Thermoplastic Composite Welding Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- Filing peaked in 2019 at 126 records and has fallen since, with 2021's 82 filings down to 27 by 2024 — a 67% drop across that three-year span.
- The leader holds 83 records but the top 5 assignees combined account for only 19.8% of all 1,267 records in scope, leaving a long tail of single- and low-filing entrants.
- B29C shaping claims dominate at 39.6% of records, while welding-specific class B23K sits at just 7.2% — a gap between forming and joining claim density worth watching.
Filing growth compares 2021 (82 records) with 2024 (27) — 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 1,267 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This dataset tracks patent filings at the intersection of thermoplastic composite processing and joining — induction welding, stamp forming, resistance welding elements, and the consolidation and crystallinity outcomes that determine whether a welded or formed part holds up structurally. It spans 1,267 records published between 2015 and the July 2026 data cut-off, drawn from filings that name both a forming or welding method and a quality or performance criterion such as weld strength, wrinkling, or recyclability.
Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend chart will always look thinner than the underlying filing activity actually was — a pattern to keep in mind when reading the tail end of the curve rather than a genuine sign that the field has gone quiet.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 1,267 records: how filing activity moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim weight today.
A 2019 peak, then a documented pullback
Filings rose from 75 in 2017 to a peak of 126 in 2019, then declined; the clearest documented span is 2021's 82 filings falling to 27 by 2024, a 67% drop. 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in under the publication lag and should not be read as a continuation of that decline.
Shaping claims outweigh welding-specific claims
B29C (shaping of plastics) appears in 39.6% of the 1,267 records, and B32B (layered products and laminates) in 21.1% — both far ahead of B23K (welding, soldering and brazing) at 7.2%. That gap suggests most claim activity centres on forming and lay-up rather than on the joining step itself, even though joining quality is the search term driving this dataset.
Shares are the percentage of the 1,267 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Thermoplastic Composite Welding and Forming with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about thermoplastic composite welding and forming and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative filing and the most-cited records
Induction welding using a heat sink and/or cooling (AU2020210216A1, Boeing)
The filing describes inductively heating a weld interface between two thermoplastic composite parts while simultaneously cooling a surface opposite that interface — a way to control the heat-affected zone during induction welding so the far side of the joint doesn't degrade.Filed by The Boeing Company; published 2021-02-25.
View full filing| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20100210745A1 | Molecular Healing of Polymeric Materials, Coatings, Plastics, Elastomers, Composites, Laminates, Adhesives, a… | 718 |
| 2 | US20110240064A1 | Polymeric Coatings Incorporating Bioactive Enzymes for Cleaning a Surface | 292 |
| 3 | US6332465B1 | Face masks having an elastic and polyolefin thermoplastic band attached thereto by heat and pressure | 289 |
| 4 | US20120097194A1 | Polymeric Coatings Incorporating Bioactive Enzymes for Catalytic Function | 250 |
| 5 | US20110250626A1 | Visual Assays for Coatings Incorporating Bioactive Enzymes for Catalytic Functions | 206 |
| 6 | US6357197B1 | Polymer covered advanced polymer/wood composite structural member | 179 |
| 7 | US20150191607A1 | Anti-fouling Paints and Coatings | 166 |
| 8 | US20090177282A1 | Implantable biomimetic prosthetic bone | 163 |
| 9 | US5111627A | Modular-accessible-units | 145 |
| 10 | US6284089B1 | Thermoplastic seam welds | 137 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations within the searched corpus — treat them as a signal of influence, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the data means for filing decisions
Three read-outs from the concentration, trend and classification figures above, translated into what they imply for where to file and what to watch.
Leadership is real but not exclusionary
The leading assignee holds 83 records and the top 5 combined reach 251, or 19.8% of all records in scope. That leaves roughly four-fifths of the field held by companies outside the top 5, including a long tail of single-filing entrants — a structure that rewards a specific, well-drafted claim more than sheer filing volume.
A real pullback, not a data artefact
Filings fell from 82 in 2021 to 27 in 2024, a documented 67% decline across a span that is fully published and not subject to the publication lag. Whether that reflects consolidation of prior art, licensing settling around a few core methods, or a shift of R&D spend elsewhere isn't visible in this dataset alone.
Forming claims crowd the field more than welding claims
B29C (shaping of plastics) covers 39.6% of the 1,267 records while B23K (welding, soldering and brazing) covers only 7.2%. Combined with B32B at 21.1%, the bulk of claim density sits in how the composite is shaped and layered, not in how the joint is made — a lighter-claimed zone for anyone drafting around joining methods specifically.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to thermoplastic composite welding and forming, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the collaboration sits
The ranked set covers 100 companies; concentration at the top is moderate, and one filing pair stands out as a genuine collaboration signature rather than a coincidence of shared subject matter.
A single leader, no runaway gap
The top assignee holds 83 of the 1,267 records, roughly two and a half times the tenth-place holder's 20. That's a meaningful lead but not a monopoly — fifth place still holds 34 records, so the field supports several credible filers rather than one dominant gatekeeper.
One recurring joint-filing relationship
The strongest co-assignee pair in this dataset shares 14 filings — Arkema France and Institut de Soudure — pointing to a sustained joint development programme around welding methods rather than a one-off collaboration. A second pair, Azdel and General Electric, shares 10 filings.
Recent-year filing has gone quiet across the leaders
Several of the most active historical filers, including the top assignee, Boeing, Johns Manville, Evonik, and Arkema France, show zero filings in the latest year with year-over-year drops as steep as -100%. Given the publication lag, this likely overstates a slowdown that hasn't fully surfaced yet, but it is consistent with the documented three-year decline in overall filing volume.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Azdel Inc | 0 | -100% |
| The Boeing Company | 0 | — |
| Johns Manville Corp | 0 | — |
| Evonik Operations GmbH | 0 | — |
| Arkema France SA | 0 | — |
| Carestream Dental Tech Topco Ltd | 0 | — |
| Magna Exteriors Inc | 0 | — |
| Samsonite IP Holdings S.a.r.l. | 0 | — |
Where to take this from here
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether you're scoping freedom to operate or looking for a filing opening.
Check freedom to operate around induction welding
If your process touches induction heating with active cooling at the weld interface, the Boeing filing and its family are the first thing to clear before committing engineering resources.
Search this family in EurekaMap the welding-specific claim space separately from forming
B23K's 7.2% share is thin next to B29C's 39.6%, which means a welding-method-specific search needs its own query rather than relying on the broader composites classes to surface it.
Build a custom IPC queryWatch for the 2025–2026 filing correction
The documented 2021–2024 decline may not hold once the publication lag clears; re-running this search in six to twelve months will show whether filing activity is recovering.
Set a monitoring alert in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
One assignee leads with 83 records in this dataset, well ahead of the tenth-ranked company's 20. However, the top 5 assignees combined hold only 19.8% of all 1,267 records in scope, so no single company controls the field. The ranking covers 100 companies, and most of them hold only a handful of filings each, which means a well-drafted claim from a smaller filer can still carve out defensible space.
Filing peaked in 2019 at 126 records and has declined since; the clearest documented span shows 82 filings in 2021 falling to 27 by 2024, a 67% drop. Figures for 2025 and 2026 are still incomplete because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, so it's premature to call the trend a permanent decline. A re-check in a year or two will show whether the 2024 low holds or whether filing has actually continued at a level the data hasn't caught up to yet.
B29C covers shaping of plastics and appears in 39.6% of the 1,267 records, making it the single most claimed subclass in this field. B23K covers welding, soldering and brazing and appears in only 7.2% of records, despite induction welding being one of the core search terms behind this dataset. That gap means claim density around the joining step itself is comparatively light next to the shaping and lay-up methods that surround it, which is useful to know if you're drafting a welding-specific claim rather than a forming one.
AU2020210216A1 describes a method of induction welding two thermoplastic composite parts by heating the weld interface between them while simultaneously cooling the opposite surface of one part. The cooling step is the specific mechanism claimed — it's meant to control the heat-affected zone so the far side of the joint isn't degraded during welding. Anyone using induction welding with active thermal management on the non-weld face of a thermoplastic composite part should review this family before finalising a process design.
The technology composition data shows welding-specific classification (B23K, 7.2% of records) trailing well behind forming and layering classes (B29C at 39.6%, B32B at 21.1%), suggesting joining-method claims generally, and specific mechanisms like resistance welding element design or in-process crystallinity monitoring, are comparatively thin. Co-assignee activity is also sparse, with only 4 recorded pairs in the dataset, meaning most development is happening inside single organisations rather than through joint filings. Both patterns point to open claim space around monitoring, quality-control, and joint-design methods rather than around the core forming processes, which are already densely claimed.
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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.