Hydraulic Manifold Additive Manufacturing Patent Snapshot
The patent corpus for hydraulic manifold additive manufacturing is nascent, comprising only 5 patent families, with Blagdon Actuation Research holding the dominant position at 3 families. Activity is still expanding on a multi-year basis following a 2023 filing peak, though annual volume has eased and the field remains highly concentrated among a small group of early movers.
A highly concentrated field led by one specialist firm
Blagdon Actuation Research ranks first with 3 patent families, followed by Zhejiang University, Ningbo Institute of Technology Beihang University, and Beihang University each holding 1 patent family — together accounting for the entirety of the ranked corpus.
The top five filers collectively represent 100% of the ranked applicants visible in this query’ combined total, signalling an exceptionally concentrated field with no distributed mid-tier. The tier gap between the leader and all other applicants is immediate and steep.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blagdon Actuation Research | 3 | |
| 2 | Zhejiang University | 1 | |
| 3 | Ningbo Institute of Technology Beihang University | 1 | |
| 4 | Beihang University | 1 |
Blagdon Actuation Research’s three-to-one lead over any individual academic rival indicates that a single industrial specialist currently anchors the field’s filing activity, while Chinese universities represent the only other organized research presence to date.
The most recent filing years are further understated by standard patent publication lag, so apparent activity in 2024–2026 should be read as a lower bound rather than a complete picture. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth from a low base, with fluid-pressure systems dominating the technology mix
Filing activity began sporadically in 2018–2019, paused entirely from 2020 through 2022, then reached its highest recorded annual volume in 2023 before easing. The technology composition is heavily anchored in fluid-pressure actuator and system classification, with additive manufacturing and valve-related branches each appearing in only a fraction of records.
Annual filing trend
The trend shows two distinct pulses — single filings in 2018 and 2019, a three-year gap, then a resurgence peaking at 2 records in 2023 followed by 1 in 2025. Data for 2024 and 2025 are subject to publication lag and likely undercount actual activity; the overall three-year window still sits above the prior three-year window, confirming multi-year growth despite the eased annual pace.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
F15B (Fluid-pressure actuators and systems) appears across all 5 patent records and is visible in the branch mix. B33Y (Additive manufacturing / 3D printing), F16K (Valves and taps), A61F (Implants and prostheses), and G06F (Electric digital data processing) each appear in only 1 record, highlighting that formal AM classification and control/digital branches remain sparsely populated relative to the hydraulic core.
↗ 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.
Hydraulic manifold
A hydraulic manifold 1 is provided. The hydraulic manifold 1 is formed in one piece using additive manufacturing techniques. The hydraulic manifold 1 comprises an exterior wall 9 defining an inner space 3 within which there is at least one flow gallery 11 for conveying hydraulic fluid. The flow gallery 11 provides a high pressure fluid flow path and is… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种液压集成块、电液踝关节假肢及其设计方法 | 3 |
| 2 | Hydraulic manifold | 1 |
| 3 | Hydraulic manifold | 1 |
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.
Blagdon Actuation Research
Blagdon Actuation Research holds 3 patent families — the largest position in the corpus — with technology emphasis concentrated in F15B 13 (fluid-pressure control systems) and extending into B33Y 80 (additive manufacturing products) and F15B 15 (actuators). Momentum is classified as a new entrant, consistent with recent-period activity establishing a foothold rather than a long-running portfolio. This industrial focus distinguishes it from all other filers.
families: 3Beihang University & Ningbo Institute of Technology Beihang University
Beihang University and its Ningbo Institute of Technology each hold 1 patent family and share a co-filed work, making them the most active academic pairing in the corpus. Their technology emphasis spans A61F 2 (implants and prostheses — notably the hydraulic ankle prosthesis application), F15B 1, and F15B 11, indicating an application-driven research agenda rather than a platform-level AM process focus. Both carry new-entrant momentum signals.
families: 1 eachFrequently asked questions
The current in-scope corpus contains 5 patent families, making this one of the smallest and earliest-stage patent landscapes in advanced fluid-power manufacturing.
Blagdon Actuation Research holds the largest position with 3 patent families, followed by Zhejiang University, Ningbo Institute of Technology Beihang University, and Beihang University each with 1 patent family.
China leads with 2 patent records, followed by the United Kingdom, the United States, and WIPO (PCT) with 1 record each. The geographic footprint is thin across all jurisdictions.
Filings began with single records in 2018 and 2019, then paused from 2020 to 2022, before reaching a recorded peak of 2 filings in 2023. The most recent years are subject to publication lag and may undercount actual activity; the field is classified as Growth on a multi-year basis.
F15B (Fluid-pressure actuators and systems) appears across all 5 patent records. Additive manufacturing (B33Y), valves (F16K), implants and prostheses (A61F), and digital data processing (G06F) each appear in only 1 record, indicating that the hydraulic systems classification is the primary anchor.
One co-filing relationship is documented: Ningbo Institute of Technology Beihang University and Beihang University jointly filed 1 patent family. No cross-sector or international co-filing relationships are currently evident in the corpus.
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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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