CFRP Multi-Material Structural Integration Patent Snapshot
This is a highly concentrated, aerospace-dominated niche in which The Boeing Company holds a commanding position among the largest filers. Annual filing activity peaked in 2020 and has since eased, signaling a field in post-peak consolidation rather than active expansion.
Boeing commands the field; four inventors and Airbus form a distant second tier
The Boeing Company leads all ranked applicants by a wide margin, followed by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the University of Calabria, each with 3 patent records. Airbus Operations SL and Electroimpact Inc each hold 2 patent records, occupying the third tier.
The top five filers account for 80% of the combined total of the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating extreme concentration. The gap between Boeing and every other applicant is substantial enough that no single challenger is close to matching its position.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Boeing Company | 26 | |
| 2 | KING ABDULLAH UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 3 | |
| 3 | University of Calabria | 3 | |
| 4 | Electroimpact Inc | 2 | |
| 5 | GLEASON GREGORY R | 2 | |
| 6 | ZENKNER GRANT C | 2 | |
| 7 | HAWORTH TROY A | 2 | |
| 8 | KAABOUR NAZIR M | 2 | |
| 9 | Airbus Operations SL | 2 | |
| 10 | Xian Jiaye Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 |
Boeing’s dominance, reinforced by co-inventorship filings under individual named inventors (Gleason, Zenkner, Haworth, Kaabour), suggests much of the corpus reflects internal Boeing R&D programs filed through multiple channels. This structural concentration limits the breadth of independent competing approaches.
Patent records published within approximately the last 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and may undercount the most recent activity; conclusions about very recent filings should be treated with caution. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2020 and has contracted; composites shaping dominates the technology mix
The filing trend and technology composition together reveal a field that had a single discernible activity peak and remains anchored to plastics-shaping and aerospace-structures classification codes.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity was absent from 2017 through 2019, spiked to 3 records in 2020, then fell to near-zero. Isolated records appear in 2023 and 2025. The overall recent-window growth is negative. Records from 2024–2026 remain subject to publication lag and should not be read as confirming a sustained downturn.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B29C (Shaping of plastics) is the visible branch by a large margin, reflecting the manufacturing-process orientation of the corpus. Aerospace-specific classes B64C and B64D together form the second-largest cluster, confirming the primary application domain. Lower-share branches including B33Y (additive manufacturing) and H02H (protective circuits) mark the outer edges of the technology space.
↗ 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.
Carbon fiber reinforced polymer cargo beam with in…
A method to manufacture a one-piece cargo beam assembly for an aircraft comprises: forming a carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) cargo beam from a first plurality of CFRP plies, the CFRP cargo beam having a first thickness, an upper flange, and a lower flange; forming a plurality of CFRP stanchions that project from the lower flange of the CFRP cargo… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
Open this patent in Eureka →| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shape memory alloy/fiber reinforced polymeric comp… | 63 |
| 2 | Planked stringers that provide structural support … | 13 |
| 3 | Methods for diverting lightning current from skin … | 11 |
| 4 | Compound contoured composite beams and fabrication… | 9 |
| 5 | Methods for diverting lightning current from skin … | 7 |
| 6 | Hybrid tool for curing pieces of composite material | 5 |
| 7 | Compound Contoured Composite Beams and Fabrication… | 5 |
| 8 | Compound contoured composite beams and fabrication… | 3 |
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.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
The Boeing Company
Boeing holds 26 patent records — the largest position among all ranked applicants — concentrated in B29C 70 (composites shaping, 19 records), B29D 99 (specific plastic articles, 11 records), and B64C 1 (aeroplanes and helicopters, 10 records). This breadth across manufacturing process and structural application classes reflects a vertically integrated R&D strategy. No momentum trend entry is recorded for Boeing in the recent period, consistent with its established, mature filing posture.
patent records: 26Airbus Operations SL
Airbus Operations SL holds 2 patent records, split across B29C 33 (tooling for composites shaping), B29C 70 (composites shaping), and B29L 31 (plastic product index). Its filing profile is narrow relative to Boeing but strategically positioned at the tooling and process end of the value chain — a differentiated angle from Boeing’s broader structural focus. No momentum trend is recorded, suggesting a steady rather than accelerating posture.
patent records: 2Frequently asked questions
The Boeing Company leads all ranked applicants with 26 patent records, accounting for the largest single share among the top hundred filers. The next-ranked applicants — King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the University of Calabria — each hold only 3 patent records, illustrating the scale of Boeing’s lead.
The field is classified as Decline. Annual filings peaked in 2020 at 3 records and have eased significantly since, with the recent-window growth figure standing at -67%. This does not necessarily indicate the technology is obsolete, but rather that foundational patent staking in this precise scope has slowed.
Europe via the EPO leads with 10 patent records, followed by the United States at 9 and Canada at 5. WIPO PCT filings number 3. China has only 1 record, suggesting limited prioritization of Chinese protection by the established filers.
The most significant academic collaboration identified is between King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the University of Calabria, which share 3 co-filed patent records. Boeing also co-files with four individual inventors (Gleason, Zenkner, Haworth, Kaabour), each sharing 2 records, reflecting coordinated internal inventor teams.
The most-cited work in the corpus relates to shape memory alloy and fiber-reinforced polymeric composites (63 citations), followed by planked stringers for structural support (13 citations) and methods for diverting lightning current from composite skins (11 citations). These citation leaders point to shape-adaptive structures and lightning protection as technically influential directions.
Based on the evidence, B33Y (additive manufacturing, 2 patent records) and H02H (protective circuit arrangements for lightning and EMI integration, 2 patent records) are the sparsest branches within the corpus. Both have plausible technical relevance — hybrid additive fiber placement and lightning strike protection for composite structures — but carry very limited incumbent IP density in this specific multi-material integration context.
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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.
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