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Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/bearing-condition-monitoring-and-defect-frequencies-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Patent Landscape · Bearing Condition MonitoringBearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequency Patents
- Filing has fallen sharply since 2020's peak. filings dropped from 17 in 2021 to just 2 in 2024, an 88% decline over the complete-year window.
- The top of the field is concentrated. the five leading assignees hold 41.4% of all 157 records in scope, and the top ten hold 59.2%.
- Claims cluster around diagnostic method, not hardware. structural testing and control-system classes dominate the IPC mix, while bearing-specific hardware claims (F16C) trail at 14.0%.
157
Published Records
41%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-88%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (17 records) with 2024 (2) — 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 157 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··8 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this landscape covers
This landscape covers patent filings addressing bearing condition monitoring and the calculation or use of bearing defect frequencies — the characteristic vibration or acoustic signatures produced by a rolling-element bearing as it degrades. It spans sensing approaches (vibration, acoustic emission), signal-processing methods (envelope analysis, ball pass frequency extraction) and downstream uses such as diagnostic thresholding and remaining useful life estimation. The 157 records in scope run from 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, with the most recent one to two years understated because patent publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months.
Bearing defect frequency analysis is a mature diagnostic technique, but patent activity in this dataset shows the claim focus has moved from raw signal detection toward integrating that detection into control systems and life-estimation models. That shift is visible in the IPC composition, where control and data-processing classes sit close behind structural testing in record share.
Filing volume and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequencies covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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Filing Data
Filing trends and technology composition
The 157 records in scope span 2015 through the 2026 cut-off, with publication lag meaning the most recent one to two years understate actual filing activity. The technology composition below reflects overlapping IPC subclasses, since a single record commonly carries several.
Filing activity peaked in 2020, then pulled back sharply
Filings ran from 12 in 2017 to a peak of 20 in 2020. The clearest complete-year signal is the drop from 17 in 2021 to 2 in 2024, an 88% decline over that span; 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in due to publication lag and should not be read as a continued fall.
Structural testing and control integration dominate the IPC mix
G01M (testing machine & structure balance) appears in 47.8% of the 157 records, well ahead of G05B (control & regulating systems) at 29.3%. Bearing-specific hardware classifications such as F16C sit lower at 14.0%, suggesting most claims are written around the diagnostic method rather than the bearing component itself.
Shares are the percentage of the 157 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequencies covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
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Representative and most-cited filings
Representative Filing
System and method for estimating remaining useful life of a bearing
SIEMENS AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT
A system and method for estimating remaining useful life of a bearing is provided. The method includes receiving, by a processing unit, operational data associated with the bearing from at least one source in real-time. Failure modes are determined based on features associated with the operational data, and a best-suited virtual model corresponding to the bearing is identified from a plurality of virtual models, each indicating bearing behaviour for a predefined set of conditions. Remaining useful life is then computed from the selected model.Filed by Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, published 2024-11-28 — one of the more recent substantive filings in this dataset, illustrating the shift toward model-selection-based RUL estimation.
Most-cited records in scope
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5566092A | Machine fault diagnostics system and method | 824 |
| 2 | US20100169030A1 | Machine condition assessment through power distribution networks | 377 |
| 3 | US20080033695A1 | Abnormality Diagnosing System For Mechanical Equipment | 317 |
| 4 | US20080234964A1 | Abnormality Diagnosing Apparatus and Abnormality Diagnosing Method | 272 |
| 5 | US20070208841A1 | Self-assembling wireless network, vehicle communications system, railroad wheel and bearing monitoring system… | 235 |
| 6 | US20120065901A1 | Data acquisition system for condition-based maintenance | 184 |
| 7 | US20110125419A1 | Data acquisition system for condition-based maintenance | 169 |
| 8 | US20110020122A1 | Integrated condition based maintenance system for wind turbines | 166 |
| 9 | JP2009020090A | Abnormality diagnosis apparatus and abnormality diagnosis method | 122 |
| 10 | US7705743B2 | Self-assembling wireless network, vehicle communications system, railroad wheel and bearing monitoring system… | 109 |
Citation counts favour older filings that have had more time to accumulate references within a searched corpus; treat them as a measure of influence, not current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequencies covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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What the filing pattern signals
The dataset points to a field where the core diagnostic method is heavily claimed and filing momentum has cooled from a 2020 peak, while several adjacent measurement approaches remain comparatively open.
Concentration
41.4%
of 157 records held by top 5
Filing sits with a small group of repeat filers
Five assignees account for 41.4% of the 157 records in scope, and the top ten extend that to 59.2%. The remaining share is spread across a long tail within the 83-company ranking, most holding only a handful of filings.
Ranking basis: 83 assignees, 157 records
Momentum
-88%
2021 to 2024 filings
Complete-year filings have dropped sharply since 2021
Filings fell from 17 in 2021 to 2 in 2024. The 2020 peak of 20 filings has not been approached since, and while 2025-2026 figures are still incomplete due to publication lag, the 2021-2024 window is the clearest signal available.
Peak year: 2020 at 20 filings
Technology mix
47.8%
of records in G01M
Structural testing claims dominate the IPC mix
G01M (testing machine and structure balance) appears in 47.8% of the 157 records, ahead of G05B control-system claims at 29.3%. Bearing-hardware-specific classification F16C trails at 14.0%, indicating most value sits in the diagnostic method rather than the mechanical component.
IPC shares overlap; records can carry multiple classes
Geography
54
US-filed records
Filing is US and EPO led, with thinner coverage elsewhere
The US receives 54 filings and the EPO 28, well ahead of WIPO/PCT at 19 and national offices in India, Canada and the UK, each in single digits. That gap marks jurisdictions where prior art density is lower for the same technical approach.
Receiving offices: US 54, EPO 28, WIPO 19
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Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to bearing condition monitoring and defect frequencies, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequencies covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Competitive Landscape
Who is filing, and where the field is open
The assignee ranking spans 83 companies across the 157 records in scope, ranging from industrial conglomerates with broad rotating-machinery portfolios to specialist diagnostics firms. Filing concentration at the top leaves a long tail of single- or double-filing entrants, and recent-year activity has cooled across even the most active assignees.
Leader
17
records
The top assignee holds a clear lead in record count
The leading assignee's 17 records sit well ahead of the fifth-place holder's 9, marking a genuine gap at the top rather than a tightly bunched leaderboard.
Basis: 157 records, 83-assignee ranking
Mid-field
9
records, fifth place
A second tier holds single-digit but repeated filings
From fifth place downward, record counts drop into single digits, and by tenth place sit at 5 records, indicating a mid-tier of firms filing steadily but well below the leader's pace.
Tenth place: 5 records
Momentum
0
latest-year filings, several leaders
Even leading assignees show no filings in the latest year
Several of the more active assignees in this ranking show zero recorded filings in the most recent year, consistent with the broader 2021-2024 pullback rather than any single company exiting the space.
Publication lag likely understates the true latest-year count
Structure
10
co-assignee pairs
Co-filing is limited and clusters within corporate groups
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, and the strongest links sit between related entities within the same corporate group rather than between independent competitors.
Strongest pairs recur at 3 shared filings each
Recent-year filing momentum by assignee
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Siemens AG | 0 | — |
| NSK Ltd. | 0 | — |
| NRG Systems, Inc. | 0 | — |
| ABB (Schweiz) AG | 0 | — |
| AB SKF | 0 | — |
| Hitachi, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Insight Analytics Solutions Holdings Ltd. | 0 | — |
| L-3 Communications Corporation | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequencies covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Next Steps
Where to take this analysis
The figures above describe the field as it stands in this dataset. Turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision means drilling into specific claims and specific assignees.
Check claim scope before drafting
Run the representative and most-cited filings through a claim chart against your own draft to see exactly which method steps are already occupied.
Open claim analysis in EurekaTrack the leading assignees' recent activity
Several top assignees show zero filings in the latest year; confirm whether that reflects a genuine pullback or publication lag before assuming the field is clearing.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaProbe the under-claimed branches directly
Magnetic and material-analysis-based diagnostics carry lower record share than vibration-based methods — worth a targeted search before committing claim language.
Search white space in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequencies covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
In this dataset, bearing condition monitoring patents cover systems and methods that collect vibration, acoustic emission, or other sensor data from a rotating machine and compare it against known defect signatures such as ball pass frequency. Defect frequency analysis is the mathematical technique used to derive those signatures from a bearing's geometry and rotation speed. Most filings pair the two: a sensing or data-collection claim combined with a signal-processing or envelope-analysis claim that converts raw vibration into a diagnosable frequency spectrum. This is why G01M (testing and structure balance) and G01H (measuring vibrations and sound) both show heavy representation across the 157 records in scope.
The assignee ranking covers 83 companies across the 157 records in scope, with the leading assignee holding 17 records and the fifth-ranked holding 9. Filing is concentrated rather than evenly spread: the top five assignees together account for 41.4% of all records, and the top ten account for 59.2%. Beyond that group the ranking runs into a long tail of companies with only one or two filings each, so a competitive read of this field has to separate the small cluster of repeat filers from the much larger group of one-off entrants.
Filing peaked at 20 records in 2020 and has since declined; the clearest complete-year comparison shows a drop from 17 filings in 2021 to 2 in 2024, an 88% fall over that span. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because patent publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, so those final years will fill in further and should not be read as confirming a continued decline. Anyone using this trend to time a filing decision should treat 2024 as the most recent reliable data point rather than the partial years after it.
US20240393210A1, assigned to Siemens Aktiengesellschaft and published 28 November 2024, claims a method for estimating a bearing's remaining useful life by matching real-time operational data against a library of pre-built virtual models, each representing bearing behaviour under a defined set of conditions. It is closely relevant to any RUL system that selects among multiple candidate failure-mode models based on live sensor features. It is less relevant to systems that use a single fixed physics model, flag faults without estimating remaining life, or compute RUL through an end-to-end learned estimator that skips explicit model selection.
The thinnest-claimed branches by record share are electric and magnetic measurement methods (G01R, 7.0% of the 157 records) and material-analysis-based diagnostics (G01N, 9.6%), both well below the 47.8% concentration in structural vibration testing. Geographically, receiving offices in the UK (8 filings) and Canada (9 filings) carry far less volume than the US (54) or EPO (28). Sensing modalities other than vibration and acoustic emission, such as magnetic flux leakage, remain comparatively open for new claims within this dataset.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Bearing Condition Monitoring and Defect Frequencies covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
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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.