Automotive Glazing Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filing peaked in 2018 at 7 records and has run flat to declining since, with the 2022 midpoint down to a single record — this is a settled claim map, not a fast-moving one.
- One glass maker leads with 8 records against a fifth-place holder at just 1, and the ranked list covers only 7 assignees in total — concentration is visible but the tail is thin, not deep.
- B32B laminate claims sit in every one of the 20 records while H05B heating-circuit claims appear in 45.0% of them — heatable glazing is the dominant cross-class combination, not a niche add-on.
What this landscape covers
This review tracks patent activity at the intersection of laminated glass structures and vehicle-specific glazing functions: acoustic PVB interlayers, heatable zones, head-up display wedge geometry, thin lightweight glass and ADAS camera bracket areas. The scope is defined by B32B17 (layered products), B60J1 (vehicle windows and fittings) and C03C27 (glass laminating), filtered to documents whose title and abstract name these specific automotive glazing functions rather than general laminated-glass manufacture. It captures 20 published records between 2015 and 2026, ranked across 7 assignees.
The dataset is small enough that individual filings move the picture, which is itself informative: this is a mature, narrowly claimed corner of automotive glass rather than an emerging one. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the 2026 count understates whatever has actually been filed most recently.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 20-record corpus: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
A peak in 2018, then a long flat tail
Filings ran to 7 in 2018, the high point across the window, then fell back; the 2022 midpoint sits at just 1 record. Nothing in the trend suggests renewed acceleration, though the most recent year is necessarily undercounted given publication lag.
Laminate claims dominate; heating is the main cross-class pairing
B32B (layered products) appears in all 20 records in scope, confirming that every filing here is fundamentally a laminate-structure claim. H05B (electric heating and lighting circuits) rides alongside it in 45.0% of records, making heatable glazing the clearest recurring combination. Vehicle lighting (B60Q), radar/positioning (G01S) and glass composition (C03C) each sit at 10.0%, and dedicated B60J window-and-fitting claims appear in only 5.0% — a signal that most filers here are claiming the laminate and its embedded function, not the window assembly itself.
Shares are the percentage of the 20 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Automotive Glazing and Windshields with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about automotive glazing and windshields and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited filings
Side laminated automotive glazing (US11648751B2)
The filing describes an electrically heatable laminated glazing unit combining a curved, tempered exterior glass sheet with a thin tempered interior sheet joined by a thermoplastic interlayer. A portion of the exterior sheet is left uncovered by the thin interior sheet to allow mechanical fastening, and the heatable zone uses a transparent conductive coating with spaced busbars to carry voltage across the glazing.Assigned to AGC Glass Europe, published 2023-05-16.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WO2013181484A1 | Stiff interlayers for laminated glass structures | 65 |
| 2 | US20150111016A1 | Stiff interlayers for laminated glass structures | 59 |
| 3 | US20210107401A1 | Luminous laminated automotive glazing comprising inorganic light-emitting diodes and manufacture thereof | 8 |
| 4 | US20210100074A1 | Side laminated automotive glazing | 4 |
| 5 | US20200180275A1 | Stiff interlayers for laminated glass structures | 3 |
| 6 | WO2018210612A1 | Side laminated automotive glazing | 3 |
| 7 | EP1081987B2 | Heatable glazing | 2 |
| 8 | EP1081987B1 | Heatable glazing | 2 |
| 9 | WO2023144066A1 | Heatable wired laminated glazing with temperature control | 1 |
| 10 | US11648751B2 | Side laminated automotive glazing | 1 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply by virtue of being searchable longer; treat them as a measure of influence on later filers, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three findings that shape where to file, where not to, and who to watch.
Stiff-interlayer claims anchor the field
The two highest-cited records in this corpus, both titled 'Stiff interlayers for laminated glass structures', carry 65 and 59 citations respectively — far ahead of anything else in the set. New interlayer-stiffness claims will be read against this pair first.
Activity has cooled since 2018
The filing count peaked at 7 in 2018 and had fallen to a single record by the 2022 midpoint, with no sign of renewed acceleration through the years given. That pattern points to a technology where the core claim space was staked out early.
A short ranked list, not a crowded field
The assignee ranking returns only 7 companies, with the leader at 8 records and fifth place down to 1. That is a narrow set of active filers rather than a long tail of entrants competing for the same claims.
Heatable glazing is the recurring pairing
Almost half of all records in scope combine a B32B laminate claim with an H05B heating-circuit claim, confirming heated glazing as the dominant functional overlay on the base laminate structure in this dataset.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to automotive glazing and windshields, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked list is short and led by one glass maker, with named individual inventors also holding standalone records rather than assigning to a corporate entity.
One glass maker leads a narrow field
The top assignee holds 8 of the records in this corpus, well ahead of the rest of the ranking, but recent-year momentum for every named assignee, including the leader, sits at 0 in the latest year — activity has not carried through recent filing cycles.
Named inventors pair consistently with one corporate filer
Six co-assignee pairs appear in the data, with three of them linking the same corporate glass maker to three different individually named inventors — a pattern consistent with in-house inventor teams rather than cross-company collaboration.
US and EPO carry most of the filing activity
The United States receives the largest share of filings tracked here, with Europe (EPO) second and WIPO/PCT and India each accounting for smaller portions. Anyone clearing freedom to operate should prioritise US and EPO prior art first.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| AGC Glass Europe | 0 | — |
| Corning Incorporated | 0 | — |
| Saint-Gobain Glass France | 0 | — |
| Glaverbel | 0 | — |
| JAIN ANURAG | 0 | — |
| FRISKE MARK STEPHEN | 0 | — |
| FISHER WILLIAM KEITH | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether you are clearing freedom to operate or looking for open claim space.
Check the stiff-interlayer family before filing
Any new interlayer-stiffness or laminate-strength claim should be checked against the two highest-cited records in this corpus, since they anchor the citation graph for the whole field.
Run a freedom-to-operate check in EurekaProbe the under-claimed sub-areas
HUD wedge geometry, thin lightweight glass and ADAS camera bracket zones all show thin representation in the IPC composition despite being named in the search scope — worth a targeted search before assuming the space is open.
Explore white space in EurekaWatch for renewed filing activity
Filing has been flat to declining since the 2018 peak, but publication lag means the most recent year is undercounted; a fresh pull closer to the 18-month lag window would confirm whether activity is genuinely dormant.
Set a filing alert in EurekaCommon questions on automotive glazing patents
Within this dataset, one glass maker leads the ranked assignees with 8 records, ahead of a field of 7 ranked companies overall where fifth place holds just 1. That gap suggests a genuine leader rather than several firms bunched together at the top. It's worth noting that recent-year momentum for every listed assignee, including the leader, has dropped to 0, so leadership here reflects historical filing rather than current activity.
Filing peaked at 7 records in 2018 and had fallen to just 1 by the 2022 midpoint, with no recovery visible through the most recent years in scope. That points to a slowing rather than growing field. The caveat is that publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so the very latest year in any dataset will always look thinner than it eventually turns out to be.
Every one of the 20 records in scope carries a B32B layered-products claim, confirming that laminate structure is the foundation of virtually all filings here. Electric heating circuits (H05B) ride alongside that laminate claim in 45.0% of records, making heatable glazing the clearest recurring functional combination. Other classes, including vehicle lighting, glass composition and radar/positioning, each appear in only 10.0% of records, indicating narrower, more occasional overlaps.
Sub-areas named in the search scope but thinly represented in the IPC composition include head-up display wedge geometry, thin lightweight glass lamination and ADAS camera bracket mounting zones, alongside dedicated window-fitting claims under B60J, which appear in only 5.0% of the 20 records. These are candidates for a more targeted search before assuming freedom to operate, since low representation in this dataset does not guarantee an empty claim space elsewhere.
US11648751B2, assigned to AGC Glass Europe and published 2023-05-16, covers an electrically heatable laminated glazing unit built from a curved tempered exterior sheet and a thin tempered interior sheet joined by a thermoplastic interlayer, with a heating zone formed from a transparent conductive coating and spaced busbars. A distinguishing feature is that part of the exterior sheet is left uncovered by the thinner interior sheet specifically to allow mechanical fastening. Anyone designing a heatable side-glazing unit with a similarly asymmetric sheet arrangement should review this filing's claim scope closely.
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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.
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.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.