Coupling & Torsional Vibration Patents: Leaders, Trends & Gaps 2026
Coupling and torsional vibration damper patents: who holds the claims and where they thin out
Filing is concentrated but not locked up. the ranked leader holds 80 records while the top 5 combined account for 15.2% of all 1,489 records in scope — a real lead, not a monopoly. Filings peaked at 53 in 2019 and eased to 20 by 2024, a -49% move from 2021's 39 records. The 2025 and 2026 figures (down to 5 in 2026) understate real activity because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months — treat the tail of the trend as incomplete, not as evidence of a further slowdown.
- 1THE GATES CORP5.4%
- 2CANON KK4.4%
- 3SCHAEFFLER TECHNOLOGIES AG & CO KG2.4%
- 4TORVEC INC1.6%
- 5TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK1.4%
See the full couplings and torsional vibration analysis in Eureka
- The complete ranking, not just the top five
- Every IPC branch with its share of the corpus
- The most-cited records, and where claim space is still thin
Common questions on coupling and torsional vibration patents
Who holds the most patents on torsional vibration dampers?
One assignee leads the ranked field with 80 records, a clear margin ahead of fifth place at 21 and tenth place at 15. That said, the top 10 assignees combined hold only 20.9% of all 1,489 records in scope, so the majority of filing activity sits with companies outside the ranked leaders. Anyone assessing freedom to operate should look past the named leader to the long tail, since a single-filing entrant can still hold a blocking claim in a specific geometry or material.
Is patent filing in this field growing or shrinking?
Filing peaked at 53 records in 2019 and had fallen to 20 by 2024, a -49% change from 2021’s 39 filings — the clearest complete trend the data supports. Numbers for 2025 and 2026 look lower still, but publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so those years are not yet fully populated and should not be read as a continuing decline. The honest read is that the field cooled off its 2019 peak, with the true 2025-26 picture still to arrive in the data.
What patent classes cover coupling and torsional vibration technology?
The three dominant IPC subclasses are F16H (gearing and transmissions) at 20.8% of the 1,489 records, F16D (clutches and brakes) at 17.6%, and F16F (springs and vibration dampers) at 14.8%. Smaller shares appear in classes tied to robotics, surgical instruments and imaging equipment, reflecting reuse of coupling and damping mechanics in those adjacent fields. Because records often carry multiple classes, these shares sum to more than 100% of the corpus, which is expected and shows where claims combine gearing with damping in a single filing.
Disclaimer. This analysis is based on Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent records and is provided for general information and reference only. Patent data carries inherent limitations — recent filings are under-counted because of publication lag, counts may be on a record or family basis, classification and applicant-name data may contain errors or duplicates, and the underlying search query defines the scope shown — so the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing here is an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Verify independently and review with qualified patent and legal professionals before acting on it.
Method: Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Couplings and Torsional Vibration covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish. Every share divides by all records in scope. Data: Patsnap Eureka. See the full landscape report.