GTF Fan-Drive-Gear Interface Patent Snapshot 2026
A small, highly concentrated field: RTX Corp and its predecessor United Technologies Corp together account for the overwhelming majority of filings, with Boeing as the only meaningful secondary applicant. Annual activity has eased back from its 2021 peak, signalling a field past its primary invention surge.
RTX Corp leads an exceptionally concentrated niche
The Boeing Co at 8 and United Technologies Corp at 7 — the three together define the competitive contour of this space.
The top five filers account for 96% of the combined patent records of the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating near-monopolistic concentration with essentially no mid-tier competitive tier between the leader and the rest.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RTX Corporation | 30 | |
| 2 | The Boeing Company | 8 | |
| 3 | United Technologies Corporation | 7 | |
| 4 | TOPOL DAVID A | 2 | |
| 5 | POTTER GLEN E | 2 | |
| 6 | THOMAS FLAVIEN L | 2 |
RTX Corp’s dominance, reinforced by continuity with United Technologies Corp, means the core gear-interface architecture is likely well-protected; entrants face a dense claim evidence snapshot around the primary gas-turbine and propulsion subclasses.
The most recent filing years are subject to standard publication lag and likely under-represent current activity; conclusions about the pace of current invention should account for this. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2021 and has eased; gas-turbine plant subclasses dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend and technology composition together reveal a field that reached its invention peak around 2021 and is now in a consolidation phase, concentrated in a small set of IPC classes linked to core turbomachinery.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible through 2018, rose to a peak of four records in 2021, then fell sharply. A partial recovery appears in 2024. The most recent periods (2024–2026) are subject to publication lag and should not be read as a completed picture of current activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F02C (gas-turbine plants) and F02K (jet and reaction propulsion) together account for the largest share of classified records, reflecting the primary thermodynamic and propulsion framing of this interface. F01D (turbines) is the next significant branch. Gearing-specific (F16H), lubrication (F01M), pumps (F04D), and shafts/bearings (F16C) are all materially smaller — an observation relevant to adjacent white-space analysis.
↗ 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.
Geared turbofan engine with optimized diffuser cas…
A gas turbine engine has a compressor section, a compressor case substantially surrounding the compressor section, and a diffuser case attached at an attachment interface to the compressor case. The attachment interface is between a forward and an aft end of the compressor. A geared turbofan is also disclosed. (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rolling element cage for geared turbofan | 28 |
| 2 | Lubricant delivery system for planetary fan drive … | 25 |
| 3 | Pylon matched fan exit guide vane for noise reduct… | 22 |
| 4 | Pylon matched fan exit guide vane for noise reduct… | 19 |
| 5 | Pylon matches fan exit guide vane for noise reduct… | 14 |
| 6 | Rolling element cage for geared turbofan | 14 |
| 7 | Geared turbofan engine with optimized diffuser cas… | 9 |
| 8 | Journal bearing for rotating gear carrier | 8 |
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.
RTX Corp
RTX Corp holds 30 patent records — more than triple the next-ranked applicant — concentrated in F02C 7 and F02C 3 (gas-turbine plant auxiliaries and cycle configurations) and F02K 3 (jet propulsion). Its predecessor United Technologies Corp contributes a further 7 records in the same subclasses. RTX Corp shows a trend of new entrant in the most recent period, reflecting the post-merger reorganization of legacy United Technologies filings under the RTX corporate identity.
Patent records: 30The Boeing Co
The Boeing Co ranks second with 8 patent records, focused on F02C 7 (gas-turbine plant auxiliaries), F02C 9 (control), and F02K 3 (jet propulsion) — a system-level framing consistent with an airframer integrating GTF engines. Boeing’s applicant momentum shows a new entrant trajectory in the recent window, suggesting an emerging rather than established position in this specific interface domain.
Patent records: 8Frequently asked questions
The corpus contains 11 patent families in scope. This is a small, specialized niche within the broader geared turbofan patent space.
RTX Corp leads with 30 patent records, more than triple the next-ranked applicant. Combined with its predecessor United Technologies Corp (7 records), the RTX lineage effectively defines the primary patent landscape in this interface area.
The evidence places it in a decline stage. Annual filings peaked in 2021 and have eased back since. The field’s foundational architecture is likely well covered by existing IP, shifting R&D attention toward incremental improvements and adjacent subsystems.
The United States leads with 24 patent records, followed closely by Europe (EPO) with 20 records. WIPO (PCT) filings total just 1 record, indicating selective rather than broad international protection strategies.
F16C (shafts, bearings, and couplings) holds only 1 patent record in this corpus despite bearing interfaces being mechanically central to the fan-drive-gear junction. F16H (gearing and transmissions) holds 9 records at an 8% share. Both branches are sparse relative to the visible F02C and F02K classes and warrant freedom-to-operate investigation before being treated as open entry points.
The most-cited documents in the corpus include patents titled ‘Rolling element cage for geared turbofan’ (cited 28 and 14 times), ‘Lubricant delivery system for planetary fan drive’ (25 citations), multiple versions of ‘Pylon matched fan exit guide vane for noise reduction’ (22, 19, and 14 citations), and ‘Journal bearing for rotating gear carrier’ (8 citations). These citation leaders concentrate on gear-cage design, lubrication delivery, noise reduction, and bearing interfaces.
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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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