Within the specific claim intersection tracked here — thermoplastic or thermoplastic-matrix composites claimed together with layup, topology, draping-simulation or structural optimization language, under IPC codes B29C70, B32B5 or G06F30 — there are only two published patent families as of the 2026-07-31 cut-off. This is a narrow, deliberately bounded search rather than a measure of all composite optimization activity; broader searches without the optimization-language requirement would return far more records. Treat the two-family count as evidence that few filers have chosen to claim the design method itself alongside the material system.

Dalian University of Technology is the only assignee identified in this dataset, holding both of the two published families in scope. Its most-cited record covers a vibration isolation and damping satellite mount made of chopped carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material, optimized for an injection molding process. No other assignee has filed within this exact claim intersection during the coverage window, and recent-year data shows no new activity from Dalian University of Technology either.

US11878821B2, assigned to Dalian University of Technology and granted in January 2024, claims a vibration isolation and damping satellite mount built from chopped carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material, formed from two bolted parts and shaped by an injection molding process with the mount configuration optimized for that process. Its scope is tied to a specific structural application — spacecraft mounting hardware under large loads and complex working conditions — rather than to composite design optimization methods in general. Someone working on injection-molded thermoplastic composite brackets for non-spacecraft use would need to review the claim language closely, but the application context here is narrow.