Company patents
BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA's patent strategy reveals a surprising shift away from its core consumer printing technologies, with 'Printers & Typewriters' and 'Electrography (Xerography)' experiencing significant declines of -15.5% and -16.7% respectively in 2025, and even steeper drops so far in 2026. While most categories show a general decline in 2025, the company appears to be exploring new avenues, as evidenced by the rapid growth in 'Coating Compositions (Paints, Inks)' with a +200.0% YoY increase in 2024, and an emerging focus on 'Business Methods & Fintech' which grew by +31.6% in 2025, suggesting an effort to diversify beyond traditional hardware.
Patent Trend by Technology Area
Yearly patent publications since 2023
Product themes
Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.
3,379 US filings (since 2023) · 12 categories · 35 themes
Techniques and apparatuses for enabling specialized printing applications beyond standard color reproduction, such as forming toner images specifically for adhering foil onto sheets.
Design aspects of user-replaceable cartridges or containers for printing consumables (e.g., ink, tape, labels) that facilitate easy installation, proper positioning, type identification, and reliable supply to the printer.
Systems and methods for controlling temperature within image forming apparatuses, particularly for fixing devices, and during printer operation or shutdown, to ensure optimal performance, energy efficiency, and component longevity.
Mechanisms and control systems for reliably feeding, conveying, and separating print media, including managing media roll changes, adjusting airflow, and adapting to different media characteristics.
Mechanisms and sensors for accurately conveying, positioning, loading, and managing various types of recording media (e.g., paper, fabric, labels) through a printing apparatus, and detecting their presence, type, or potential collision.
Innovations in the design and arrangement of piezoelectric or thermal actuators, drive electronics, and fluidic structures within the printhead to achieve precise and efficient liquid ejection.
Mechanisms and methods for preventing or removing clogs, ink residue, or contaminants from printhead nozzles and surfaces to ensure consistent print quality and extend printhead lifespan.
Systems and components for storing, delivering, circulating, and managing printing liquids (e.g., ink) to the printhead, often including features for pressure regulation, filtration, degassing, and balancing liquid levels.
Systems that perform operations like cutting, folding, binding, or applying liquids to sheets or webs, often integrated within larger production lines such as printing or image forming apparatuses.
Technologies for precisely controlling the timing and volume of liquid droplet ejection, and for real-time or post-ejection monitoring of droplet trajectory, velocity, and nozzle health to maintain print accuracy and quality.
Advancements in the structure, materials, and electrical characteristics of electrophotographic photosensitive members, focusing on photosensitive layers, conductive supports, protection layers, and their impedance properties.
Systems and methods for maintaining and improving the quality of printed images, encompassing adjustments to developing bias based on environmental conditions, paper characteristic detection, and color profile generation.
Innovations in the chemical and physical properties of toner particles, including binder resins, waxes, colorants, and inorganic additives, to optimize performance, production, and environmental characteristics.
Technologies for maintaining the correct path and alignment of webs or individual sheets during conveyance, including mechanisms for steering, correcting positional deviations, and managing static electricity.
Designing user interfaces and interaction methods specifically for mobile or wearable devices, enabling control of external systems, monitoring user states, or facilitating real-world transactions.
Safety features and interlock mechanisms designed to prevent hazards during printer operation or maintenance, such as automatic power cut-offs for heating elements when access covers are opened.
Systems that employ imaging and image processing to automatically detect defects, verify states, or ensure quality control in manufactured goods, printed materials, or industrial processes.
Systems and methods for authenticating users, devices, or applications, authorizing their access to resources based on policies, and managing digital identities across various platforms.
Systems and methods for uniquely identifying, tracking, and managing physical items using scannable codes (barcodes, QR codes) or wireless tags (RFID, IoT devices) to link physical objects to digital information, inventory, or services.
Novel formulations and mechanisms for initiating or controlling the polymerization and cross-linking of adhesives, including dual-curing systems, radical polymerization, and partial curing for tailored material properties.
Methods and apparatus for improving the visual fidelity, resolution, or compression efficiency of video signals, often through advanced processing, up-scaling, or neural network-based filters.
Methods and components for converting power into mechanical motion to drive pump mechanisms, encompassing electric motors, hydraulic actuators, and specialized motion converters like ball screws or solenoids.
Technologies that create dynamic and interactive visual content for displays, including virtual/wearable systems, by generating overlays, replacing input streams, or merging real-time user actions with digital environments.
Technologies for establishing and maintaining secure communication channels between devices or networks, often employing encryption, secure protocols, or virtual private networks (VPNs).
Apparatus and methods for automatically winding or unwinding continuous materials such as webs, cables, conduits, or yarns onto or from spools, reels, or bobbins, including aspects like layering, coreless winding, and material supply.
Utilizing dedicated hardware components, secure enclaves, or trusted execution environments to perform cryptographic operations, enhancing security, performance, or isolation from software vulnerabilities.
Systems and methods for identifying and blocking unauthorized access, malicious activities, or abnormal behavior within a network by analyzing traffic, system logs, or behavioral patterns.
Systems designed to streamline and automate various commercial transactions, including mobile-enhanced processes, secure online checkouts, customer service interactions, and privilege issuance, often leveraging digital authentication.
Systems and methods for encrypting data at a fine-grained level (e.g., per data unit or based on sensitivity) and controlling access to it, often involving delegated authorization, contextual policies, or secure data sharing.
User interface designs and systems that enable multiple users to interact with shared content, provide feedback, or coordinate activities, often across different devices or locations.
Techniques and hardware architectures for optimizing the radio frequency (RF) front-end, antenna systems, and beamforming strategies in wireless networks to improve signal quality, capacity, and interference mitigation.
Polymer compositions incorporating inorganic or organic filler materials to impart specific functional properties such as thermal conductivity, flame retardancy, electrical conductivity, or enhanced mechanical strength and dimensional stability.
Development and application of polymer compositions designed for reprocessability, recyclability, or incorporating sustainable additives, often featuring reversible bonds or bio-based components.
Systems and methods for precisely measuring, monitoring, and regulating the longitudinal tension in continuous webs of material during roll-to-roll processes to prevent defects, reduce waste, and ensure consistent product quality.
Additives or compositions specifically formulated for surface application or modification to impart protective, decorative, or specialized functional properties to polymer products.
Patents
Showing 1-10 of 6023