US 11563338

US Patent 11563338: Systems and Methods for Electric Vehicle Charging and Power Management

Title: Systems and methods for electric vehicle charging and power management

Assignee: Charge Fusion Technologies LLC

Inventors: Jeffrey R. Ambroziak, Carson C. K. Fincham

Filing Date: June 1, 2022

Issue Date: January 24, 2023

Abstract:
A disclosed method for intelligent vehicle charging includes receiving information indicating the presence of a vehicle in a parking space and an identifier of the vehicle. Based on the identifier, a charging schedule for the vehicle is determined, and the vehicle is charged according to this schedule. Another method focuses on intelligent quantitative load balancing for vehicle charging. This involves determining the estimated power needed to charge multiple vehicles to desired levels, providing this information to a Power Supplying Entity (PSE), receiving information from the PSE about when the best available rate for purchasing power will be available, and then charging the vehicles at that indicated time using multiple charging devices. A third method for intelligent qualitative load balancing for electrical loads comprises determining an electrical load requiring power, identifying multiple available power sources and their characteristics, selecting one or more sources based on these characteristics, and activating electrical switches to supply power from the selected sources to the load.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

Independent Claim 1:
This claim describes a method for "intelligent vehicle charging." It involves three key steps:

1. Detecting a Vehicle: Receiving information (e.g., from a vehicle sensor) that indicates a vehicle is present in a parking space.
2. Identifying the Vehicle: Receiving information (e.g., from a communication device of the vehicle) that identifies the specific vehicle.
3. Scheduled Charging: Determining a charging schedule for that specific vehicle, based on its identification, and then charging the vehicle according to that determined schedule.

Independent Claim 8:
This claim outlines a method for "intelligent quantitative load balancing for vehicle charging." It focuses on managing power for multiple vehicles:

1. Estimate Power Needs: Calculating the total amount of power required to charge several vehicles to their desired battery levels.
2. Communicate with Power Supplier: Sending this calculated power requirement information to a Power Supplying Entity (PSE) using a communication device.
3. Receive Rate Information: Getting feedback from the PSE, via the communication device, indicating the most opportune time to purchase the required power at the best available rate.
4. Execute Scheduled Charging: Charging the multiple vehicles at the time indicated by the PSE, utilizing a plurality of vehicle charging devices.

Independent Claim 15:
This claim details a method for "intelligent qualitative load balancing for electrical loads." It concerns selecting the best power source for an electrical load:

1. Identify Load Requirement: Determining that an electrical load needs electrical power.
2. Identify Available Sources: Identifying multiple potential sources from which electrical power can be obtained.
3. Characterize Sources: Determining specific characteristics for each of these available power sources (e.g., cost, generation type, reliability).
4. Select Best Source(s): Choosing one or more of these available power sources based on their determined characteristics.
5. Activate Power Supply: Activating one or more electrical switches to direct power from the chosen source(s) to the electrical load.

Uncertainty:
I did not find any specific dockets for patent number 11563338 in the CAFC 2026 dockets. While there are general intellectual property and patent-related cases discussed for 2026, none of the search results explicitly mention this particular patent number.

As of April 26, 2026, there is known litigation involving US patent 11563338.

One Inter Partes Review (IPR) case has been filed:

• Case Number: IPR2025-00032
• Status: Pending - Instituted
• Petitioner: Unified Patents

Further details regarding the plaintiff(s), defendant(s) (beyond the petitioner for the IPR), jurisdiction (beyond the PTAB for IPRs), filing date for the IPR, and outcome for this case are not available in the provided search snippets. Additional litigation beyond this IPR is not specified in the search results.

Proceedings overview

There is one AIA trial proceeding on file for US patent 11563338. This proceeding, IPR2025-00032, has reached a Final Written Decision. Without the specific details of the FWD, the bottom-line defensive posture cannot be fully determined, as it's unknown whether claims were invalidated or sustained.

IPR2025-00032 — Tesla Inc. v. Charge Fusion Technologies, LLC

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2024-10-18
• Status: Final Written Decision (last modified 2026-05-13). This means the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has issued its final determination on the patentability of the challenged claims.
• Judge panel: The specific judge panel for this proceeding is not available in the provided information or public search results.
• Petition grounds: The claims challenged, the specific prior art references asserted, and the statutory bases (§ 102 / § 103 / § 112) for the petition are not available in the provided information or public search results.
• Institution decision: Details regarding whether institution was granted, denied, or partially instituted, the date of the decision, and the panel's reasoning are not available in the provided information or public search results.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): A Final Written Decision has been issued. However, the specific verdict at claim-level granularity, including which independent or dependent claims were canceled or held patentable, and the panel's reasoning, are not available in the provided information or public search results.
• Settlement / termination: Information regarding any settlement or termination of this proceeding is not available in the provided information or public search results.
• Appeal: Whether the Final Written Decision was appealed to the Federal Circuit, including any docket number, issues on appeal, or disposition, is not available in the provided information or public search results.
• Defensive value: Without knowing the outcome of the Final Written Decision, the specific defensive value of this proceeding for someone facing assertion of US11563338 today cannot be definitively stated. If claims were invalidated, it would significantly weaken any infringement theories relying on those claims. If claims were sustained, it would suggest the patent has withstood a challenge, making future IPR-based defenses potentially harder.

Strategic summary

The patent US11563338 has been subjected to one Inter Partes Review, IPR2025-00032, filed by Tesla Inc. against Charge Fusion Technologies, LLC. A Final Written Decision was issued on or before May 13, 2026. However, the specific outcome of this decision—which claims, if any, were canceled or sustained—is not available from the provided data or general public search results. Therefore, it is currently unknown which claims of US11563338 are now CANCELED vs. SUSTAINED vs. UNTESTED by this proceeding.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, if IPR2025-00032 resulted in a Final Written Decision on the merits, then under § 315(e)(2), Tesla Inc. (and its privies) would be estopped from asserting in district court or the ITC that a claim is invalid on any ground that Tesla raised or reasonably could have raised during the IPR. However, without knowing the specific grounds raised or the claims challenged, the exact scope of this estoppel for Tesla Inc. cannot be determined. For other potential defendants, the prior-art grounds tested in this IPR would still be available if they are not in privity with Tesla Inc. There are no pattern signals available from the provided information to indicate if the same petitioner has filed multiple IPRs on this patent, if the patent owner has pursued PTAB appeals aggressively, or if a defensive aggregator like Unified Patents is directly involved in this specific IPR beyond what the initial prompt states (Tesla Inc. as petitioner, though Unified Patents lists the case, they are not listed as petitioner in the canonical prompt).

Recommended next steps

Since a Final Written Decision has been issued for IPR2025-00032, the most critical next step for a defendant facing assertion of US11563338 is to obtain and review the complete Final Written Decision document. This document, publicly available at USPTO PTAB Decisions, will explicitly state the PTAB's findings regarding the patentability of the challenged claims.

• Action: Locate and review the Final Written Decision for IPR2025-00032 on the USPTO PTAB Decisions portal to determine which claims, if any, were invalidated or confirmed. Without this document, the impact of the proceeding on the patent's validity remains unknown.

As no other PTAB proceedings are currently listed as active or pending for this patent, the focus should be entirely on understanding the outcome of IPR2025-00032 and any potential Federal Circuit appeal that may have followed. The absence of additional IPRs at this time could indicate a variety of factors, including that the patent owner's claims have proven robust against challenge, or that the patent has not been widely asserted against other potential infringers who would initiate IPRs.

Inventors

• Jeffrey R. Ambroziak: Employer at time of filing not determinable from the patent document.
• Carson C. K. Fincham: Employer at time of filing not determinable from the patent document.

No information is available in the patent document regarding the inventors' employers at the time of filing or any subsequent departures from the original assignee.

Original assignee

Charge Fusion Technologies LLC is the original assignee. The patent does not describe any products shipped by Charge Fusion Technologies LLC embodying the claims. The primary line of business for Charge Fusion Technologies LLC is not explicitly stated in the patent. Based on publicly available information, Charge Fusion Technologies LLC appears to be an active entity.

Assignment timeline

• 2022-06-01 (executed) / recorded 2022-08-05 — Reel 059969/0569
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: FINCHAM, CARSON C.K. and AMBROZIAK, Jeffrey R.
  • Assignee: CHARGE FUSION TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
  • Correspondent: CHARGE FUSION TECHNOLOGIES, LLC, 1720 PEACHTREE ROAD NE, SUITE 1000, ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30309
  • Context: Original assignment from inventors to the initial assignee.

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 11563338
    2022 : Filed by Charge Fusion Technologies LLC
         : Assigned to Charge Fusion Technologies LLC
    2023 : Issued to Charge Fusion Technologies LLC

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — unclear. The current assignee, Charge Fusion Technologies LLC, has "Technologies LLC" in its name, which can sometimes be indicative of a shell entity, but there is no explicit evidence of no products in commerce, or an address being a registered-agent service.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Charge Fusion Technologies LLC does not appear on public NPE lists from RPX Insurance or Unified Patents, nor does it match any of the listed known asserters.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — not present. There is only one recorded assignment for this patent, so no recurrence of a correspondent can be observed in this specific chain. The correspondent for the initial assignment is Charge Fusion Technologies, LLC itself.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. There is only one recorded assignment.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — unclear. While there is ongoing litigation related to this patent (IPR2025-00032 filed), the single assignment from the inventors to Charge Fusion Technologies LLC occurred on 2022-08-05, well before the institution of the PTAB case (which was filed in 2025). It's difficult to determine if this single assignment was "pre-litigation" in the sense of anticipating future assertion, given the time gap.
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. There is no indication of bankruptcy proceedings for the assignor or assignee in the available information.
7. Privateering — not present. There is no evidence suggesting an operating company transferred the patent to an NPE to assert on its behalf.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent has not been assigned to a known defensive aggregator.

Verdict

Insufficient data. Only one assignment from the inventors to the original assignee, Charge Fusion Technologies LLC, is recorded (Reel 059969/0569, recorded 2022-08-05). Without further assignments or clearer indications of the assignee's business model and product shipping, there is not enough information to confidently classify Charge Fusion Technologies LLC as an NPE or to identify other NPE patterns.

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

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 11563338, I will perform a search on the USPTO Patent Public Search database. As a large language model, I do not have direct access to the USPTO database to conduct live searches and extract citation data directly. However, I can outline the process and types of information I would gather if I had such access.

Steps to identify prior art:

1. Access USPTO Patent Public Search: I would navigate to the USPTO Patent Public Search website.
2. Search for US11563338: I would use the patent number search function to locate US Patent 11563338.
3. Retrieve Cited References: Once the patent record for US11563338 is found, I would examine the "References Cited" section. This section typically lists both U.S. patent documents and foreign patent documents, as well as non-patent literature, that the examiner and applicant considered relevant during prosecution.
4. Analyze Each Citation: For each reference listed, I would extract the following information:
   • Full Citation: This would include the patent number, inventor(s), assignee (if available), and publication date (for patents and applications) or other relevant publication details (for non-patent literature).
   • Publication/Filing Date: The date the cited patent or application was published or filed, which is crucial for determining its prior art status under 35 U.S.C. § 102.
   • Brief Description: I would then review the abstract, claims, and potentially key figures and detailed description of each cited reference to understand its core inventive concept and how it relates to electric vehicle charging and power management.
   • Potential Anticipation (35 U.S.C. § 102): I would analyze whether the cited prior art discloses every element of any of the independent claims (Claim 1, Claim 8, or Claim 15) of US11563338. If a single piece of prior art discloses all limitations of a claim, it would potentially anticipate that claim under 35 U.S.C. § 102.

Since I cannot directly execute the search and retrieve the specific prior art details from the USPTO database at this moment, I cannot provide the exact list of prior art and their detailed analysis. However, if provided with the "References Cited" list from the patent document, I could then proceed with the analysis of each reference as described above.

As a technical patent analyst, I must first note a critical limitation in performing a comprehensive obviousness analysis under 35 U.S.C. § 103 for US Patent 11563338. The provided "Prior Art section of this page" in the patent text includes "Prior art keywords" and "Classifications," along with a "Prior art date" of 2008-07-11. However, it does not list specific prior art documents (e.g., other patents, publications) that could be combined to establish obviousness.

Therefore, this analysis will be based on the concepts suggested by the listed classifications and keywords, and the general knowledge a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) would possess in the field of electric vehicle charging and power management around the priority date of July 11, 2008. A robust obviousness determination typically requires specific, identified prior art references.

The PHOSITA in 2008 would have a foundational understanding of electric vehicle technology, basic electrical grid operation, communication protocols, sensor technology, and computerized scheduling and optimization.

Obviousness Analysis of US11563338

Independent Claim 1: Method for Intelligent Vehicle Charging

Claim elements (in plain language):

1. Receiving information indicative of a presence of a vehicle in a parking space.
2. Receiving information indicative of an identifier of the vehicle.
3. Determining, based at least on the information indicative of the identifier, a charging schedule for the vehicle.
4. Charging, in accordance with the charging schedule, the vehicle.

Conceptual Prior Art (based on classifications and keywords as of 2008-07-11):

• Vehicle Presence Detection: The classifications B60L3/12 (Recording operating variables; Monitoring of operating variables) and H02J7/1446 (Circuit arrangements for charging... in response to parameters of a vehicle) indicate that detecting vehicle presence and relevant parameters was known. The patent's definitions also explicitly mention vehicle sensors (e.g., magnetic, pressure, motion, wireless interrogation via Bluetooth®) for detecting presence and proximity.
• Vehicle Identification: The classifications B60L53/65 (Monitoring or controlling charging stations involving identification of vehicles or their battery types) and Y04S30/14 (Details associated with the interoperability, e.g. vehicle recognition, authentication, identification or billing) clearly show that vehicle identification was a known aspect of charging systems. The patent's definitions specify identifiers like VIN, license plate, account numbers (e.g., EZ-Pass®, PayPal®).
• Determining Charging Schedules: The concept of optimizing energy usage and managing charging based on vehicle parameters was recognized, as evidenced by H02J7/1446 (in response to parameters of a vehicle) and the general "charging" and "electric vehicle" keywords.
• Charging the Vehicle: This is a fundamental concept in electric vehicle technology, covered by "charging," "vehicle," "electric vehicle" keywords and classifications like B60L53/00 (Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles).

Motivation to Combine:
A PHOSITA in 2008, seeking to improve the efficiency, convenience, and user experience of electric vehicle charging, would have been motivated to combine these known elements.

1. Problem: Efficiently managing charging for multiple vehicles, especially in public or commercial settings. Manually initiating and stopping charging for each vehicle is inconvenient and inefficient.
2. Solution: Automatically detecting a vehicle's presence (using sensors already employed in parking management) and identifying it (using common communication technologies like Bluetooth, or vehicle identifiers like VIN/account numbers) would enable personalized and automated charging.
3. Optimization: Once a vehicle is identified, its specific charging preferences (e.g., desired charge level, departure time, cost sensitivity), stored either onboard the vehicle or in a remote server, could be accessed. This data, combined with real-time grid conditions, would motivate a PHOSITA to determine a charging schedule to optimize factors like cost or charging speed, leading to charging the vehicle according to that schedule. The classifications already point to monitoring and controlling charging stations based on vehicle identification and parameters.

Therefore, the combination of known vehicle presence detection, vehicle identification, and the desire to manage or optimize vehicle charging, would have made the steps of Claim 1 obvious to a PHOSITA prior to 2008-07-11.

Independent Claim 8: Method for Intelligent Quantitative Load Balancing for Vehicle Charging

Claim elements (in plain language):

1. Determining an estimated amount of power required to charge a plurality of vehicles to desired levels.
2. Providing, to a Power Supplying Entity (PSE), information indicative of the required power.
3. Receiving, from the PSE, information indicative of a time when a best available rate will be available to purchase the required power.
4. Charging, at the indicated time and via a plurality of vehicle charging devices, the plurality of vehicles.

Conceptual Prior Art (based on classifications and keywords as of 2008-07-11):

• Estimating Power for Multiple Vehicles: The "charging," "electric vehicle" keywords, combined with classifications like B60L53/00 (Methods of charging batteries, specially adapted for electric vehicles) and B60L53/60 (Monitoring or controlling charging stations), indicate a known need to manage power for EV charging. Aggregating the needs of a "plurality of vehicles" is a logical extension of managing individual vehicle charging.
• Communication with PSE: The concept of a Power Supplying Entity (PSE) and interaction with it for energy supply is fundamental to electrical grids. The classifications G06Q50/06 (Energy or water supply) and Y04S10/00 (Systems supporting electrical power generation, transmission or distribution) reflect this general understanding. The patent's definitions acknowledge "power supplying entity" and "PSE" as any entity involved in generation/provision of electrical energy.
• Receiving Best Rate Information: Optimizing energy costs based on electricity rates (e.g., time-of-use pricing) was a known concept in energy management. This is directly addressed by classifications like B60L53/64 (Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates) and G06Q30/0283 (Price estimation or determination).
• Scheduled Charging of Multiple Vehicles: This combines the concepts of charging (B60L53/00) with scheduling based on cost optimization (B60L53/64).

Motivation to Combine:
A PHOSITA in 2008, faced with the growing number of EVs and the need to manage their collective charging impact on the grid and optimize costs, would have been strongly motivated to combine these elements.

1. Problem: Uncoordinated charging of many EVs could lead to grid instability and high energy costs for consumers due to peak demand.
2. Solution: Quantitatively estimating the total power demand from a fleet of vehicles (e.g., in a parking lot) and communicating this aggregate demand to the PSE would enable better grid forecasting and potentially unlock favorable bulk rates or off-peak charging times.
3. Economic Incentive: The explicit presence of B60L53/64 (Optimising energy costs, e.g. responding to electricity rates) and G06Q30/0283 (Price estimation or determination) in the classifications provides direct motivation for a PHOSITA to receive information from the PSE about best available rates and then schedule charging to take advantage of those rates. This intelligent quantitative load balancing would benefit both the PSE (smoother load profile) and the EV users (lower costs).

Therefore, the idea of managing aggregated EV charging demand by communicating with a PSE to leverage dynamic pricing for cost optimization, and then scheduling charging accordingly, would have been obvious to a PHOSITA prior to 2008-07-11.

Independent Claim 15: Method for Intelligent Qualitative Load Balancing for Electrical Loads

Claim elements (in plain language):

1. Determining an electrical load that requires electrical power.
2. Determining a plurality of available sources of electrical power.
3. Determining a characteristic of each of the plurality of available sources of power.
4. Selecting, based at least in part on the determined characteristics, one or more of the available sources of power.
5. Activating at least one electrical switch to cause electrical power from the selected one or more sources to be provided to the electrical load.

Conceptual Prior Art (based on classifications and keywords as of 2008-07-11):

• Determining Electrical Load: The general "electrical" keyword, and classifications like H02J7/00 (Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries), indicate that identifying a demand for electrical power is fundamental.
• Determining Plurality of Available Sources: The concept of multiple power sources in a grid (centralized and distributed) was well-established. Classifications like B60L55/00 (Vehicle-to-grid [V2G] arrangements) and B60L8/003 (Converting light into electric energy, e.g. by using photo-voltaic systems) explicitly recognize vehicles and solar panels as potential energy sources alongside a main grid.
• Determining Characteristics of Sources: Evaluating power sources based on characteristics (e.g., cost, reliability, generation type like "greenness" or consistency, as explicitly mentioned in the patent's detailed description) was a known practice in energy management and smart grid development. The classifications Y04S10/12 (Monitoring or controlling equipment for energy generation units) and Y04S10/126 (Monitoring or controlling equipment for energy generation units... involving electric vehicles [EV] or hybrid vehicles [HEV], i.e. power aggregation of EV or HEV, vehicle to grid arrangements [V2G]) suggest monitoring and understanding the nature of different sources.
• Selecting Sources Based on Characteristics: This is a core principle of smart grid and optimized energy dispatch. Given the ability to determine characteristics (step 3), selecting based on those characteristics (e.g., choosing the cheapest, cleanest, or most reliable source) is a logical step for a PHOSITA.
• Activating Electrical Switch: The use of electrical switches to direct power flow is a fundamental component of any electrical grid or distribution system. H02J7/00 (Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries) implies this control.

Motivation to Combine:
A PHOSITA in 2008, seeking to optimize power delivery to an electrical load (e.g., an EV charging station, or even a building as discussed in the patent), especially in scenarios with distributed generation and fluctuating energy prices, would have been highly motivated to combine these concepts.

1. Problem: Efficiently and reliably supplying power to a load when multiple sources with varying characteristics (cost, availability, environmental impact) are present.
2. Solution: Identifying the load and all potential power sources is a prerequisite. The motivation arises from the desire to make informed choices about power sourcing. By determining characteristics such as cost, "greenness," distance, or consistency for each source (as highlighted in the patent's detailed description), a PHOSITA would be motivated to select the optimal source(s).
3. Implementation: Once a selection is made, physically directing that power via activating electrical switches is a standard engineering task in power distribution. The advent of V2G (B60L55/00) and localized renewables (B60L8/003) further incentivized smarter, qualitative choices for power routing.

Therefore, the method of identifying an electrical load, cataloging available power sources, evaluating their qualitative characteristics, selecting the most suitable sources, and then using electrical switches to supply power from those chosen sources, would have been obvious to a PHOSITA prior to 2008-07-11, particularly in the context of emerging smart grid and distributed energy management systems.