Infrared Gas Detection Patents: Who Leads, Where Gaps Are 2026
- 22.2% concentration at the top. The five leading assignees combined hold 116 of 523 records in scope — a real lead, but not a lock on the field.
- Filings are climbing again. After the 2017 peak of 44, filings dipped and then grew 57% from 2021 (14) to 2024 (22), the last complete filing year.
- Material analysis dominates the claim map. 82.6% of records sit in G01N, but meaningful adjacent activity in radiation measurement, diagnostics and alarm systems suggests the core sensing method is being repurposed faster than it is being replaced.
Filing growth compares 2021 (14 records) with 2024 (22) — 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 523 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the infrared gas detection patent record shows
Infrared gas detection covers non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensing, open-path optical configurations, and the calibration and interference-correction methods that make those readings reliable in the field. The 523 records in this dataset span 2015 through the middle of 2026 and cluster around a well-defined technical problem: separating a genuine gas absorption signal from water vapour interference, source ageing and optical fouling. That problem shows up repeatedly in claim language around path length, calibration gas and source lifetime, which is why the search string anchors on those terms rather than on the sensor hardware alone.
Because publication trails filing by roughly eighteen months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in this dataset are still filling in and should be read as a floor, not a ceiling, on current activity. The more reliable read on momentum is the 2021-to-2024 span, where filings rose 57%, and the concentration figures at the top of the assignee ranking, which describe a lead position rather than a closed field.
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 523-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim volume today.
A decade of filing activity, with a documented rebound
Filings peaked in 2017 at 44 and cooled afterward, but the 2021-to-2024 window shows a genuine rebound — from 14 filings to 22, a 57% increase over three years. Treat 2025 and 2026 as undercounted rather than as a slowdown; publication lag alone accounts for the drop-off visible in the most recent bars.
Material analysis testing still anchors the field
G01N (material analysis and testing) appears in 82.6% of the 523 records, confirming that most infrared gas detection claims are still framed as analytical measurement rather than as a downstream application. G01J (radiation and light measurement) at 17.4% and A61B (diagnosis and surgery) at 8.8% mark the two biggest adjacent claim zones, with G01M, G06Q, A01K, G08B and G01F each carrying a smaller but non-trivial share — evidence that the core optical method is being adapted into breath diagnostics, industrial monitoring and alarm integration rather than staying confined to a single application.
Shares are the percentage of the 523 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Infrared Gas Detection with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about infrared gas detection and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative filing and the most-cited prior art
US20050218327A1 — Infrared gas detector and method of the same (Denso Corporation, 2005-10-06)
An infrared gas detector for detecting a density of a sample gas includes an infrared light sensor for detecting the density of the sample gas under an influence of water vapor based on an intensity of received infrared light of a specific wavelength, and a humidity sensor for detecting an absolute humidity of the water vapor in the sample gas based on an intensity of the received infrared light of the specific wavelength. The density of the sample gas is determined by correcting for the influence of the water vapor included therein based on the absolute humidity in the sample gas detected by the humidity sensor.Filed by Denso, this record sits squarely on the water-vapour-interference correction problem that recurs across the dataset's search terms.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20170173262A1 | Medical systems, devices and methods | 1,223 |
| 2 | US6444474B1 | Microfluidic system for measurement of total organic carbon | 226 |
| 3 | US5721430A | Passive and active infrared analysis gas sensors and applicable multichannel detector assembles | 190 |
| 4 | US6865926B2 | Method and apparatus for sample analysis | 184 |
| 5 | US20040035183A1 | Method and apparatus for sample analysis | 154 |
| 6 | US6076392A | Method and apparatus for real time gas analysis | 149 |
| 7 | US5834777A | NDIR gas sensor | 149 |
| 8 | US20040133086A1 | Apparatus and method for non-invasive measurement of blood constituents | 138 |
| 9 | US3593023A | Apparatus and method for exhaust analysis | 135 |
| 10 | US20110192213A1 | Method and system for monitoring and reducing ruminant methane production | 130 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings by construction; read them as a signal of influence on later work, not as a ranking of current technical importance.
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Four figures worth acting on, each traceable to a specific number in the dataset rather than a general impression of the field.
The lead is real but not exclusive
The five leading assignees combined account for 116 of the 523 records in scope — a clear head start, but nowhere near a majority. A newcomer is not filing into a field owned by one or two players.
Activity is rebuilding after the 2017 peak
Filings ran from 14 in 2021 to 22 in 2024, the last year with a complete publication record. That is a genuine upswing, not an artefact of the search terms, and it lands well after the 2017 high-water mark of 44.
The core claim territory is analytical measurement
G01N covers the overwhelming majority of records, meaning most claims are still framed around measurement accuracy — path length, calibration, interference correction — rather than around a specific end-use device.
Filing is US-led but genuinely international
United States filings lead at 199, with Europe (EPO) at 85 and WIPO/PCT filings at 63 behind it — evidence that protection strategies for infrared gas sensing methods are not confined to a single jurisdiction.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to infrared gas detection, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds ground, and where the claim space is still open
The assignee ranking returned by this dataset covers 100 companies across 523 records — not a top-50 or top-100 cut, but the full ranked set the search produced. Reading it alongside the co-assignee pairs and the IPC composition gives a fuller picture of where competitive pressure sits and where it does not.
One assignee sets the pace, without a runaway lead
The leading assignee holds 34 records against a fifth-place figure of 18 and a tenth-place figure of 13 — a normal, gradually tapering distribution rather than a single dominant filer boxing out the field.
Joint filings are the exception, not the norm
Only nine co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, with the strongest pairs filing together no more than four times. Most activity in this field is filed by a single assignee rather than through joint development arrangements.
A long tail of single- and low-count filers
The top 10 assignees combined account for 193 of 523 records. That leaves the majority of records spread across the remaining ranked assignees, consistent with a field still attracting new entrants rather than consolidating.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Analog Devices, Inc. | 0 | — |
| CLOCK LTD | 0 | — |
| Inficon Holding AG | 0 | — |
| Avisa Pharma Inc. | 0 | — |
| Servomex Group Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Honeywell International Inc. | 0 | — |
| Gotze International Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Gasporox AB | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis next
The dataset points to specific follow-up questions rather than a single verdict on the field.
Pressure-test a claim against the leaders' filings
With concentration at 22.2% among the top five assignees, a freedom-to-operate check should focus on their specific claim language around calibration gas and path length rather than assuming a crowded field overall.
Explore assignee filings in EurekaTrack the 2021–2024 rebound into 2025–2026
The 57% filing growth from 2021 to 2024 is the most reliable recent signal; watching how it extends once 2025 and 2026 publication catches up will show whether the rebound is continuing.
Monitor filing trends in EurekaScope the under-claimed adjacent branches
G08B, G01F and A01K overlaps each carry a modest but real share of records, suggesting alarm integration, flow measurement and livestock monitoring applications of infrared gas sensing are not yet heavily claimed.
Search white space in EurekaCommon questions about infrared gas detection patents
It is moderately concentrated but not dominated by a single player. The five leading assignees combined hold 116 of the 523 records in scope, which works out to 22.2% of the field. The leader alone holds 34 records, with the fifth-ranked assignee at 18 and the tenth at 13, so the drop-off from the top is gradual rather than a cliff. A new entrant should expect to compete against an established but not monopolistic set of filers.
The reliable read is growth. Filings rose from 14 in 2021 to 22 in 2024, a 57% increase over that three-year span, and 2024 is the most recent year with a complete publication record. The 2017 peak of 44 filings was higher, but publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so figures for 2025 and 2026 are undercounted and should not be read as a decline. Judged on complete years, the trend is upward, not falling.
G01N, the material analysis and testing classification, covers 82.6% of the 523 records, confirming that most claims are still built around measurement accuracy problems like interference correction and calibration rather than a specific end-use product. G01J, radiation and light measurement, is the next largest at 17.4%. Smaller but meaningful shares sit in diagnostics (A61B), business/data processing (G06Q), animal husbandry (A01K), alarm systems (G08B) and flow measurement (G01F), showing the core sensing method spreading into several application areas.
The clearest gaps sit in the smaller IPC overlaps rather than in the core G01N measurement claims, which are heavily filed. Alarm and signalling integration (G08B, 3.6% of records), flow-linked gas measurement (G01F, 3.3%) and animal husbandry monitoring (A01K, 4.4%) each carry comparatively thin filing density relative to the 82.6% concentration in G01N. Open-path configuration correction and source-lifetime compensation methods, both named directly in the search criteria, are recurring problems without a dominant assignee locking down the approach.
The United States leads with 199 records, followed by Europe through the EPO at 85 and international PCT filings at 63. Canada, Austria and Australia each carry smaller but non-trivial counts. The spread across multiple major offices indicates that companies working in this space are pursuing multi-jurisdiction protection rather than filing narrowly in a single home market.
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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.