Joining, Welding & Brazing Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
- No single company dominates. The top 5 assignees together account for just 15.5% of all 2,106 records in scope, and the top 10 for 21.9% — this is a fragmented field, not one locked up by a handful of players.
- Welding and soldering carry the field. B23K (welding, soldering & brazing) alone covers 25.5% of records, more than double the next-largest class, B29C (shaping of plastics) at 10.9%.
- Filing activity is still climbing, not cooling. Complete-year filings rose from 77 in 2021 to 90 in 2024, a 17% increase over that span, with 2024 the highest year recorded so far.
Filing growth compares 2021 (77 records) with 2024 (90) — 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 2,106 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this patent set covers
This landscape draws on 2,106 published records filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine metal-joining or welded-joint terminology with process-control language — process temperature, tool geometry, material feed, dimensional tolerance, production control or surface finish. That search construction pulls in both the classic welding and brazing art and the process-engineering layer around it: how a joint is formed is inseparable, in this corpus, from how the forming process is controlled and verified. Publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the most recent years in any trend understate real filing activity.
Records here sit across a wide IPC spread rather than a single dominant class, and receiving-office activity is led by the United States, followed by Europe, the WIPO PCT route, Japan, Australia and India — a filing footprint typical of a manufacturing-process technology that gets protected close to where the equipment and end products are built and sold.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 2,106-record set: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how records distribute across the IPC subclasses that structure the joining and welding art.
A decade of steady, not explosive, growth
Filings moved from 72 in 2017 to a recorded peak of 90 in 2024, with the 2021-to-2024 span showing a 17% increase. Years after 2024 show fewer records only because publication has not caught up yet — treat 2025 and 2026 as incomplete, not as a slowdown.
Welding and brazing anchor the field, plastics shaping is the largest adjacent class
B23K (welding, soldering & brazing) appears in 25.5% of all records, roughly 2.3 times the share of the next class, B29C (shaping of plastics) at 10.9%. Alloys (C22C), layered products (B32B), drilling (E21B), pipe fittings (F16L), heat treatment (C21D) and body-fluid devices (A61M) each sit in the mid-single digits, showing the joining art radiating outward into materials, structural and even medical-device applications rather than staying confined to fabrication equipment alone.
Shares are the percentage of the 2,106 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Joining, Welding & Brazing Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about joining, welding & brazing patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaA representative filing and the most-cited records
US9216474B2 — Two-piece friction-welded piston
A two-piece piston is formed by friction welding an upper member to a lower member, where both members are precision cast to net final dimensions so that no post-casting machining is required before welding. The upper member carries a flat crown and combustion surface; the lower member carries opposing skirts with bores for a connecting rod pin. Corresponding connecting surfaces on each member form the welded joint when the two are friction welded together.Filed by Industrial Parts Depot, LLC, dated 2015-12-22 — illustrative of process-tolerance claims layered onto a joining method rather than the joining method alone.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US11207065B2 | Method for fabricating surgical stapler anvils | 749 |
| 2 | US11045192B2 | Fabricating techniques for surgical stapler anvils | 725 |
| 3 | US20200054323A1 | Method for fabricating surgical stapler anvils | 698 |
| 4 | US20200054322A1 | Fabricating techniques for surgical stapler anvils | 581 |
| 5 | US20220071631A1 | Method for fabricating surgical stapler anvils | 399 |
| 6 | US7011154B2 | In situ recovery from a kerogen and liquid hydrocarbon containing formation | 383 |
| 7 | US6782947B2 | In situ thermal processing of a relatively impermeable formation to increase permeability of the formation | 364 |
| 8 | US7077199B2 | In situ thermal processing of an oil reservoir formation | 356 |
| 9 | US7066254B2 | In situ thermal processing of a tar sands formation | 337 |
| 10 | US7096942B1 | In situ thermal processing of a relatively permeable formation while controlling pressure | 322 |
Citation counts inside a searched corpus favour older filings — read these as signals of influence within the dataset, not as a ranking of current technical importance.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three findings that shape where a new filing is likely to clear prior art, and where it will collide with an already-dense claim landscape.
Leadership is real but not dominant
The leading assignee holds 83 records and fifth place holds 29, yet the top 5 combined still only reach 15.5% of all 2,106 records in scope. That gap between the leader and the rest of the top 5 signals one company with a genuine program surrounded by a long tail of smaller filers rather than a cartel of similarly sized players.
Welding/brazing is dense, adjacent classes are lighter
B23K's 25.5% share means core welding and brazing claim space is heavily occupied; new filings there need to differentiate sharply on process parameters. The mid-single-digit shares in C22C, B32B, E21B, F16L, C21D and A61M suggest those adjacent applications of joining technology are claimed more thinly relative to the core.
Growth is steady through the last complete year
Filings rose from 77 in 2021 to 90 in 2024, the highest complete year on record. Because publication lags filing by about 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures will keep rising as more records surface — they should not be read as a cooling trend.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to joining, welding & brazing patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Assignee landscape and where activity has slowed
The ranked leaders in this dataset cover 100 companies out of 2,106 records; most recent-year momentum among the largest historical filers has cooled to zero or negative, which is different from the field as a whole slowing down.
One clear leader, then a drop-off
The top-ranked assignee holds 83 records, well ahead of fifth place at 29 and tenth place at 25. That step-down shape — one leader, then a cluster, then a long tail — is typical of a technology area with an established incumbent but still-open room for new entrants.
Some large historical filers have gone quiet
Several assignees with meaningful filing history, including Apple and ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering, show zero records in the latest tracked year. Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shows 2 in the latest year, down 50% year over year. This does not necessarily mean exit from the space — it may reflect the 18-month publication lag or a pause between filing waves.
Collaboration is limited and concentrated
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, and the strongest pairings all involve the same corporate assignee working with different named individual inventors. This points to internal inventor teams rather than cross-company joint filings as the dominant collaboration pattern here.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd | 2 | -50% |
| Apple Inc | 0 | -100% |
| ExxonMobil Technology & Engineering Co | 0 | — |
| Shell Oil Co | 0 | — |
| United Technologies Corp | 0 | — |
| Ambri Inc | 0 | — |
| Repligen Corp | 0 | — |
| Applied Materials Inc | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, whitespace filing, or competitive tracking.
Check freedom-to-operate against the densest class
With B23K covering 25.5% of records, any new welding or brazing filing should be checked against that class specifically before drafting claims, not against the field as a whole.
Run a freedom-to-operate check →Track the quiet leaders for renewed activity
Several top historical assignees show zero filings in the latest year; a filing-frequency alert on those names will catch the next wave before it becomes visible in aggregate stats.
Set up assignee monitoring →Draft into the thinner adjacent classes
Classes like A61M, C21D and F16L carry single-digit shares of the record base, suggesting more room for a differentiated first claim there than in the core welding art.
Explore whitespace filing →Common questions about joining, welding & brazing patents
The dataset ranks 100 companies by record count, with the leading assignee holding 83 records against 29 for fifth place and 25 for tenth place. The top 5 assignees combined hold 15.5% of all 2,106 records in scope, and the top 10 combined hold 21.9%. That leaves the large majority of filings spread across a long tail of smaller filers, so no single company controls the field outright.
Complete-year filings rose from 77 in 2021 to 90 in 2024, a 17% increase, with 2024 the highest complete year in the dataset. Filing counts in 2025 and 2026 appear lower only because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, so those years are still filling in. Based on the last complete year, the trend is one of steady growth rather than decline.
Welding, soldering and brazing (IPC class B23K) is by far the largest single category, appearing in 25.5% of all 2,106 records. Shaping of plastics (B29C) follows at 10.9%, with alloys, layered products, drilling, pipe fittings, heat treatment and body-fluid devices each in the mid-single digits. Because records can carry multiple IPC classes, these figures overlap and add to more than 100%, reflecting how joining technology spans structural, materials and even medical-device applications.
The classes with the thinnest share of the record base relative to core welding art — heat treatment sequencing, pipe-fitting feed control, in-process surface finish verification and dissimilar-metal braze alloy composition — show comparatively light claim density. That does not guarantee an easy filing, but it does mean the core B23K claim space is far more crowded than these adjacent areas. A prior-art search focused specifically on the adjacent class, not the field as a whole, is the practical next step.
Several assignees with substantial filing history in this dataset, including large industrial and technology companies, show zero recorded filings in the most recent tracked year, and one shows a 50% year-over-year drop from a small base. This pattern is consistent with the 18-month publication lag as much as with an actual pause in filing, so a single quiet year should not be read as exit from the technology. Ongoing monitoring of assignee-level filing frequency is the more reliable signal than a single year's count.
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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.