Company patents

PFU LIMITED

PFU LIMITED's patent strategy reveals a surprising shift away from its dominant Material Handling (Sheets, Webs) category, which constitutes 56.7% of its portfolio but saw a 43.3% decline in 2025 and a further 35.3% decline so far in 2026. Concurrently, the company is rapidly expanding its focus on Computer Vision and Image Processing, with Computer Vision experiencing a 150.0% growth so far in 2026 and Image Processing surging by 300.0% in the same period, indicating an emerging emphasis on advanced computing technologies.

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.

252 US filings (since 2023) · 7 categories · 11 themes

Media Conveyance & Detection

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.

Printers & Typewriters
Who else files here? →
145since 2023
-37.3%YoY
Media Handling & Feeding Systems

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.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
144since 2023
-37.3%YoY
Web/Sheet Path Guiding & Alignment

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.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
54since 2023
-23.8%YoY
Automated Visual Inspection

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.

Pictorial / Video Communications
Who else files here? →
24since 2023
-50.0%YoY
Integrated Sheet/Web Post-Processing

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.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
21since 2023
-14.3%YoY
Automated Winding & Reeling

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.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
17since 2023
-62.5%YoY
Video Quality & Encoding Optimization

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.

Pictorial / Video CommunicationsComputer Vision
Who else files here? →
14since 2023
-62.5%YoY
Material ID & Process Monitoring

Methods and systems for uniquely identifying individual units of material (e.g., yarn spindles, winding spools, bobbins) and monitoring their performance or status within a material handling process, often using sensors and coding.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
8since 2023
0.0%YoY
Droplet Ejection Diagnostics

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.

Printers & Typewriters
Who else files here? →
2since 2023
0.0%YoY
Web Tension Control

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.

Material Handling (Sheets, Webs)
Who else files here? →
1since 2023
n/a
Multi-Sensor Imaging & Synthesis

Systems that combine data from multiple camera sensors or capture multiple images from different perspectives or qualities, often involving image processing techniques like synthesis to create enhanced or comprehensive views.

Pictorial / Video Communications
Who else files here? →
1since 2023
n/a

Patents

Showing 21-30 of 378

Page 3 of 38