Hydraulic Actuator Design Patents: Leaders & White Space 2026
- Filing has flattened, not grown. the peak year was 2017 at 3 families, and the 2022 midpoint sits at just 2 — this is a mature, not an accelerating, claim space.
- The US dominates filing venue. 24 of the tracked records were filed there, more than triple the next largest office, which shapes where enforcement risk actually concentrates.
- Adjacent fields borrow the core mechanism sparingly. valves, aerospace actuation and turbines each show single-digit overlap with F15B15, suggesting the core hydraulic cylinder claims have not been aggressively extended into neighbouring applications.
Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 66 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the hydraulic actuator design patent set actually covers
This dataset tracks 66 patent families filed between 2015 and 2026 around hydraulic cylinder design, piston design, compact actuators and integrated actuators, scoped to IPC group F15B15 and its subgroups for directional and reciprocating fluid-pressure actuators. The search string pairs title/abstract language on hydraulic actuators, hydraulic cylinders and servo-hydraulic systems with claim language specific to cylinder and piston construction, which narrows the set to actuator architecture rather than the much larger universe of hydraulic systems generally.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the 2025-2026 counts in any trend view will understate real filing activity for those years; treat the most recent one to two years as provisional rather than a genuine drop-off.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 66-family dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how those filings distribute across IPC subclasses.
A flat filing curve since 2017
Annual filings peaked at 3 in 2017 and the 2022 midpoint sits at 2, consistent with a mature claim space rather than one still building momentum. Read the final one to two years as undercounted given publication lag, not as a genuine collapse in activity.
F15B dominates; adjacent classes are thin
Every record in the set carries an F15B classification by design of the search, but the next largest classes — F16K valves at 7 and B64C aeroplanes/helicopters at 6 — are far smaller, and classes like A61G, B21B, B23P and E21B register only 1-2 records each. That gap is the clearest signal in the composition data: the core mechanism is well documented, but its application into valve integration, aerospace actuation and drilling equipment is comparatively under-filed.
Shares are the percentage of the 66 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Hydraulic Actuator Actuator Design with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about hydraulic actuator actuator design and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaMost-cited records anchoring this space
US20150007718A1 — Hydraulic actuator system and apparatus
A hydraulic actuator apparatus includes a hydraulic cylinder having a top and bottom face wherein a rotatable piston is movably disposed. Top and bottom piston rods that are rotatably removable couple to the top and bottom faces of the piston, and the rods are interchangeable so the top rod can be exchanged with the bottom rod. End caps sealably couple to the top and bottom faces of the cylinder, support connection to external components, and are themselves interchangeable.Filed by ZP Interests, LLC on 2015-01-08, this record sits at the earliest edge of the dataset's filing window.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US3902318A | Power transmission | 66 |
| 2 | US7434395B2 | Apparatus and method for dual mode compact hydraulic system | 56 |
| 3 | WO2010097596A1 | Hydraulic actuator | 49 |
| 4 | US7174828B2 | Linear actuator | 37 |
| 5 | US5014603A | Hydraulic actuator having frangible or deformable components | 31 |
| 6 | US3928968A | Power transmission | 31 |
| 7 | US4589444A | Electro-hydraulic actuator for turbine valves | 28 |
| 8 | US4140044A | Long stroke, large bore, low friction hydraulic actuators | 21 |
| 9 | US20060054016A1 | Linear actuator | 20 |
| 10 | US5487326A | Hydraulic cylinder with end closure assembly | 18 |
Citation counts reflect influence within the searched corpus and skew toward older filings; use them to identify foundational prior art, not to judge current relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Three patterns stand out once filing trend, IPC composition and citation depth are read together.
The core mechanism claim space is settled
With a 2017 peak of 3 filings and a 2022 midpoint of only 2, this is not a technology attracting fresh entrants at pace. New filings are more likely to be incremental refinements to piston, cylinder and end-cap construction than foundational architecture claims.
Enforcement exposure concentrates in the US
The United States accounts for 24 of the tracked records, well ahead of Europe and Japan at 8 each and China at 7. Freedom-to-operate work on hydraulic actuator architecture should prioritise US prior art and active claims before other jurisdictions.
Adjacent applications are thinly claimed
Valve integration (F16K) and aerospace actuation (B64C) are the largest classes outside the core F15B group, but both are still small relative to the 66-record base. Turbine, patient-transport, metal-rolling, metal-working and drilling applications each register only one or two records.
Foundational prior art is old and heavily cited
The most-cited record in the set draws 66 citations, and the top five most-cited patents span designs on power transmission, dual-mode compact hydraulic systems, linear actuators and frangible-component actuators. New filings in cylinder and piston design should expect examiners to cite this cluster routinely.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to hydraulic actuator actuator design, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Vitec Technologies | HANSON KENNETH | 1 |
Co-assignee pairing in this dataset is minimal — the strongest pair, Vitec Technologies with individual inventor HANSON KENNETH, appears only once, indicating that most hydraulic actuator design work here is filed by single assignees rather than through joint development arrangements.
Who holds hydraulic actuator design claims
Assignee activity in this dataset is dispersed rather than led by one dominant filer, and recent-year momentum has cooled across the board.
No assignee shows recent-year filing activity
Every tracked assignee — including Eaton Corporation, Delphi Technologies IP Limited and Goodrich Actuation Systems Limited — registers zero filings in the latest year in this dataset. Given publication lag, this likely reflects reporting delay rather than a full stop, but it means current market-share reads should lean on the historical filing record rather than the most recent year.
A modest, specialised filing pool
At 66 total families, this is a narrow, specialised corner of fluid-power patenting rather than a broad platform technology. That makes individual filings comparatively easier to track and monitor for competitive movement.
Filing is genuinely international but US-weighted
Assignees are filing across six receiving offices, but the US share is more than triple that of the next-largest office. Companies building a defensive or offensive position here should treat the US docket as the priority read.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Argo-Tech Corporation | 0 | — |
| Goodrich Actuation Systems Limited | 0 | — |
| Sperry Corporation | 0 | — |
| Vitec Technologies | 0 | — |
| Delphi Technologies IP Limited | 0 | — |
| Eaton Corporation | 0 | — |
| China ENFI Engineering Corporation | 0 | — |
| BBC Brown, Boveri & Company, Limited (Switzerland) | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific follow-up work depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, whitespace filing, or competitive tracking.
Map claims against the most-cited prior art
Before drafting new cylinder or piston claims, work through the highest-citation records identified here to understand what has already been staked out and where the boundaries sit.
Explore prior art in EurekaModel a filing in an under-claimed branch
Valve integration, aerospace housings and drilling applications each show light overlap with the core mechanism. Drafting a first claim in one of these areas benefits from seeing exactly what is and isn't already covered.
Draft claims in EurekaTrack assignee activity as new filings publish
Because every tracked assignee shows zero filings in the latest year, the real picture will only be clear once the 18-month publication lag clears. Set up ongoing monitoring rather than relying on a single snapshot.
Set up monitoring in EurekaCommon questions on hydraulic actuator design patents
This dataset tracks 66 patent families filed between 2015 and 2026 that specifically claim hydraulic cylinder design, piston design, compact actuators or integrated actuators under IPC group F15B15. That is a narrow, defined slice of the broader hydraulic systems field, not a count of every hydraulic-related patent. Because it is scoped tightly to actuator architecture, it excludes adjacent filings on hydraulic power units, pumps or general fluid-pressure control unless they also claim cylinder or piston construction directly.
Filing activity in this dataset is spread across a number of assignees rather than concentrated under one dominant filer, including companies such as Eaton Corporation, Delphi Technologies IP Limited (Delphi Technologies) and Goodrich Actuation Systems Limited (Goodrich Actuation Systems). None of the tracked assignees show filings in the most recent year, though that likely reflects publication lag rather than an actual halt in activity. Reviewing the historical filing record alongside receiving-office data gives a more reliable read on who is actively building a position than the latest single year alone.
The filing trend in this dataset is flat to declining rather than growing: the peak year was 2017 at 3 families, and the 2022 midpoint sits at just 2. That pattern is consistent with a mechanism-level technology that has already been substantially claimed, where new activity tends toward incremental refinement rather than foundational architecture. Readers should still treat the final one to two years of any trend chart cautiously, since publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months.
The clearest gaps sit in adjacent applications of the core hydraulic cylinder and piston mechanism rather than in the mechanism itself. Valve integration (F16K) and aerospace actuation (B64C) show some overlap with the core F15B group but remain small relative to the 66-record base, while turbine, patient-transport, metal-rolling, metal-working and drilling applications each register only one or two records. That thin coverage suggests room to file on integrated valve-cylinder assemblies, aerospace-grade compact housings, and sealing or interchangeability designs for drilling and rolling-mill equipment.
The United States is the dominant filing venue in this dataset with 24 of 66 tracked records, more than three times the next largest offices, Europe and Japan, which each show 8. China follows at 7, with the United Kingdom and India further behind at 6 and 3 respectively. Anyone conducting freedom-to-operate work on hydraulic actuator architecture should prioritise a thorough US prior-art and active-claims review before extending the analysis to other offices.
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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.