Where does Northwest Instrument Inc. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Northwest Instrument Inc. ranks #11,751 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 Northwest Instrument Inc. hold?

Northwest Instrument Inc. holds 26 US utility patents granted between 2019 and 2025, spanning 19 technology areas.

What is Northwest Instrument Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Northwest Instrument Inc. has an Innovation Score of 51.3 out of 100 (top 12% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

Is Northwest Instrument Inc.'s patent grant rate increasing or decreasing?

Northwest Instrument Inc.'s recent grant velocity is +2300% compared to the prior five-year period (grant years, not application filing dates). This indicates accelerating grant output.

What does claim depth mean for Northwest Instrument Inc.'s patents?

Northwest Instrument Inc.'s patents average 17.2 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 Northwest Instrument Inc. 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 US Corporation

Northwest Instrument Inc.

Q: What technology areas does Northwest Instrument Inc. focus on?

Northwest Instrument Inc.'s top technology area is G01C (Measuring Distances, Levels OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; Gyroscopic INSTRUMENTS; Photogrammetry OR Videogrammetry) with 15 patents, ranking #197 of 1,814 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 19 CPC subclasses total.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 26 granted patents across 19 technology areas, recorded in grant years 2019–2025. 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: G01C (Measuring Distances, Levels OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; Gyroscopic INSTRUMENTS; Photogrammetry OR Videogrammetry).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Northwest ranks #11,751 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 26 patents across 19 technology areas.

#11,751
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 12%
by Innovation Score (51.3/100): 17.2
avg claims per patent: +2300%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R11751 · US Corporation #11,751 · 26 grants

GRANTS-SMALL · UPPER-Q · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-FOCUS · INNOV-PAR · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-USCORP · VEL-SURGE · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-SMALL 26 grants
UPPER-Q #11,751/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Nagrastar
CPC-FOCUS G01C · 19 areas
INNOV-PAR 51.3/100
CLAIMS-RICH 17.2 claims/avg
TYPE-USCORP US Corporation
VEL-SURGE +2300% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Nagrastar LLC (±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 Northwest’s 51.3 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 11.4 pts (22%) Velocity 14.2 pts (28%) Breadth 15.4 pts (30%) Claim depth 10.3 pts (20%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Appareo Systems · near

51
Kyushu Institute OF… · near

51
Northwest Instrument · this assignee

51
Oversec UAB · near

51
Vektor Medical · near

51
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Northwest's Innovation Score is 51.3/100 (top 12% 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 Northwest?

Each dot is one of Northwest’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). Northwest’s own 17.2 claims/patent is ABOVE the 13.2 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

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

Where Northwest's grants concentrate

Northwest Instrument Inc. is a focused PatentsView assignee: 19 CPC subclasses with 57.7% of grants classified under G01C (Measuring Distances, Levels OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; Gyroscopic INSTRUMENTS; Photogrammetry OR Videogrammetry). Peak complete grant year is 2023 (11 grants) versus a trough of 1 in 2019. By volume, Northwest sits between Nagrastar LLC and Nanocomp Technologies Inc..

Northwest's three-year grant acceleration

Northwest Instrument Inc. shows 17 grants in 2022–2024 against only 8 in 2019–2021. That prior window is too thin for a growth multiple (rename and spin-out assignees look artificially high when the baseline is near zero), so PlainPatent withholds a ranked acceleration claim here.

Nagrastar

26
NEC Communication…

26
Nippon Steel Stai…

26
Nisshin Foods

26
NS Solutions

26
Michel VAN DE Wie…

26
Nypro

26
Nanocomp

26
Northwest Instrum… ◀

26

What this shows Northwest holds 26 patents at rank #11,745, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Northwest

By rank, the assignees closest to #11,745 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in G01C (Measuring Distances)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Northwest, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In G01C (Measuring Distances), Northwest ranks #197 of 1,814 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (51 here).

Appareo Systems, LLC 51 Vektor Medical, Inc. 51 Oversec, UAB 51 Kyushu Institute OF Technology 51

Northwest's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

51 Top 12% higher than 88% 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 · 2019–2025

Grants by year

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

View data table

Northwest Instrument Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2019	1	3.8%
2020	2	7.7%
2021	5	19.2%
2022	2	7.7%
2023	11	42.3%
2024	4	15.4%
2025partial year	1	3.8%

Which technologies does Northwest Instrument Inc. patent most?

G01C - Measuring Distances, Levels OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; Gyroscopic INSTRUMENTS; Photogrammetry OR Videogrammetry 15

G01S - Radio DIRECTION-FINDING; Radio NAVIGATION; Determining Distance OR Velocity BY USE OF Radio WAVES; Locating OR Presence-detecting BY USE OF THE Reflection OR Reradiation OF Radio WAVES; Analogous Arrangements Using Other Waves 11

G06F - Electric Digital Data Processing 7

G06T - Image Data Processing OR Generation, IN General 7

G01B - Measuring Length, Thickness OR Similar Linear DIMENSIONS; Measuring ANGLES; Measuring AREAS; Measuring Irregularities OF Surfaces OR Contours 6

H04N - Pictorial Communication, e.g. Television 4

G06Q - Information AND Communication Technology [ICT] Specially Adapted FOR Administrative, Commercial, Financial, Managerial OR Supervisory PURPOSES; Systems OR Methods Specially Adapted FOR Administrative, Commercial, Financial, Managerial OR Supervisory Purposes, NOT Otherwise Provided FOR 2

H04W - Wireless Communication Networks 2

G01J - Measurement OF Intensity, Velocity, Spectral Content, Polarisation, Phase OR Pulse Characteristics OF Infrared, Visible OR Ultraviolet LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; Radiation Pyrometry 2

G08B - Signalling OR Calling SYSTEMS; Order TELEGRAPHS; Alarm Systems 2

H01S - Devices Using THE Process OF Light Amplification BY Stimulated Emission OF Radiation [LASER] TO Amplify OR Generate LIGHT; Devices Using Stimulated Emission OF Electromagnetic Radiation IN Wave Ranges Other Than Optical 1

G06V - Image OR Video Recognition OR Understanding 1

G02B - Optical Elements, Systems OR Apparatus 1

H01Q - Antennas, i.e. Radio Aerials 1

A61B - DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; Identification 1

Top 15 of 19 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

Northwest Instrument Inc.'s patent record in context - here's where to go next.

Northwest Instrument Inc.'s lead technology class is G01C (Measuring Distances, Levels OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; Gyroscopic INSTRUMENTS; Photogrammetry OR Videogrammetry), 57.7% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore G01C
Ranked #11,751 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Northwest Instrument Inc. against Nagrastar LLC, an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 51.3/100 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.