Ship Loaders and Unloaders Patents: Top Filers & Trends 2026
- Concentrated but shallow. The top 5 assignees hold 22.6% of all 84 records in scope, and the top 10 hold 35.7% — leadership exists but nobody dominates.
- Filing accelerated sharply. From 2021 to 2024, filings rose from 2 to 7 a year, a 250% increase over that span, even as the field's peak year so far remains 2020 at 11.
- One class carries almost everything. B65G conveying and material handling covers 89.3% of records, leaving marine (B63B), winch (B66D) and earth-moving (E02F) classes each at just 3.6%.
Filing growth compares 2021 (2 records) with 2024 (7) — 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 84 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the ship loader and unloader patent record shows
Ship loaders and unloaders sit at the intersection of bulk cargo handling and marine logistics, and the patent record reflects that hybrid position. The vast majority of documented activity — 89.3% of the 84 records in scope — falls under B65G, the conveying and material-handling subclass, while adjacent domains like ship structure (B63B), winches (B66D) and excavation (E02F) each register only a handful of filings. That skew means most invention effort is going into the mechanics of moving bulk material once it is on or near the vessel, not into the vessel-side or positioning systems that support it.
Filing activity is not evenly spread across geographies or years. China accounts for the majority of receiving offices in this dataset, with Japan a distant second and the United States, Australia, Canada and India each contributing a handful of filings. The trend line shows a peak in 2020 before a partial dip, then renewed growth into 2024 — the most recent year with a complete publication picture, since publication typically lags filing by around eighteen months.
Filing trends and technology composition
These figures come directly from the 84 records and 59 ranked assignees in scope, covering filings published between 2015 and mid-2026.
A resurgence after a mid-decade peak
Filings peaked at 11 in 2020, cooled, then climbed again — 2 filings in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a 250% increase over that three-year span. Because publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, the 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in and should not be read as a slowdown.
One subclass dominates the claim space
B65G (conveying and material handling) appears in 89.3% of the 84 records, dwarfing every adjacent class. B63B, B66D and E02F each sit at 3.6%, and G01S, B01D, B61C and B65D register single digits — evidence of how narrowly invention effort has concentrated on the conveying mechanism itself rather than on sensing, containment or vessel-integration angles.
Shares are the percentage of the 84 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Ship Loaders and Unloaders with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about ship loaders and unloaders and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this dataset
US3077270A — Conveyor system for cargo vessel
Filed by Hewitt-Robins Incorporated and granted in 1963, this early conveyor-system patent for cargo vessels predates the rest of the dataset by decades and establishes basic mechanical conveying claims that later, more specific ship loader and unloader inventions had to work around or build upon.Its age means the core mechanical claims are long expired, but its scope illustrates how broadly early conveyor-system claims were drafted before the field fragmented into today's more specific sub-mechanisms.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CN101723187A | 一种港口货轮卸船机的自动防撞系统及方法 | 36 |
| 2 | KR1020090088998A | Zigzag cone telescopic chute | 23 |
| 3 | US5800112A | Loading spout hoist mechanism | 23 |
| 4 | CN1663893A | 桥式装卸船机 | 15 |
| 5 | CN203021057U | 环保型直线前摆式散装水泥装船机 | 12 |
| 6 | CN105016099A | 链斗式连续型卸船机全自动智能控制系统 | 11 |
| 7 | CN203959383U | 方形料场用抑尘式进料系统 | 9 |
| 8 | US3891079A | Bulk material unloader | 9 |
| 9 | CN204355799U | 一种环保型直线移动式装船机 | 8 |
| 10 | JP1985161835A | Loading or unloading device for shipping | 8 |
Citation counts favour older records that have had more time to accumulate references — treat them as a signal of influence within this corpus, not of current technical relevance.
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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Three patterns stand out once the assignee ranking, technology mix and filing trend are read together.
Leadership without dominance
The leader holds 6 records and fifth place holds 3 — a real gap, but not a monopoly. With the top 10 combined still under 36% of all 84 records, more than 60% of the field is held by companies outside the ranked leaders, many with just one or two filings.
Renewed filing pressure after 2020's peak
Activity peaked at 11 filings in 2020, dropped back, then rebuilt from 2 filings in 2021 to 7 in 2024. That trajectory suggests a second wave of investment rather than a maturing, slowing field — 2025 onward data is still incomplete due to publication lag.
Almost everything is a conveying claim
B65G's dominance means claim space around the core conveying mechanism is dense. The much smaller shares in B63B, B66D, E02F and G01S point to comparatively open ground in vessel integration, winch control and positioning/sensing systems.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to ship loaders and unloaders, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and what they are not covering
The ranking covers 59 companies counted across the 84 records in scope — the full ranking the dataset returns, not a top-50 or top-100 cut.
A modest but clear leader
The top-ranked assignee holds 6 of the 84 records in scope. That is enough to lead the field but far from a blocking position, and the gap down to fifth place (3 records) is narrow rather than steep.
A long tail of single-filing entrants
Most of the 59 ranked companies hold only one or two records each. That pattern is typical of equipment fields where regional manufacturers, port operators and engineering firms each patent a specific mechanical fix rather than building a broad portfolio.
China dominates the receiving-office mix
Of the recorded receiving offices, China accounts for 57 filings, well ahead of Japan's 13 and the single-digit counts for the United States, Australia, Canada and India. That skew reflects where port infrastructure investment and domestic manufacturing of loading equipment is concentrated.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Dalian Huarui Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Wuhan Haibo Harbor & Shipping Engineering Technology Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Wuxi Gangsheng Heavy Equipment Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Wuxi Yi'er Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| EMS Technologies Inc. | 0 | — |
| Ma'anshan Port (Group) Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio positioning, or identifying where to file next.
Map claims against the B65G core
Since 89.3% of records sit in B65G, a detailed claim chart against that subclass is the fastest way to see whether a planned design clears existing conveying-mechanism claims.
Explore the technology in EurekaTrack the post-2021 filers
The rise from 2 filings in 2021 to 7 in 2024 came from a mix of established and newer assignees. Identifying which of the 59 ranked companies drove that increase clarifies who is actively investing now.
Run an assignee search in EurekaTest the under-claimed branches
Winch control, vessel-collision sensing and boom luffing each carry only a handful of records. A targeted prior-art search in these branches can confirm whether a narrower claim is still open.
Search white space in EurekaCommon questions about ship loader and unloader patents
The ranked leader in this 84-record dataset holds 6 records, with the field's top 5 assignees together accounting for 22.6% of all records in scope. That is a real but modest lead — the top 10 combined only reach 35.7% of records, meaning the majority of filings come from companies outside the ranked leaders. Most of the 59 ranked assignees hold just one or two filings each, so the field is better described as fragmented with a light concentration at the top than as dominated by a small number of firms.
Yes, based on the most recent complete years of data. Filings rose from 2 in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a 250% increase over that three-year span, following an earlier peak of 11 filings in 2020. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because patent publication typically lags filing by around eighteen months, so the true recent trend will only become clear as those records publish.
The conveying and material-handling subclass B65G covers 89.3% of the 84 records in scope, making it by far the dominant claim area. Adjacent classes — ships and marine vessels (B63B), winches and capstans (B66D), and excavating equipment (E02F) — each account for only 3.6% of records, with radar/positioning (G01S) and a few other classes even smaller. This concentration means the core conveying mechanism is heavily claimed, while sensing, vessel-integration and winch-control angles remain comparatively open.
The technology composition data points to several under-claimed branches: winch and capstan control (B66D), marine vessel integration (B63B), and positioning or collision-sensing systems (G01S) each sit at single-digit record counts compared to B65G's 89.3% share. Specific mechanisms named in the search scope — telescopic chute dust containment, boom luffing control and grab-bucket spillage collection — are also thinly represented and worth a targeted prior-art check before filing a narrower claim there.
US3077270A, filed by Hewitt-Robins Incorporated and granted in 1963, is long expired, so its specific claims no longer block anyone. Its practical relevance today is as a reference point: it shows how broadly early cargo-vessel conveyor claims were drafted before the field split into the narrower mechanisms — telescopic chutes, screw unloaders, grab buckets — that dominate the current filing set. Anyone designing a new system should still check it as prior art for novelty purposes, even though it carries no enforceable rights.
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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.