Harmonic Drive Precision Machining Patent Snapshot
The patent corpus for harmonic drive precision machining is extremely narrow, with only 2 patent families in scope, all held by a single institution — California Institute of Technology. Activity peaked in 2020 and has since eased, signaling a post-peak, niche research space with limited competitive breadth.
A single-institution corpus with complete concentration
California Institute of Technology is the sole ranked applicant, holding all 2 patent families in scope — a degree of concentration that is absolute rather than merely high.
The top five filers account for 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, reflecting a corpus where competitive dynamics between multiple organizations are entirely absent.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Institute of Technology | 2 |
Caltech’s position implies that harmonic drive precision machining, as scoped here, is an academic research output rather than a commercially contested space — leaving industrial entrants with wide room to establish positions.
Filings from approximately the last 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and may be under-counted; the apparent absence of post-2020 activity should be interpreted with that caveat. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A single filing cohort in 2020 defines all known activity
The annual filing trend and technology composition together describe a corpus that is both temporally concentrated and technically narrow, anchored entirely in gearing and transmission engineering.
Annual filing trend
All 2 patent families were filed in 2020; no filings appear in any other recorded year. The field peaked at that single cohort and annual volume has since eased to zero — though publication lag means very recent periods may be under-represented.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Both patent families are classified under F16H (Gearing & transmissions), indicating the corpus is technically homogeneous with no recorded diversification into adjacent IPC branches.
↗ 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.
Low Cost Wave Generators for Metal Strain Wave Gea…
Harmonic drives (HDs) are used widely in robotics as a method for achieving high gear reductions and for driving force transmissions. The HD is made a three components: a wave generator, a flexspline, and a circular spline. Low-cost wave generators for metal strain wave gearing are provided. Wave generators are provided that incorporate commercially… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Low Cost Wave Generators for Metal Strain Wave Gea… | 15 |
| 2 | Low cost wave generators for metal strain wave gea… | 4 |
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.
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.
California Institute of Technology
Caltech holds all 2 patent families in scope, both classified under F16H49 (gearing and transmissions). The institution’s filing activity was concentrated in 2020 with no subsequent filings recorded. Applicant momentum data is not available for this corpus, so trajectory direction cannot be quantified.
families: 2No challenger identified
No second-ranked applicant appears in the evidence. The corpus contains only one distinct filer, meaning the challenger tier is vacant. This represents a structural opening for any industrial or academic organization seeking to establish a competing IP position in harmonic drive precision machining.
families: —Frequently asked questions
The evidence shows 2 patent families in scope, all filed in the United States and all held by California Institute of Technology.
California Institute of Technology is the sole applicant in the ranked corpus, holding all 2 patent families. No other institution or company appears in the applicant ranking.
Both patent families were filed in 2020, which represents the single peak year for the field. No filings appear in any other year from 2017 to 2026 in this dataset.
Both families are classified under F16H (Gearing and transmissions), specifically sub-class F16H49. The corpus is technically homogeneous with no diversification into other IPC classes.
All 2 patent records are filed in the United States only. No other national or regional jurisdiction is represented, leaving international protection entirely open.
The lifecycle is classified as Decline, with annual filings having eased back from the 2020 peak. This suggests the current academic research cycle has completed, and the field may be receptive to renewed industrial investment or a first commercial entrant establishing new IP positions.
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. PatSnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.