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Relecura IP Intelligence Report

Electric Vehicle (EV) Technology


Battery and Charging Patents
Tesla Motors vs. The Rest

Relecura Inc.
www.relecura.com
contact@relecura.com September 2014
Background

Recent News from the Electric Vehicle (EV) industry:


• Tesla has announced that it will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, “… in good faith, wants to use our technology.”
[Link]
• Tesla and Panasonic are developing nickel based lithium ion battery cells, and are jointly building a large plant to manufacture
these batteries. [Link]
• BMW has announced that it is willing to open up it’s battery technology patents for use by other companies. [Link]
• Toyota signals a move away from EVs to fuel cell cars. [Link]
• Tesla is credited with reigniting interest in the plug-in EV among large automakers.
• The introduction of Tesla’s Roadster in 2006 – a plug-in electric sports car, powered by Li-ion batteries, with a range of over 200
miles per charge and an acceleration of 0-60 miles per hour in under 4 seconds - spurred the large automakers to introduce plug-in
EV models. [Link]
This report tries to address questions such as:
• Who are the major patent holders in the EV space and how does their technology IP focus compare with that of Tesla?
• How does Tesla’s core IP in battery and charging technology compare with the patent assets of the other major players?
• What seems to be the current technology focus of Tesla, as well as the other companies in the EV space?

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 2


Key Findings
Top EV patent holders vs. Tesla (Tech focus in an approximate order of priority) and Hitachi (Toyota is the sole automaker in this group).
Top EV Players Tesla • In Lithium battery technology, the top players mainly focus on the manufacture
Hybrid vehicles Plug-in electric vehicles of batteries. In comparison Tesla focuses on systems that make their functioning
Fuel cells Lithium-Ion battery packs more efficient, such as battery monitoring, temperature control , and safety
Power transmission components Fast charging (Supercharging) systems.
Battery control systems Temperature regulation in batteries
• Patent filing trends of the various large automakers seem to suggest that the
Capacitors Battery management introduction of Tesla’s Roadster in 2006 prompted the auto majors to reboot
Storage systems Safety systems related to battery charging their EV related development (as indicated by a dip in filings around that time,
Charging cables and connectors Improving battery life followed by an increase).
On-board vehicle charging systems & methods Reducing damage during charging and discharging
• From their filing history, it would seem that the large automakers are hedging
their bets between plug-in EVs and electric or fuel cell hybrids. The are actively
• Top EV patent holders include a mix of automakers and battery manufacturers. filing in both EV and fuel cell related technologies.
The list includes Toyota, Nissan, Honda, General Motors, Bosch, and Panasonic.
• Tesla on the other hand is filing in technologies related to plug-in EVs alone,
• The active markets for EVs are indicated by the preferred jurisdictions for patent with an emphasis on a range of technologies related to batteries and charging.
filings by the top players. Interestingly China is #1, followed by Japan. The U.S.
and Europe are #3 and #4 respectively. • In spite of a smaller portfolio than the larger players, Tesla (established in 2003)
has significant IP related to battery technology (Li-ion), and charging (fast
• Sixty percent (60%) of Tesla’s patent portfolio is related to battery packs and charging).
charging – their key focus area.
• General Motors, Audi, Toyota, Ford, Samsung and Panasonic all cite Tesla
• The top Lithium battery patent holders are LG, Bosch, Toyota, Sony, Samsung, patents, indicating a likely overlap in their R&D focus.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 3


Table of Contents

1. Electric Vehicles (EV) - Patent Landscape 3. EV Battery Technology - Patent Portfolio 4. EV Charging Technology - Patent Portfolio
• EV Technologies - Top Patent Holders Analysis Analysis
• EV Technologies - Filing Trends (Overall) • EV Battery Technology - Top Patent Holders • EV Charging Technology - Top Patent Holders
• EV Technologies - Filing Trends (Top Holders) • EV Battery Portfolio - Tesla vs. Nissan, Honda, Toyota • EV Charging - Tesla vs. Panasonic, Honda, Toyota
• EV Technologies - Filings by Jurisdiction • EV Battery Portfolio - Tesla vs. Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Bosch • EV Charging Technology - Filing Trends (Overall)
• Electric Vehicles (EV) - Technology Categories • Temperature Regulation Patents (Major Automakers) - • EV Charging Technology - Filing Trends (Top holders)
Tesla vs. Nissan, Honda, Toyota
• EV Technologies - Category counts (Equivalents) • EV Charging Technology - Filings by Jurisdiction
• Temperature Regulation Patents (Battery
• Tesla - EV Charging Portfolio
2. Tesla Motors - Patent Portfolio Analysis Manufacturers) - Tesla vs. Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Bosch
• Tesla - Top Cited EV Charging Patents
• Tesla Portfolio - Technology Spread • EV Battery Technology - Filing Trends
• Tesla’s Key Technology - "Fast Charging" Patents
• Tesla Portfolio - Filing Trends • EV battery Technology - Filing Trends (Top holders)
• Tesla Portfolio - Technology Categories • EV Battery Technology - Filing by Jurisdiction 5. List of Tables
• Portfolio Comparison - Tesla vs. BMW (Absolute Counts) • Li-ion Battery Technology - Top patent holders
• Portfolio Comparison - Tesla vs. BMW (Relative Emphasis) • Li-ion Battery - Filing Trends (Top holders) 6. Disclaimer
• Portfolio Comparison - Tesla vs. Panasonic • Fuel Cells - Filing Trends (Top holders)
• EV Technologies - Tesla vs. The Rest - Portfolio Counts and • Li-ion Battery Patents - Tesla vs. Others
Ranks
• Tesla - EV Battery Portfolio
• EV Battery and Charging Technologies - Filing Trends
(Overall) • Tesla - Top Cited EV Battery Patents
• GM Battery Portfolio Growth - via Acquisition and M&A
• Bosch Battery Portfolio Growth - via Acquisition and
M&A

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 4


Electric Vehicles (EV) - Patent Landscape

September 2014 © Relecura Inc. 5


EV Technologies – Top Patent Holders

Key finding: Toyota’s EV portfolio is by far the largest among the top players.
Table 1 (click link to open Tables PDF) gives a list of the various classification relating to various EV sub-technologies.

The above results are based on 323,960 relevant patent documents for EV technologies comprising of 161,183 equivalents**.
** An EQUIVALENT refers to a set of patent filings for a single invention.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 6


EV Technologies – Filing Trends (Overall)

Key finding: The patent filings in EV technology have continuously increased over time from the mid ‘90s.
The decline in filings post 2012 is most likely due to unpublished applications.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 7


EV Technologies – Filing Trends (Top Holders)

6 15 21 35 34 43 64 27 3

111 277 176 263 266 202


39
29 48 56 35 40 35 59 4 Key Findings:
74
70 74 66 74 85 148 161 137 159 228 289 225 65 4 • Most of the top patent holders began filing
71 113 108 79 91 281 243 222 172 278 361 295 84 6
prior to 2000.
40
• Tesla’s earliest patent filing was in 2006.

Patent Holder
123 90 114 98 114 131 133 149 160 271 339 241
109
62 9
• Daimler and Hyundai show an increase in
120 87 93 110 158 247 191 211 188 245 320 265 57 3 patent filings post 2006 – perhaps indicating a
138
398 515 608 greater emphasis in EV technologies.
41 54 44 45 70 95 163 224 304 130 18
36

66 75 107 211 210


343
581
342 326 371 295
97
• The same can be said to a lesser extent about
54 32 6
the other large players – both automakers and
147 199 206 166 183 166 182 153 252 253 361 378 330 80 7
battery manufacturers
113 170 291
358 368 295 249 184 213 320 280 306 298 149
• As an aside – Tesla introduced their first
equivalents

2
Number of

1800 495 685 1,701


247 269 336
868
1,175
1,544
1,270 1,114 172 29
model, The Roadster, in 2006 – creating a buzz
900 1,562 1,216

0
which caused the large automakers and
2011
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2012

2013

2014
battery manufacturers to reboot their EV-
related development.
Filing Year

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 8


EV Technologies - Filings by Jurisdiction

Country
Country Number of Applications
Code
CN China 59428
JP Japan 47750
US USA 46916
DE Germany 20272
EP Europe 19578
KR Korea 11999
CA Canada 4323
FR France 3866
TW Taiwan 2831

Key Finding: The large number of filings in China, Japan, U.S. clearly indicates the
markets of interest for the top players.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 9


Electric Vehicles (EV) – Technology Categories

Key Findings:
• Batteries, power supply systems, propulsion, and
control units are the top segments for patents in EV
technologies.
• Other technologies covered include electric elements,
automotive components like gears, couplings, clutches
& brakes, electric cables and materials related to
batteries, safety devices, exhaust devices, vehicle
fittings and servicing.

The size of the bubble represents the number of patents


and the positioning of the circles represents the relatedness
of the technologies.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 10


EV Technologies – Category counts (Equivalents)

Relecura Technology Category No of Equivalents Relecura Technology Category No of Equivalents


Electric Elements - Batteries 27,609 Non Metallic Elements & Compounds 1,547
Propulsion Units For Vehicles 24,014 Electric Elements - Connectors, Collectors 1,543
Control Systems For Vehicles 13,731 Propulsion For Wheeled Vehicles 1,523
Power Supply & Distribution Circuits 11,061 Couplings, Clutches & Brakes 1,294
Measurement - Electric & Magnetic Variables 8,636 Cycles 1,238
Gearing 7,139 Internal Combustion Engines 1,199
Vehicle Technology Misc 3,832 Inorganic Solid Compounds 954
Dynamo Electric Machines 3,651 Vehicle Suspension 921
Greentech - Smart Grid 3,311 Inorganic Compounds Or Salts Containing Metals 827
Power Controllers & Regulators 3,302 Electric Supply For Vehicles 826
Brake Control Systems 2,609 Lifting Or Pushing Loads 753
Electric Elements - Capacitors 2,595 Data Transmission 748
Combustion Engine Control 2,488 Protective Circuits 593
Vehicle Fittings 2,422 Electric Elements - Cables 568
Air Treating Devices For Vehicles 1,888 Electric Elements - Switches 543
Electric Power Converters 1,844 Exhaust Devices 532
Combustion Engines Starting Apparatus 1,696 Vehicle Servicing 531
Data Processing Systems 1,589

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 11


Tesla Motors - Patent Portfolio Analysis

September 2014 © Relecura Inc. 12


Tesla Portfolio – Technology Spread

Click to view Tesla Portfolio


present in Relecura

Key finding: Approximately 60% of Tesla’s patent portfolio is related to battery packs and charging.
• Tesla has a total of 655 patents resulting in 249 equivalents including 8 design patents.
• Tesla currently holds 311 documents (142 eq.) and has assigned 343 documents (168 eq.) to PNC Bank as security.
• Joint patent holdings: Tesla + Nishikawa Rubber Co. Ltd. - 7 documents (2 equivalents), Tesla + Toyota – 1 document.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 13


Tesla Portfolio – Filing Trends

Key finding: Tesla started filing patents in 2005 with a sharp rise filing in 2011.
The decline post 2012 is most likely due to unpublished patent applications.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 14


Tesla Portfolio – Technology Categories

Key Finding: Batteries, charging (power supply and


distribution circuits), and electric equipment for
vehicles are the IP technology focus of Tesla.

The size of the bubble represents the number of


patents and the positioning of the circles
represents the relatedness of the technologies.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 15


Portfolio Comparison - Tesla vs. BMW
(Absolute Counts)

Recent news: Following in Tesla's footsteps, BMW


offers to share electric car technology. [Link]

Tesla has 248 patent equivalents and BMW has 839


patent equivalents in EV technology.

Key Findings:
• Tesla has a larger number of patents addressing
batteries, battery packs, Li batteries and
controllers.
• BMW leads in terms of filings for hybrid vehicles,
internal combustion engines, electric motors,
fuel cells, and power trains.

Absolution count comparison: The size of each


bubble represents the total number of patent
equivalents across portfolios and the colored
sectors represent relative number of equivalents in
their respective portfolios.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 16


Portfolio Comparison - Tesla vs. BMW
(Relative Emphasis)

Key Findings:
• Tesla has a stronger emphasis on battery,
charging methods, Lithium batteries,
controlling state of charge, and thermal
control mechanisms.
• BMW focuses on electric motor, gear, drive
shaft and hybrid vehicles.

Relative emphasis comparison: The size of each


bubble represents the percentage of total
patents for each technology across portfolios,
and the colored sectors represent the relative
percentages in the respective portfolios.

The Topic Maps in the subsequent slides will


solely display the relative emphasis of the
compared portfolios - as shown here.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 17


Portfolio Comparison - Tesla vs. Panasonic

Fuel Cells Recent news: Tesla, Panasonic join forces on huge


Capacitors Lithium ion battery plant. [Link]
battery
Battery technologies
Maintenance Key Findings:
• Panasonic's concentration has been on Lithium ion
Mounting batteries, metal hydride batteries, fuel cells and
propulsion units capacitors.
Battery racks
• Tesla's focus has been on charging technologies (very
Temperature control of strong), temperature control, battery monitoring and
batteries control, battery monitoring parameters, materials for
thermal isolation of batteries and battery racks.
Battery
monitoring and Electric • Table 2 gives the descriptions of the CPC codes in the
controlling propulsion Topic Map.

The size of each bubble represents the percentage of total


Metal hydride
Battery monitoring
batteries
patents for each CPC code across portfolios, and the colored
parameters sectors represent the relative percentages in the respective
portfolios.
Materials for Batteries
thermal isolation of Charging Technologies
batteries

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 18


EV Technologies - Tesla vs. The Rest
Portfolio Counts and Ranks

Electric Vehicles (overall) Battery Charging Lithium Battery

Patent Holder
Number of Number of Number of Number of
Ranking Ranking Ranking Ranking
Equivalents Equivalents Equivalents Equivalents

Toyota 13,733 1 3,733 1 854 1 157 3


Nissan 4,165 2 1,020 3 236 4 34 15
Honda 3,644 3 1,208 2 248 2 16 25

General Motors 3,220 4 882 4 185 6 68 10

Bosch 2,828 5 828 5 92 17 162 2


Panasonic 2,760 6 527 11 238 3 29 18
Hitachi 2,681 7 595 9 100 12 93 6
Hyundai 2,613 8 780 6 137 8 9 38
Mitsubishi 2,218 9 583 10 206 5 20 21
Daimler 1,843 10 600 8 85 18 84 7
Tesla 249 115 40 41 37 49 11

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 19


EV Battery and Charging Technologies –
Filing Trends (Overall)

Key Finding: Both technologies have grown in tandem over the last 20 years, with the rate of
filing in batteries leading that of charging technologies.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 20


EV Battery Technology - Patent Portfolio Analysis

September 2014 © Relecura Inc. 21


EV Battery Technology – Top Patent Holders

Smaller Patent Holders Equivalents


Aisin Seiko 280
Chery Automobile 190
BYD Co. Ltd. 171
Johnson Controls 82
Aerovironment 63
Boston Power 9

Key Finding: The top patent holders include automobile-related companies like
Toyota, Honda, Nissan, General Motors, Hyundai, and Bosch, as well as battery
manufacturers like Panasonic, LG, Sanyo, and Samsung.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 22


EV Battery Portfolio - Tesla vs. Nissan, Honda, Toyota

Key Findings:
• Tesla has a strong portfolio in the areas of
Lithium-ion battery packs, battery
temperature regulation, failure detection
and elimination, and battery management.
• In comparison, the large automakers have
a greater number of patents addressing
fuel cells and fuel cell vehicles, battery
control systems for charging/discharging.

Table 5 gives descriptions of CPC codes


displayed.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 23


EV Battery Portfolio - Tesla vs. Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Bosch

Battery monitoring and


controlling Key Findings:
Hybrid vehicle parallel type • Tesla has a stronger emphasis in the areas of
storage system
Capacitors battery temperature regulation and Li-ion
batteries.
• Tesla’s focus is less in technologies related to
capacitors and hybrid vehicle storage systems.
Battery • Mitsubishi's portfolio has less of a focus on Li-ion
Temperature batteries compared to Tesla and the other
regulation
players shown.

Table 6 provides descriptions of the CPC codes shown


in the Topic Map.
Lithium ion battery
Battery control
parameters

Liquids for heat


exchange

State of charge Energy storage


controlling control system

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 24


Temperature Regulation Patents (Major Automakers) -
Tesla vs. Nissan, Honda, Toyota

Key Findings:
• Toyota leads the way in filing patents in this area, though it has tapered off in recent years.
• Tesla portfolio compares favorably with the other top patent holders in this area.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 25


Temperature Regulation Patents (Battery Manufacturers) –
Tesla vs. Mitsubishi, Hitachi, Bosch

Battery monitoring & controlling trends

Key Findings:
• Bosch leads in patent filings for both of
these sub-technologies.
• Tesla has been actively filing patents in
Battery temperature regulation trends battery temperature regulation since 2006.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 26


EV Battery Technology - Filing Trends

Key Finding: Patent filings in battery technology have seen a significant growth post 2006.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 27


EV battery Technology – Filing Trends (Top holders)

Key Findings:
• Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have shown a steady
increase in their filing activity for this area,
especially since 2008.
• The patent filings of General Motors have tapered
since 2008, the year in which they were the top filer
for this sub-technology.
• Tesla has been filing consistently in this area, though
the number of patents filed per year is lower than
that of the top patent holders.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 28


EV Battery Technology – Filing by Jurisdiction

Top patent holders Filing jurisdictions (indicates markets of interest)


Toyota U.S., Japan, China, Europe, Korea, PCT
Nissan, Honda U.S., Japan, China, Germany, Europe, Canada, Australia
Hyundai Korea, U.S., Japan
Hyundai Korea (majority of its filings), U.S., Japan
Bosch Germany (majority of its filings), PCT, U.S., China

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 29


Li-ion Battery Technology – Top patent holders

Key Findings:
• Pure-play battery manufacturers like LG, Bosch, Sony,
Samsung, and Hitachi, lead the major automakers in
terms of patents filed in this area.
• Of the automakers, Toyota has the largest portfolio of
Li-ion battery patents (overall 3rd highest, after LG
and Bosch).

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 30


Li-ion Battery – Filing Trends (Top holders)

3 1 3 7 2 4 2 1 1 1 4 1 4
NISSAN
4 4 4 8 15
1 1 1
RENAULT
2 1 2 2 1 6 5 10 11 1
Key Findings:
SANYO
8 8 3 10 9 1 3 1
NGK INSULATORS • Most of the top players began filing

Patent Holder
1 2 6 12 11 5 6 6
Tesla
2 2 14 13 8 12
patents in this area around 2005.
1
PSA PEUGEOT CITROEN
2 2 2 3 2 1 6 4 15 18 12
1
GENERAL MOTORS
• Toyota (which leads in total number of
32 41
1 1

14 23 18 15
SB LIMOTIVE Li-ion patents among the automakers),
1 4 9
DAIMLER
1 1 3 4 2 9 7 3 4 5 6 4 3 4 7 11 8 10 1 has tapered off its filings in this area.
HITACHI
20 78 10
2 1 5 1
53
33
SAMSUNG This might signal a move away from EVs
5 17 17
2 1 1
SONY
1 1 2 1 4 11
29 31 25 19 24
6 3
to other technologies such as fuel cell
TOYOTA
31 94
1 3 5 9 10 8 1 cars. [see news article]
Equivalents

BOSCH
Number of

100
47
1 10 13 20 10 3 6 2
37 35 LG
0
1994

2013
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

2014

Filing Year

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 31


Fuel Cells – Filing Trends (Top holders)

1 1 2 5 11 7 15 5 9 5 7
SAMSUNG
2 7 2 7 3 4 6 6 14 16 3
SUZUKI MOTOR
Key Findings:
1 5 5 11 4 6 2 1 8 5 9 5 8 2
BOSCH • Several of the large automakers, like Toyota,
21 13 4 7 4 2 2 2 2 2 4
SIEMENS
1 1 7 8 11 24 24 11 6
Honda, Hyundai, Ford, and Renault, have
KIA MOTORS
5 8 13 28 13 20 14 4 5 1
RENAULT
filed for patents in fuel cells.

Patent Holder
2 6 5 13 17 14 10 11 12 8 15 7
AIRBUS • The number of patents filed by these
5 6 3 5 7 6 11 9 24 30 11 2 1
FORD
22 14 18 13 29 39 25 20 14 18 17 14 14 3
automakers have however decreased in
PANASONIC
46
6 6 9 23 11 11 10 29 37 31 26 41 20
DAIMLER
recent years.
33 33 38 40 66 58 34 28
2 3 10 9 8 7 2
HYUNDAI • Toyota, Bosch, General Motors, Nissan,
19 11 21 38 49 59 43 59 45 18 43 23 21 3
GENERAL MOTORS
14 29 45 79 86 73 46 20 23 5 9 9 22 7 1
Daimler, Renault, and Samsung seem to be
NISSAN
41 53 59 47 66 43
20 33 32 31 26 29 24 21 4 hedging their bets by filing in both Li-ion
Equivalents
Number of

HONDA
139 96
33 40 80 59 50
12 23 29 9
200 131 175 182
100
0
TOYOTA batteries and fuel cells.
2003
2000

2001

2002

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

• Tesla has no patent filings in this area.


Filing Year

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 32


Li-ion Battery Patents - Tesla vs. Others

Key Findings:
• Sub-technology spread for Li-ion battery
patents - Li accumulators, temperature control,
vent systems, safety arrangements, battery
isolation, battery monitoring and controlling
parameters, state of charge controlling
technologies.
• Tesla focus: temperature control, safety
arrangements, vent systems, state of charge
controlling in Li batteries.
• Focus of other players: Li accumulators and Li
battery manufacturing.
Table 7 gives descriptions of the CPC codes
displayed.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 33


Tesla - EV Battery Portfolio

Key Finding: Tesla's EV battery portfolio


covers sub-technologies like Li-ion
battery packs, battery monitoring and
control systems, temperature regulation
i.e. heating or cooling of batteries,
detection and elimination of failures
related to batteries, battery protection
systems like dehumidifiers and thermal
runaway management.

Table 3 gives descriptions of the CPC


codes displayed in the Topic Map.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 34


Tesla – Top Cited EV Battery Patents
Forward
Relecura Star Self
Publication Number Citations Forward Citation Assignee Title Filing Date
Rating Citations
Count
General Motors (5), IBM (4), Daimler (3), Honda (2), Electric Vehicle
US20090021385A1 3.5 39 1 2007-07-18
Bosch (2), Denso (2) Communication Interface
Audi (5), Panasonic (5), Sinoelectric Powertrain Corp. Battery pack and method for
US7671565B2 3.0 38 8 2006-02-13
(5), Volkswagen (3), Renault (2) protecting batteries
Cisco (3), Volkswagen (2), Toyota (2), Johnson Controls System for optimizing battery
US20100188043A1 3.0 20 1 2009-01-29
(1), Denso (1) pack cut-off voltage
Audi (6), Panasonic (3), Autoliv (2), Mission Motor Tunable frangible battery pack
US7923144B2 2.5 20 1 2007-03-31
Company (2), Samsung (1) system
Method for interconnection of
Sinoelectric Powertrain Corp. (4), EnerDel Inc. (3), battery packs and battery
US7667432B2 3.0 18 0 2006-04-27
Mission Motor Company (2), General Motors (1) assembly containing
interconnected battery packs
Audi (3), Lithium Energy Japan (3), Bosch (2), Samsung
US20100136402A1 3.0 18 3 Sealed battery enclosure 2009-04-22
(2),
Centralized multi-zone cooling
US7890218B2 2.5 16 Ferrari (2), General Motors (1), BMW (1), Porsche (1) 5 for increased battery 2007-07-18
efficiency
BATTERY PACK THERMAL
US20090023056A1 2.5 14 Johnson Controls (3), LG (1), SB LiMotive (1) 1 2007-07-18
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
Mitigation of propagation of
Mission Motor Company (3), Panasonic (2), Bosch (1),
US7433794B1 2.5 14 2 thermal runaway in a multi- 2007-07-18
Smasung (1)
cell battery pack
Audi (2), Volkswagen (2), Mission Motor Company (2),
US7602145B2 2.5 13 0 Method of balancing batteries 2006-07-18
Sony (1), Porsche (1)

Table 4 gives additional details about the technologies addressed by each of the above patents.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 35


GM Battery Portfolio Growth – via Acquisition and M&A
(using Patent Assignment Records)

Key Findings:
• Most of GM’s patents are a result of in-house
R&D, with modest contributions from either its
M&A activity or acquisitions.
• Contributions to GM’s patents portfolio come
from companies such as Daimler-Chrysler-BMW,
Delco, Hughes Aircraft, and Mitsubishi.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 36


Bosch Battery Portfolio Growth - via Acquisition and M&A
(using Patent Assignment Records)

Key Findings:
• Bosch has been involved in various joint
ventures (JVs) over the years to develop
and manufacture Li-ion batteries for use in
hybrid, plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric
vehicles.
• Bosch formed a JV with Samsung in 2008
called SB LiMotive. The partnership was
dissolved in 2012, as a result of which
certain patent assets were assigned to
Bosch from both Samsung and SB LiMotive.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 37


EV Charging Technology - Patent Portfolio Analysis

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 38


EV Charging Technology – Top Patent Holders

Smaller Patent Holders Equivalents

Qualcomm 72

SAIC Motors 60

Kiekert AG 53

RWE 53

Witricity Corp 32

Chargepoint 29

IBM 28

Access Business Group Int LLC 18

Proterra Inc. 17

Key Findings: Includes both automakers and battery manufacturers.


• Large automobile manufacturers - Toyota, Honda, and Nissan
• Battery manufacturers - Panasonic, Siemens and Samsung

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 39


EV Charging - Tesla vs. Panasonic, Honda, Toyota

Key Findings:
• Tesla has a greater emphasis in sub-technologies
such as charging methods, controlling the state
of the charge, and charging station
communication interfaces.
• The incumbents like Toyota, Panasonic and
Honda lead in developing charging connectors,
cables and on board vehicle charging systems
and methods.

Table 10 provides descriptions of the CPC codes


displayed.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 40


EV Charging Technology - Filing Trends (Overall)

Key Finding: Patent filing activity shows a significant growth from 2007 onwards.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 41


EV Charging Technology – Filing Trends (Top holders)

Key Findings:
• Patent filings in EV charging technologies dipped for various large players (like Toyota,
Honda, Nissan, and General Electric) in the early to middle period of the last decade.
Each of these players have ramped up their filings in this area in the last 3-5 years.
• Toyota leads in patent filings in this area.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 42


EV Charging Technology – Filings by Jurisdiction

Top patent holders Filing jurisdictions (indicates markets of interest)

Toyota U.S., Japan, China, Europe, PCT


Nissan, Honda, Panasonic U.S., Japan, China, Europe, PCT (relatively fewer filings)

Ford Great Britain, U.S., China


Hyundai Korea, U.S., Japan, China
General Motors U.S., China

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 43


Tesla – EV Charging Portfolio

Key Findings:
• Tesla’s charging portfolio is mainly focused
on methods and systems for charging the
battery safely, time and cost optimization
for the user with the flexibility to control
the charging, improving battery life by
reducing damage during charging and
discharging.
• Tesla also holds patents related to charging
station communication interfaces, smart
grid integration, as well as fast charging.
• Table 8 provides descriptions of the CPC
codes displayed.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 44


Tesla - Top Cited EV Charging Patents

Relecura Star Forward


Publication Number Forward Citation Assignees Self Citations Title Filing Date
Rating Citation Count

Ford (2), Honda (1), Toyota (1), Panasonic (1),


US7782021B2 3.0 24 4 Battery charging based on cost and life 2007-07-18
LSIS Co. Ltd (1)

Toyota (3), Ford (2), Prosche (2), General Motors Multi-mode charging system for an electric
US7629773B2 3.0 19 3 2009-01-29
(1) vehicle

Toyota (2), Chargepoint Inc. (2), Bosch (1), Systems, methods, and apparatus for
US7683570B2 3.0 18 6 2007-07-18
Samsung (1), Panasonic (1) battery charging

Ford (3), Audi (2), Toyota (1), BMW (1), Denso


US8063757B2 2.5 17 1 Charge state indicator for an electric vehicle 2007-07-18
(1), Volkswagen (1)

Toyota (2), BMW (1) , Porsche (1), PSA Peugeot Multi-mode charging system for an electric
US20090140700A1 3.0 17 1 2009-01-16
Citroen (1), General electric (1) vehicle

Advanergy Inc. (6), Lightening Energy (3), Vovlo


US20100138092A1 2.5 16 1 Battery charging time optimization system 2009-11-05
(1)

US8536825B2 2.5 5 General Motors(1), Audi (1), BlackBerry (1) 0 State of charge range 2009-12-31

Fast charging of battery using adjustable


US8754614B2 2.5 5 Panasonic (2), IBM (1), Mitsubishi (1) 0 2009-07-17
voltage control

Table 9 provides additional details of the patents listed above.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 45


Tesla’s Key Technology - “Fast Charging” Patents

Relecura Star
Publication Number Filing Date Title • Tesla promotes its proprietary “Fast Charging” technology
Rating
for quick recharge.
Fast charging of battery using
US8754614B2 2009-07-17
adjustable voltage control
2.5 • Tesla’s charging stations deliver up to 120 kW, which can
replenish half a charge in as little as 20 minutes. It works
Low temperature charging of Li-
US8552693B2 2009-09-30 2.5
ion cells by delivering DC power directly to the battery by using

AC current control of mobile


special cables that bypass the onboard charging
US8638063B2 2010-10-13 2.5
battery chargers equipment.
Fast charging with negative • Tesla designs and builds all of the key components for the
US20110156661A1 2009-12-31 2.5
ramped current profile
battery system, including the chargers, the electronics for

US20130234648A1 2012-03-09 Low temperature fast charge 2.0 monitoring the battery pack, and the battery cooling
system.
US20130307475A1 2012-05-18 Charge rate optimization 2.5 • “Superchargers”, which are small and light weight, are
used to enable fast charging.
Fast charge mode for extended
US20140121866A1 2012-10-31 2.5 Tesla’s webpage and FAQ for “Fast Charging”
trip

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 46


List of Tables
Links lead to PDF with detailed tables.
Table Number Title

1 EV technology categorization and classification codes for each category.

2 Description of CPC codes listed in Topic Map comparison of the Tesla and Panasonic patent portfolios.

3 Description of the CPC codes listed in Topic Map of Tesla’s battery portfolio.

4 List of the top ten forward cited patents from Tesla’s battery portfolio.

Description of CPC codes listed in the Topic Map comparison of the battery portfolios of Tesla with the
5
large automakers Nissan, Honda and Toyota.

Description of the CPC codes listed in the Topic Map comparison of the battery portfolios of Tesla with
6
other battery manufacturers Mitsubishi, Hitachi and Bosch.

Description of the CPC codes listed in Topic Map comparison of the Lithium battery portfolio of Tesla
7
with other patent holders.

8 Description of CPC codes listed in the Topic Map of Tesla’s charging portfolio.

9 List of the top ten forward cited patents from Tesla’s charging portfolio.

Description of the CPC codes listed in the Topic Map comparison of the portfolios of Tesla, Toyota,
10
Honda, and Panasonic addressing charging technology.

September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 47


Disclaimer

This document is provided for information purposes only and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document,
including the information and analysis and any opinion or recommendation, is neither legal advice nor intended for investment purposes. This
document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law,
including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Relecura Inc. specifically disclaims any
liability with respect to this document and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document.

Relecura is a web-based patent and portfolio analysis platform that uses a knowledge discovery framework to simplify IP analysis for prior-art
search, technology landscaping, competitive intelligence, and IP commercialization activities. For more details visit www.relecura.com or write
to info@relecura.com.

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September 2014 Copyright © 2014, Relecura Inc. 48

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