Vibration Energy Harvesting Patent Landscape 2026
The vibration energy harvesting field is dominated by Chinese academic institutions and a handful of U.S. industrial players, with Harbin Institute of Technology leading by patent record count; annual filing volume has eased from its 2019 peak, placing the field in a declining phase after a decade of intermittent activity. The technology mix is overwhelmingly concentrated in piezoelectric and electromechanical conversion classes, leaving power conditioning, broadband mechanical, and sensing-adjacent branches comparatively sparse.
Chinese universities lead a moderately concentrated field
The Boeing Company and Anhui University of Science and Technology, each close behind. The top five filers collectively hold 29% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, indicating moderate but not extreme concentration.
A clear two-tier structure exists: the top three applicants are well ahead of the rest, while the fourth through tenth ranked applicants cluster closely together in the single digits of patent records. No single player has achieved decisive dominance.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 23 | |
| 2 | The Boeing Company | 18 | |
| 3 | ANHUI UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 18 | |
| 4 | Honeywell International Inc | 8 | |
| 5 | China Jiliang University | 6 | |
| 6 | Hanchett Entry Systems Inc | 6 | |
| 7 | KOREA INST OF CERAMIC ENG & TECH | 6 | |
| 8 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 5 | |
| 9 | The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas | 5 | |
| 10 | Changchun University of Technology | 5 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Zhejiang Gongshang University | 5 | |
| 12 | CLINGMAN & J | 4 | |
| 13 | Xidian University | 4 | |
| 14 | Beijing University of Technology | 4 | |
| 15 | Jiangsu University | 4 | |
| 16 | Oscilla Power Inc | 3 | |
| 17 | Commonwealth of Australia | 3 | |
| 18 | Jinwoo Soft Innovation | 3 | |
| 19 | Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd | 3 | |
| 20 | Jilin University | 3 |
The leadership of Chinese universities signals that much of the field’s activity is academically driven and. China-facing, while Boeing and Honeywell represent a smaller but commercially oriented industrial tier focused on piezoelectric and solid-state device approaches.
Filings from 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and should be read as a lower bound on actual recent activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity has eased from its 2019 peak; piezoelectric conversion dominates the technology mix
The annual filing trend reveals a field that peaked in 2019 and has since fluctuated at lower levels, while the IPC composition shows a heavy tilt toward electric machine and solid-state device classes with a long tail of sparse adjacent branches.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings peaked in 2019 and again saw elevated activity in 2021, but have trended lower since. Figures for 2024–2026 reflect publication lag and understate true recent output; the apparent drop in those years should not be interpreted as a real acceleration of decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H02N (electric machines, other) is the dominant class by a wide margin, reflecting the prevalence of piezoelectric and electromagnetic transduction patents. H10N (other solid-state devices) and H01L (semiconductor devices) form a secondary cluster, while power conditioning (H02M), grid integration (H02J), and mechanical motor classes (F03G) each account for a small share, pointing to relatively underserved downstream circuit and system branches.
↗ 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.
Piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting device
A piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting device which is made up of a first mass, a second, a first spring coupled to the first mass, and a second spring coupled to the second mass. A piezoelectric element is bonded between the first mass and the second spring, so that a stress applied to the second spring is applied to the piezoelectric element (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piezoelectric vibration energy harvesting device | 92 |
| 2 | Strain energy shuttle apparatus and method for vib… | 57 |
| 3 | Piezomagnetoelastic structure for broadband vibrat… | 45 |
| 4 | Broadband energy harvester apparatus and method | 42 |
| 5 | Half-tube array vibration energy harvesting method… | 40 |
| 6 | Strain energy shuttle apparatus and method for vib… | 37 |
| 7 | 宽频带多方向振动能量采集器 | 33 |
| 8 | Broadband energy harvester apparatus and method | 33 |
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 patent structure means for R&D investment decisions
China-heavy jurisdiction profile shapes where near-term R&D differentiation opportunities lie.
Field is in decline after a 2019 peak
The lifecycle evidence classifies vibration energy harvesting as Decline, with annual filing volume easing back from the 2019 peak. This signals that foundational transduction approaches are well-patented and incremental improvements face crowded prior art, particularly in piezoelectric beam and electromagnetic generator configurations. Entrants should target differentiated niches — broadband, multi-modal, or integrated power-conditioning architectures — rather than core transduction mechanisms.
Lifecycle: DeclineModerate concentration with a strong academic tier
The top five filers hold 29% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total, a moderate share that leaves room for challengers. However, the leadership of Harbin Institute of Technology, Anhui University of Science and Technology, and China Jiliang University means many foundational filings originate from academic entities that may license or publish openly, reducing the exclusivity risk for commercial players. Industrial filers such as Boeing and Honeywell occupy a distinct, commercially oriented tier.
Concentration: ModerateCo-filing activity is minimal across the field
The only recorded co-applicant pair is the University of Arkansas Tech Ventures and the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, with a single joint filing. No cross-sector or industry-academic co-filing partnerships are evident in the evidence. This sparse collaboration profile suggests the ecosystem has not yet formed the joint-development networks common in more mature energy technologies, which may represent an organizational opportunity for companies seeking to anchor an emerging consortium.
Collaboration: SparseChina dominates filing volume; U.S. and Korea are secondary hubs
China accounts for the largest share of patent records by jurisdiction, reflecting the academic institution base of the leading filers. The United States and South Korea are the next largest jurisdictions, with WIPO PCT filings and European EPO filings representing a smaller but commercially relevant layer. India is a notable emerging jurisdiction. This geographic distribution suggests that freedom-to-operate risk is highest in China for commercially deployed harvesting systems, while PCT and EPO coverage remains achievable for entrants targeting global markets.
Geography: China-ledGo 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 |
|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas Tech Ventures | The Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas | 1 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Harbin Institute of Technology leads on volume; Boeing anchors the industrial tier
The top two players represent contrasting strategic profiles: a high-volume Chinese academic institution focused on electromechanical conversion, and a U. S. aerospace industrial filer concentrated on solid-state piezoelectric devices.
Harbin Institute of Technology
Harbin Institute of Technology leads the ranking with 23 patent records, concentrated in H02N 2 (electric machines, other) as its primary technology focus, with smaller positions in aerospace structural applications (B64C, B64D). Its momentum has declined sharply — recent filings are down 83% versus the prior period — suggesting the institution’s active filing phase in this space has passed. The portfolio nonetheless constitutes the largest single block of prior art in the corpus.
patent records: 23The Boeing Company
Boeing holds 18 patent records and is the leading industrial filer, with technology emphasis squarely on H10N 30 (other solid-state devices) and H01L 41 (semiconductor devices), reflecting a piezoelectric materials and MEMS-adjacent strategy distinct from the electromagnetic approaches favored by Chinese universities. Anhui University of Science and Technology also holds 18 patent records and entered as a new entrant in the recent period, with focus on H02N 2 and H02K 35 (electric motors and generators), signaling a fast-rising academic challenger.
patent records: 18| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Harbin Institute of Technology | 3 | ▼ -83% |
| Anhui University of Science and Technology | 10 | ▲ new entrant |
| University of Arkansas Tech Ventures | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches worth monitoring
Several IPC classes adjacent to the dominant transduction core have sparse coverage relative to their plausible technical relevance, representing areas where incremental patent investment could establish a defensible position.
H02J · Power supply and grid integration
H02J covers power supply, storage, and grid-interface systems and appears in only 14 patent records at a 3% share of the IPC distribution — sparse given that effective energy harvesting deployment requires conditioning and storage circuitry. The technical value is high: without efficient power management, harvested energy cannot be practically used. An entrant with expertise in ultra-low-power rectification, maximum-power-point tracking, or energy storage for intermittent sources could file in this branch with limited prior-art crowding from current leaders.
Search this in Eureka →H02M · Power conversion (AC/DC rectification)
H02M (power conversion, including AC/DC rectification and DC/DC conversion) accounts for only 11 patent records at a 2% share — notably thin for a field where the electrical output of vibration transducers requires rectification and regulation before practical use. The University of Arkansas Tech Ventures is the only identified applicant with a specific H02M focus. This branch sits at the interface of harvesting and power electronics, and targeted filings on synchronous rectifiers, impedance matching circuits, or non-linear energy extraction techniques would address a genuine technical gap with limited incumbent density.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | H02N 2 · Electric machines (other) | H10N 30 · Other electric solid-state devices | H01L 41 · Semiconductor devices | H02K 35 · Electric motors & generators | F03G 7 · Spring/weight & misc. motors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honeywell International Inc | Strong · 6 | Strong · 8 | Strong · 8 | Strong · 6 | Strong · 6 |
| The Boeing Company | Absent | Strong · 18 | Strong · 14 | Absent | Absent |
| Harbin Institute of Technology | Strong · 23 | Absent | Absent | Emerging · 2 | Absent |
| Anhui University of Science and Technology | Strong · 18 | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 5 | Absent |
| Korea Institute of Ceramic Engineering and Technology | Strong · 6 | Moderate · 3 | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent |
| China Jiliang University | Strong · 6 | Absent | Absent | Moderate · 2 | Absent |
| CLINGMAN & J | Absent | Strong · 4 | Strong · 4 | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 152 patent families. Applicant rankings within the analysis are measured in patent records, which can exceed the family count because a single family may be counted at multiple offices or under multiple IPC classes.
Harbin Institute of Technology leads with 23 patent records, followed by The Boeing Company and Anhui University of Science and Technology each with 18 patent records. The top five filers together account for 29% of the hundred largest filers’ combined total.
The evidence classifies the field as Decline: annual filing volume has eased back from a 2019 peak. The most recent years (2024–2026) show low recorded counts, but those figures are subject to publication lag and understate actual recent output.
China is the leading jurisdiction by patent records, followed by the United States and South Korea. WIPO PCT and European EPO filings form a smaller but commercially significant layer. India is a notable emerging jurisdiction in the dataset.
H02N (electric machines, other) is the dominant branch, reflecting piezoelectric and electromagnetic transduction approaches. H10N (other solid-state devices) and H01L (semiconductor devices) form a secondary cluster. Power conditioning (H02M), grid integration (H02J), and mechanical motor approaches (F03G) are comparatively sparse.
Collaboration is minimal. The only co-applicant filing pair identified in the evidence is the University of Arkansas Tech Ventures and the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas, with a single joint filing. No industry-academic or cross-sector co-filing partnerships are recorded in this corpus.
Ready to map your own vibration energy harvesting landscape?
Join 18,000+ innovators using PatSnap Eureka to map any technology landscape: search 2B+ patents and papers, surface key assignees, and generate a report like this in minutes.
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.