Eddy Current and Magnetic Track Brakes Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
Eddy Current and Magnetic Track Brakes Patents: Who Holds the Claims
53.1% concentration. The top 5 of 42 ranked assignees account for 86 of the 162 records in scope — filing is concentrated at the top, not spread evenly. Filings rose from 2 in 2017 to a peak of 33 in 2018. The 2021-to-2024 window shows filings falling from 5 to 2 — a 60% decline — though 2025 and 2026 figures will fill in as publication catches up with filing, so this should not yet be read as the field going quiet.
- 1SUREWERX USA INC24
- 2HOLMES SOLUTIONS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP24
- 3KNORR BREMSE GMBH14
- 4WHOOSH HOLD LP13
- 5EDDY CURRENT LIMITED PARTNERSHIP11
See the full eddy current and magnetic track brakes analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Questions practitioners ask about this field
Who are the leading patent holders in eddy current and magnetic track brakes?
Of the 42 ranked assignees in this dataset, filing is concentrated at the top: the leading assignee holds 24 of the 162 records in scope, and the top 5 combined account for 53.1% of all records. Below the tenth-ranked holder, activity thins into a long tail of assignees with one or two filings each. This pattern means a small number of holders set the baseline claim scope for attraction-force and air-gap-control designs, while the rest of the field files narrower, more specific improvements around them.
Is filing activity in this field growing or slowing down?
Filing peaked in 2018 at 33 records and the 2021-to-2024 window shows a 60% decline, from 5 filings down to 2. However, because patent publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in any such dataset are still incomplete and should not be read as proof the field has gone quiet. The safest complete read is through 2024, which does show a real slowdown from the 2018 peak.
What is the difference between an eddy current brake and a magnetic track brake?
Both use electromagnetic principles to generate braking force without direct mechanical friction on the running surface, but they are typically classified and claimed differently in this dataset — eddy current brakes generate a retarding force through induced currents in a moving conductor, while magnetic track brakes are pulled against the rail itself to create friction-based braking assisted by magnetic attraction. The search scope for this landscape captures both terms together with attraction-force and air-gap-control language, since many records address both mechanisms in the same filing family.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Eddy Current and Magnetic Track Brakes covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.