Precision Grinding Patents: Leaders, Trends & White Space 2026
- Filing activity has cooled since its 2019 peak of 12. with the midpoint year 2022 down to 2, signalling a mature, flat-to-declining filing pattern rather than an emerging race.
- China leads receiving offices with 67 filings ahead of Europe (41), the United States (35) and Japan (30) — filing strategy here is increasingly China-first, not US-first.
- Every tracked leading assignee shows zero filings in the latest year which reads as a publication-lag gap rather than an exit — recent filings simply have not published yet.
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 225 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Precision grinding and superfinishing patents in this dataset span 225 patent families filed between 2015 and 2026, covering wheel dressing, surface roughness control, grinding burn mitigation, coolant delivery and form accuracy under IPC classes B24B, B24D and B24D3. The core subject matter concentrates in B24B (grinding and polishing) and B24D (grinding tools and abrasives), with smaller but notable overlap into materials science (C09K), glass and enamel compositions (C03C), and adjacent machine tooling (B23Q).
Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent one to two years in the trend chart will always look thinner than they eventually turn out to be. Treat the tail of the chart as incomplete, not as a genuine drop-off.
Filing trends and technology composition
Two views of the same 225-family dataset: how filing volume has moved year over year, and how the subject matter splits across IPC subclasses.
A flat-to-declining filing curve
Filings rose from 7 in 2017 to a peak of 12 in 2019, then eased back to 2 by the 2022 midpoint. That pattern points to a technology area where the core claim space was staked out early in the period and has not attracted a fresh wave of filers since — consistent with dense prior art on the most-cited records rather than a stalled market.
Grinding and abrasive tooling dominate the classification mix
B24B and B24D together account for the large majority of records, confirming this is fundamentally a machine-and-tool patent set rather than a materials-chemistry one. The smaller counts in C09K, C03C, B23Q, G11B, F16C and G06F mark where grinding technique intersects adjacent fields — abrasive material formulation, glass finishing, machine fittings, precision storage-media surfacing and process-control software — each too small on its own to be a filing wave, but worth watching individually.
Shares are the percentage of the 225 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Precision Grinding and Superfinishing with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about precision grinding and superfinishing and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe prior art shaping this space
Method and apparatus for monitoring abrasive machining
The filing discloses a monitoring method for abrasive machining that fuses an acceleration signal from component or tool movement with an acoustic emission signal from within the component, deriving an abrasion parameter from that combined input set. It covers both the monitoring apparatus and an abrasive-machining apparatus built around it.Filed by Rolls-Royce, this record frames grinding as a monitored, sensor-fed process rather than an open-loop mechanical one — a framing that later filers working on in-process quality control will need to design around.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US6093092A | Abrasive tools | 108 |
| 2 | US6102789A | Abrasive tools | 107 |
| 3 | EP1044764A2 | Combination grinding machine | 43 |
| 4 | US6409573B1 | Combination grinding machine | 40 |
| 5 | CN104589161A | 一种用于精磨丝杠的装置 | 37 |
| 6 | US6171179B1 | Ball grinding machine | 37 |
| 7 | US20040231245A1 | Composite material and processing method using the material | 33 |
| 8 | JP2006130635A | Vitrified superfinishing rubstone of composite abrasive grain | 30 |
| 9 | US6273787B1 | Abrasive polishing method using a visco-elastic abrasive medium | 30 |
| 10 | US20180056480A1 | Method and apparatus for monitoring abrasive machining | 24 |
Citation counts are drawn from within this searched corpus and skew toward older filings; they measure influence on later filers, not present-day commercial relevance.
Patent titles are shown in the language they were filed in, not translated, so that each record stays verifiable against the original filing — a translated title will not match in Eureka or in any national register. Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Reading the trend, geography and citation data together points to a mature field with specific, narrower openings rather than broad blue sky.
The wave has passed, not disappeared
The drop from a 2019 peak of 12 filings to 2 at the 2022 midpoint suggests the initial land-grab on core grinding-process claims is over. New entrants are more likely to find room in narrower process-control or material sub-claims than in broad grinding-apparatus claims.
China now leads filing volume
China's 67 filings outpace Europe's 41, the US's 35 and Japan's 30, with Canada and WIPO/PCT well behind. Freedom-to-operate work that stops at USPTO and EPO records will miss the largest single share of this landscape.
Two abrasive-tools patents anchor the citation graph
US6093092A and US6102789A, both titled "Abrasive tools," carry 108 and 107 citations respectively — far ahead of the next tier. Any new abrasive-tool claim should be checked against both before drafting.
Co-filing is rare and concentrated
Only 8 co-assignee pairs appear across 225 families, and the strongest link — between the two Saint-Gobain abrasives entities — reflects an internal corporate relationship more than external partnership. Cross-company joint filing is not yet a norm in this field.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to precision grinding and superfinishing, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who holds the claim space
Filing activity concentrates among a small set of established grinding, bearing and abrasives manufacturers, with zero recorded filings from any of them in the latest year — a pattern most likely explained by publication lag rather than withdrawal.
No leading assignee shows recent-year activity
Norton, Toyota, Rolls-Royce, Mizuho Medical, Extrude Hone and Saint-Gobain Abrasives all register zero filings in the latest tracked year. Given the roughly 18-month publication lag, this is best read as a data-cutoff artefact rather than a genuine pullback.
Saint-Gobain's two entities file jointly
The strongest co-assignee pair in the dataset links Saint-Gobain Abrasives' Chinese and French entities, appearing together 5 times — evidence of coordinated multi-jurisdiction filing inside one corporate group rather than external collaboration.
Bearing and precision-component makers cross into grinding
Mizuho Medical's pairings with NSK (3) and Seibu Jido Kiki (2) point to superfinishing claims originating from precision-bearing and automation suppliers rather than dedicated grinding-tool manufacturers.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Norton Company (USA) | 0 | — |
| Toyota Motor Corporation | 0 | — |
| Rolls-Royce plc | 0 | — |
| Mizuho Medical Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Extrude Hone Corporation | 0 | — |
| Saint-Gobain Abrasives Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Toyota Machine Works, Ltd. | 0 | — |
| ZEEKO | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a mature field with specific narrow openings. These are the practical next steps for turning that into a filing or freedom-to-operate decision.
Map claims against the two anchor abrasive-tools patents
US6093092A and US6102789A sit at the centre of the citation graph. Any abrasive-tool filing should be checked claim-by-claim against both before drafting.
Explore prior art in EurekaPrioritise China filings, not just US/EP
With 67 of the tracked filings routed through China against 35 through the US, a freedom-to-operate search limited to Western offices will miss the largest single jurisdiction.
Run a jurisdiction search in EurekaWatch the under-claimed process-control branches
In-process monitoring, coolant delivery and wheel-dressing feedback loops show thin filing density relative to the core mechanical claims — a plausible entry point for new filers.
Analyse white space in EurekaCommon questions about precision grinding patents
The dataset's leading assignees include Norton, Toyota, Rolls-Royce, Mizuho Medical, Extrude Hone and Saint-Gobain Abrasives, spanning dedicated abrasives manufacturers, automotive OEMs and precision-component suppliers. None of these assignees shows filings in the most recent tracked year, which is consistent with normal publication lag rather than a genuine slowdown in their activity. Because families rather than raw document counts are the fairer comparison unit, checking a company's family count (not just document hits) gives a more accurate read on real filing scale.
Filings peaked at 12 in 2019 and had fallen to 2 by the 2022 midpoint, a pattern that typically reflects a technology area where core mechanical claims were staked out early and the field has moved into refinement rather than new invention. High filing density in earlier years means the core claim space around grinding apparatus and abrasive tool design is occupied, not that the technology itself has stopped developing. Readers should also account for publication lag: filings made in 2024-2026 will not be fully visible in this data yet.
China is the leading receiving office in this dataset with 67 filings, ahead of the European Patent Office (41), the United States (35) and Japan (30). This suggests that companies active in this space increasingly treat China as a first or co-primary filing jurisdiction rather than a secondary market. Any freedom-to-operate or clearance search focused only on US and European records would miss the largest single share of this landscape.
US20180056480A1, filed by Rolls-Royce, covers a method and apparatus for monitoring abrasive machining by combining an acceleration signal with an acoustic emission signal to derive an abrasion parameter. It is significant because it frames abrasive machining as a sensor-monitored, closed-loop process rather than an open-loop mechanical one. Anyone developing an in-process monitoring system for grinding or superfinishing should review this filing's specific claim language on sensor fusion before assuming a similar acoustic-plus-acceleration approach is clear to use.
Adjacent IPC classes with comparatively low record counts — including C09K materials, C03C glass compositions, B23Q machine fittings, and G06F process-control software — point to under-claimed intersections between core grinding mechanics and material formulation or digital process control. Specific technical gaps include in-process acoustic emission monitoring, coolant delivery nozzle geometry, and wheel-dressing feedback loops, none of which show dense filing activity relative to core grinding-apparatus claims. These are narrower openings rather than wide-open fields, so a first filing there should be drafted tightly around a specific technical mechanism rather than a broad method claim.
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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.