Company patents
Shimano Inc.
Shimano Inc.'s patent strategy reveals a surprising shift away from its core mechanical components, with Gearing & Transmissions experiencing a dramatic -100.0% YoY decline in 2026 (so far) and Footwear seeing a -75.0% YoY drop in 2026 (so far). While Animal Husbandry / Fishing remains a significant portion of its portfolio at 15.0%, the company is showing an emerging focus on Wireless Networks, which saw a 100.0% YoY growth in 2025, despite a partial decline so far in 2026.
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.
594 US filings (since 2023) · 6 categories · 16 themes
Methods and components for optimizing the performance, efficiency, and control of electric motors, inverters, and power converters within electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle drivetrains.
Footwear systems designed with interchangeable or reconfigurable components, such as soles, uppers, or footbeds, to allow for customization, repair, or adaptation to different uses.
Engineering of footwear sole components, including midsoles, outsoles, and integrated plates or shanks, to optimize cushioning, stability, energy return, and biomechanical support for specific activities.
Assemblies and components designed for reliable and efficient transfer of rotational or axial forces between mechanical parts, accommodating misalignment or specific motion profiles.
Novel configurations and materials for gears and drivetrain components, including specialized profiles, self-aligning features, damping elements, and complex gear train arrangements like planetary, cycloidal, or strain wave gearing.
Systems and methods utilizing sensors and control logic to detect, measure, and report the wear status of brake components, enabling predictive maintenance or safety alerts.
Specialized tools and structures for raising aquatic organisms or for catching fish, including platforms, bait dispensers, and reels.
Utilization of knitted components, often with multi-layer structures or integrated thermoplastic yarns, and other advanced materials like specialized foams or structural color elements, for footwear uppers and other components.
Actuators, control, and components for converting electrical energy into braking force, often involving motors, spindles, and friction elements, particularly for vehicle applications.
Novel mechanisms for securing footwear to the foot, moving beyond traditional laces to include reel-based cables, vacuum-actuated bladders, or integrated frames for enhanced fit and ease of use.
Novel designs or control strategies for clutches, including one-way, centrifugal, or disconnect types, to manage torque transmission in powertrains and other mechanical systems.
Technologies for efficiently delivering power to electric vehicles, encompassing fast charging, wireless charging, and smart grid integration, alongside vehicle-side control and management of the charging process.
Transmissions designed to provide a continuous range of gear ratios between fixed limits, often employing ball-planetary, toroidal, or belt-pulley mechanisms, and including their control systems for stable operation in various directions.
Focuses on the structural integrity, housing, mounting, and physical integration of battery cells into robust and protected packs within electric vehicles, including manufacturing considerations.
Systems enabling wireless communication between vehicles (V2V), vehicles and infrastructure (V2I), or vehicles and other entities (V2X) to share information for traffic management, safety, and navigation.
Integration of electronic sensors and feedback mechanisms into footwear for monitoring physiological parameters, providing navigation assistance, or detecting health conditions.
Patents
Showing 1-10 of 1009