Automated Module Assembly Patents: Top Companies & Trends 2026
Filing growth compares 2021 (1,198 records) with 2024 (955) — 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 493,614 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
This landscape tracks patent activity indexed under automated module assembly terminology, spanning modular and prefabricated construction alongside adjacent automated-assembly domains that share the same claim language. The search returns 493,614 published records filed between 2015 and mid-2026, ranked across 100 assignees that Patsnap Eureka’s underlying data endpoint surfaces for this query.
Because the term set pulls in general automated-assembly and analytical-instrument filings as well as construction-specific ones, the composition section below is read as a signal of where claim language clusters rather than a strict construction-only count. Readers should treat the most recent filing years as provisional: publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, so 2025 and 2026 figures will rise as later records publish.
Filing trends and technology composition
Three views of the same 493,614-record corpus: how filing volume has moved year over year, which assignees hold the largest shares, and which IPC subclasses the claim language actually falls into.
Filing trend, 2017–2026
Annual filings rose to a peak of 1,379 in 2019, then eased to 955 by 2024 — a 20% decline from the 1,198 filed in 2021. 2025 and 2026 figures (down to 90 so far) are still filling in under publication lag and should not be read as a collapse in activity.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
Material analysis and testing (G01N) leads at 2,408 records, 0.5% of the 493,614 in scope, followed by digital data processing (G06F) at 2,161 and business/admin data processing (G06Q) at 1,274. Because records carry multiple IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the total — no single subclass dominates the field.
Shares are the percentage of the 493,614 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Modular & Prefabricated Construction: Automated Module Assembly Patent Landscape with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about modular & prefabricated construction: automated module assembly patent landscape and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative and most-cited filings
US5332549A — Assay module transport apparatus for use in an automated analytical instrument
An automated analytical instrument for conducting assays for components of interest in fluid samples. The instrument includes a rotatably mounted supply unit holding foil-sealed magazines of assay modules, a testing system for assaying a fluid sample using an assay module, a transport assembly for moving an assay module from magazine to testing system, and a microprocessor controlling the instrument. One embodiment includes a cutter assembly for removing a foil layer sealing the magazine before module transport.Filed by Dade Behring Marburg GmbH, granted 1994-07-26 — a foundational record for automated module handling and transport claim language still cited across the field.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6211626B1 | Illumination components | 2,644 |
| 2 | WO2011008672A2 | Electrosurgery generator for ultrasonic surgical instruments | 1,855 |
| 3 | US5747953A | Cordless, battery operated surical tool | 1,740 |
| 4 | US8469973B2 | Apparatus and method for sternotomy closure | 1,679 |
| 5 | US7638958B2 | Powered surgical tool with control module that contains a sensor for remotely monitoring the tool power gener… | 1,678 |
| 6 | US20130327552A1 | Power tool having multiple operating modes | 1,196 |
| 7 | US6340868B1 | Illumination components | 1,122 |
| 8 | US6420975B1 | Interior rearview mirror sound processing system | 1,112 |
| 9 | US9532783B2 | Circular stapler with selectable motorized and manual control, including a control ring | 1,106 |
| 10 | US9486186B2 | Biopsy device with slide-in probe | 1,079 |
Citation counts favour older filings simply because they have had more time to accumulate citations inside a searched corpus — treat this table as a signal of influence, not of current technical relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for filing strategy
Read together, the concentration, growth and composition figures point to a field with an established core and considerable unclaimed periphery.
A leading cluster, not a lockout
The five most active assignees hold 36,921 records between them, 7.5% of all records in scope; the top ten add up to 10.6%. That leaves the overwhelming majority of filing activity spread across a long tail of single- and low-volume filers.
Volume easing from a 2019 peak
Filings peaked at 1,379 in 2019 and eased to 955 by 2024, a 20% decline from the 1,198 filed in 2021. This reads as claim space maturing around established approaches rather than declining interest, since 2025-2026 figures are still incomplete under publication lag.
No single subclass dominates
G01N (material analysis and testing) leads at 2,408 records, just 0.5% of the corpus. With no subclass above half a percent, claim language is distributed across control systems, data processing and material-handling codes rather than concentrated in one technical bucket.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to modular & prefabricated construction: automated module assembly patent landscape, with the prior art for and against each one.
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with a clear leader, a long tail of smaller filers, and thinly claimed technical branches. The next steps depend on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio positioning, or spotting where to file next.
Map claims against your own module assembly workflow
Run the specific transport, sensing or control mechanisms in your process against the most-cited records to see which claim elements you would need to design around.
Explore in Patsnap Eureka →Track momentum shifts among smaller filers
The sharpest year-over-year moves are happening among lower-volume assignees, not the established leader — worth monitoring before they scale filing volume.
Set up monitoring in Patsnap Eureka →Test claim language in the under-claimed branches
Sub-areas like multi-module control coordination and data-driven sequencing show thin filing density relative to the core clusters — a first-mover claim there faces less prior art.
Draft and search in Patsnap Eureka →Common questions about this landscape
The ranking returned for this query covers 100 assignees, with the top-ranked holder at 19,139 records, well ahead of fifth place at 4,169 and tenth at 2,548. The top five combined hold 36,921 records, 7.5% of the 493,614 records in scope, and the top ten add up to 10.6%. That leaves the large majority of activity spread across a long tail of smaller filers rather than concentrated at the very top.
Filing volume peaked in 2019 at 1,379 and had eased to 955 by 2024, a 20% decline from the 1,198 filed in 2021 — the most recent three-year span the data can treat as complete. Figures for 2025 and 2026 look much lower, but that reflects publication lag of roughly 18 months rather than an actual drop in filing activity; those years will fill in as more records publish. Read the trend as gradual easing from a 2019 peak, not as a collapsing field.
No single IPC subclass dominates: the busiest, G01N for material analysis and testing, covers 2,408 records, just 0.5% of the 493,614 in scope. Digital data processing (G06F) and business/admin data processing (G06Q) follow, along with conveying and material handling, semiconductor devices, lab apparatus, control systems, and diagnosis and surgery classes. Because records often carry several IPC codes, these shares add up to more than 100% of the corpus, which signals that claim language spans multiple technical disciplines rather than sitting in one bucket.
The thin, sub-1% share held by every individual IPC subclass suggests claim space is spread rather than saturated in any one technical area. Specific branches worth checking include multi-module control coordination, sensor-integrated handling for quality assurance, and data-driven sequencing for assembly lines — areas where filing density looks low relative to the core clusters. A freedom-to-operate search against the most-cited records in the target sub-area is the right first step before drafting.
Citation counts inside a searched corpus systematically favour older filings, simply because they have had more years to accumulate citations from later applicants. The most-cited records in this dataset date back to the 1990s and early 2010s, which reflects their age and foundational claim scope more than their current commercial relevance. Use citation rank as a signal of influence on subsequent drafting, not as a ranking of which technology is most important today.
Research Modular & Prefabricated Construction: Automated Module Assembly Patent Landscape in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole modular & prefabricated construction: automated module assembly patent landscape corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
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.