PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B21

B21F - Working OR Processing OF Metal WIRE

Working or processing of metal wire. 817 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

817
US patents granted
B21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+42%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Working OR Processing OF Metal WIRE ranks #480 of 670 CPC technology areas - 817 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 42% over five years.

#480
of 670 CPC technology areas
817
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Max
leading assignee (61)
+42%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Max Co., Ltd. (61 patents)

CPC subclass B21F - WORKING OR PROCESSING OF METAL WIRE - covers 817 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B21F is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Max Co., Ltd. leads with 61 patents, followed by M.e.p. Macchine Elettroniche Piegatrici S. P.a. at 18 grants and NHK Spring Co., Ltd. at 15.

Filing activity in B21F is up 42% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B21F innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B21F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 42% versus 2015–2019.

406080100 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 45

Who leads B21F?

The 12 most active assignees in WORKING OR PROCESSING OF METAL WIRE - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Max is the most active filer in B21F, holding 61 of the 817 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass B21F
Rank Company Patents in B21F
#1 Max Co., Ltd. 61
#2 M.e.p. Macchine Elettroniche Piegatrici S. P.a. 18
#3 NHK Spring Co., Ltd. 15
#4 Medtronic Vascular, Inc. 13
#5 Komax Holding Ag 12
#6 Geobrugg Ag 12
#7 Wafios Aktiengesellschaft 10
#8 L&P Property Management Company 9
#9 Böllhoff Verbindungstechnik Gmbh 9
#10 GOLD Standard Instruments, Llc 9
#11 COOK Medical Technologies Llc 8
#12 Dignity Health 8
#13 FUJI Shoji Co., Ltd. 8
#14 Nv Bekaert Sa 7
#15 FUJI Seiko Co., Ltd. 7
#16 Microvention, Inc. 6
#17 Wubbers, Llc 6
#18 Nuvasive, Inc. 5
#19 Bal Seal Engineering, Llc 5
#20 Spühl Gmbh 5

About This Class

CPC subclass B21F belongs to class B21.

817 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B21F assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 B21F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B21F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 05101520 020406080 Patents in B21F Avg claims / patent (company-wide) MaxM E P Macchine Elettr…Nhk SpringMedtronic VascularKomax HoldingGeobruggWafios Aktiengesellsc…L&P Property Manageme…Böllhoff Verbindungst…Gold Standard Instrum…Cook MedicalDignity HealthFuji ShojiBekaert
Top 14 B21F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B21F?
CPC subclass B21F covers WORKING OR PROCESSING OF METAL WIRE. It belongs to CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL), with 817 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B21F?
817 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B21F between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B21F?
Max Co., Ltd. leads B21F with 61 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B21F collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., B21) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B21F provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

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

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

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.