Where does Shimano Inc. rank among US patent assignees?

According to USPTO PatentsView (2015–2025 granted utility patents), Shimano Inc. ranks #286 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 Shimano Inc. hold?

Shimano Inc. holds 1,496 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025, spanning 113 technology areas.

What is Shimano Inc.'s Innovation Score?

Shimano Inc. has an Innovation Score of 65.1 out of 100 (top 1% of the corpus). This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), grant velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

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

Shimano Inc.'s recent grant velocity is -15% 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 Shimano Inc.'s patents?

Shimano Inc.'s patents average 17.9 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 Shimano 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 Foreign Corporation

Shimano Inc.

Q: What technology areas does Shimano Inc. focus on?

Shimano Inc.'s top technology area is B62M (Rider Propulsion OF Wheeled Vehicles OR SLEDGES; Powered Propulsion OF Sledges OR ; SINGLE-TRACK; CYCLES; Transmissions Specially Adapted FOR Such Vehicles) with 884 patents, ranking #1 of 204 assignees active in that subclass. Grants appear in 113 CPC subclasses total.

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 1,496 granted patents across 113 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: B62M (Rider Propulsion OF Wheeled Vehicles OR SLEDGES; Powered Propulsion OF Sledges OR ; SINGLE-TRACK; CYCLES; Transmissions Specially Adapted FOR Such Vehicles).

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

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Explore the portfolio See the ranking

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Shimano ranks #286 of 49,997 tracked US assignees by granted-patent volume, with 1,496 patents across 113 technology areas.

#286
of 49,997 US assignees by volume: Top 1%
by Innovation Score (65.1/100): 17.9
avg claims per patent: -15%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

USPTO PatentsView assignee plate

Corpus R286 · Foreign Corporation #286 · 1,496 grants

GRANTS-LARGE · TOP-DECILE · PHOTO-FINISH · CPC-WIDE · INNOV-STRONG · CLAIMS-RICH · TYPE-FRNCORP · VEL-DOWN · BOOK-FULL

GRANTS-LARGE 1.5K grants
TOP-DECILE #286/49,997
PHOTO-FINISH Marvell International
CPC-WIDE B62M · 113 areas
INNOV-STRONG 65.1/100
CLAIMS-RICH 17.9 claims/avg
TYPE-FRNCORP Foreign Corp
VEL-DOWN -15% vel
BOOK-FULL 10/10 fields

Nearest grant-volume peer: Marvell International Ltd. (±5 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 Shimano’s 65.1 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 25.3 pts (39%) Velocity 4.1 pts (6%) Breadth 25.0 pts (38%) Claim depth 10.7 pts (16%)

Qualcomm Incorporated · highest

85
Lyft · near

65
Shimano · this assignee

65
Lockheed Martin · near

65
MSG Entertainment… · near

65
Palantir · near

65
3D Lighting… · lowest

7

What this shows Shimano's Innovation Score is 65.1/100 (top 1% 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 Shimano?

Each dot is one of Shimano’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). Shimano’s own 17.9 claims/patent is ABOVE the 16.1 median for these volume peers. More thorough claims than most filers at this scale, not just more of them.

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

How Shimano's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, Shimano Inc. received 662 grants versus 782 in 2015–2019 (-15% equal-window velocity, above median growth). Across complete PatentsView years, output peaked in 2019 at 189 grants and bottomed in 2022 at 96. Lead class B62M accounts for 59.1% of the portfolio across 113 subclasses. Volume neighbours: Aktiebolaget SKF (#282) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (#290).

Shimano's three-year grant acceleration

From 2019–2021 to 2022–2024, Shimano Inc. moved from 528 to 323 grants (0.61x 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 #2,419. See the growth leaderboard.

Aktiebolaget SKF

1,526
Accenture Global…

1,520
Panasonic Holdings

1,518
Sun Patent Trust

1,507
Shimano ◀

1,496
Marvell Internati…

1,491
Altria Client Ser…

1,483
Jpmorgan Chase Ba…

1,478
Lockheed Martin

1,464

What this shows Shimano holds 1,496 patents at rank #286, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Shimano

By rank, the assignees closest to #286 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in B62M (Rider Propulsion OF Wheeled Vehicles OR Sledges)

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

Assignees with similar portfolio profiles

Two PlainPatent-derived peer sets for Shimano, neither rank-band nor same-CPC leaders (those blocks stay above). In B62M (Rider Propulsion OF Wheeled Vehicles OR Sledges), Shimano ranks #1 of 204 assignees by patent count in that subclass.

Similar innovation score

Nearest assignees by Innovation Score (65 here).

Lyft, Inc. 65 Lockheed Martin Corporation 65 MSG Entertainment Group, LLC 65 Palantir Technologies Inc. 65

Similar claim depth

Nearest assignees by average claims per patent (17.9 here).

Cardiac Pacemakers, Inc. 17.9 avg Saint-gobain Performance Plastics Corporation 17.9 avg Ericsson AB 17.9 avg Microvision, Inc. 17.9 avg

Shimano's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

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

65 Top 1% higher than 99% 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

Shimano Inc. patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	122	8.2%
2016	163	10.9%
2017	153	10.2%
2018	155	10.4%
2019	189	12.6%
2020	176	11.8%
2021	163	10.9%
2022	96	6.4%
2023	116	7.8%
2024	111	7.4%
2025partial year	52	3.5%

Which technologies does Shimano Inc. patent most?

B62M - Rider Propulsion OF Wheeled Vehicles OR SLEDGES; Powered Propulsion OF Sledges OR ; SINGLE-TRACK; CYCLES; Transmissions Specially Adapted FOR Such Vehicles 884

B62K - CYCLES; Cycle FRAMES; Cycle Steering DEVICES; Rider-operated Terminal Controls Specially Adapted FOR CYCLES; Cycle Axle SUSPENSIONS; Cycle Side-cars, Forecars, OR THE Like 485

B62J - Cycle Saddles OR SEATS; Auxiliary Devices OR Accessories Specially Adapted TO Cycles AND NOT Otherwise Provided FOR, e.g. Article Carriers OR Cycle Protectors 394

B62L - Brakes Specially Adapted FOR Cycles 292

A01K - Animal HUSBANDRY; AVICULTURE; APICULTURE; PISCICULTURE; FISHING; Rearing OR Breeding Animals, NOT Otherwise Provided FOR; NEW Breeds OF Animals 232

F16H - Gearing 193

Y10T - Technical Subjects Covered BY Former US Classification 130

F16D - Couplings FOR Transmitting ROTATION; CLUTCHES; Brakes 108

B60B - Vehicle Wheels ; CASTORS; Axles FOR Wheels OR CASTORS; Increasing Wheel Adhesion 95

B60T - Vehicle Brake Control Systems OR Parts THEREOF; Brake Control Systems OR Parts Thereof, IN General ; Arrangement OF Braking Elements ON Vehicles IN GENERAL; Portable Devices FOR Preventing Unwanted Movement OF VEHICLES; Vehicle Modifications TO Facilitate Cooling OF Brakes 77

Y02T - Climate Change Mitigation Technologies Related TO Transportation 72

B60L - Propulsion OF Electrically-propelled Vehicles ; Supplying Electric Power FOR Auxiliary Equipment OF Electrically-propelled Vehicles ; Electrodynamic Brake Systems FOR Vehicles IN General ; Magnetic Suspension OR Levitation FOR VEHICLES; Monitoring Operating Variables OF Electrically-propelled Vehicl 53

F16C - SHAFTS; Flexible SHAFTS; Elements OR Crankshaft MECHANISMS; Rotary Bodies Other Than Gearing ELEMENTS; Bearings 32

B60Y - Indexing Scheme Relating TO Aspects Cross-cutting Vehicle Technology 31

F15B - Systems Acting BY Means OF Fluids IN GENERAL; Fluid-pressure Actuators, e.g. SERVOMOTORS; Details OF Fluid-pressure Systems, NOT Otherwise Provided FOR 25

Top 15 of 113 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

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

Shimano Inc.'s lead technology class is B62M (Rider Propulsion OF Wheeled Vehicles OR SLEDGES; Powered Propulsion OF Sledges OR ; SINGLE-TRACK; CYCLES; Transmissions Specially Adapted FOR Such Vehicles), 59.1% of its portfolio - see every assignee active in that class. Explore B62M
Ranked #286 of 49,997 tracked assignees by patent volume - see the full leaderboard. See the ranking
Compare Shimano Inc. against Aktiebolaget SKF, an assignee filing at a similar volume. Compare portfolios
Innovation Score of 65.1/100 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.