Compressed Air Foam System Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- 62.2% of all 90 records in scope belong to just five assignees, so the field's claim space is concentrated rather than fragmented.
- Filings peaked in 2020 at 5 and the 2021-to-2024 span shows a 50% drop, a complete-year comparison that pre-dates the publication lag in 2025–2026.
- A62C fire-fighting covers 68.9% of records, while mixing, imaging and educational-aid classes each sit under 15%, pointing to open ground outside the core class.
Filing growth compares 2021 (4 records) with 2024 (2) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 90 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the compressed air foam system patent record actually shows
Compressed air foam systems (CAFS) combine water, an additive solution and a compressed air stream to produce a foam with a controlled bubble structure, aimed at reducing water use and extending throw distance in fire suppression. The patent record in scope spans 2015 through mid-2026 and covers 90 published records indexed against terms like solution ratio, hose reaction force, pump control and throw distance. Fire-fighting (A62C) is the dominant class, but a meaningful share of records also sit in mixing, spraying, imaging and even educational-aid classes, which signals that CAFS claims now reach beyond the fire truck into adjacent equipment and training contexts.
Filing activity in this dataset is concentrated: a small group of assignees accounts for the majority of records, and the receiving-office split shows the United States as the dominant filing venue, followed by Europe and the WIPO/PCT route. Because publication typically lags filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent years in any trend chart understate real activity and should not be read as a slowdown on their own.
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 90-record dataset: how filings have moved year over year, and how those records distribute across IPC subclasses.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings rose to a peak of 5 in 2020, then eased; the 2021-to-2024 window (a complete-year comparison) shows a 50% decline, from 4 filings to 2. Years from 2025 onward are still filling in and should not be read as confirming that decline.
IPC subclass composition
A62C (fire-fighting) covers 68.9% of the 90 records in scope, far ahead of the next tier — A01C and B01F each at 14.4% — with imaging, educational aids, spraying and chemical-protection classes trailing further behind. Records can carry multiple classes, so these shares add up to more than 100%.
Shares are the percentage of the 90 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Compressed Air Foam Systems with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about compressed air foam systems and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records and a representative recent filing
WO2022224178A1 — Compressed air foam system provided with an improved mixing system
The application describes a compressed air foam system built around a water source, an air management system, a solution dosing module, and a mixing chamber module. The mixing module connects an inlet conduit to an outlet conduit through a set of by-pass conduits, each with a different hydraulic diameter, so that the solution-to-air blend can be tuned across a range of flow conditions.Filed by Iveco Magirus AG, published 2022-10-27.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5411100A | Compressed air foam system | 89 |
| 2 | US6155351A | Foam based product solution delivery apparatus | 86 |
| 3 | US20100175897A1 | Self-sustaining compressed air foam system | 75 |
| 4 | US6357532B1 | Compressed air foam systems | 70 |
| 5 | US5427181A | Mixer for compressed air foam system | 64 |
| 6 | US6543547B2 | Portable foam fire extinguisher with pressured gas foam | 38 |
| 7 | US20110127051A1 | Compressed Gas Foam System | 34 |
| 8 | US9675828B1 | Methods and compositions for producing foam | 25 |
| 9 | US20090014186A1 | Compact self contained removable firefighting unit | 22 |
| 10 | US20100143265A1 | System and method for the delivery of a sanitizing foam | 18 |
Citation counts inside this corpus favour older filings; treat them as a signal of influence on the field, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Four read-outs from the dataset, each tied to a decision a filer or analyst would actually need to make.
The top of the field is tight
Five assignees hold 56 of the 90 records in scope, a 62.2% share. Filing directly against core mixing-chamber or solution-ratio claims in this territory means designing around an already-dense position rather than opening new ground.
The next five add breadth, not much depth
Extending from five to ten assignees adds only 21 more records, bringing the combined share to 85.6% of all 90 records. Beyond the ranked leaders the remaining assignees each hold a small handful of filings, consistent with single-inventor or small-shop activity rather than sustained programmes.
Filing pace has cooled since its 2020 peak
The dataset's peak year is 2020 at 5 filings. Comparing the two most recent complete years, 2021 (4 filings) to 2024 (2 filings), shows a 50% decline. Years after 2024 are still filling in under the roughly 18-month publication lag, so they should not yet be read as confirming or extending that trend.
One class dominates, several sit underdeveloped
A62C (fire-fighting) appears in 68.9% of the 90 records, while mixing (B01F), imaging (G06T), educational aids (G09B) and chemical protection (A62D) classes each cover well under 15%. That gap is where adjacent, less-crowded claim space sits.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to compressed air foam systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranked list covers 30 companies and individual filers counted in records, not a top-50 or top-100 cut. Filing activity is concentrated at the top, with a long tail of entrants holding one or two records each.
One filer leads the ranked list
The leading assignee holds 14 of the 90 records in scope, well ahead of the field. That volume typically reflects a sustained product line rather than a single filing burst.
The mid-tier drops off quickly
Fifth place in the ranking holds 8 records, and by tenth place that falls to 3. The steep drop between second and tenth place is typical of a field where a handful of firms treat CAFS as core business and everyone else files opportunistically.
Co-filing is rare and narrow
Only 4 co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, and the strongest pairings link a single company with named individual inventors rather than with other companies. This is a field of largely independent filers, not joint ventures.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| TOFT MORTEN | 0 | — |
| Intelagard Inc | 0 | — |
| Hale Products Inc | 0 | — |
| Iveco Magirus AG | 0 | — |
| FAAC S.p.A. | 0 | -100% |
| GREEN SOURCE AUTOMATION LLC | 0 | — |
| HALE FIRE PUMP | 0 | — |
| GUSE JAMES D | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a concentrated core and several thinner branches. The next steps depend on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate or finding open claim space.
Map claims against the top assignees
Before drafting near mixing-chamber or solution-dosing claims, check the granted scope held by the leading assignees identified in this dataset — that is where the densest prior art sits.
Explore assignee claims in EurekaTest white space in adjacent classes
Imaging, educational aids and chemical-protection classes carry far fewer records than fire-fighting itself. Run a targeted search in those classes before assuming the ground is open.
Run a white-space search in EurekaTrack momentum, not just totals
Recent-year filing counts by assignee move faster than cumulative totals. Watching year-over-year change flags who is still actively building a position versus who has stopped filing.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaFrequently asked questions
It is fairly concentrated. Five assignees hold 62.2% of the 90 records in scope, and extending to ten assignees brings that to 85.6%. Beyond the ranked leaders, the remaining filers each hold only a handful of records, so most of the claim density sits with a small group of companies rather than being spread evenly across the field. Anyone filing a new application should expect to design around that top tier's existing claims first.
The clearest complete-year comparison available runs from 2021 to 2024, and it shows a 50% drop, from 4 filings to 2. The dataset's peak year so far is 2020, with 5 filings. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the years from 2025 onward are still filling in and should not yet be treated as continuing or reversing that decline.
Fire-fighting (IPC class A62C) dominates, covering 68.9% of the 90 records in scope. Mixing and stirring (B01F) and planting and sowing equipment (A01C) each cover 14.4%, with imaging, educational aids, spraying and chemical-protection classes trailing further behind. Because a single record can carry several IPC classes, these shares add up to more than 100%, and they measure claim density rather than technical maturity.
The classes furthest from the fire-fighting core — chemical protection and detox (A62D) and general digital data processing (G06F), each at 4.4% of records — carry the lowest filing density in this dataset, alongside imaging (G06T) and educational aids (G09B) in the high single digits. That does not guarantee an area is technically easy, only that fewer claims have been staked there. A freedom-to-operate search in those specific classes is the right next step before assuming the space is open.
WO2022224178A1, filed by Iveco Magirus AG and published 2022-10-27, describes a compressed air foam system with a mixing chamber module built from an inlet conduit, an outlet conduit, and a set of by-pass conduits that each have a different hydraulic diameter. That variable-diameter by-pass arrangement is the specific mechanical feature at the centre of the claims, distinguishing it from simpler single-path mixing designs. Anyone designing a mixing module with tunable by-pass flow paths should review this filing's claim scope directly rather than relying on the abstract alone.
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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.