EV Fast Charging for Off-Highway Vehicles Patent Landscape
This is a highly concentrated, nascent field of 25 patent families dominated by Zoox Inc, which holds the majority of filings; annual volume peaked in 2021 and has eased since. Adjacent branches in power conversion, battery systems, and vehicle drive remain comparatively sparse, signaling room for differentiated entry.
Zoox commands the field; the remaining applicants hold only a handful of families each
Zoox Inc leads the ranking with 18 patent families, followed at a significant distance by Cummins Inc with 3 and Eaton Intelligent Power Ltd with 2. Power Technology Holdings LLC and CNH Industrial America LLC each hold 1 family.
The top five filers collectively account for all of the top ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total in this corpus, reflecting extreme concentration in a field that has attracted only a small number of active participants to date. The gap between Zoox and the next-ranked applicant is substantial, suggesting a first-mover position rather than a contested race.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zoox Inc | 18 | |
| 2 | Cummins Inc | 3 | |
| 3 | Eaton Intelligent Power Ltd | 2 | |
| 4 | Power Technology Holdings LLC | 1 | |
| 5 | CNH Industrial America LLC | 1 |
Zoox’s visible position, built primarily around electric vehicle propulsion and wireless power supply systems, means that challengers entering this space will need to carve out differentiated technical approaches — particularly in the comparatively under-filed power conversion and battery sub-classes — rather than competing directly on the core charging interface claims.
Filings from roughly the past 18 to 24 months are subject to publication lag and likely under-represent actual recent activity; the apparent drop in 2023–2025 should be interpreted cautiously. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A sharp 2021 peak, a dominant propulsion class, and sparse adjacent branches
The filing trend reveals a clear single-cycle burst centered on 2021, while the technology composition chart shows that electric vehicle propulsion (B60L) is the overwhelmingly visible class, with power supply, vehicle drive, and battery sub-classes each at low single-digit counts.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2020, surged to a peak of 12 families in 2021, then eased to 6 in 2022 and fell further in subsequent years. Given publication lag, figures from 2023 onward are likely under-counted and should not be read as a confirmed sustained decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) accounts for all 25 records and is the defining class of this corpus. H02J (power supply and grid systems) is the second-largest branch at 9 records, while B60K, H02M, B60R, B62D, H01M, H02H, and H05K each appear at 4 records or fewer, indicating that sub-system and component-level coverage remains thin.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
DC fast charger wireless-charging adapter
A wireless-charging adapter is connectable to a direct current (DC) fast charger and includes an induction coil for wireless charging a second induction coil on a vehicle. In some instances, the adapter may include an electrical connector to mate with a DC fast charger. In addition, the adapter may include hardware and/or software to receive a DC from the… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Power distribution and circuit protection for a mo… | 77 |
| 2 | Scheduled battery charging of service vehicles | 14 |
| 3 | DC fast charger wireless-charging adapter | 10 |
| 4 | Thermal management for vehicle charging systems | 9 |
| 5 | Dense vehicle charging station | 9 |
| 6 | Controller for wireless power charger for vehicle | 7 |
| 7 | Electric generator for electric vehicle | 6 |
| 8 | Wireless power charger for vehicle | 5 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment
A small corpus concentrated in one applicant, past its initial activity peak, and skewed toward a single IPC class presents a distinctive set of strategic signals for engineers and R&D planners.
Field is in decline from a 2021 peak
The lifecycle stage is classified as Decline, with annual filings easing back from the 2021 peak of 12 families. The recent-window growth rate stands at –29%. This pattern is consistent with an early exploratory wave that has not yet attracted broad industry follow-on; it does not necessarily signal technological obsolescence, particularly given publication lag in the most recent years.
Lifecycle: DeclineSingle-applicant dominance with a thin challenger tier
Zoox Inc holds 18 of 25 patent families, and the top five filers account for all activity among the ranked applicants visible in this query in the corpus. The tier gap between Zoox and Cummins (3 families) is wide. This concentration reduces freedom-to-operate certainty for new entrants working near the core B60L53 charging interface claims, but leaves substantial technical space open in adjacent sub-classes.
High concentrationNo co-filing activity detected in this corpus
Evidence pending — no co-applicant or collaborative filings appear in the data for this topic. The absence of cross-organization collaboration suggests the field has not yet developed the consortia or joint-development structures seen in more mature electrification domains. This may present an opportunity for standards-body or supply-chain partnerships that could accelerate adoption.
No co-filers recordedUS-centric filing with limited international coverage
The United States leads with 14 records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 6 and WIPO (PCT) at 4. India appears with 1 record. The relatively low PCT and EPO counts relative to US filings suggest that most applicants have not yet pursued broad international protection, which may leave geographic white space in non-US markets for challengers willing to file internationally.
US-visibleGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Zoox Inc
Zoox holds 18 patent families, concentrated in B60L 53 (electric vehicle charging interfaces, 18 records) and H02J 50 and H02J 7 (wireless power supply and grid systems, 7 and 4 records respectively). Its recent filing trend is down 50% versus the prior period, consistent with the broader post-2021 easing. The portfolio reflects a vertically integrated charging architecture approach rather than component-level specialization.
families: 18Cummins Inc
Cummins holds 3 patent families and is classified as a new entrant, with 2 recent families representing its initial activity in this space. Its technology focus is in B60K 1 and B60K 6 (vehicle propulsion and drive, 3 records each) and B60L 1 (electric vehicle propulsion, 3 records), indicating an approach grounded in powertrain integration rather than charging infrastructure per se — a differentiated angle relative to Zoox.
families: 3Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 25 patent families in scope. This is a small, early-stage field relative to broader EV charging patent activity.
Zoox Inc is the clear leader with 18 patent families, more than five times the next-ranked applicant, Cummins Inc, which holds 3 families.
Annual filings peaked in 2021 at 12 families and have eased since. The recent-window growth rate is -29%. Figures from the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and likely under-count actual activity.
B60L (electric vehicle propulsion) is the visible class, appearing across all 25 records. H02J (power supply and grid systems) is second with 9 records. B60K, H02M, B60R, B62D, H01M, H02H, and H05K each appear at 4 records or fewer.
The United States leads with 14 records, followed by Europe (EPO) at 6 records, WIPO (PCT) at 4 records, and India at 1 record. Coverage outside the US is limited, suggesting potential geographic white space in other markets.
No co-applicant or collaborative filings are recorded in this corpus. The field has so far been developed through single-entity filings without the cross-organization partnerships common in more mature electrification domains.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from PatSnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
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