PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B60

B60B - Vehicle Wheels

Vehicle wheels ; castors; axles for wheels or castors; increasing wheel adhesion. 4,268 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

4,268
US patents granted
B60
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+34%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Vehicle Wheels ranks #261 of 670 CPC technology areas - 4,268 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 34% over five years.

#261
of 670 CPC technology areas
4,268
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Aktiebolaget Skf
leading assignee (159)
+34%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Aktiebolaget SKF (159 patents)

CPC subclass B60B - VEHICLE WHEELS ; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION - covers 4,268 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B60 (VEHICLES IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B60B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Aktiebolaget SKF leads with 159 patents, followed by NTN Corporation at 110 grants and Shimano Inc. at 95.

Filing activity in B60B is up 34% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is B60B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B60B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 34% versus 2015–2019.

250300350400450500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 280

Who leads B60B?

The 12 most active assignees in VEHICLE WHEELS ; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Aktiebolaget Skf is the most active filer in B60B, holding 159 of the 4,268 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 B60B
Rank Company Patents in B60B
#1 Aktiebolaget SKF 159
#2 NTN Corporation 110
#3 Shimano Inc. 95
#4 Compagnie Generale DES Etablissements Michelin 80
#5 Citic Dicastal Co., Ltd. 75
#6 Arvinmeritor Technology, Llc 67
#7 NSK Ltd. 45
#8 Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG 40
#9 Gecko Robotics, Inc. 36
#10 Saf-holland, Inc. 35
#11 Campagnolo S.r.l. 32
#12 DT Swiss Inc. 32
#13 The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company 30
#14 American AXLE & Manufacturing, Inc. 29
#15 DANA Heavy Vehicle Systems Group, Llc 27
#16 Hendrickson USA, L.l.c. 27
#17 Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, Llc 25
#18 SRAM, Llc 23
#19 Iljin Global Co., Ltd. 23
#20 Thyssenkrupp Carbon Components Gmbh 21

About This Class

CPC subclass B60B belongs to class B60.

4,268 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 B60B 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 B60B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B60B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 0510152025 050100150200 Patents in B60B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Aktiebolaget SkfNtnShimanoCompagnie Generale De…Citic DicastalArvinmeritor Technolo…NskSchaeffler & KgGecko RoboticsSaf-hollandCampagnolo S R LDt SwissThe Goodyear Tire & R…American Axle & Manuf…
Top 14 B60B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B60B?
CPC subclass B60B covers VEHICLE WHEELS ; CASTORS; AXLES FOR WHEELS OR CASTORS; INCREASING WHEEL ADHESION. It belongs to CPC class B60 (VEHICLES IN GENERAL), with 4,268 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B60B?
4,268 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B60B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B60B?
Aktiebolaget SKF leads B60B with 159 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B60B 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., B60) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B60B 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.