Company patents
HRL LABORATORIES, LLC
HRL LABORATORIES, LLC exhibits a surprising patent strategy, with a strong historical focus on materials science and manufacturing, as evidenced by Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing) comprising 13.7% of its portfolio and Polymer Synthesis (Polycondensation) showing a significant 160.0% YoY growth in 2024. However, despite these strengths, there's a notable recent decline across many key areas, including a 100.0% YoY drop in Machine Learning & AI patents so far in 2026, suggesting a potential shift in R&D priorities or a slowdown in patenting activity across several core technologies.
Patent Trend by Technology Area
Yearly patent publications since 2023
Product themes
Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.
292 US filings (since 2023) · 12 categories · 35 themes
Techniques for building three-dimensional metal objects layer-by-layer using metal powders, including powder bed fusion, binder jetting, and directed energy deposition. This theme encompasses process mechanics, equipment design, and operational control for AM systems.
Development and processing of metal powders with specific magnetic properties, including soft magnetic alloys, permanent magnet materials, and insulated powders for electronic components, often involving precise control of particle size, morphology, and composition.
Design and manufacturing techniques for incorporating antenna structures directly into electronic devices, product housings, or materials, often under constraints of space, aesthetics, or environmental factors.
Systems and methods for electronically steering or shaping antenna beams by controlling the phase and amplitude of signals fed to individual elements in an array, including calibration techniques and multi-antenna configurations.
Techniques for designing and manufacturing compact, multi-functional magnetic components, such as inductors, transformers, and coils, often involving embedded structures, multilayer designs, or shared magnetic circuits to achieve higher power density or smaller form factors.
Development and application of polymer compositions designed for reprocessability, recyclability, or incorporating sustainable additives, often featuring reversible bonds or bio-based components.
Antennas engineered to operate effectively across a wide continuous range of frequencies (broadband) or multiple distinct frequency bands, often requiring specific radiating element geometries or impedance matching circuits.
Integration of additive manufacturing with subtractive manufacturing (e.g., machining, cutting) or other traditional processes within a single system or workflow to create parts with improved features, surface finish, or material properties, or to enable new manufacturing paradigms.
Novel formulations and mechanisms for initiating or controlling the polymerization and cross-linking of adhesives, including dual-curing systems, radical polymerization, and partial curing for tailored material properties.
Systems and devices that utilize controlled magnetic fields, often generated by electromagnets, to produce mechanical motion, precise positioning, or manipulate physical phenomena like plasma distribution.
Polymer compositions incorporating inorganic or organic filler materials to impart specific functional properties such as thermal conductivity, flame retardancy, electrical conductivity, or enhanced mechanical strength and dimensional stability.
Techniques and hardware for autonomous systems to gather and interpret data about their surroundings, including obstacle detection, object recognition, and depth estimation, to inform control decisions.
Methods and compositions for applying metallic or alloy layers to a substrate, or modifying the surface of an alloy, to impart specific functional properties such as corrosion resistance, wear resistance, electrical insulation, or improved adhesion, without altering the bulk properties significantly.
Composite materials where a metallic matrix is reinforced with a second phase (e.g., ceramic particles, carbon nanotubes, diamond grains) to significantly enhance properties like hardness, wear resistance, stiffness, or strength, often used in cutting tools, wear parts, or structural applications.
Techniques and structures used to reduce unwanted electromagnetic coupling, scattering, or interference between multiple antennas, different frequency bands, or sensitive electronic components within a device.
Production of materials where properties vary continuously or discontinuously through the volume, often achieved by combining different powders or applying specialized coatings like thermal sprays to enhance surface hardness, wear resistance, or thermal properties.
Techniques for combining data from disparate sensor types (e.g., cameras, radar, mobile device signals) to achieve a more robust and comprehensive understanding of an environment or subject, often leveraging machine learning for interpretation and correlation.
Synthesis and formulation of polymers, such as epoxy resins, polyimides, or ionic binders, tailored for specific functions in electronic components like sealing, insulation, or energy storage.
Integrated solutions for dissipating heat generated by high-density semiconductor devices within the package, including embedded cooling structures, cold plates, and optimized fluidic channels.
Techniques utilizing deep learning models like Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) or diffusion models to create new images, modify existing ones, or generate synthetic data based on various inputs or conditions.
Methods and apparatus for detecting objects and determining their three-dimensional position and orientation (pose) using imagery or point cloud data, often for navigation, surveying, or environmental understanding.
Engineering of artificial subwavelength structures (meta-atoms) to create metasurfaces that manipulate light properties (phase, polarization, wavelength) for multi-functional optical devices.
Synthesis and modification of high-performance thermoplastic polymers, such as poly(arylene ether ketone) (PAEK) or polycarbonates, to achieve enhanced thermal stability, mechanical strength, or specific processing characteristics.
Methods for temporarily attaching a wafer or substrate to a carrier for thinning, dicing, or other processing, followed by controlled debonding, often using light-sensitive resins, temporary adhesives, or roughened interfaces.
Additives or compositions specifically formulated for surface application or modification to impart protective, decorative, or specialized functional properties to polymer products.
Computational methods and design principles for generating optimized geometries, internal structures (e.g., lattices, minimal surfaces), or functional features that are specifically enabled or enhanced by the capabilities of additive manufacturing.
Development and optimization of novel neural network layers or architectures specifically designed to improve performance or efficiency for computer vision tasks.
Techniques for combining and analyzing information from multiple distinct data modalities (e.g., text, image, video, audio, sensor data) to derive richer insights or improve system performance and decision-making.
Technologies enabling dynamic control over electromagnetic wave propagation using arrays of passive or active elements (unit cells) to reflect, refract, or absorb signals, often for channel optimization or energy efficiency.
The design and manufacturing of integrated circuits that combine optical and electronic components, particularly for high-speed data communication between processors and memory.
Systems and methods for automating the lifecycle of machine learning models, including pipeline deployment, model management, versioning, and configuring for different inference environments.
Developing and applying machine learning algorithms that leverage quantum computing principles, such as quantum circuits or autoencoders, for tasks like simulation or data processing.
Aluminum-based alloys developed for applications requiring low density combined with high strength, ductility, and formability, often involving specific alloying elements (e.g., Li, Mg, Si, Mn) and controlled aging or thermomechanical treatments.
Methods for training machine learning models across multiple decentralized devices or servers while keeping data localized, often involving aggregation of model parameters and secure communication.
Systems and methods for automated substrate transport, precise positioning, temperature regulation, and chamber environment management to ensure process stability, uniformity, and yield in semiconductor manufacturing.
Patents
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Functionally Graded Materials & Coatings