GSHP Air Handling & Distribution Patent Snapshot
The ground-source heat pump air handling and distribution space is a small, fragmented field dominated by Chinese filings, with no single player commanding more than a modest share of activity. Annual volume peaked in 2020 and has since eased, placing the field in a post-peak, declining-activity stage.
A fragmented field with no commanding leader
BE HIVE TECH LTD leads the applicant ranking, followed by a cluster of individual inventors and Chinese engineering firms each holding similar counts, reflecting a highly dispersed visible assignee structure with no visible incumbent.
The top five filers account for 29% of the combined total among the ranked applicants visible in this query — a relatively low concentration figure that confirms no single organization has staked out a defensible position at scale.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BE HIVE TECH LTD | 5 | |
| 2 | Nicholas Michael Gibson | 4 | |
| 3 | Francis Bernard Welch | 4 | |
| 4 | TIANJIN GERUISI NEW TECH OF MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL | 4 | |
| 5 | Dandelion Energy Inc. | 3 | |
| 6 | BYUCKSAN ERGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION CO LTD | 2 | |
| 7 | Beijing Jinmao Green Building Technology Co. Ltd | 2 | |
| 8 | Panzhihua University | 2 | |
| 9 | PAS Inc. | 2 | |
| 10 | Tianjin University | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | KOREA INST OF CIVIL ENG & BUILDING TECH | 2 | |
| 12 | Jiangsu Zidong Building Technology Co. Ltd | 2 | |
| 13 | Yangzhou Hengtong Enterprise | 2 | |
| 14 | Shanghai Huoli Technology Development | 1 | |
| 15 | UNIV OF SHANGHAI FOR SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 16 | Beijing Huaqing Geothermal Development Co. Ltd | 1 | |
| 17 | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | 1 | |
| 18 | Nanjing Fengsong Electromechanical Technology Co. Ltd | 1 | |
| 19 | PetroChina Co. Ltd | 1 | |
| 20 | Harbin Institute of Technology | 1 |
The leaders’ positions imply that the field remains accessible to new entrants: the bar for differentiation through patent coverage is lower here than in more concentrated adjacent heat-pump domains.
Filings from the most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag and will likely be revised upward as pending applications publish. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2020 peak, a broad HVAC core, and sparse geothermal-specific coverage
The annual filing chart reveals a sharp activity spike in 2020 followed by lower volumes, while the technology composition chart shows that general HVAC classes are visible in and geothermal-specific classification remains thin.
Annual filing trend
Activity built from 2017 to a clear 2020 peak, then retreated. Years 2024–2026 should be read as structurally under-counted due to publication lag, so the apparent low values do not confirm a sustained decline beyond what the lifecycle assessment already indicates.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Domestic heating systems (F24D) and air conditioning and ventilation (F24F) together account for the bulk of classified records, with refrigeration and heat pumps (F25B) also well represented. Geothermal-specific class F24T appears in only a small number of records, signalling that most inventors are framing their work in broad HVAC terms rather than geothermal-specific ones.
↗ 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.
District public water supply pipe network system c…
A district public water supply pipe network system compatible for ground source heat pump water and reclaimed water comprises a water supply main pipe connected with a reclaimed water outlet side of a sewage treatment system and connected to a plurality of energy stations and a plurality of transmission and distribution station, and a return water main pipe… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mechanical ventilation heat recovery apparatus | 12 |
| 2 | 基于辐射末端的档案库房用地源热泵空调系统 | 12 |
| 3 | Multi-split heat pump for heating, cooling, and wa… | 11 |
| 4 | Air handling unkt system of lowering the energy co… | 9 |
| 5 | Geothermal heat system comprising heat recovery ty… | 7 |
| 6 | 地源热泵系统与常年供冷系统的耦合热回收系统 | 7 |
| 7 | Compost store in relation to ground source heat | 5 |
| 8 | 一种夏热冬冷地区太阳能-地源热泵三联供系统及其运行工况 | 4 |
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.
BE HIVE TECH LTD
BE HIVE TECH LTD holds 5 patent records — the highest count in the ranking — with its portfolio concentrated entirely in air conditioning and ventilation sub-classes (F24F 12, F24F 11, F24F 13). This focus on ventilation control and air-handling mechanics rather than the heat-pump refrigeration cycle suggests a systems-integration rather than heat-source strategy. No momentum data is available for this applicant beyond their current standing.
patent records: 5Dandelion Energy Inc.
Dandelion Energy Inc. holds 3 patent records and carries the only explicitly positive momentum signal in the dataset, identified as a new entrant. Its technology emphasis spans domestic heating distribution (F24D 19, F24D 5) and air conditioning and ventilation control (F24F 11), consistent with its known commercial focus on residential geothermal systems. As a new entrant with upward trajectory, it warrants close monitoring for future filing activity.
patent records: 3Frequently asked questions
The evidence base for this landscape contains 39 patent families in scope, making it a relatively small and specialized corpus compared to broader heat-pump technology areas.
BE HIVE TECH LTD leads the ranking with 5 patent records, focused on air conditioning and ventilation sub-classes. Nicholas Michael Gibson and Francis Bernard Welch each hold 4 patent records, as does Tianjin Geruisi New Tech of Mechanical & Electrical.
No. The field is in a post-peak phase. Annual filings reached a high point in 2020 and have eased since. The lifecycle assessment describes the current stage as decline, with a recent-window growth rate of -53%. The most recent 18–24 months are subject to publication lag, so exact recent figures may shift, but the overall downward direction from the 2020 peak is consistent with the evidence.
China is the visible filing jurisdiction, with 36 of the jurisdictional records. Europe (EPO) and the United Kingdom have moderate coverage, while the United States, Canada, and South Korea each have smaller presence.
Domestic heating systems (F24D), air conditioning and ventilation (F24F), and refrigeration and heat pumps (F25B) are the most represented classes. Solar heat collectors (F24S) with 6 records, and water supply and distribution (E03B), building structures (E04B), specialised buildings (E04H), and geothermal systems (F24T) each with 4 records, are comparatively sparse adjacent branches.
Dandelion Energy Inc. is the only applicant in the dataset with an explicitly identified upward momentum trend, flagged as a new entrant with 3 recent patent records. Its focus on residential domestic heating distribution and air handling control aligns with its known commercial positioning in the residential geothermal market.
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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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