Hybrid Laser-Resistance Spot Welding Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- 56.4% concentration. The top 5 of 51 ranked assignees account for 44 of the 78 records in scope — a field with a defined leadership tier, not a scattered one.
- Filing accelerated into 2024. From 1 filing in 2021 to 4 in 2024, a +300% swing over three years, after peaking at 12 in 2020.
- One subclass dominates the claim space. B23K welding/soldering/brazing appears in 97.4% of the 78 records, leaving alloy (C22C, 16.7%) and materials-testing (G01N, 6.4%) claims comparatively open.
Filing growth compares 2021 (1 records) with 2024 (4) — 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 78 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Hybrid laser-resistance spot welding sits at the intersection of two established joining processes: a laser beam that provides deep, narrow penetration and a resistance or arc source that stabilises the melt pool and manages heat input partition. Patent activity in this space concentrates on process parameters — heat input split between the two energy sources, cycle time reduction, and the resulting weld microstructure and mechanical performance — rather than on the laser or resistance hardware in isolation. The dataset in scope spans 78 published records filed or published between 2015 and mid-2026, indexed against a search built around hybrid welding process claims and their stated technical effects.
Filing activity is uneven year to year rather than steadily rising, with a distinct peak in 2020 followed by a lower but recovering rate into 2024. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures in any trend chart are still filling in and should not be read as a slowdown.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 78 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claims.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Filings ran from 2 in 2017 to a peak of 12 in 2020, dropped to 1 in 2021, then climbed back to 4 by 2024 — a +300% swing over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 are partial years due to publication lag and should not be read as a decline.
IPC subclass composition
B23K (welding, soldering & brazing) covers 97.4% of the 78 records, confirming this is fundamentally a process-claim field. C22C (alloys, 16.7%), G01N (material testing, 6.4%) and smaller subclasses like B01J, C21D, B23P, B25J and C01B each cover a single-digit share, since records can carry more than one class.
Shares are the percentage of the 78 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Hybrid Laser-Resistance Spot Welding with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about hybrid laser-resistance spot welding and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records in this landscape
Laser/arc hybrid welding process for ferritic steels (US20050155960A1)
Hybrid welding process employing a laser beam combined with an electric arc, with a supply of consumable welding wire and shielding gas, in which the wire is melted by the laser beam and/or the electric arc so as to produce a weld on at least one steel workpiece to be welded, characterised in that the weld contains 30 to 1000 ppm titanium by weight, at least 0.7% manganese by weight, 50 to 1000 ppm oxygen by weight and less than 10% nickel. Welding wire that can be used in this process is also described.Filed by L'Air Liquide, 2005-07-21 — one of the most-cited records in this landscape and a useful reference point for weld-metal composition claims.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20080011720A1 | Process for laser-ARC hybrid welding aluminized metal workpieces | 121 |
| 2 | EP1878531A1 | Laser arc hybrid welding method for surface coated metal parts, the surface coating containing aluminium | 53 |
| 3 | JP2008248315A | Method for manufacturing ultrahigh-strength, high-deformability welded steel pipe having excellent toughness … | 52 |
| 4 | US20050155960A1 | Laser/arc hybrid welding process for ferritic steels | 48 |
| 5 | CN108213711A | 一种用激光填丝焊工艺制造铝硅镀层热成形钢拼焊板的方法 | 44 |
| 6 | US20130078031A1 | Ultrahigh-strength welded joint and production method thereof | 43 |
| 7 | EP2567776A1 | Ultra high-strength welded joint and method for producing same | 38 |
| 8 | CN103862177A | 激光-GMA电弧复合热源填丝焊接方法 | 31 |
| 9 | US8758901B2 | Ultrahigh-strength welded joint and production method thereof | 29 |
| 10 | EP1878531B1 | Laser arc hybrid welding method for surface coated metal parts, the surface coating containing aluminium | 27 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they are not a measure of current commercial importance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the data means for a filing decision
Three patterns worth acting on before drafting new claims in this space.
Leadership tier is defined, not fragmented
With the leader at 19 records and a fifth-place holder at 4, the gap between the top of the ranking and the rest is steep. Filing here means either designing clearly around an established leader's process claims or building depth in a subclass they have not occupied.
Recovery after a post-peak dip
Filing peaked at 12 in 2020, fell sharply to 1 in 2021, then rebounded through 2024. That rebound suggests renewed commercial interest in hybrid processes rather than a maturing, settled field.
Process claims crowd one subclass
Almost every record in scope touches B23K welding/soldering/brazing, meaning process-parameter claims — heat input split, cycle time, weld geometry — are heavily occupied. Alloy composition (C22C) and post-weld testing (G01N) carry far fewer records.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to hybrid laser-resistance spot welding, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranking covers all 51 assignees the data endpoint returns for this search — not a top-50 or top-100 cut. A defined leadership tier does not mean the whole process space is claimed.
One filer sets the pace
The leader's record count is roughly five times the fifth-place holder's, indicating a long-running, deliberate filing programme rather than opportunistic single filings.
A wide base of single or low-volume filers
Beyond the top 10, which together hold 76.9% of the 78 records, most remaining assignees appear with only one or two filings — a pattern typical of research institutes and steelmakers testing specific process variants rather than building portfolios.
Filing offices split across steel-producing regions
China leads receiving-office counts, followed by the United States and the EPO, with smaller volumes in Canada, India and France — a spread consistent with steel and automotive manufacturing hubs rather than a single dominant jurisdiction.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme a Directoire et Conseil de Surveillance pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude | 0 | — |
| VERDICIO SOLUTIONS A I E | 0 | — |
| Spinduction Weld, Inc. | 0 | — |
| JFE Steel Corporation | 0 | — |
| Harbin Welding Institute Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORP | 0 | — |
| DUBET OLIVIER | 0 | — |
| BRIAND FRANCIS | 0 | — |
Where to take this next
The landscape points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate or new filing.
Check freedom-to-operate against the top tier
With 56.4% of records held by five assignees, any new hybrid welding filing should be checked against the leading portfolio's process-parameter claims before drafting.
Run a claims comparison in Eureka →Explore under-claimed subclasses
C22C, G01N, C21D and B25J carry far fewer records than B23K, suggesting room for claims tied to alloy composition, testing methods, or robotic integration rather than core process parameters.
Map white space in Eureka →Common questions on hybrid laser-resistance spot welding patents
Hybrid laser-resistance spot welding combines a laser beam with a resistance or arc energy source in a single weld pass, using the laser for deep penetration and the resistance source to stabilise the melt pool and manage heat input partition. Because the combination produces distinct microstructural and mechanical outcomes compared with either process alone, patent offices treat process claims around the heat-input split, cycle time and resulting weld properties as separately patentable subject matter. That is why the IPC composition in this landscape is dominated by B23K (welding, soldering and brazing) rather than by laser-source or resistance-equipment classes.
The ranked field covers 51 assignees, with the leader holding 19 of the 78 records in scope and the top 5 together accounting for 56.4% of all records. Steelmakers and industrial gas or welding-equipment companies appear prominently, reflecting the process's origins in heavy manufacturing and automotive-grade steel joining. Beyond the top 10, which hold 76.9% of records between them, most remaining assignees have filed only once or twice, indicating a long tail of research institutes and smaller filers testing specific process variants.
Filing peaked at 12 records in 2020, dropped sharply to 1 in 2021, then recovered to 4 by 2024, a +300% increase over that three-year span. This is not a steadily rising trend but a recovery after a dip, which suggests renewed rather than continuously growing interest. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so recent years should not be read as a slowdown.
The core process-parameter space under B23K is heavily claimed, appearing in 97.4% of the 78 records in scope, so filing directly against heat-input partition or basic cycle-time claims is likely to run into dense prior art. Adjacent branches carry far fewer records: alloy composition (C22C, 16.7%), material testing (G01N, 6.4%), heat treatment integration (C21D, 2.6%) and robotic or manipulator integration (B25J, 1.3%) are comparatively open. A first claim in one of these branches — for example, tying a specific post-weld heat treatment sequence to a hybrid weld's measured toughness — has more room than a general process claim.
US20050155960A1, filed by L'Air Liquide, claims a laser/arc hybrid welding process for ferritic steels where the resulting weld metal contains specific ranges of titanium, manganese, oxygen and nickel content, along with a matching welding wire composition. It is one of the most-cited records in this landscape, meaning many later filings reference it as prior art for weld-metal chemistry in hybrid processes. Anyone drafting a hybrid weld composition claim for ferritic or similar steels should check their target chemistry ranges against this filing's specified ppm and percentage bounds.
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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.