Conductive Fiber for Smart Textiles Patent Snapshot
The conductive fiber for smart textiles patent space is highly concentrated, with a single incumbent holding the dominant position across yarn-structure and weaving routes. Annual filing volume has plateaued near its 2018 peak, signalling a mature but still active field with selective entry from automotive and academic newcomers.
Sanko Tekstil leads a tightly held field
Sanko Tekstil Isletmeleri Sanayi ve Ticaret AS holds the top-ranked position with 6 patent families, well ahead of Honda Motor, City University of Hong Kong, and Wuyi University, each at 2 patent families.
The top five filers account for 72% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating an unusually concentrated visible assignee structure for what is nominally an emerging technology segment.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanko Tekstil Isletmeleri Sanayi ve Ticaret AS | 6 | |
| 2 | Honda Motor Co., Ltd. | 2 | |
| 3 | City University of Hong Kong | 2 | |
| 4 | Wuyi University | 2 | |
| 5 | Shanghai Bangyun Medical Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 6 | Indian Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 7 | Xuzhou Zhenfang Textile Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 8 | Toray Industries, Inc. | 1 | |
| 9 | Donghua University | 1 | |
| 10 | THE HONG KONG RES INST OF TEXTILES & APPAREL | 1 |
Sanko Tekstil’s lead — three times the next-ranked players — implies it has staked the broadest claim on foundational yarn-texturing and woven-fabric architectures, which limits the design freedom available to later entrants without licensing or work-around development.
Filing counts for 2024–2026 are subject to publication lag and will increase as pending applications are published; the apparent zero-filing years should not be interpreted as a cessation of activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2018 peak, a diverse but textile-heavy IPC mix, and modest recent flow
Two views illuminate the field’s trajectory: the annual filing trend shows a burst of activity in 2018 followed by subdued but non-zero flow, while the technology composition chart reveals that classic textile-structure classes are visible in but sensor, energy, and medical sub-classes are present.
Annual filing trend
Filings spiked to 9 patent families in 2018 before settling into low single-digit annual volumes. The field has plateaued near that peak rather than continuing to grow; years from 2024 onward are incomplete due to publication lag and do not signal a true decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
D02G (yarn texturing and crimping) and D03D (woven fabrics and weaving) are visible in the IPC mix, consistent with a focus on integrating conductivity at the yarn and fabric construction stage. Secondary clusters in H01M (batteries and cells), A61B (diagnosis and surgery), and A61H (physical therapy) indicate emerging end-use diversification into energy storage and medical monitoring.
↗ 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.
Conductive yarn-based nickel-zinc textile batteries
Systems and methods which provide nickel-zinc textile batteries formed from highly conductive yarn-based components which are configured to facilitate textile material processing, such as weaving, knitting, etc., are described. Embodiments of a conductive yarn-based nickel-zinc textile battery may be constructed using scalably produced highly conductive… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yarns with conductive elastomeric cores, fabrics a… | 16 |
| 2 | Yarns with conductive elastomeric cores, fabrics a… | 15 |
| 3 | 一种可拉伸费马螺旋能源纱及其制备和应用 | 14 |
| 4 | Conductive yarn-based nickel-zinc textile batteries | 7 |
| 5 | 一种基于双线螺纹导电纱的柔性应变传感器及其制备方法 | 4 |
| 6 | Flexible stress sensing device of full-textile mat… | 4 |
| 7 | Electroconductive fiber, clothing including electr… | 3 |
| 8 | 一种延展性好的石墨烯纱线的制作方法 | 3 |
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.
Sanko Tekstil Isletmeleri Sanayi ve Ticaret AS
The top-ranked applicant with 6 patent families, Sanko Tekstil concentrates on D02G yarn texturing and crimping (6 records) and D03D woven fabrics and weaving (5 records combined), establishing the broadest claim base on the core construction methods for conductive yarns. Its momentum data does not flag it as a new entrant, indicating an established and sustained filing posture that underpins its commanding lead.
families: 6Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Honda Motor holds 2 patent families and is flagged as a new entrant with recent filings concentrated in A61B (diagnosis and surgery) and A61H (physical therapy and massage) alongside D03D weaving. Its entry signals that automotive and mobility players are positioning conductive textile fibers as a platform for in-vehicle or wearable physiological monitoring, a distinct application vector from the incumbent’s textile-manufacturing focus.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 17 patent families in scope. This is a relatively small corpus, reflecting either a nascent or highly specialized niche within the broader smart-textiles space.
Sanko Tekstil Isletmeleri Sanayi ve Ticaret AS is the top-ranked applicant with 6 patent families, nearly three times the count of the next-ranked players. Its filings concentrate on D02G yarn texturing and D03D woven fabrics.
Filings peaked at 9 patent families in 2018 and have since settled into low single-digit annual volumes. The evidence-based lifecycle assessment places the field at maturity, with annual activity plateaued near that peak. Recent years (2024–2026) show zero records but are subject to publication lag.
The United States leads with 10 patent records, followed by China with 3 and Europe (EPO) with 2. Hong Kong, India, and WIPO (PCT) each carry 1 record. Coverage outside the US is thin, particularly in EPO and PCT channels.
D02G (yarn texturing and crimping) and D03D (woven fabrics and weaving) are the visible branches. Secondary clusters appear in H01M (batteries and cells), A61B (diagnosis and surgery), and A61H (physical therapy), pointing to growing interest in energy and medical applications.
The evidence shows no co-applicant or co-filing collaborations within the indexed corpus. Each filer has operated independently, which means no consortium or cross-sector joint-development framework has yet emerged to shape the technology’s direction.
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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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