PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B21

B21K - Making Forged OR Pressed Metal Products

Making forged or pressed metal products, e.g. horse-shoes, rivets, bolts or wheels. 1,246 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,246
US patents granted
B21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-4%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Making Forged OR Pressed Metal Products ranks #426 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,246 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 4% over five years.

#426
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,246
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Nsk
leading assignee (39)
-4%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: NSK Ltd. (39 patents)

CPC subclass B21K - MAKING FORGED OR PRESSED METAL PRODUCTS, e.g. HORSE-SHOES, RIVETS, BOLTS OR WHEELS - covers 1,246 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 B21K is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. NSK Ltd. leads with 39 patents, followed by Acushnet Company at 18 grants and Nittan Valve Co., Ltd. at 18.

Filing activity in B21K is down 4% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B21K innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B21K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 4% versus 2015–2019.

050100150 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 39

Who leads B21K?

The 12 most active assignees in MAKING FORGED OR PRESSED METAL PRODUCTS, e.g. HORSE-SHOES, RIVETS, BOLTS OR WHEELS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Nsk is the most active filer in B21K, holding 39 of the 1,246 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 B21K
Rank Company Patents in B21K
#1 NSK Ltd. 39
#2 Acushnet Company 18
#3 Nittan Valve Co., Ltd. 18
#4 American AXLE & Manufacturing, Inc. 12
#5 Citic Dicastal Co., Ltd. 11
#6 Neturen Co., Ltd. 11
#7 Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation 10
#8 Thyssenkrupp Presta Aktiengesellschaft 10
#9 Standard Lifters, Inc. 10
#10 National Machine Company 10
#11 Federal-mogul Valvetrain Gmbh 9
#12 Callaway Golf Company 8
#13 ASIA Vital Components Co., Ltd. 6
#14 Arvinmeritor Technology, Llc 6
#15 DL Technology, Llc. 6
#16 Topgolf Callaway Brands Corp. 5
#17 S.p.m. Flow Control, Inc. 5
#18 Phillips Screw Company 5
#19 Stafast Products, Inc. 5
#20 Felss Systems Gmbh 5

About This Class

CPC subclass B21K belongs to class B21.

1,246 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 B21K 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 B21K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B21K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 0510152025 01020304050 Patents in B21K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) NskAcushnetNittan ValveAmerican Axle & Manuf…Citic DicastalNeturenSteering Solutions Ip…Thyssenkrupp Presta A…Standard LiftersNational MachineFederal-mogul Valvetr…Callaway GolfAsia Vital ComponentsArvinmeritor Technolo…
Top 14 B21K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B21K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B21K?
CPC subclass B21K covers MAKING FORGED OR PRESSED METAL PRODUCTS, e.g. HORSE-SHOES, RIVETS, BOLTS OR WHEELS. It belongs to CPC class B21 (MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL), with 1,246 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B21K?
1,246 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B21K between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B21K?
NSK Ltd. leads B21K with 39 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B21K 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 B21K 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.