Trailing Edge Flap Mechanisms Patents: Who Leads, Trends 2026
Trailing Edge Flap Mechanisms Patents: Filing Trends and Leading Assignees
61.3% concentration. The top 5 assignees hold 103 of the 168 records in scope (61.3%), with a long tail of single-digit filers behind them. Filings peaked at 15 in 2017, fell through the early 2020s to 3 in 2021, then climbed back to 8 by 2024 — a +167% rise across that three-year window. 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in and should not be read as a slowdown.
- 1THE BOEING CO46
- 2VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS AS18
- 3ROLLER BEARING OF AMERICA INC15
- 4AIRBUS OPERATIONS GMBH14
- 5BOMBARDIER INC10
See the full trailing edge flap mechanisms analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions about this landscape
Who holds the most patents on trailing edge flap mechanisms?
One assignee leads with 46 of the 168 records in scope, far ahead of the rest of the ranked field — fifth place holds 10 records and tenth place holds 4. This is a leader-plus-long-tail structure rather than an evenly distributed field, so a freedom-to-operate review should start with that leader’s claim scope before working down the ranking. The full ranking covers 61 companies counted in records, not a top-50 or top-100 cut.
Is patent filing activity for trailing edge flaps growing or shrinking?
Filings dipped to 3 records in 2021 and recovered to 8 by 2024, a +167% increase over that span, which points to renewed activity rather than decline. The historical peak was 15 records in 2017. Figures for 2025 and 2026 look lower only because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, so those years are still filling in and should not be read as a genuine slowdown.
What technology areas do trailing edge flap patents cover besides aircraft?
The large majority of records, 81.0% of the 168 in scope, sit under IPC class B64C for aeroplanes and helicopters, confirming this is primarily an airframe mechanism topic. A smaller but consistent cluster falls under F03D for wind turbines (10.1%) and F16C for shafts, bearings and couplings (8.3%), pointing to component and application overlap between aircraft flap hardware and wind blade flap systems. Smaller shares touch aircraft equipment, jet propulsion, digital processing and surface treatment classes.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Trailing Edge Flap Mechanisms covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.