PlainPatent

CPC technology class · A21

A21C - Machines OR Equipment FOR Making OR Processing Doughs

Machines or equipment for making or processing doughs; handling baked articles made from dough. 581 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

581
US patents granted
A21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+14%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Machines OR Equipment FOR Making OR Processing Doughs ranks #522 of 670 CPC technology areas - 581 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 14% over five years.

#522
of 670 CPC technology areas
581
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Radie B V
leading assignee (29)
+14%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Radie B.v. (29 patents)

CPC subclass A21C - MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING OR PROCESSING DOUGHS; HANDLING BAKED ARTICLES MADE FROM DOUGH - covers 581 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class A21 (BAKING; EDIBLE DOUGHS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in A21C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Radie B.v. leads with 29 patents, followed by General Mills, Inc. at 27 grants and Rheon Automatic Machinery Co., Ltd. at 16.

Filing activity in A21C is up 14% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is A21C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in A21C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 14% versus 2015–2019.

3040506070 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 32

Who leads A21C?

The 12 most active assignees in MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING OR PROCESSING DOUGHS; HANDLING BAKED ARTICLES MADE FROM DOUGH - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Radie B V is the most active filer in A21C, holding 29 of the 581 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

Source USPTO PatentsView, granted utility patents As of 2015–2025 grant years
View data table
Top patent holders in CPC subclass A21C
Rank Company Patents in A21C
#1 Radie B.v. 29
#2 General Mills, Inc. 27
#3 Rheon Automatic Machinery Co., Ltd. 16
#4 HAAS FOOD Equipment Gmbh 15
#5 Primera Technology, Inc. 11
#6 GEA FOOD Solutions Bakel B.v. 10
#7 Creator, Inc. 9
#8 Lawrence Equipment, Inc. 9
#9 Fritsch Bakery Technologies Gmbh & Co. KG 9
#10 Intercontinental Great Brands Llc 8
#11 24/7 Pizza Box, Llc 8
#12 Frito-lay North America, Inc. 7
#13 Kellogg Company 7
#14 Nissin Foods Holdings Co., Ltd. 7
#15 Zimplistic Pte. Ltd. 7
#16 Albert Handtmann Maschinenfabrik Gmbh & Co. KG 6
#17 Nichirei Foods Inc. 6
#18 Food Machinery Engineering, LMTD 6
#19 ANKO FOOD Machine Co., Ltd. 6
#20 Werner & Pfleiderer Lebensmitteltechnik Gmbh 6

About This Class

CPC subclass A21C belongs to class A21.

581 patents were granted in this class between 2015 and 2025.

20 companies actively patent in this space.

Classification System

Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) is a hierarchical patent classification system used by the USPTO and EPO.

← All Technology Classes Technology Rankings →

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading A21C assignee, placed by how many patents it holds in this class (horizontal) against its company-wide average claims per patent (vertical) - a read on whether the class is led by broad-but-shallow filers or focused deep-claim players.

Top 14 A21C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A21C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 A21C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A21C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 5101520253035 Patents in A21C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Radie B VGeneral MillsRheon Automatic Machi…Haas Food EquipmentPrimera TechnologyGea Food Solutions Ba…CreatorLawrence EquipmentFritsch Bakery & KgIntercontinental Grea…24/7 Pizza BoxFrito-lay North Ameri…KelloggNissin Foods Holdings
Top 14 A21C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in A21C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class A21C?
CPC subclass A21C covers MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING OR PROCESSING DOUGHS; HANDLING BAKED ARTICLES MADE FROM DOUGH. It belongs to CPC class A21 (BAKING; EDIBLE DOUGHS), with 581 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in A21C?
581 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass A21C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in A21C?
Radie B.v. leads A21C with 29 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for A21C collected?
Patent data comes from USPTO PatentsView, a public research dataset maintained by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It covers all US granted utility patents and assigns CPC codes based on the technology described in each patent.
What is the difference between CPC class and subclass?
A CPC class (e.g., A21) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like A21C provide finer granularity within that category. PlainPatent organizes data at the subclass level (4-character codes) for the most useful view of technology domains.

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

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

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.