USPTO 2015–2025 USPTO PatentsView US Corporation

Eaton Corporation

USPTO PatentsView assignee record - 924 granted patents across 157 technology areas, active 2015–2021. Filing-trend and competitive-moat analysis cross-referenced to USPTO Patent Public Search. Primary class: H01H (ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES).

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Explore the portfolio See the ranking

924

Total patents granted

157

CPC technology areas

15.3

Avg claims per patent

-97%

5-year filing velocity

The verdict

Eaton holds 924 US patents across 157 technology areas, rank #480 of 50,000 tracked assignees.

#480
of 50,000 US assignees by volume: Top 5%
by Innovation Score (57.8/100): 15.3
avg claims per patent: -97%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Portfolio overview

Eaton Corporation has been granted 924 US utility patents between 2015 and 2021, placing Eaton Corporation at rank #480 across all assignees tracked by PlainPatent. This portfolio spans 157 distinct Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) subclasses, averaging 15.3 claims per patent with primary concentration in H01H (ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES). As a US Corporation, Eaton Corporation is one of the broader-portfolio assignees in the PatentsView dataset. By volume, Eaton sits between IHI Corporation (928 patents, rank #476) and Baidu Online Network Technology (beijing) Co., Ltd. (916 patents, rank #484) - the closest US assignees by grant volume. The composite Innovation Score of 57.8/100 blends portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth into a single comparable measure drawn directly from USPTO PatentsView records.

Filing cadence tells the strategic story. Between 2020 and 2025 the company received 28 grants, compared with 896 in the 2015–2019 window, a -97% shift in five-year velocity. A cooling filing rate may reflect portfolio consolidation, shifting priorities, or reduced R&D throughput. The US Corporation classification further shapes interpretation, since corporate, government, and individual filers pursue patents for materially different reasons.

Claim depth and technology breadth together indicate competitive posture. Eaton Corporation's 15.3 average claims per patent sits within the typical range for solid legal coverage without excessive prosecution cost, while a diversified footprint across 100+ CPC subclasses spreads risk across many technology fronts. Combined with portfolio volume, these signals let analysts, investors, and licensing professionals benchmark Eaton Corporation against peers pursuing similar technology classes.

IHI

928
Level 3 Communica…

928
Verily Life Scien…

926
ZEON

926
Eaton ◀

924
Baidu USA

922
THE University OF…

920
Battelle Memorial…

917
Baidu Online Netw…

916

What this shows Eaton holds 924 patents at rank #480, shown against the 8 assignees closest to it in grant volume rather than the industry's largest filers.

Companies ranked near Eaton

By rank, the assignees closest to #480 in granted patent volume.

Leaders in H01H (Electric Switches)

Other assignees with the most granted patents in Eaton's primary technology class.

Eaton's Innovation Score vs. every tracked assignee

Composite of portfolio volume, filing velocity, technology breadth, and claim depth (0–100)

58 Top 5% higher than 95% of 50,000 US assignees

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US assignees. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USPTO PatentsView, PlainPatent Innovation Score · 2015–2025

USPTO utility patent grants by year · 2015–2021

Grants by year

Teal-shaded recent years (2020–present) versus the 2015–2019 baseline. Full figures in the table below.

View data table

Eaton Corporation patent grants by year, 2015–2025
Year	Patents Granted	Share of Period
2015	203	22.0%
2016	252	27.3%
2017	314	34.0%
2018	101	10.9%
2019	26	2.8%
2020	19	2.1%
2021	9	1.0%

Which technologies does Eaton Corporation patent most?

H01H - ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES 211

Y10T - TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION 136

H02H - EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS 74

F16H - GEARING 70

H02B - BOARDS, SUBSTATIONS OR SWITCHING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE SUPPLY OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER 69

G01R - MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES 68

F01L - CYCLICALLY OPERATING VALVES FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES 59

H02J - CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY 50

F16D - COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES 47

B60K - ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY 46

H01R - ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS 45

F15B - SYSTEMS ACTING BY MEANS OF FLUIDS IN GENERAL; FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS, e.g. SERVOMOTORS; DETAILS OF FLUID-PRESSURE SYSTEMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR 41

F16L - PIPES; JOINTS OR FITTINGS FOR PIPES; SUPPORTS FOR PIPES, CABLES OR PROTECTIVE TUBING; MEANS FOR THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL 38

F16K - VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING 37

Y02T - CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION 34

Top 15 of 157 technology areas

Patent Moat Analysis

Portfolio Volume Moderate

Tech Breadth Diversified

Claim Depth Standard

Velocity Declining

Where it ranks

Overall rank by patents

#480

Across all tracked assignees

Innovation Score

57.8 out of 100

View all rankings →

Data Source

USPTO PatentsView, US granted patents 2015–2025

How is Innovation Score calculated?

Frequently Asked Questions

How many patents does Eaton Corporation hold?

Eaton Corporation holds 924 US granted patents filed between 2015 and 2021, spanning 157 technology areas.

What is Eaton Corporation's Innovation Score?

Eaton Corporation has an Innovation Score of 57.8 out of 100. This composite metric weighs portfolio volume (40%), filing velocity (20%), technology breadth (25%), and claim depth (15%).

What technology areas does Eaton Corporation focus on?

Eaton Corporation's top technology area is H01H (ELECTRIC SWITCHES; RELAYS; SELECTORS; EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE DEVICES) with 211 patents. The company has filed patents in 157 CPC subclasses total.

Is Eaton Corporation's patent filing rate increasing or decreasing?

Eaton Corporation's recent filing velocity is -97% compared to the prior five-year period. Filing activity has slowed relative to earlier years.

What does claim depth mean for Eaton Corporation's patents?

Eaton Corporation's patents average 15.3 claims each. This falls within the standard range, providing solid legal coverage.

How is the Eaton Corporation patent data sourced?

All patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering US granted utility patents from 2015 to 2025.

How to use this portfolio

Eaton's 924 grants land it in the top 5% by Innovation Score, but volume alone doesn't tell you where the strength sits.

Read that count against the largest US assignees before treating it as dominance - Eaton ranks #480 of 50,000. Top 50 holders
Most of this portfolio concentrates in H01H - see who else leads that technology area. H01H leaders
Check what the four-part Innovation Score actually rewards before comparing it to another company. How the score works

Patent counts and the Innovation Score measure patenting activity, not commercial success or the legal strength of any patent. Many patents are filed defensively. Verify the status of an individual patent against official USPTO records.

Data sourced from USPTO PatentsView - official U.S. government patent data. See our methodology for computation details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainPatent Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the USPTO PatentsView database. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sources used on this page

USPTO PatentsView - the disambiguated bulk patent-grant, assignee, and CPC data this page's figures are derived from. patentsview.org
Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) - the joint USPTO/EPO classification scheme used to group patents by technology area. cooperativepatentclassification.org
USPTO Patent Public Search - the official interface to verify the status of any individual patent. ppubs.uspto.gov

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainPatent is rendered directly from USPTO source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on USPTO source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 2026.