Pressure Sensor Patent Landscape 2026
Pressure Sensor Patent Landscape in 2026
The pressure sensor patent space is led by Samsung Electronics, which holds a commanding position among the top hundred filers, with material analysis and testing dominating the technology mix. Annual filing volume peaked in 2019 and has since eased, signalling a maturing field where selective investment in under-served adjacent branches offers the clearest differentiation path.
Samsung Electronics leads a moderately concentrated field
Samsung Electronics tops the applicant ranking by a substantial margin, followed by Qualcomm and Hitachi High-Tech. The top five filers account for 24% of the combined patent records of the hundred largest filers, confirming that no single player commands an outright majority.
A clear tier gap separates the top two applicants from the remainder of the top ten. Below Qualcomm’s position, incumbents from instrumentation, oil-and-gas services, and automotive spread activity broadly, preventing any challenger from consolidating dominance quickly.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 1,922 | |
| 2 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 978 | |
| 3 | Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | 792 | |
| 4 | Honeywell International Inc | 428 | |
| 5 | Agilent Technologies Inc | 396 | |
| 6 | Shimadzu Corporation | 361 | |
| 7 | Halliburton Energy Services Inc | 335 | |
| 8 | Saudi Arabian Oil Company | 325 | |
| 9 | Schlumberger Technology Corp | 305 | |
| 10 | Denso Corporation | 278 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 276 | |
| 12 | Ford Global Technologies LLC | 264 | |
| 13 | Hitachi Ltd | 254 | |
| 14 | Koninklijke Philips N.V. | 254 | |
| 15 | Schlumberger Technology BV | 250 | |
| 16 | LG Electronics Inc | 247 | |
| 17 | Robert Bosch GmbH | 241 | |
| 18 | Southwest Petroleum University | 241 | |
| 19 | Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co Ltd | 235 | |
| 20 | Shimadzu Seisakusho Ltd | 228 |
Samsung’s lead, concentrated in imaging and positioning sub-classes, suggests a consumer-electronics and mobile-device strategic agenda rather than pure sensing hardware. This leaves the traditional sensing hardware segment more open to challengers with deeper instrumentation expertise.
Filing counts for 2024 and 2025 are understated due to standard patent-publication lag of 12–18 months; the apparent drop in those years should not be read as a market exit by any applicant. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Volume peaked in 2019; material analysis dominates the technology mix
The annual filing trend and the IPC branch breakdown together reveal where investment has been concentrated and where the field’s growth energy has shifted.
Annual filing trend
Filings grew from 2017 through a 2019 peak, then declined steadily through 2022–2023. The 2024–2025 bars are materially undercounted due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as a continuation of decline. The 2019 peak year sets the baseline against which current activity is measured.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
G01N (material analysis and testing) is by far the dominant branch, reflecting the heavy role of pressure-based analytical instrumentation. G01S (radar, sonar and positioning), G01F (flow and volume measurement), A61B (diagnosis and surgery), and G01L (force and pressure measurement) form a secondary tier, each with meaningful but substantially smaller shares.
↗ 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.
Testing for defective manufacturing of microphones…
A method of testing a MEMS pressure sensor device such as, for example, a MEMS microphone package. The MEMS pressure sensor device includes a pressure sensor positioned within a housing and a pressure input port to direct acoustic pressure from outside the housing towards the pressure sensor. An acoustic pressure source is activated and acoustic pressure… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Control apparatus for an automated surgical biopsy… | 3,039 |
| 2 | Control method for an automated surgical biopsy de… | 2,111 |
| 3 | Athlete’s GPS-based performance monitor | 1,784 |
| 4 | Asset system control arrangement and method | 1,776 |
| 5 | Universal/upgrading pulse oximeter | 1,547 |
| 6 | Sterile field interactive control displays | 1,445 |
| 7 | Display of alignment of staple cartridge to prior … | 1,128 |
| 8 | Characterization of tissue irregularities through … | 1,115 |
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.
What the structure means for R&D strategy
Four structural dimensions — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — each carry distinct implications for where new investment will find least resistance and highest leverage.
Field is past its 2019 peak; selective positioning is key
The lifecycle stage is Decline, with annual filing volume easing back from the 2019 peak. A maturing field favours applicants who can identify genuinely novel sub-domains rather than adding incremental filings into already-crowded primary classes. Teams should audit their pipeline against G01N sub-classes where density is already high before committing further resources.
Lifecycle: DeclineModerate concentration with a clear tier gap at the top
The top five filers hold 24% of the combined records of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate concentration. The gap between Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm in second place is large, but the field below them is fragmented across instrumentation, oil-and-gas services, automotive, and medical device players. New entrants with a focused sub-domain thesis can realistically build a defensible position in the lower tiers.
Concentration: moderateSchlumberger entity cluster and Saudi Aramco alliance are the most active co-filers
The most frequent co-filing relationships are between Schlumberger Technology Corp and its affiliated entities — including Schlumberger Canada and Schlumberger Technology BV — with up to 29 joint records, and between Saudi Arabian Oil Co and Saudi Aramco Services Co with 24 joint records. Hitachi High-Tech and Roche Diagnostics entities also co-file in smaller volumes. These patterns indicate that cross-entity IP coordination within corporate groups, rather than open industry collaboration, characterises the ecosystem.
Collaboration: intra-groupUS is the primary filing jurisdiction; EPO and PCT are secondary anchors
The United States leads jurisdiction coverage by a wide margin, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT). Canada and Australia form a meaningful tertiary tier. Smaller volumes appear in the UK, Singapore, South Africa, and New Zealand. For R&D teams prioritising freedom-to-operate analysis, the US-EPO-PCT triangle is the most critical coverage zone.
Lead office: United StatesGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Schlumberger Limited | 29 |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Schlumberger Canada Limited | 27 |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Schlumberger Technology BV | 27 |
| Saudi Arabian Oil Company | Saudi Aramco Services Company | 24 |
| Shimadzu Corporation | Shimadzu Seisakusho Ltd | 17 |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Prad Research and Development Limited | 17 |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Schlumberger Holdings Limited | 17 |
| Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | Roche Diagnostics GmbH | 5 |
| Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG | 5 |
| Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | Roche Diagnostics Operations Inc | 3 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Samsung leads in imaging and positioning; Qualcomm accelerates in location sensing
The top two applicants pursue distinct technical agendas, creating differentiated competitive pressure across sub-domains rather than direct head-to-head rivalry across all classes.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics holds the top position with 1,922 patent records. Its technology focus spans pictorial communication (H04N 25), radar and positioning (G01S 5), and digital data processing (G06F 3), reflecting a consumer-electronics and mobile platform orientation. Recent momentum shows a 17% decline in the latest period, suggesting the pace of new filings is moderating from an earlier high.
patent records: 1,922Qualcomm
Qualcomm ranks second with 978 patent records and is the standout momentum story, with a 73% increase in recent filings versus the prior period. Its focus is tightly concentrated in positioning (G01S 5 and G01S 19) and wireless networks (H04W 4), signalling a deliberate build-out of sensor-fusion capabilities for location-aware applications. This trajectory makes Qualcomm the most aggressive near-term challenger to Samsung’s lead.
patent records: 978| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | 73 | ▼ -18% |
| Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 60 | ▼ -17% |
| Shimadzu Corporation | 7 | ▼ -87% |
| Honeywell International Inc | 16 | ▲ new entrant |
| Agilent Technologies Inc | 22 | ▼ -45% |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | 26 | ▲ +73% |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | 12 | ▲ +20% |
| Saudi Arabian Oil Company | 50 | ▬ -2% |
Under-served routes worth watching
While G01N dominates the corpus, several adjacent IPC branches carry meaningful record counts but represent lower shares of total activity relative to their apparent technical relevance to pressure sensing.
G01L · Force & pressure measurement
G01L, the IPC class most directly concerned with force and pressure measurement, accounts for only 3% of branch records — a notably low share given the topic. This relative sparsity against its direct technical relevance suggests that dedicated pressure-sensing hardware claims are being eclipsed by application-layer filings. Teams focused on MEMS-based transducer design or calibration methods may find this a less crowded space with a clear technical entry path through sub-classes covering instrument design and calibration.
Search this in Eureka →B81B · Microstructural devices (MEMS)
B81B (microstructural devices, including MEMS) appears with only 102 records, a small share for a fabrication class that underpins most miniaturised pressure sensor hardware. Given that MEMS fabrication is a core manufacturing route for modern pressure sensors, this sparsity may reflect cross-classification into G01N or G01L rather than a genuine lack of activity — but it also indicates that dedicated MEMS process claims are not heavily filed in this corpus, leaving potential claim territory around novel fabrication sequences and device architectures.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | G01N 33 · Material analysis & testing | G01N 21 · Material analysis & testing | G01N 1 · Material analysis & testing | G01N 35 · Material analysis & testing | G01N 27 · Material analysis & testing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hitachi High-Tech Corporation | Absent | Absent | Emerging · 32 | Strong · 218 | Absent |
| Precision Planting LLC | Strong · 54 | Strong · 38 | Strong · 43 | Strong · 38 | Absent |
| Schlumberger Technology Corp | Strong · 77 | Moderate · 27 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Beckman Coulter Inc | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 31 | Strong · 73 | Absent |
| General Electric Company | Strong · 34 | Strong · 28 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 19 |
| Saudi Arabian Oil Company | Strong · 78 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Infineon Technologies AG | Strong · 37 | Strong · 34 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 8,811 patent families. This is the baseline count before any jurisdictional or applicant-level filtering.
Samsung Electronics leads with 1,922 patent records, nearly double the 978 held by second-ranked Qualcomm.
G01N (material analysis and testing) is by far the largest branch in the corpus, reflecting the central role of pressure-based analytical instrumentation. G01S (radar, sonar and positioning) and G01F (flow and volume measurement) are the next largest branches.
The United States leads with the highest record count, followed by Europe (EPO) and WIPO (PCT). Canada and Australia form a meaningful secondary tier.
Annual filings peaked in 2019 and have eased since. The lifecycle stage is assessed as Decline based on this pattern. Note that 2024 and 2025 data are materially undercounted due to publication lag and do not represent a steeper decline than the 2020–2023 trend.
Qualcomm shows the strongest upward momentum with a 73% increase in recent filings versus the prior period. Honeywell International is a new entrant in the recent window. In contrast, Shimadzu Corp shows a sharp 87% decline, and Agilent Technologies shows a 45% decline in recent activity.
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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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