Oxygen Concentrator Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filing peaked in 2021 at 290 records, then fell 68% to 93 by 2024 — the last year the data can treat as complete.
- The top 5 assignees hold 25.8% of all 3,711 records, but the ranked leaders' momentum is now mostly negative or flat year-on-year.
- Non-metallic inorganic compound claims (C01B) touch 19.2% of records, well behind the two dominant classes but still a meaningful adjacent filing zone.
Filing growth compares 2021 (290 records) with 2024 (93) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 3,711 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks patent activity at the intersection of oxygen concentrator hardware and supplemental oxygen delivery methods, filtered to records that also claim pressure swing adsorption, zeolite sieve beds, pulse dose delivery, oxygen purity control, noise level or portable weight limits. That combination captures the core engineering trade-offs of the field: how a concentrator separates oxygen from ambient air, and how it gets that oxygen to a patient without excess bulk, noise or power draw.
The scope spans 3,711 published records filed or published between 2015 and the mid-2026 data cut-off, drawn from receiving offices led by the United States, the European Patent Office and the WIPO PCT route. Publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so activity in the most recent one to two years is understated in any trend line.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 3,711-record dataset: how filing volume moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim weight.
A sharp rise, then a pullback from peak
Filings climbed from 92 in 2017 to a peak of 290 in 2021, then declined to 93 by 2024 — a 68% drop over that three-year span. Readers should treat 2025 and 2026 figures as still filling in rather than as evidence the field is cooling further; the decline through 2024 is the only trend that can be stated with confidence.
Devices and separation processes dominate
A61M (devices for body fluids) and B01D (separation processes including filtration) each touch roughly half of all records, confirming that concentrator hardware and gas-separation mechanics are the two central claim areas. C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds) sits well behind at 19.2%, with A62B rescue equipment, B01J catalysis, and analytical or water-treatment classes trailing further — each a narrower adjacent zone rather than a core battleground.
Shares are the percentage of the 3,711 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Oxygen Concentrators and Delivery with Eureka
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Try EurekaThe records shaping this field
Pressure swing adsorption process using low pressure, variable-feed rate compressed air, and assembly therefor
The application describes an oxygen-enrichment assembly built around a variable-speed air compressor feeding a concentrator, with a downstream mass flow controller regulating the enriched-gas output rate. The claims cover modified pressure swing adsorption processes tied to this variable-feed-rate architecture, rather than a fixed-flow PSA cycle.Filed by Poseidon Ocean Systems Ltd., published August 2026 — one of the most recent filings in scope.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6651658B1 | Portable oxygen concentration system and method of using the same | 450 |
| 2 | US20080241052A1 | Apparatus, method and system for delivering oxygen-ozone | 425 |
| 3 | US6691702B2 | Portable oxygen concentration system and method of using the same | 360 |
| 4 | US5827358A | Rapid cycle pressure swing adsorption oxygen concentration method and apparatus | 310 |
| 5 | US4686974A | Breath synchronized gas-insufflation device and method therefor | 298 |
| 6 | US6176897B1 | High frequency pressure swing adsorption | 295 |
| 7 | US6629525B2 | Portable oxygen concentration system and method of using the same | 275 |
| 8 | US5917135A | Gas concentration sensor and control for oxygen concentrator utilizing gas concentration sensor | 255 |
| 9 | US6520176B1 | Portable oxygen concentrator | 252 |
| 10 | US5979440A | Methods and apparatus to generate liquid ambulatory oxygen from an oxygen concentrator | 240 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had more time to be cited within this corpus; treat them as a signal of influence on subsequent filings, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Four patterns stand out once filing volume, assignee concentration and technology composition are read together.
Peak filing has passed, at least through the last complete year
Filings rose steadily from 92 in 2017 to a peak of 290 in 2021, then fell to 93 by 2024. That decline is measured only through 2024, the last year publication lag does not distort; it does not extend to 2025 or 2026 on this data.
Ownership is concentrated but not locked up
The top 5 assignees combined account for 25.8% of all 3,711 records in scope, and the top 10 combined for 39.8%. That leaves the majority of filing activity spread across a long tail of smaller and single-filing entrants.
Device claims and separation claims run neck and neck
A61M (body-fluid delivery devices) covers 54.1% of records and B01D (separation processes) covers 50.6% – the two largest classes are close enough that neither dominates the field outright. Both figures exceed 50% because many records claim both a delivery mechanism and a separation process together.
Leading assignees have gone quiet in the newest year
Several of the most active historical filers show zero or single-digit filings in the latest year, with year-on-year drops in the 60-70% range where activity remains. Given publication lag, this understates true recent filing but still signals a shift away from the previous filing pace among established leaders.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to oxygen concentrators and delivery, with the prior art for and against each one.
Leaders, pairs and where activity is thinning
The ranking spans 100 companies tracked across the full 3,711-record dataset. Filing sits at the top but is not locked there: the leader holds 246 records, fifth place 132, and tenth place 99 – a gradual taper rather than a cliff.
A gradual taper, not a monopoly
The leading assignee holds 246 records against a fifth-place figure of 132 and a tenth-place figure of 99. The top 10 combined reach 39.8% of all records in scope, leaving roughly three in five records held outside the leading group.
Co-filing is limited and mostly intra-group
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset. The strongest pairing links two related corporate entities at 27 shared filings, followed by an affiliate pairing at 15 and a supplier-partner pairing at 14 – patterns that look more like internal group filing than open industry collaboration.
Established filers are pulling back
Assignees that were previously active now show year-on-year declines in the 62-67% range where any filings remain, and zero filings in the latest year for several others. This mirrors the broader post-2021 pullback rather than signalling exit by any single company.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| ResMed Ltd | 5 | -62% |
| Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd | 1 | -67% |
| ResMed Asia Pte Ltd | 1 | -67% |
| Teijin Pharma Co Ltd | 0 | — |
| Koninklijke Philips N.V. | 0 | — |
| Invacare Corporation | 0 | — |
| Teijin Ltd | 0 | — |
| Xiguo Technology Co. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next questions for R&D and IP teams working in this space.
Map claim boundaries around the leading PSA patents
The most-cited records center on portable PSA concentration systems and rapid-cycle PSA methods; understanding exactly what they claim is the first step before filing anywhere near variable-flow or rapid-cycle architectures.
Explore citation network in EurekaTrack the post-2021 pullback by assignee
Several established filers show sharp year-on-year declines; confirming whether this reflects portfolio consolidation, licensing shifts or genuine pullback needs assignee-level filing history beyond this summary.
Run assignee trend analysis in EurekaTest claim language in the under-claimed branches
Variable-feed-rate control and noise/weight co-optimisation show thinner claim density than the two dominant classes; drafting a first claim there benefits from checking prior art depth specifically in those sub-areas.
Search white space in EurekaCommon questions on oxygen concentrator patents
The assignee ranking in this dataset covers 100 companies across 3,711 records, with the leader holding 246 records. The top 5 assignees combined account for 25.8% of all records in scope, and the top 10 combined for 39.8%, which means the field is concentrated at the top but far from dominated by any single company. A long tail of smaller filers accounts for the majority of remaining activity, so competitive tracking should not stop at the leading names.
Filing rose from 92 records in 2017 to a peak of 290 in 2021, then declined to 93 by 2024 – a 68% drop over that three-year span. That decline can be stated with confidence only through 2024, because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months and 2025-2026 figures are still filling in. It would be inaccurate to describe the field as currently declining based on the newest one or two years alone.
Two IPC subclasses dominate: A61M, covering devices for delivering body fluids, appears in 54.1% of the 3,711 records, and B01D, covering separation processes such as filtration, appears in 50.6%. Because many records claim both a delivery mechanism and a separation process, these shares overlap and add to more than 100%. Behind these two, C01B (non-metallic elements and inorganic compounds) reaches 19.2%, with rescue equipment, catalysis and analytical classes trailing further.
Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is one of the core search terms defining this dataset's scope, alongside zeolite sieve beds and pulse dose delivery, because it is the dominant method by which portable concentrators separate oxygen from ambient air. Several of the most-cited records in this dataset, including rapid-cycle PSA methods and portable PSA concentration systems, sit directly in this space. Newer filings, such as the 2026 representative filing on variable-feed-rate PSA, continue to refine PSA cycle control rather than replace the underlying method.
Relative to the two dominant classes, sub-areas such as variable-feed-rate PSA control, noise-and-weight co-optimisation for portable units, and catalytic sieve-bed regeneration show thinner claim density in this dataset. That does not mean these areas are unclaimed, but claim density is lower than in core device and separation classes, which is where a freedom-to-operate search should focus before drafting. Confirming this requires checking prior art directly in those narrower branches rather than relying on the aggregate IPC shares alone.
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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.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.