665 patents currently held

12 more in force are now held by other companies

Held is read from USPTO's recorded assignments; a transfer never recorded there does not appear.

The next term ends in Nov 2026. from the record

Free plan: 3 watched companies. Pro: unlimited.

Alerts on its grants, lapses and transfers.

115

Ending by 2030

Nov 2026

Next term end

587

Patent families

When these terms end

5 yrs10 yrs20 yrs

Held patents by the year their term ends

2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042 2043 2044 2045

notable patents fee due within 90 days all others Updated Nov 15, 2026 · includes USPTO assignment & status data published Nov 15, 2026 and grant & fee data published Nov 10, 2026 (weekly) · how we know

Notable: the highest-ranked patents in this portfolio by citations and family size. Fee due within 90 days: a maintenance fee is due within 90 days of when this page was computed and not yet paid.

Notable patents

Ranked by citations and family size, against patents of the same kind granted the same year. How we rank

Notable

Substrate Support Device US 10,276,410

The most cited patent in this portfolio, cited by 517 later US patents, top 1% of utility patents granted in 2019 in our data. Protection runs to 2032. A terminal disclaimer caps this term to an earlier patent's.

Ends Sep 2032 · Medium confidence Also notable

Piezoelectric Actuator and Head Suspension US 8,559,137

Cited by 44 later US patents, top 25% of utility patents granted in 2013 in our data, and renewed at 3 of 3 maintenance windows. Protection runs to 2031.

Ends Sep 2031 · High confidence Also notable

Vertical Motion Impeller-Type Shot Peening Device and Coil Spring US 10,315,287

The newest of the three, granted 2019. It anchors the portfolio to 2035, later than anything else here.

Ends Jun 2035 · High confidence

Fee deadlines

Maintenance fees fall due 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years after grant. A missed fee ends a patent at the end of the six month grace period that follows, not on the due date.

1 fee due Nov 26, 2026
The maintenance fee for Pressure Unit (US 9,041,194) comes due Nov 26, 2026. Unpaid by May 26, 2027, it lapses early.
14 fees due Dec 2 to 30, 2026 · next Dec 2
7 fees due Jan 7 to 23, 2027 · next Jan 7
5 fees due Feb 8 to 28, 2027 · next Feb 8
9 fees due Mar 10 to 29, 2027 · next Mar 10
8 fees due Apr 1 to 29, 2027 · next Apr 1
9 fees due May 12 to 28, 2027 · next May 12
10 fees due Jun 5 to 30, 2027 · next Jun 5
11 fees due Jul 2 to 30, 2027 · next Jul 2
8 fees due Aug 4 to 27, 2027 · next Aug 4
16 fees due Sep 1 to 29, 2027 · next Sep 1
6 fees due Oct 16 to 28, 2027 · next Oct 16
2 fees due Nov 5 to 14, 2027 · next Nov 5

Which patents, and when each one lapses · Pro

Recent changes

Oct 16Assignment recorded on 1 record: Mizuno, Katsumi and 2 others to NHK Spring Co., Ltd. Recorded Oct 16, 2026, executed Sep 2, 2026. Conveyance as recorded: Assignment of Assignor's Interest. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership. Reel 76411, frame 625.
Sep 24Assignment recorded on 1 record: Hotoda, Yuki and 3 others to NHK Spring Co., Ltd. Recorded Sep 24, 2026, executed Sep 24, 2026. Conveyance as recorded: Assignment of Assignor's Interest. A recorded assignment is a filed document, not a statement of current ownership. Reel 76562, frame 303.
28 of the patents on this record were granted since Aug 17, 2026
5 terms have ended since Aug 17, 2026

What they patent

The 5 largest of its 587 families, grouped by real patent family and labeled by the earliest filing in each. No technology classification is inferred from titles.

Method of correcting head suspension, method of manufacturing head suspension, head suspension and method of processing thin plate	46 in force	to Oct 2042
Seal	4 in force	to May 2032
Disc Drive Suspension Including Load Beam Having Different Cross-Sectional Shapes at Welded and Non-Welded Parts Thereof	3 in force	to Sep 2042
Heater Unit	3 in force	to Feb 2033
Disk Drive Suspension	2 in force	to Jun 2043

Patents held now

Soonest term end first.

Patent	Title	Status	Expires	Confidence
US 7,766,312	Coil Spring In force Term ends Nov 26, 2026 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Nov 26, 2026	High confidence
US 7,508,513	Measuring Apparatus and Measuring Method In force Term ends Dec 18, 2026 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Dec 18, 2026	High confidence
US 7,832,091	Method for Manufacturing Conductive Contact Holder In force Term ends Dec 24, 2026 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Dec 24, 2026	High confidence
US 7,692,899	Head Suspension Having Wiring Disposed in Contact with Slightly Conductive Flexible Resin In force Ends no later than Jan 21, 2027 · Medium confidence	In force	Ends no later than Jan 21, 2027	Medium confidence
US 7,636,221	Disk Drive Head Suspension Having Resilient Region Thicker Than a Rigid Region In force Term ends Jan 23, 2027 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Jan 23, 2027	High confidence
US 7,956,288	Conductive Contact and Method of Manufacturing Conductive Contact In force Term ends Jan 25, 2027 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Jan 25, 2027	High confidence
US 7,486,481	Disc Drive Suspension Including a Load Beam That Has an Insular Region at Which a Laser Weld Is Formed Provided in an Interior of a Partially Etched Portion In force Term ends Feb 15, 2027 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Feb 15, 2027	High confidence
US 7,643,252	Head Suspension Having Wiring Disposed with Conductive Layer In force Ends no later than Feb 28, 2027 · Medium confidence	In force	Ends no later than Feb 28, 2027	Medium confidence
US 7,795,892	Probe Card In force Term ends Mar 6, 2027 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Mar 6, 2027	High confidence
US 7,595,962	Head Suspension Having Rigid Part Rail Diminished at Longitudinal Curve In force Term ends Mar 10, 2027 · High confidence	In force	Term ends Mar 10, 2027	High confidence

10 of 665 patents shown.

Pro members see all 665.

Pro members: see all 665 patents

Also on record, not counted in the 665: 12 patents in force now held by others · 346 patents ended · 263 applications pending · 148 applications abandoned. List them

Sources and methods

Compiled from USPTO application file histories, grants and recorded assignments, with the company's own names reviewed by hand. How this record was built

Portfolio grouped automatically from ownership conveyances to the names matched to this company, usually every name that begins with its own, so it counts patents an affiliate holds; each list row names the holder of record. Security interests are excluded and ambiguous records are not reviewed by hand.

Fee due within 90 days marks a patent with a maintenance fee due within 90 days of the date this page was computed and not yet recorded paid, so it can end earlier than the bar shows. A fee left unpaid ends the patent at the close of the six month grace period that follows its due date, not on the due date itself. It is not a prediction that the fee will be missed.

Computed patent terms end on the dates shown. Related patents and pending applications may cover overlapping subject matter.

Export every term end as CSV · Pro

NHK Spring Co., Ltd.