Picture Generation Unit Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Filings nearly two-and-a-half times over three years: annual filings rose from 5 in 2021 to 12 in 2024, a 140% increase, with 2022 the peak year so far at 12.
- Concentrated at the top: the leading assignee alone accounts for 25 of 67 records, and the top 5 combined hold 64.2% of all 67 records in scope.
- Optics dominates, thermal and control lag behind: G02B optical elements appear in 82.1% of records, while display-control circuitry (G09G) appears in only 6.0%.
Filing growth compares 2021 (5 records) with 2024 (12) — 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 67 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
A picture generation unit (PGU) is the image-source module inside a head-up display: the light engine, imaging element and optics that produce the picture later projected onto a combiner or windshield. This landscape draws on 67 published records filed or published between 2015 and mid-2026 that describe PGU architectures and the design constraints around them, from luminance and daylight contrast to speckle suppression in laser sources, power consumption and thermal load.
Coverage runs to a 2026-07-31 cut-off. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend line understate actual filing activity and should be read as still filling in rather than as a slowdown.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 67 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which technical branches the claims sit in.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Annual filings climbed from a single record in 2017 to a peak of 12 in 2022, and grew 140% from 5 filings in 2021 to 12 in 2024 — the most recent year that can be treated as complete before the publication lag takes effect.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
G02B (optical elements & systems) touches 82.1% of the 67 records, confirming that optical path design is the dominant claim territory. B60K (vehicle integration) and G03B (photographic apparatus) follow at 26.9% and 20.9%; display-control (G09G), digital processing (G06F) and image-data generation (G06T) each sit in single digits, marking them as comparatively under-claimed. Records can carry more than one class, so these shares sum to well over 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 67 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Picture Generation Units for HUD with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about picture generation units for hud and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited records
Picture generation unit (PGU), optical engine module, and focus fine-tuning mechanism of optical engine module
The disclosure covers a PGU and optical engine module built from a frame, a light-combining lens, multiple laser emitters, a beam-shaping lens, and a focus fine-tuning mechanism with a fixing sleeve, an inner lens, a movable focus adjustment sleeve, and an outer lens. The mechanism gives the module a way to fine-tune focus mechanically rather than through added electronics.Filed by Megaforce Company Limited, published 2026-07-09.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5868482A | Color wheel and picture generation unit with a color wheel | 189 |
| 2 | US20160266390A1 | Head-up display and control method thereof | 34 |
| 3 | US20160266391A1 | Head up display for vehicle and control method thereof | 31 |
| 4 | CN109407320A | 结合人眼追踪系统的抬头显示光路系统及成像优化方法 | 22 |
| 5 | US20200018977A1 | Display device and automobile head-up display system using the same | 19 |
| 6 | US20220317463A1 | Augmented reality head-up display with steerable eyebox | 15 |
| 7 | US20220146818A1 | Head-up display for vehicles and head-up display system for vehicles | 15 |
| 8 | CN105974584A | 抬头显示器及其控制方法 | 15 |
| 9 | US20190182994A1 | Head up display cooling | 11 |
| 10 | WO2021096447A1 | Augmented reality head-up display with steerable eyebox | 9 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had more time to be cited; read them as a signal of influence within this corpus, not as a measure of current technical importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three findings that shape where a new PGU filing is likely to land relative to existing claim coverage.
Filing activity is still accelerating into its most reliable data years
Annual filings grew from 5 in 2021 to 12 in 2024. 2022 is the peak year recorded so far at 12. Because 2025 and 2026 are still filling in under the publication lag, this growth should not be read as having crested.
A small group of filers holds most of the claim space
The top 5 assignees combined account for 43 of the 67 records in scope, and the top 10 extend that to 57 records, or 85.1%. The leader alone holds 25 records against a fifth-place figure of 4, showing a steep drop after the top of the ranking.
Optical path claims dominate; control and processing layers are thin
G02B optical elements & systems appear in 82.1% of the 67 records, far ahead of B60K vehicle integration at 26.9% and G03B photographic apparatus at 20.9%. G09G display-control circuitry appears in only 6.0%, suggesting the control layer around PGUs is comparatively open.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to picture generation units for hud, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranking covers 21 companies across the full set of 67 records — not a top-50 or top-100 cut — with a steep drop from the leader to the rest of the field.
One assignee holds well over a third of all records
The leading assignee accounts for 25 of the 67 records in scope, more than the next several filers combined. That concentration means a new entrant's freedom-to-operate review should start with this filer's optical-path and light-engine claims before anything else.
The field thins quickly after the top few filers
Fifth place in the ranking sits at 4 records, and tenth place at 2 — a sharp drop-off from the leader's 25. This pattern is typical of a field with one or two dominant filers and a long tail of single- or few-filing entrants.
Momentum has cooled for several named filers in the most recent year
Multiple ranked assignees show zero filings in the latest year, some with a -100% year-on-year change. Given the roughly 18-month publication lag, this is as likely to reflect filings still in the pipeline as an actual pullback.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Yinwang Intelligent Technologies Co., Ltd. | 0 | -100% |
| SPECTRALICS LTD | 0 | — |
| Infineon Technologies AG | 0 | -100% |
| CY Vision Inc. | 0 | — |
| Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
Use this landscape as a starting point for a narrower freedom-to-operate or whitespace check.
Check freedom-to-operate against the top filer's optical claims
With one assignee holding 25 of 67 records, a targeted claims review of that portfolio's light-combining and beam-shaping optics is the highest-value first step before drafting new claims.
Run a claims comparison in EurekaMap the under-claimed control and processing branches
G09G, G06F and G06T each sit in single-digit shares of the 67 records, pointing to open claim space around display control and image-data handling for PGUs.
Explore whitespace in EurekaFrequently asked questions
A picture generation unit is the image-source module inside a head-up display that creates the picture before it is projected onto a combiner or the windshield. It typically combines a light source, an imaging element such as a DLP or LCD panel, and optics that shape and direct the light. Design work in this area focuses heavily on luminance for daylight contrast, thermal management, power consumption and, for laser-based sources, controlling speckle.
The dataset ranks 21 companies across 67 published records, and the field is concentrated at the top: the leading assignee holds 25 records, the top 5 combined hold 64.2% of all 67 records, and the top 10 extend that to 85.1%. After the top few filers, the ranking thins quickly, with fifth place at 4 records and tenth place at 2. This is not a top-50 or top-100 list; it is the complete ranking the dataset returns.
Filings grew substantially in the years with the most reliable data, rising from 5 in 2021 to 12 in 2024, a 140% increase, with 2022 standing as the peak year recorded so far at 12. Filings shown for 2025 and 2026 look lower, but that reflects the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than an actual drop in activity. Any read on the most recent one to two years should account for that lag before concluding the trend has slowed.
Optical elements and systems (G02B) appear in 82.1% of the 67 records, making the optical path the most heavily claimed territory, followed by vehicle integration (B60K) at 26.9% and photographic apparatus (G03B) at 20.9%. Display-control circuitry (G09G), digital processing (G06F) and image-data generation (G06T) each appear in only single-digit shares of records, which points to comparatively open claim space around how PGU output is controlled and processed rather than how the light itself is generated and shaped. A record can carry multiple IPC classes, so these figures do not sum to 100%.
US20260194750A1, filed by Megaforce Company Limited and published 2026-07-09, covers a picture generation unit and optical engine module built around a frame, a light-combining lens, multiple laser emitters, a beam-shaping lens, and a mechanical focus fine-tuning mechanism using nested fixing and adjustment sleeves. The claims center on a mechanical approach to focus adjustment rather than an electronic one. Anyone designing a laser-based PGU with an adjustable focus optical engine should check this filing's specific sleeve-and-lens geometry before finalizing a similar mechanical design.
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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.