Robot Structural Design Optimization Patent Snapshot
ABB (Schweiz) AG holds a commanding position in this small, concentrated field, accounting for the largest single share of patent families among all filers. Annual filing activity has eased from its 2019 peak, placing the field in a late-stage or declining phase — though new entrants from China and South Korea signal that niche participation continues.
ABB leads a highly concentrated, specialist field
ABB (Schweiz) AG sits at the top of the applicant ranking with 4 patent families, well ahead of all other filers. Zhejiang Huandong Robot Joint Technology holds second place with 2 patent families; every other ranked applicant holds a single family.
The top five filers collectively account for 69% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating a highly concentrated visible assignee structure with a pronounced gap between the leader and the rest of the field.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABB (Schweiz) AG | 4 | |
| 2 | Zhejiang Huandong Robot Joint Technology Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 3 | EFORT Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 4 | Jeonju Vision University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation | 1 | |
| 5 | Franka Emika GmbH | 1 | |
| 6 | Shenzhen Zhonganwei Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 7 | Tsinghua University | 1 | |
| 8 | LIN YUEHONG | 1 | |
| 9 | ABB Technology AB | 1 |
ABB’s dominance — reinforced by a separate entity ABB Technology AB also appearing in the ranking — suggests that the company has approached robot structural design optimization as a sustained, multi-entity strategic priority rather than an opportunistic filing campaign.
Patent publication typically lags filing by 18–24 months, so activity in 2024–2026 is likely under-represented in this corpus and should be interpreted cautiously. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2019; manipulator-arm design dominates the technology mix
The filing trend and technology composition charts together show a field that flared in 2019, settled at low annual volumes, and has remained overwhelmingly anchored in the core manipulator and robot arm class.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings reached their peak in 2019 with 3 patent families, dropped to near-zero in 2020–2022, and recovered modestly in 2023–2025. The most recent years (2024–2025) should be treated as under-counted due to publication lag; the apparent zero in 2026 reflects lag, not confirmed absence of activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B25J (Manipulators and robots) accounts for the clear majority of technology records, confirming that structural optimization work is concentrated in the robot arm and manipulator sub-domain. F16H (Gearing and transmissions), G05B (Control and regulating systems), G06F (Electric digital data processing), B65G (Conveying and material handling), and H02K (Electric motors and generators) each appear at much lower levels, reflecting adjacent but peripheral technical coverage.
↗ 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.
Plastic robot arm link, associated robot and manuf…
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a plastic robot arm link. The robot arm link comprises a body made of plastic material; a connection arranged on the body and adapted to be coupled to a further plastic robot arm link or a transmission part of the robot; and an insertion made of material with a higher strength or stiffness than the plastic… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | An industrial robot with a drive unit comprising a… | 28 |
| 2 | Robot system, method for controlling a robot syste… | 14 |
| 3 | 一种基于有限元技术的工业机器人整机刚度优化方法 | 8 |
| 4 | 一种可独立伸缩旋转的两自由度机器人臂 | 7 |
| 5 | 一种低负载工业机器人小臂及腕部结构 | 2 |
| 6 | Plastic robot arm link, associated robot and manuf… | 1 |
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 (Schweiz) AG
ABB (Schweiz) AG holds 4 patent families, all concentrated in B25J (Manipulators and robots), spanning sub-classes B25J 9 (4 records), B25J 19 (2 records), and B25J 11 (1 record). A related entity, ABB Technology AB, contributes an additional patent family with coverage across B25J 9 and F16H 49 (Gearing and transmissions). Momentum data does not flag ABB as a new entrant, confirming an established, sustained filing posture rather than a recent surge.
families: 4Zhejiang Huandong Robot Joint Technology
Zhejiang Huandong Robot Joint Technology holds 2 patent families, focused on B25J 9 and B25J 18 within the manipulator class, with an additional record in F16H 1 (Gearing and transmissions) — indicating a specific interest in joint and transmission structural optimization. Momentum evidence flags this applicant as a new entrant, suggesting recent market entry with a targeted technical agenda rather than broad portfolio ambition.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 11 patent families. This is a specialist field with a small but defined set of active filers, dominated by industrial robotics incumbents and a handful of new entrants.
ABB (Schweiz) AG leads with 4 patent families, all concentrated in the B25J manipulators and robots class. A related entity, ABB Technology AB, holds an additional family, reinforcing ABB’s overall lead position.
The evidence places the field in a decline stage. Annual filings peaked in 2019 and have eased since, with a recent-window growth rate of -25%. New single-family entrants are still appearing, but the broad expansion phase has passed.
China leads with 6 patent records, followed by the United States with 4, WIPO PCT with 2, and South Korea with 1. Teams assessing freedom to operate should review all four jurisdictions.
B25J (Manipulators and robots) is by far the visible class. F16H (Gearing and transmissions) is a secondary focus. G05B (Control and regulating systems), G06F (Electric digital data processing), B65G (Conveying and material handling), and H02K (Electric motors and generators) each have only a single patent record, making them the most sparsely covered adjacent branches.
Three co-filing pairs are documented, all involving individual inventors — Yuan Feihu, Song Wei, and Ode Ove — collaborating with ABB entities. No cross-company or university-industry co-filing pairs appear in the evidence, suggesting a relatively closed innovation ecosystem centered on ABB.
Built on Patsnap Open Platform
This report’s underlying patent dataset — filings, assignees, technology clusters — is open for developers via MCP and REST API. Free to start, 10,000 credits, no credit card required.
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.