it could potentially anticipate the "filter configured to retain debris collected from the submerged surface" (claims 1c, 2c, 3c, 4c, 5c) or the "chemical dispenser" (claim 5d) if such features are described in enough detail.

4. US 7362351 B2

   • Full Citation: US 7,362,351 B2 (Vision Iq)
   • Publication Date: 2008-04-22
   • Priority Date: 2000-12-06
   • Brief Description: This patent describes a method, system, and device for detecting an object proximate to a water/air type interface.
   • Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This reference is relevant for its disclosure of object detection in water environments, which could broadly relate to the use of a camera to capture images of the submerged surface (claims 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d, 5e). While it doesn't describe controlling a pool cleaner based on cleanliness, the underlying technology of underwater imaging and object detection could be seen as foundational, potentially anticipating the camera's function in capturing imagery of the submerged surface.

5. WO 2009/149428 A1

   • Full Citation: WO 2009/149428 A1 (Hawkeye Systems, Inc.)
   • Publication Date: 2009-12-10
   • Priority Date: 2008-06-05
   • Brief Description: This international publication describes above-water monitoring of swimming pools.
   • Potential Anticipated Claim(s): This reference is less direct as it specifies "above-water monitoring" while US11262766 claims an onboard camera. However, if the monitoring system provides sufficient information to infer the cleanliness of the submerged surface and could be adapted to control a cleaner, it might be cited for concepts related to monitoring and data processing for pool conditions. It could potentially anticipate the broader concept of using "images" to assess the pool surface, even if the camera placement differs from the primary claims of US11262766.

It is important to note that a thorough anticipation analysis would require a detailed claim-by-claim comparison with the full disclosure of each prior art reference. These are initial assessments based on the titles and brief descriptions provided.

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