Blind Rivet Patents: Top Companies & Filing Trends 2026
- Top 5 hold 58.4% of the field. 258 of 442 records in scope sit with the five leading assignees, leaving a long tail of single- and low-filing entrants.
- Filing momentum is up, not down. Annual filings rose from 4 in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a +75% increase over that span, even as the peak year on record remains 2018 at 14.
- Two IPC classes anchor almost everything. B21J (forging & hammering) and F16B (fasteners) each cover roughly half of all 442 records, while adjacent classes like B23K welding and B23Q machine-tool fittings sit under 5%.
Filing growth compares 2021 (4 records) with 2024 (7) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 442 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What the blind rivet and mechanical joining patent record actually covers
The dataset tracked here spans 442 published records filed or published between 2015 and the 2026 data cut-off, drawn from a search string built around blind rivets, self-piercing rivets and clinch joining, cross-referenced against joint shear strength, setting force, access requirement and related mechanical-joining performance terms. Filing activity is concentrated in a handful of jurisdictions, with the United States, the European Patent Office and WIPO’s PCT route together accounting for the bulk of receiving-office activity, alongside meaningful UK, Austrian and German national filings.
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in any trend chart will look thinner than they eventually turn out to be. Read the growth figures here against 2024 as the last complete year rather than against 2025 or 2026.
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Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 442-record dataset: how filing activity has moved year over year, and how records distribute across IPC subclasses when a single record can carry more than one classification.
Filing trend: recovery after a mid-decade lull
Filings peaked at 14 in 2018, cooled in the early 2020s, then climbed again from 4 in 2021 to 7 in 2024 — a +75% rise over that three-year span. 2025 and 2026 figures are still filling in due to publication lag and should not be read as a slowdown.
IPC composition: two classes dominate
B21J (forging & hammering) and F16B (fasteners, bolts, rivets) each appear in roughly half of all 442 records, confirming these as the core claim territory. B23P general metal working sits at 11.3%, with B21D sheet-metal working, B29C plastics shaping, F16D clutches & brakes, B23K welding and B23Q machine-tool fittings all under 6% — these lower-density classes mark the field's edges rather than its centre.
Shares are the percentage of the 442 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Blind Rivets and Mechanical Joining with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about blind rivets and mechanical joining and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative claim and the most-cited prior art
US20070110540A1 — Blind Rivet Method (Newfrey LLC, 2007-05-17)
Describes a blind rivet with an axially extending hollow tubular body, a pre-formed radially enlarged flange, and a mandrel whose enlarged head — typically 4% to 9% larger in diameter than the body — carries a uniform conical shoulder. The shoulder profile is what converts mandrel pull-through into an axial setting force that compresses and forms the rivet body.Filed by Newfrey LLC; abstract condensed from the published specification.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20190290297A1 | On-board tool tracking system and methods of computer assisted surgery | 596 |
| 2 | US10105149B2 | On-board tool tracking system and methods of computer assisted surgery | 580 |
| 3 | US20160022374A1 | On-board tool tracking system and methods of computer assisted surgery | 387 |
| 4 | US6276050B1 | Riveting system and process for forming a riveted joint | 162 |
| 5 | US5666710A | Blind rivet setting system and method for setting a blind rivet then verifying the correctness of the set | 111 |
| 6 | US6502008B2 | Riveting system and process for forming a riveted joint | 103 |
| 7 | US4901431A | Powered fastener installation apparatus | 101 |
| 8 | US5661887A | Blind rivet set verification system and method | 97 |
| 9 | US4754643A | Method and apparatus for automatically installing mandrel rivets | 76 |
| 10 | US5496140A | Blind rivets and method for its manufacture | 67 |
Citation counts favour older documents inside any searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence on subsequent filings, not as a ranking of current commercial importance.
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Browse MCP servers →What the concentration and citation data mean for filing strategy
The ranking, the citation table and the co-assignee pairs each point to a different kind of risk: crowded claim space, influential but ageing prior art, and a small number of tightly linked filing relationships.
The top of the field is dense, the rest is thin
Five assignees account for 258 of 442 records. Below that, the ranking drops quickly — tenth place holds just 10 records — meaning most of the 96 ranked companies hold only a handful of filings each. New entrants are more likely to find open ground outside the leading five's core claim territory than inside it.
Influence skews toward older, tool-tracking-adjacent filings
The most-cited records in this set relate to on-board tool tracking for computer-assisted surgery alongside classic riveting-system patents like US6276050B1 and US5666710A. High citation counts here reflect years in the corpus more than current filing relevance, since citation counts inside any searched set favour older documents.
Activity is rebuilding after a mid-decade dip
Annual filings rose from 4 in 2021 to 7 in 2024. Combined with a historical peak of 14 in 2018, this suggests the field cycles rather than declines — worth tracking rather than dismissing on the strength of a quiet middle period.
Co-filing is rare and concentrated
Only ten co-assignee pairs appear across the dataset, and the strongest of them link the same handful of organisations repeatedly. This is a field of largely independent filers rather than joint-development consortia.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to blind rivets and mechanical joining, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gate sits for new entrants
The leader holds 197 records on its own — more than three times the fifth-place total of 12 — which sets a high bar in the core rivet-setting and fastener claim space. But the concentration figures also show a large, thinly filed tail where specific joining problems remain under-claimed.
One filer dominates core rivet-setting claims
The leading assignee's record count alone exceeds the combined total of the fifth through tenth place holders, indicating a long-run, systematic filing programme around blind rivet mechanisms rather than opportunistic filing.
A tight band of established specialists
Fifth place holds 12 records and tenth place holds 10 — a narrow gap that marks a genuine second tier of specialist fastener and joining-technology companies rather than a sharp drop-off after the leader.
Most ranked filers hold only a handful of records
With 309 of 442 records (69.9%) held by the top 10, the remaining 86 ranked companies share the rest — typically single-digit filing counts each. This is where narrow, application-specific claims are most likely to still be open.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Newfrey LLC | 0 | -100% |
| Emhart Inc. | 0 | — |
| Henrob Ltd | 0 | — |
| TAYLOR HARRY E | 0 | — |
| Gesipa Blindniettechnik GmbH | 0 | — |
| Trak Surgical | 0 | — |
| Bollhoff Verbindungstechnik GmbH | 0 | -100% |
| Richard Bergner Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co KG | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, competitive tracking, or identifying open claim space.
Map the leader's claim boundaries precisely
With 197 records, the top assignee's portfolio needs claim-by-claim review rather than a count-level summary before any new rivet-setting mechanism is finalised.
Explore assignee claims in EurekaTrack the under-6% IPC classes for movement
Corrosion isolation, cycle-time and clinch-joining claims sit in low-density classes today; a shift in filing volume there would signal a new competitive push worth monitoring early.
Set up technology tracking in EurekaVerify novelty against the most-cited prior art
The five most-cited records, including two classic riveting-system patents, remain the reference points examiners are likely to cite against new filings in this space.
Run a novelty search in EurekaCommon questions about blind rivet and mechanical joining patents
One assignee holds 197 of the 442 records in this dataset, well ahead of the fifth-place holder at 12 records. That gap indicates a long-standing, concentrated filing programme rather than a recently arrived competitor. Anyone evaluating freedom to operate in blind rivet setting mechanisms should start their prior-art review with that leader's portfolio before looking at the rest of the field.
Filings rose from 4 in 2021 to 7 in 2024, a +75% increase over that three-year span, after an earlier peak of 14 in 2018. The apparent dip in 2025-2026 figures is a publication-lag artefact — patent applications typically take about 18 months to publish — so those years should not yet be read as a slowdown. The complete-year trend through 2024 points to renewed rather than declining activity.
B21J (forging and hammering) and F16B (fasteners including bolts and rivets) each appear in roughly half of the 442 records in scope, making them the dominant claim territories. Supporting classes like B23P general metal working, B21D sheet-metal working and B29C plastics shaping appear far less often, each under 12%. This split shows the field's technical centre of gravity sits squarely in mechanical rivet-setting and fastener structure rather than in adjacent processes like welding.
The under-6% IPC classes — including B23K welding, B23Q machine-tool fittings and F16D clutches & brakes — see comparatively little filing activity relative to the core B21J and F16B classes, suggesting narrower opportunities at those technical boundaries. Specific problems such as corrosion isolation between dissimilar metals, cycle-time reduction in automated setting, and access-constrained fastening geometries are not heavily represented in the top assignees' recent filings. These are reasonable starting points for a novelty search before committing to a specific claim strategy.
The top 5 assignees hold 258 of 442 records (58.4%), and the top 10 hold 309 (69.9%), out of a ranking that covers 96 companies in total. That leaves 86 companies sharing the remaining 30% of records, typically with single-digit filing counts each. This pattern — a dense top tier and a long thin tail — is typical of a mature mechanical fastening field where core mechanisms are well claimed but specific applications remain open.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.