Porous Sound Absorbing Material Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- Filing has cooled sharply since its 2017 peak. 40 filings that year fell to a midpoint of just 7 by 2022, with the most recent year showing no completed activity yet — a sign the field has moved from a filing rush to consolidation rather than fresh expansion.
- Building structures pull nearly as much filing as acoustics itself. 274 records sit in E04B (building structures) against 422 in G10K (acoustics), showing this is as much a construction-materials fight as an acoustics one.
- No assignee shows growth in the latest tracked year. Every top assignee in the momentum data, including established names like Fujifilm and Toyota's North American engineering arm, registers zero or negative year-on-year filing — a flat field with no visible new leader emerging.
Filing growth compares 2021 (22 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 573 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent families combining sound-absorbing material claims with the physical parameters that define acoustic performance — flow resistivity, porosity, tortuosity and absorption coefficient — across acoustics (G10K), building construction (E04B) and layered/laminate structures (B32B). It spans 573 patent families filed between 2015 and the current data cut-off, with coverage concentrated in Japan, the United States and Europe.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend chart will always understate real filing activity — treat the tail end of the trend line as provisional, not as a genuine drop-off.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 573-family dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how it splits across the IPC subclasses that define the competing technical approaches.
A peak in 2017, then a steady decline
Filings hit 40 in 2017, the high point of the tracked period, then fell toward a 2022 midpoint of 7. That trajectory points to a technology whose core claim space filled up early rather than one still being actively staked out.
Acoustics and construction dominate, with vehicles and nonwovens as secondary fronts
G10K (acoustics) and E04B (building structures) carry the bulk of filings, with B32B (laminates) close behind. Vehicle applications (B60R), nonwoven fibrous materials (D04H), ceramics (C04B), exhaust silencing (F01N) and road/rail accessories (E01F) form a materially smaller but still active secondary tier.
Shares are the percentage of the 573 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Porous Sound Absorbing Materials with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about porous sound absorbing materials and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited prior art in this space
Method of designing internal structure of foamed resin sound absorbing material (US20220100934A1)
The filing describes a design method for foamed resin sound absorbers built around Biot's parameters: a microscopic structure model is set, acoustic characteristics are calculated by homogenization across candidate models, a relational expression between Biot's parameter and the microscopic structure is identified, and a target acoustic characteristic is worked backward into a structure that achieves it.Filed by MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION, published 2022-03-31.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US4084367A | Sound absorbing panel | 158 |
| 2 | US20120155688A1 | Acoustic absorber, acoustic transducer, and method for producing an acoustic absorber or an acoustic transduc… | 115 |
| 3 | US4313524A | Bulk acoustic absorber panels for use in high speed gas flow environments | 101 |
| 4 | US20060289231A1 | Acoustic absorber/barrier composite | 99 |
| 5 | US4084366A | Sound absorbing panel | 97 |
| 6 | US3656576A | Noise shield panels and method of fabrication | 91 |
| 7 | US20060225952A1 | Sound absorbing material | 89 |
| 8 | US3963094A | Muffler structures | 83 |
| 9 | US5760349A | Acoustic absorber having a slotted horn arranged in a pot | 72 |
| 10 | US4319661A | Acoustic space absorber unit | 62 |
Citation counts are drawn from within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations — read them as a signal of influence on later claim drafting, not as evidence that a patent is currently the strongest to design around.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three patterns stand out once the raw counts are read against each other: where claim density sits, where offices concentrate activity, and how citation age skews the visible prior art.
The rush is over, at least on paper
Filing peaked at 40 in 2017 and has trended down to a 2022 midpoint of 7, with the latest tracked year showing no completed filings. Given the 18-month publication lag, the true recent picture is somewhat better than zero, but the multi-year decline from the 2017 peak is real.
Japan leads filing volume, the US follows closely
Japan (165) and the United States (143) between them account for the majority of receiving-office activity, with EPO (93), the UK, WIPO/PCT and Canada trailing. Any freedom-to-operate check needs to clear Japanese and US filings first.
Acoustics carries the most filings, but building structures is close behind
G10K (422) leads, but E04B (274) and B32B (148) show that a large share of the claim space is being fought over as construction and laminate material, not purely as an acoustics invention. A material claimed only as 'acoustic' may still collide with a building-structure filing.
The most-cited prior art is decades old
The highest-citation record in this corpus, a sound absorbing panel patent, sits well ahead of others — a pattern consistent with citation counts favouring early, foundational filings rather than the most commercially relevant patents today.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to porous sound absorbing materials, with the prior art for and against each one.
| Assignee | Co-assignee | Shared families |
|---|---|---|
| Unix Co., Ltd. | MORIMOTO TORU | 11 |
| Kochetov Oleg Savelevich | KOCHETOV OLEG SAVELEVICH | 10 |
| Unix Co., Ltd. | Morimoto Toru | 3 |
| MORIMOTO TORU | Morimoto Toru | 3 |
| Kochetov Oleg Savelevich | STAREEVA MARIJA OLEGOVNA | 2 |
| Kochetov Oleg Savelevich | STAREEVA MARIJA MIKHAJLOVNA | 2 |
| Unix Co., Ltd. | YUNITSUKUSU | 2 |
| MORIMOTO TORU | YUNITSUKUSU | 2 |
Co-assignee pairing is sparse across this dataset — only 10 pairs recorded, and the strongest pair still tops out at 11 shared filings — indicating most work here is filed independently rather than through joint development.
Who holds ground, and where nobody has claimed it yet
The assignee list is long-tailed rather than concentrated: familiar automotive and materials names appear, but none show renewed filing momentum in the latest tracked year.
No assignee is currently expanding its position
Every top-ranked assignee tracked for recent-year momentum — including Mitsubishi Electric, Nagoya Yuka, Fujifilm and Toyota's North American engineering arm — shows zero filings in the latest year, with Fujifilm specifically down 100% year-on-year. This is a field in maintenance mode for its incumbents, not active expansion.
Joint filing is rare and concentrated in a few relationships
Only 10 co-assignee pairs exist across 573 families, and the strongest — a Japanese materials firm and an individual inventor — tops out at 11 shared filings. Most activity in this space is filed by single entities rather than through partnership.
Japanese and US offices define the competitive core
With Japan and the US together well ahead of EPO, UK, WIPO and Canada, any new entrant's freedom-to-operate work should start with these two offices before extending to Europe.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi Electric Corporation | 0 | — |
| Nagoya Oil Chemical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Kochetov Oleg Savelevich | 0 | — |
| Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. | 0 | — |
| FUJIFILM Corporation | 0 | -100% |
| Unix Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| ENEOS Corporation | 0 | — |
| Asahi Kasei Corporation | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The trend and assignee data point to a mature, slow-moving field — the open questions now are tactical: where design-around room exists, and which specific claims would block a new filing.
Map claim overlap between G10K and E04B filings
Because acoustics and building-structure filings overlap heavily in this dataset, a material claimed under one subclass may still infringe a filing under the other. Run a cross-subclass clearance before filing.
Explore claims in EurekaTrack the momentum gap before it closes
With every top assignee flat or declining in the latest year, a new entrant filing now faces less active competition for fresh claim space than the raw family count suggests.
Monitor assignees in EurekaCommon questions on porous sound absorbing material patents
This dataset tracks 573 patent families filed between 2015 and the current data cut-off in mid-2026. The families are drawn from filings that combine sound-absorbing material claims with core acoustic parameters such as flow resistivity, porosity, tortuosity and absorption coefficient. Coverage spans acoustics, building construction and laminate/layered material classifications, so the total reflects a genuinely cross-disciplinary field rather than a single narrow technology.
Filing peaked in 2017 at 40 records and has declined since, with a 2022 midpoint of just 7. The most recent tracked year shows no completed filings, though this is partly an artefact of the roughly 18-month lag between filing and publication rather than a true stop in activity. Overall the multi-year trend is a decline from an earlier peak, not sustained growth.
Assignees active in this space include established automotive and materials names such as Mitsubishi Electric, Toyota's North American engineering and manufacturing arm, and Fujifilm, alongside Japanese materials specialists and individual inventors with concentrated filing histories. None of the top-tracked assignees show filing growth in the latest tracked year — momentum across the board is flat or negative, which points to a mature competitive set rather than an emerging leader.
Beyond the core acoustics classification (G10K), the largest overlapping areas are building structures and elements (E04B) and layered products or laminates (B32B), reflecting how sound absorbing materials are frequently claimed as construction or composite materials rather than purely as acoustic devices. Vehicle parts, nonwoven fibrous materials, ceramics, exhaust silencing and road or rail accessories form smaller but active secondary fronts. Anyone filing a new claim in this space should check adjacent construction and laminate filings, not just acoustics-specific prior art.
Relative to the dense filing in core acoustics and building-structure claims, sub-areas such as tortuosity-optimised fibrous nonwovens, exhaust-path foamed resin absorbers, and ceramic porous composite absorbers show thinner filing density. Design-automation methods for absorber structures, of the kind built around Biot's parameter modelling, also appear less crowded than the underlying material claims themselves. These are reasonable starting points for a novelty search, though thin filing density in a dataset is a starting signal, not a guarantee of freedom to operate.
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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.