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Patent Leaderboard
USPTO Patent Rankings Data through Dec 31, 2025
Home › Technologies › Mechanical elements

Mechanical elements Patent Leaders All Time

Primary CPC class F16 · Section F

Rankings count each patent once by its primary Cooperative Patent Classification. All-time pages aggregate the full database; year pages use patent grant year.

Recent years: 2016201720182019202020212022202320242025

Patents per Year

Patents granted per year, 1996 to 2025Bar chart with a peak of 6,657 patents in 2019.peak 6,6571996: 3,188 patents19961997: 3,136 patents1998: 3,893 patents1999: 4,158 patents19992000: 4,369 patents2001: 4,412 patents2002: 4,399 patents20022003: 4,125 patents2004: 3,834 patents2005: 3,374 patents20052006: 3,815 patents2007: 3,072 patents2008: 2,949 patents20082009: 2,940 patents2010: 3,830 patents2011: 3,950 patents20112012: 4,706 patents2013: 5,087 patents2014: 5,503 patents20142015: 5,919 patents2016: 5,668 patents2017: 6,190 patents20172018: 5,880 patents2019: 6,657 patents2020: 6,310 patents20202021: 5,569 patents2022: 5,150 patents2023: 5,002 patents20232024: 5,035 patents2025: 4,534 patents2025

Top Inventors

Rank ↑ Inventor ↕ Patents ↕ Primary Company ↕
1 James M. Hart 453 General Motors
2 Scott H. Wittkopp 418 General Motors
3 Andrew W. Phillips 371 General Motors
#4 Clinton E. Carey 330 General Motors
#5 Seong Wook Hwang 319 Hyundai Motor
#6 Jae Chang Kook 278 Hyundai Motor
#7 Seongwook Ji 241 Hyundai Motor
#8 Madhusudan Raghavan 238 General Motors
#9 Hyun Sik Kwon 227 Hyundai Motor
#10 Wonmin Cho 218 Hyundai Motor
#11 Patrick B. Usoro 175 General Motors
#12 Jong Sool Park 151 Hyundai Motor
#13 Stefan Beck 150 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#14 Gerhard Gumpoltsberger 144 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#15 Norman K. Bucknor 135 General Motors
#16 Chunhao J. Lee 130 General Motors
#17 Peter Ziemer 129 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#18 Dong Hwan Hwang 120 Hyundai Motor
#19 Manfred Brandenstein 119 Skf Kugellagerfabriken Gmbh
#20 Peter C. Williams 114 Swagelok
#21 Charles F. Long 113 Allison Transmission
#22 Kazumasa Tsukamoto 109 Aisin Aw Co.
#23 Hiroshi Teramachi 108 Thk Co.
#24 Edward W. Mellet 107 General Motors
#25 Jong Soo Kim 106 Hyundai Motor
#26 Kyeong Hun Lee 102 Hyundai Motor
#27 Jongsool Park 101 Hyundai Motor
#28 Ki Tae Kim 101 Hyundai Motor
#29 Armin Olschewski 100 Skf Kugellagerfabriken Gmbh
#30 Farzad Samie 98 General Motors
#31 Oswald Friedmann 97 Luk Lamellen Und Kupplungsbau
#32 Robert E. Smith, III 96 National Coupling Company
#33 Masahiro Hayabuchi 95 Aisin Aw Co.
#34 Michio Yamaji 95 Fujikin Incorporated
#35 Christian Sibla 94 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#36 Atsushi Tabata 93 Toyota
#37 Douglas R. Dole 93 Victaulic
#38 Josef Haupt 93 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#39 Masaaki Nishida 91 Aisin Aw Co.
#40 Tsunekazu Udagawa 90 Ishikawa Gasket Co.
#41 Myeong Hoon Noh 89 Hyundai Motor
#42 Werner Krude 89 Gkn Automotive Limited
#43 Charles B. Lohr 87 Fallbrook Intellectual Property Company
#44 Tsutomu Shinohara 86 Fujikin Incorporated
#45 Hiroshi Uehara 84 Exedy
#46 Larry W. Kiest, Jr. 84 Lmk Technologies
#47 Jin Ho Kim 83 Samsung
#48 Kangsoo Seo 83 Hyundai Motor
#49 Chang Wook Lee 82 Hyundai Motor
#50 Matthias Reisch 81 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#51 Donald D. Bartholomew 79 Proprietary Technology
#52 Martin Brehmer 77 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#53 Kazuhiko Sugano 76 Nissan Motor Co.
#54 Lothar Walter 76 Skf Kugellagerfabriken Gmbh
#55 Seong Wook Ji 76 Hyundai Motor
#56 Wolfgang Rieger 76 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#57 Donald C. Miller 75 Fallbrook Technologies
#58 Jorg Sudau 75 Mannesmann Sachs Ag
#59 David A. Janson 74 Ford
#60 Won Min Cho 73 Hyundai Motor
#61 Brian Lee 72 Schaeffler
#62 Frederick E. Lederman 72 General Motors
#63 Yuji Kurematsu 72 Tsubakimoto Chain
#64 Chon Ok Kim 71 Hyundai Motor
#65 Stephan Maienschein 71 Schaeffler
#66 Thilo Schmidt 71 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag
#67 Wolfgang Reik 71 Luk Lamellen Und Kupplungsbau
#68 Brian Schoolcraft 70 Allison Transmission
#69 Johann Jackel 70 Luk Lamellen Und Kupplungsbau
#70 Yuichiro Tokunaga 70 Eagle Industry Co.
#71 Hyu Tae Shim 69 Hyundai Motor
#72 Yasuo Hojo 69 Toyota
#73 Brad P. Pohl 67 Fallbrook Intellectual Property Company
#74 Shiro Sakakibara 67 Aisin-Warner
#75 Yoshiaki Tsukada 67 Honda Motor Co.
#76 Hirotaka Fukushima 66 Yazaki
#77 Michael Tjader 66 Tt Technologies
#78 Alexander Serkh 65 Gates
#79 Chi-Kuan Kao 65 General Motors
#80 Julian S. Taylor 65 Taylor Innovations
#81 Kang Soo Seo 65 LG
#82 Alain-Christophe Tiberghien 64 Staubli Faverges
#83 Hans Oetiker 64 Hans Oetiker Ag Maschinen-Und Apparatefabrik
#84 Johann Baumgartner 64 Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge Gmbh
#85 Kazunori Ishikawa 64 Aisin Aw Co.
#86 Yutaka Taga 64 Toyota
#87 Heinrich Hofmann 63 Fag Kugelfischer Georg Shäfer Ag
#88 Takashi Imanishi 63 Nsk
#89 Werner Jacob 63 Gkn Lobro Gmbh
#90 Benoit Arnault 62 Aktiebolaget Skf
#91 Hiroshi Tsutsui 62 Aisin Aw Co.
#92 Kenichi Tsuchida 62 Aisin Aw Co.
#93 Tai-Her Yang 62 Unknown
#94 Hideyuki Inoue 61 Eagle Industry Co.
#95 James A. Raszkowski 61 Allison Transmission
#96 Reinhold Weidinger 61 Fichtel & Sachs
#97 John E. Rode 60 Temper Axle Products
#98 Masao Teraoka 60 Tochigi Fuji Sangyo
#99 Steven P. Moorman 60 General Motors
#100 Alexandre Depraete 59 Valeo Embrayages

Top Companies

Rank ↑ Company ↕ Patents ↕
1 General Motors 3,802
2 Toyota 2,792
3 Honda Motor Co. 2,567
#4 Schaeffler 2,203
#5 Zf Friedrichshafen Ag 1,945
#6 Hyundai Motor 1,907
#7 Ford 1,812
#8 Unknown 1,589
#9 Nissan Motor Co. 1,563
#10 Ntn 1,384
#11 Aktiebolaget Skf 1,279
#12 Eaton 1,255
#13 Borgwarner 1,170
#14 Nsk 1,109
#15 Robert Bosch Gmbh 1,091
#16 GE 1,079
#17 Caterpillar 942
#18 RTX (Raytheon) 903
#19 Illinois Tool Works 888
#20 Honeywell 787
#21 Jatco 775
#22 Aisin Aw Co. 765
#23 The Boeing 747
#24 Jtekt 741
#25 Dana Limited 699
#26 Kia Motors 662
#27 Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha 641
#28 Mitsubishi Electric 639
#29 John Deere 630
#30 Denso 611
#31 Tsubakimoto Chain 587
#32 Hamilton Sundstrand 513
#33 Valeo 499
#34 Tokai Rubber Industries 490
#35 Fisher Controls International 486
#36 Exedy 479
#37 Parker-Hannifin 469
#38 Smc 418
#39 Mazda Motor 414
#40 Nippon Thompson Co. 390
#41 Nok 390
#42 Samsung 380
#43 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft 377
#44 Delphi Technologies 367
#45 Fichtel & Sachs 366
#46 Goodrich 363
#47 Koyo Seiko Co. 362
#48 Hilti Aktiengesellschaft 357
#49 Eagle Industry Co. 348
#50 Nifco 344
#51 Allison Transmission 336
#52 Hitachi 334
#53 Foxconn 323
#54 Rolls-Royce Plc 321
#55 Luk Lamellen Und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs Kg 315
#56 Thk Co. 306
#57 Gkn Automotive Limited 295
#58 American Axle & Manufacturing 290
#59 Gates 284
#60 US Air Force 284
#61 Daikin Seisakusho 283
#62 Mannesmann Sachs Ag 280
#63 Subaru 276
#64 Daimlerchrysler Ag 274
#65 Yamaha Motor 274
#66 Luk Lamellen Und Kupplungsbau 271
#67 Knorr-Bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge Gmbh 270
#68 Chrysler Group 264
#69 BMW 253
#70 Akebono Brake Industry Co. 252
#71 Federal-Mogul Worldwide 252
#72 Sumitomo Electric Industries 249
#73 Nsk-Warner K.K. 248
#74 Firma Carl Freudenberg 242
#75 Dr. Ing. H.C. F. Porsche Ag 239
#76 Fujikin Incorporated 239
#77 Daido Metal Company 237
#78 Kubota 235
#79 Bridgestone 232
#80 Hiwin Technologies 227
#81 Dayco Products 224
#82 Newfrey 224
#83 Audi Ag 220
#84 Hutchinson 220
#85 Shimano 219
#86 Mahle International Gmbh 216
#87 Kawasaki 215
#88 The Torrington 215
#89 LG 215
#90 Harmonic Drive Systems 213
#91 Dresser Industries 209
#92 Arvinmeritor Technology 207
#93 Lord 207
#94 Cameron International 204
#95 Ishikawa Gasket Co. 204
#96 Minebea Co. 204
#97 Kanzaki Kokyukoki Mfg. Co. 201
#98 Seagate Technology 200
#99 The Timken 199
#100 Hydro-Gear Limited Partnership 194