Robot Environmental Durability (IP-Rated) Patent Snapshot
This is a highly concentrated niche: the ABB corporate family dominates, collectively accounting for the majority of filings, with activity peaking sharply in 2019 and easing significantly since. New entrants remain sparse, and the field is past its peak filing rate, signalling that the core manipulator-sealing art is maturing.
ABB and a handful of challengers define a tightly held niche
The corpus of 18 patent families is dominated by the ABB corporate family, with ABB RES LTD ranking first, ABB AS (Norway) fourth, ABB (Schweiz) AG fifth, and ABB Technology Ltd also present — together accounting for the bulk of ranked activity. Soft Robotics Inc and Schmalz Flexible Gripping Inc represent the primary non-ABB challengers.
The top five filers hold an 82% share of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, indicating extreme concentration. There is a visible tier gap between ABB RES LTD at the top and the rest of the field, with most non-ABB players holding only one to seven patent records each.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABB RES LTD | 11 | |
| 2 | Schmalz Flexible Gripping Inc | 7 | |
| 3 | Soft Robotics Inc | 6 | |
| 4 | ABB AS (Norway) | 5 | |
| 5 | ABB (Schweiz) AG | 3 | |
| 6 | Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | ASSURANCE TECH | 1 | |
| 8 | Peitian Robotics Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 9 | ABB Technology Ltd | 1 | |
| 10 | FREY JAN ERIK | 1 | |
| 11 | Tongle Cable (Jiangsu) Co Ltd | 1 |
ABB’s visible position, spread across multiple legal entities and backed by the most-cited patents in the corpus, means that any competitor entering this space will encounter a dense prior-art thicket in core manipulator protection and wireless power supply for sealed robots.
Filings from the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; final activity levels for 2024–2025 will be higher than currently visible. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2019 filing spike drove the corpus; manipulator protection dominates the technology mix
The annual trend reveals a single pronounced peak followed by modest, irregular activity, while the technology composition chart shows B25J (manipulators and robots) as the overwhelmingly visible branch, with a secondary cluster in power supply and sealing-related classes.
Annual filing trend
Filing volume surged to its peak in 2019 and has since eased substantially, consistent with the lifecycle assessment of a maturing field. Years 2024–2025 should be read as provisional due to publication lag.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B25J (manipulators and robots) accounts for the largest share of IPC records, reflecting the core focus on robot-body sealing and protection. H02J (power supply) and H01F (magnets and transformers) form a secondary cluster tied to wireless power transmission for sealed enclosures, while E02B (hydraulic and waterway engineering) signals offshore and subsea robot applications.
↗ 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.
Robot for harsh outdoor environment
An industrial robot adapted for a harsh environment involving exposure to salt water. A robot arm includes a plurality of arm parts movable relative each other about a plurality of joints. Electrical motors move the arm parts. A salt water proof coating on at least a portion of an exterior of the robot arm parts. (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transmission Of Power Supply For Robot Application… | 250 |
| 2 | Industrial robot | 211 |
| 3 | Tactile sensor for an industrial robot or the like | 142 |
| 4 | Dustroof liquid-preventive structure of industrial… | 36 |
| 5 | Robot for harsh outdoor environment | 27 |
| 6 | A robot for harsh outdoor environment | 25 |
| 7 | Field-assembled soft gripping for industrial and c… | 14 |
| 8 | Industrial robot | 11 |
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.
ABB RES LTD
ABB RES LTD leads with 11 patent records, concentrated heavily in B25J (manipulators and robots), H02J (power supply and grid systems), and H01F (magnets and transformers) — a combination pointing to wireless power transmission for hermetically sealed robot systems. The broader ABB corporate family extends this lead through ABB AS (Norway), ABB (Schweiz) AG, and ABB Technology Ltd. The most-cited patents in the corpus, including works on power transmission for robot applications and industrial robot environmental protection, originate from this family.
patent records: 11Soft Robotics Inc
Soft Robotics Inc holds 6 patent records, focused entirely on B25J sub-classes covering manipulators, grippers, and robot body design — reflecting a soft-gripper approach to achieving environmental resilience without rigid sealed enclosures. Its momentum trend shows a decline of 82% in recent filings versus the prior period, suggesting that its most active filing phase has passed. The company’s approach represents a technically distinct route from ABB’s sealed hard-body strategy.
patent records: 6Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 18 patent families. This is a small, specialised niche relative to the broader industrial robotics field, reflecting that IP-rating as a primary inventive focus is a narrow sub-domain.
ABB RES LTD leads with 11 patent records, and the broader ABB corporate family — including ABB AS (Norway), ABB (Schweiz) AG, and ABB Technology Ltd — extends that position further. The top five filers together account for 82% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total.
Annual filings peaked sharply in 2019 and have eased back substantially since. The lifecycle is assessed as Decline, with a recent-period growth figure of minus 71% versus the prior window. Note that 2024–2025 figures are subject to publication lag and may be revised upward.
Europe via the EPO leads by patent records, followed by the United States and WIPO PCT filings. Secondary coverage exists in Canada, China, Germany, Japan, and Australia. China holds only two records in this niche.
The visible co-filing relationships are all internal to the ABB ecosystem — inventor pairs such as Charlotte Skourup and John Pretlove co-filing with ABB RES LTD and ABB AS (Norway). No cross-company partnerships are evident in the collaboration data.
F16J (pistons, seals, and gaskets) and G06F (electric digital data processing) each hold only 2 patent records and a 3% share, making them the sparsest branches in the corpus. E02B (hydraulic and waterway engineering) and B23Q (machine-tool fittings) are also lightly filed relative to the core B25J domain.
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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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