Autonomous Commercial Scrubber-Dryers
Patent Landscape for Robotic Floor Cleaning Machines in Commercial Use — CPC A47L11 + A47L2201
Market Overview — Annual Filing Trend
Total patent families for robotic floor cleaning (A47L11 + A47L2201) filed per year.
* 2023–2024: Incomplete data due to ~18-month publication delay (PATSTAT Autumn 2025 Edition).
The robotic floor cleaning patent landscape grew 61% from 857 families in 2019 to a peak of 1,381 in 2022. The apparent decline in 2023–2024 is largely attributable to publication delay — most patent offices publish applications 18 months after filing.
The Full Landscape — Consumer Brands Dominate
Top applicants by DOCDB patent families. Consumer robot mop makers hold 14 of the top 16 positions.
Consumer robot mop brands hold 14 of the top 15 positions. Narwal (Silver Star/Yunjing) leads with 424 families, followed by Roborock (301) and Dreame (286). The first commercial cleaning equipment specialist — 3i Robotics (55 families) — appears at position 15.
Data table: Full Applicant Ranking
| Rank | Company | Country | Segment | Families |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Narwal (Silver Star/Yunjing) | CN | Consumer | 424 |
| 2 | Roborock | CN | Consumer | 301 |
| 3 | Dreame | CN | Consumer | 286 |
| 4 | Midea Group | CN | Consumer | 233 |
| 5 | LG Electronics | KR | Consumer | 222 |
| 6 | Gree | CN | Consumer | 192 |
| 7 | Ecovacs | CN | Consumer | 175 |
| 8 | iRobot | US | Consumer | 126 |
| 9 | Samsung Electronics | KR | Consumer | 113 |
| 10 | Amicro Semiconductor | CN | Consumer | 103 |
| 11 | SharkNinja | US/CN | Consumer | 100 |
| 12 | Haier | CN | Consumer | 91 |
| 13 | BSH Hausgeraete | DE | Consumer | 85 |
| 14 | Tineco | CN | Consumer | 66 |
| 15 | 3i Robotics | CN | Commercial | 55 |
| 16 | Gaussian Robotics | CN | Commercial | 53 |
| 17 | Kaercher | DE | Commercial | 34 |
| 18 | Avidbots | CA | Commercial | 15 |
| 19 | Hako | DE | Commercial | 10 |
The Commercial Segment — Deep Dive
Who are the key patent holders for autonomous commercial floor cleaning machines?
Ranking Within A47L Scope
Among commercial cleaning equipment specialists, Chinese companies 3i Robotics (55 families) and Gaussian Robotics (53 families) lead in the A47L robotic floor cleaning classification. German Kaercher ranks third (34 families). Traditional market leaders Tennant (US) and Nilfisk (DK) have surprisingly few patents classified under A47L robotic cleaning — but this tells only part of the story.
Extended Technology Portfolio
Data table: Extended Technology Portfolio
| Company | Country | Total | Cleaning (A47L) | Navigation (G05D) | Robotics (B25J) | Perception | Outdoor (E01H) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaussian Robotics | CN | 316 | 108 | 36 | 21 | 50 | 23 |
| Kaercher | DE | 298 | 154 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3i Robotics | CN | 211 | 132 | 11 | 3 | 20 | 0 |
| Hako | DE | 172 | 24 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Brain Corp | US | 116 | 13 | 59 | 35 | 42 | 1 |
| Nilfisk | DK | 40 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Avidbots | CA | 23 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Tennant | US | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| LionsBot | SG | 16 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Families can carry multiple CPC codes. Column totals may exceed "Total Families".
The extended portfolio view reveals fundamentally different IP strategies. Kaercher holds the most cleaning machine patents (154 A47L families) but almost no autonomy-specific IP. Brain Corp — which provides the autonomous navigation platform for machines manufactured by Tennant, Nilfisk, and others — holds the most navigation (59 G05D) and robotics (35 B25J) patents. Gaussian Robotics has the most balanced portfolio across all technology layers.
Filing Strategy & Geographic Reach
Where do the commercial players file their patents? Number of applications per jurisdiction.
Data table: Filing Jurisdictions
| Company | Home | CN | US | EP | WO | DE | JP | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaussian Robotics | CN | 498 | — | — | 9 | — | — | — |
| Kaercher | DE | 139 | 81 | 139 | 183 | 208 | — | 30 |
| Brain Corp | US | 3 | 98 | 21 | 53 | — | 9 | 26 |
| Hako | DE | 69 | 39 | 38 | 31 | 38 | 42 | 51 |
| Nilfisk | DK | 25 | 18 | 16 | 15 | — | — | 9 |
| Avidbots | CA | — | 18 | — | 6 | — | — | 15 |
| Tennant | US | 6 | 12 | 6 | 14 | — | — | 3 |
Gaussian Robotics files 99% of its patents in China (498 of 503 families), with only 9 PCT applications for international reach. This contrasts sharply with Kaercher, which covers 6 major jurisdictions with 183 PCT filings. Brain Corp focuses on the US market (98 families) with PCT extension to Europe and Japan. Hako shows the broadest geographic spread, filing in 15+ jurisdictions.
Filing Dynamics of Commercial Players
Annual patent filing trends for the top commercial players (total portfolios, all CPC areas).
* 2024: Incomplete data due to ~18-month publication delay.
Gaussian Robotics saw explosive growth from 61 families in 2019 to 160 in 2021, then a sharp decline. The 2023 drop (38 families) and absence in 2024 reflect publication lag for Chinese filings in PATSTAT. Kaercher maintains consistent filing activity at 45–80 families per year. Nilfisk shows a notable spike in 2022 (21 families, up from 3), possibly indicating a strategic push into autonomous cleaning.
Patent Quality & Impact
Grant rates and citation impact of commercial players.
Grant Rates
Data table: Grant Rates by Company
| Company | Country | Families | Granted | Grant Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaussian Robotics | CN | 316 | 231 | 73.0% |
| 3i Robotics | CN | 211 | 150 | 71.3% |
| Hako | DE | 172 | 102 | 59.3% |
| Brain Corp | US | 116 | 65 | 56.3% |
| Tennant | US | 19 | 9 | 47.6% |
| Nilfisk | DK | 40 | 18 | 43.8% |
| Kaercher | DE | 298 | 112 | 37.6% |
| Avidbots | CA | 23 | 8 | 36.0% |
| LionsBot | SG | 16 | 2 | 11.1% |
Chinese players Gaussian Robotics (73%) and 3i Robotics (71.3%) show the highest grant rates, driven by rapid CNIPA examination. The fast grant process in China contrasts with longer timelines at EP and USPTO. Kaercher’s lower rate (37.6%) reflects its heavy international filing portfolio, where many applications are still pending examination.
Most Cited Families
Data table: Most Cited Patent Families
| Rank | Applicant | Title | Year | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brain Corp | Systems and methods for robotic navigation | 2019 | 723 |
| 2 | Brain Corp | Systems and methods for autonomous navigation | 2019 | 569 |
| 3 | Brain Corp | Systems and methods for robot navigation in environments | 2020 | 235 |
| 4 | Brain Corp | Adaptive mapping and navigation with robots | 2019 | 230 |
| 5 | Gaussian Robotics | Cleaning robot path planning method and system | 2020 | 87 |
Brain Corp dominates citation impact with its top 4 families accumulating over 1,750 citations — reflecting its role as a foundational navigation platform provider. These patents cover core autonomous navigation systems used by multiple OEM partners (Tennant, Nilfisk, and others). Gaussian Robotics’ most cited family focuses on cleaning-specific path planning rather than general robotics.
Methodology & Data Notes
Search strategy, data source, and known limitations.
Search Strategy
This report uses a classification-based approach centered on CPC subclasses A47L11 (machines for cleaning floors with suction) and A47L2201 (robotic cleaning devices). The search captures all patent families with at least one application classified under these codes, filed between 2019 and 2024.
Commercial Segment Identification
The commercial segment was identified by manually selecting companies known to manufacture or supply technology for autonomous commercial floor cleaning machines. This includes OEMs (Kaercher, Hako, Tennant, Nilfisk, Avidbots, LionsBot), Chinese specialists (Gaussian Robotics, 3i Robotics), and the navigation platform provider Brain Corp.
Extended Portfolio Analysis
For the extended technology portfolio (Section 3), all patent families from selected commercial players were retrieved regardless of CPC classification. Families were then categorized by technology area based on their CPC codes: Cleaning (A47L), Navigation (G05D), Robotics (B25J), Perception (G06T, G01S), and Outdoor Cleaning (E01H).
Name Deduplication
Applicant names were harmonized using PATSTAT’s han_name field and manual consolidation of known variants (e.g., Gaussian Robotics / Shanghai Gaussian, Narwal / Silver Star / Yunjing Intelligence).
Data Freshness
PATSTAT Global, Autumn 2025 Edition. Filing data is substantially complete through 2022. The 2023 cohort has an estimated ~22% gap due to the 18-month publication delay; 2024 data is minimal.
Scope Limitations
- Utility models and designs are excluded (patent applications of invention only)
- Applications filed before 2019 are not included in the landscape overview
- The commercial player selection is manually curated and may miss smaller or newer entrants
- Consumer robot mop brands (Narwal, Roborock, Dreame, etc.) are included in the landscape but not analyzed in depth
- Chinese domestic filings dominate the dataset; some Chinese applicants may lack country codes in PATSTAT
- Brain Corp patents are classified primarily under navigation/robotics codes, not A47L — their low A47L count underrepresents their relevance to autonomous cleaning
- Filing dynamics for 2023–2024 are incomplete due to publication delay, particularly affecting Chinese filings
Glossary — Patent Terms Explained
- Patent Family (DOCDB)
- A group of patent applications that protect the same invention across different countries. Counted once to avoid double-counting.
- CPC A47L11 / A47L2201
- Cooperative Patent Classification codes for floor-cleaning machines with suction (A47L11) and robotic cleaning devices (A47L2201). Form the basis of this report's search strategy.
- EP / WO / DE / US / CN
- Patent office codes: EP = European Patent Office, WO = International (PCT), DE = Germany (DPMA), US = United States (USPTO), CN = China (CNIPA).
- PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty)
- International filing route that allows applicants to seek patent protection in multiple countries via a single WO application.
- Grant Rate
- Percentage of patent applications that are ultimately granted. Rates for recent years appear low because examination takes 3–5 years.
- G05D / B25J / G06T / G01S
- CPC codes for navigation control (G05D), robotics/manipulators (B25J), image processing (G06T), and range-finding/sensing (G01S). Used for the extended portfolio analysis.
- han_name
- PATSTAT's harmonized applicant name field. Consolidates spelling variants of the same organization under a standardized name.
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This report was built with a fully reproducible pipeline: EPO PATSTAT Global on BigQuery, a custom MCP server, and Claude AI for analysis and visualization. Everything is open and auditable — the SQL queries are included.