Where does NHK Spring Co., Ltd. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), NHK Spring Co., Ltd. ranks #901 of 49,997 assignees by granted-patent volume, the same sort as the companies listing and top-holders ranking. See /methodology/#corpus-placement.

How many patents does NHK Spring Co., Ltd. hold?

NHK Spring Co., Ltd. holds 499 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 134 technology areas.

What is NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s Innovation Score?

NHK Spring Co., Ltd. has an Innovation Score of 57.0 out of 100 (top 6% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does NHK Spring Co., Ltd. focus on?

NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s top technology area is B60N (Seats Specially Adapted FOR VEHICLES; Vehicle Passenger Accommodation NOT Otherwise Provided FOR) with 102 patents, ranking #18 of 645 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 134 CPC subclasses total.

Is NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s recent grant velocity is -32% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). Grant activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s patents?

NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s patents average 7.9 claims each. This is an aggregate descriptive count from the grant record; it does not establish claim scope, legal strength, enforceability, or design-around risk.

How is the NHK Spring Co., Ltd. patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView Foreign Corporation

NHK Spring Co., Ltd.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 499 granted patents across 134 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2015–2025. Grant-trend analysis is cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search; it does not measure application filings, current R&D, or legal strength. Primary class: B60N (Seats Specially Adapted FOR VEHICLES; Vehicle Passenger Accommodation NOT Otherwise Provided FOR).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, NHK ranks #901 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 499 patents across 134 technology areas.

#901
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 6%
by Innovation Score (57.0/100): 7.9
avg claims per patent: -32%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R901 · Foreign Corporation #901 · 499 grants

GRANTS-MID · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-WIDE · INNOV-PAR · CLAIMS-SPARSE · TYPE-FRNCORP · VEL-DOWN · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-MID 499 grants
TOP-DECILE #901/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Dalian University…
CPC-WIDE B60N · 134 areas
INNOV-PAR 57.0/100
CLAIMS-SPARSE 7.9 claims/avg
TYPE-FRNCORP Foreign Corp
VEL-DOWN -32% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Dalian University of Technology (±0 grants)

Instrument codes from this assignee’s USPTO PatentsView grant sheet: volume band, corpus rank, photo-finish peer, lead CPC, Innovation Score, claim depth, assignee type, velocity, and book completeness. Not a USPTO rating of patent strength.

How NHK’s 57.0 Innovation Score adds up

The same four weighted components behind every Innovation Score on PlainPatent: portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth.

Volume 21.5 pts (38%) Velocity 5.7 pts (10%) Breadth 25.0 pts (44%) Claim depth 4.7 pts (8%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Elekta · near

57
Technische UNIVERSIT… · near

57
Joled · near

57
NHK Spring · this assignee

57
Université Laval · near

57
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows NHK's Innovation Score is 57.0/100 (top 6% of the PatentsView-derived corpus). The chart places that score against the nearest Innovation Score peers plus corpus poles, not a reprint of the volume ranking.

Does more volume mean deeper claims for NHK?

Each dot is one of NHK’s 8 nearest volume peers (same corpus rank neighbourhood as the chart above), placed by total granted patents (horizontal) against average claims per patent (vertical). NHK’s own 7.9 claims/patent is at or below the 15.2 median for these volume peers. Volume here does not track with deeper claims; several lower-volume peers claim more thoroughly per patent.

NHK vs its 8 nearest volume peers: granted patents vs average claims per patent. Source: USPTO PatentsView.

How NHK's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, NHK Spring Co., Ltd. received 185 grants versus 273 in 2015–2019 (-32% equal-window velocity, below median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2015 at 70 grants and bottomed in 2018 at 31. Lead class B60N accounts for 20.4% of the portfolio across 134 subclasses. Volume neighbours: Atlassian PTY Ltd. (#897) and Symbol Technologies, LLC (#905).

NHK's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, NHK Spring Co., Ltd. moved from 130 to 112 grants (0.86x the prior three-year total, a multiple, not a CAGR). Among 3,296 tracked assignees with ≥100 grants and ≥20 prior-period grants, that multiple ranks #1,621. See the growth leaderboard.

Atlassian PTY

500
China Petroleum &…

500
United Parcel Ser…

500
Dalian University…

499
Omron Healthcare

499
NHK Spring ◀

499
Eastman Chemical

498
University OF Mar…

497
Symbol

496

What this shows NHK holds 499 patents at rank #901, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near NHK

By rank, the assignees closest to #901 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B60N (Seats Specially Adapted FOR Vehicles)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in NHK's primary technology class.

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for NHK, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In B60N (Seats Specially Adapted FOR Vehicles), NHK ranks #18 of 645 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (57 here).

Joled Inc. 57 Université Laval 57 Elekta Limited 57 Technische UNIVERSITÄT Berlin 57

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (7.9 here).

Southeast University 7.9 avg Takara BIO Inc. 7.9 avg Hyosung Heavy Industries Corporation 7.9 avg Kabushiki Kaisha Pilot Corporation 7.9 avg

NHK's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, grant velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

57 Top 6% higher than 94% of 49,997 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2025

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

NHK Spring Co., Ltd. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	70	14.0%
2016	65	13.0%
2017	50	10.0%
2018	31	6.2%
2019	57	11.4%
2020	38	7.6%
2021	35	7.0%
2022	39	7.8%
2023	33	6.6%
2024	40	8.0%
2025partial year	41	8.2%

Which technologies does NHK Spring Co., Ltd. patent most?

B60N - Seats Specially Adapted FOR VEHICLES; Vehicle Passenger Accommodation NOT Otherwise Provided FOR 102

G11B - Information Storage Based ON Relative Movement Between Record Carrier AND Transducer 97

F16F - SPRINGS; SHOCK-ABSORBERS; Means FOR Damping Vibration 89

B60G - Vehicle Suspension Arrangements 77

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 60

C22C - Alloys 39

C21D - Modifying THE Physical Structure OF Ferrous METALS; General Devices FOR Heat Treatment OF Ferrous OR Non-ferrous Metals OR ALLOYS; Making Metal Malleable, e.g. BY Decarburisation OR Tempering 39

C23C - Coating Metallic MATERIAL; Coating Material With Metallic MATERIAL; Surface Treatment OF Metallic Material BY Diffusion Into THE Surface, BY Chemical Conversion OR SUBSTITUTION; Coating BY Vacuum Evaporation, BY Sputtering, BY ION Implantation OR BY Chemical Vapour Deposition, IN General 34

G01R - Measuring Electric VARIABLES; Measuring Magnetic Variables 29

B21D - Working OR Processing OF Sheet Metal OR Metal Tubes, Rods OR Profiles Without Essentially Removing MATERIAL; Punching Metal 27

F16C - SHAFTS; Flexible SHAFTS; Elements OR Crankshaft MECHANISMS; Rotary Bodies Other Than Gearing ELEMENTS; Bearings 25

H05K - Printed CIRCUITS; Casings OR Constructional Details OF Electric APPARATUS; Manufacture OF Assemblages OF Electrical Components 24

H01L - Semiconductor Devices NOT Covered BY Class H10 23

H01R - Electrically-conductive CONNECTIONS; Structural Associations OF A Plurality OF Mutually-insulated Electrical Connecting ELEMENTS; Coupling DEVICES; Current Collectors 19

B23K - Soldering OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; Cladding OR Plating BY Soldering OR WELDING; Cutting BY Applying Heat Locally, e.g. Flame CUTTING; Working BY Laser Beam 17

Top 15 of 134 technology areas

More on this record

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

View all rankings → How is Innovation Score calculated?

What to do with this data

NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

NHK Spring Co., Ltd.'s lead technology class is B60N (Seats Specially Adapted FOR VEHICLES; Vehicle Passenger Accommodation NOT Otherwise Provided FOR), 20.4% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore B60N
Ranked #901 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare NHK Spring Co., Ltd. against Atlassian PTY Ltd., an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 57.0/100 blends volume, velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth. How it's calculated

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through May 2026; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled by PlainPatent , US Patent Intelligence Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.