Humidity and Moisture Sensors Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Filing has plateaued. 2017 was the peak year at 29 records and the 2022 midpoint sits at 28 — the field is flat to declining, not accelerating.
- No single company dominates. The leader holds 42 of 945 records; the top 5 combined account for just 14.9% of all records in scope, leaving a long tail of single- and few-filing entrants.
- Claims cluster tightly in one class. 98.9% of records sit in G01N material analysis & testing, while adjacent classes like capacitors and semiconductor devices each cover under 8% — a sign of concentrated core claims and thinner peripheral coverage.
What this landscape covers
This review maps 945 published records matching humidity and moisture sensing claims tied to hysteresis, condensation recovery, chemical contamination, long-term drift or response time — the practical failure modes that separate a lab-grade sensor from one that survives years in the field. The scope spans G01N27 (electrochemical/material analysis), G01N19 and G01W1 (meteorological instruments), capturing both standalone humidity sensor claims and integration claims where moisture sensing supports a larger system.
Coverage runs from 2015 through the 2026-07-31 cut-off. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent filing years are understated and should be read as a floor, not a ceiling.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 945-record set: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claims.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings peaked at 29 in 2017. The 2022 midpoint reading of 28 is essentially flat against that peak, and the count has since eased to 8 in the most recent (partial) year — read the final year or two as undercounted given publication lag, but the multi-year trajectory does not show renewed growth.
IPC subclass composition
G01N (material analysis & testing) covers 98.9% of the 945 records, confirming this is the anchor classification for the search scope. Below that, H01C resistors (7.9%), G01W meteorology (5.2%), H01L semiconductor devices (3.7%), H01G capacitors (3.5%), G01R electric/magnetic measurement (3.4%), B60S vehicle servicing (3.2%) and G01D general measuring (2.5%) each cover a single-digit share — records can carry more than one class, so these figures sum above 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 945 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Humidity and Moisture Sensors with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about humidity and moisture sensors and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
US8783101B2 — Rapid response relative humidity sensor using anodic aluminum oxide film
A capacitive relative humidity sensor built on a nano-structured anodic aluminum oxide thin film, 2-20 micrometres thick, grown on an aluminium substrate that serves as one electrode. A porous metal layer 20-200 nanometres thick forms the second electrode. Nano-sized channels of 10-100 nanometres in diameter give the sensor high sensitivity and short response time, with thermal annealing used to improve the linearity of the capacitance-versus-humidity curve.Filed by Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Limited, published 2014-07-22.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20070273394A1 | Environmental sensor | 173 |
| 2 | US5859536A | Moisture sensor having low sensitivity to conductance changes | 160 |
| 3 | US6895803B2 | Humidity sensor | 142 |
| 4 | US7114388B1 | Geographically distributed environmental sensor system | 132 |
| 5 | US5801307A | Differential windshield capacitive moisture sensors | 125 |
| 6 | US5424649A | Soil moisture sensor | 125 |
| 7 | US6073480A | Humidity sensor with differential thermal detection and method of sensing | 111 |
| 8 | US4057823A | Porous silicon dioxide moisture sensor and method for manufacture of a moisture sensor | 105 |
| 9 | US5224373A | Flexible humidity indicator and container | 97 |
| 10 | US20050218465A1 | Integrated electronic sensor | 91 |
Citation counts reward older filings that have had more time to accumulate citations within this searched corpus — treat them as a signal of historical influence, not of which claims matter most today.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three signals worth weighing before deciding where to file next in this space.
The top of the field is thin
With the leader at 42 records and the top 5 combined covering only 14.9% of all 945 records in scope, no single assignee has locked up the core claim space the way a leader in a more mature sensor category might. The top 10 reach 22.9% — still leaving over three-quarters of the field to a long tail.
Filing has not renewed since its 2017 peak
The trend line runs from a 2017 peak of 29 filings down toward 8 in the latest partial year, with the 2022 midpoint at 28 confirming the plateau rather than a rebound. None of the named leading assignees show filings in the latest year, consistent with a field in a filing lull rather than active buildout.
Core claims sit in one IPC subclass
Nearly all records carry a G01N material-analysis classification, while every adjacent class — resistors, meteorology, semiconductors, capacitors, measurement, vehicle servicing — sits under 8%. That gap suggests the fundamental sensing mechanisms are well covered, but system-integration and application-specific claims around them are comparatively sparse.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to humidity and moisture sensors, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the field is open
The ranking covers 100 companies counted by record, drawn from across industrial sensor makers, materials institutes and automotive suppliers. No leading assignee shows filings in the most recent year, and cross-assignee collaboration is limited — only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, with the strongest pairing tied to a single inventor relationship rather than a corporate alliance.
A moderate lead, not a monopoly
The top-ranked assignee holds 42 of 945 records — enough to lead the field but far short of the kind of dominance that would foreclose new entrants from adjacent claim territory.
Most of the field is unconsolidated
With the top 10 assignees combining for only 22.9% of all 945 records, the remaining share is spread across a long tail of companies and institutes filing in smaller numbers — a structure that favours new entrants over incumbents defending a fortress position.
Filing is largely solo
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, and the strongest of them links a single company to a named inventor rather than reflecting a joint-venture pattern. Cross-company co-filing is not a meaningful feature of this landscape.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Honeywell International Inc. | 0 | — |
| TDK Corporation | 0 | — |
| Vaisala Oyj | 0 | — |
| Sharp Corporation | 0 | — |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | 0 | — |
| Johnson Service Company | 0 | — |
| MARCON ELECTRON CO LTD | 0 | — |
| 3M Innovative Properties Company | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The landscape points to a field with settled core claims and open peripheral territory. Two directions follow from that.
Map the white space claim by claim
The gate chips above name sub-areas with thin coverage relative to the G01N core. A freedom-to-operate check against the specific claim language in those branches, rather than the class-level count, is the next step before drafting.
Explore white space in EurekaTrack assignee filing momentum going forward
With every named leading assignee at zero filings in the most recent year, the question is whether that reflects a genuine slowdown or simply publication lag. Monitoring fresh filings as they publish will settle which it is.
Set up monitoring in EurekaCommon questions on humidity and moisture sensor patents
The ranked dataset of 100 companies shows a leader with 42 of 945 records in scope, but no dominant player controls the field outright — the top 5 assignees combined hold only 14.9% of all records. That means the category is led rather than owned, and a long tail of smaller filers, including materials institutes and automotive suppliers, hold most of the remaining claim space. Anyone assessing competitive risk should look past the single leader to the broader spread of active filers.
No — filing peaked in 2017 at 29 records and the 2022 midpoint of 28 shows the field had already flattened by then, with the most recent partial year down to 8. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the last year or two will always look lower than it eventually proves to be, but the multi-year trajectory across the full window does not show renewed growth. Treat this as a mature, steady-state filing category rather than one in an active buildout phase.
Almost all records, 98.9% of the 945 in scope, carry a G01N classification covering material analysis and testing, which is the anchor class for this search. Secondary classes appear at much lower shares: resistors (7.9%), meteorology (5.2%), semiconductor devices (3.7%), capacitors (3.5%), electric and magnetic measurement (3.4%), vehicle servicing (3.2%) and general measuring (2.5%). Because a single record can carry several IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% and should not be summed as if they were mutually exclusive.
US8783101B2 covers a capacitive relative humidity sensor built on a nano-structured anodic aluminum oxide film, with specific thickness ranges for both the oxide layer and the porous metal electrode, and nano-channel diameters tied to sensitivity and response time. A design that avoids those specific structural parameters, or uses a different sensing material system entirely, would sit outside its claim scope. It is a useful reference point for understanding how tightly a nanostructure-based approach can be claimed, rather than a blanket block on capacitive humidity sensing generally.
The clearest gaps sit outside the dominant G01N core, in branches like vehicle-integrated moisture sensing, long-term drift compensation, and chemical-contamination recovery, each of which shows materially thinner coverage than the core material-analysis claims. These are areas where the fundamental sensing chemistry is well established but system-level or durability-focused claims remain comparatively open. A freedom-to-operate review focused on the actual claim language in these branches, not just the class-level filing counts, is the right next step.
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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.