PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B60

B60Q - Arrangement Of Signalling Or Lighting Devices

Arrangement of signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor, for vehicles in general. 13,530 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

13,530
US patents granted
#6/19
in B60
5.5%
B60 class share
+20%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Arrangement Of Signalling Or Lighting Devices ranks #141 of 670 CPC technology areas - 13,530 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 20% over five years.

#141
of 670 CPC technology areas
13,530
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Ford Global
leading assignee (959)
+20%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How B60Q's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, B60Q recorded 6,445 grants versus 5,393 in 2015–2019 (+20% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 1,564 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 663 (+136% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Ford Global Technologies, LLC holds 7.1% of the class ; the top three share 14.1%.

Leaderboard read

B60Q concentration, lead at 7.1%

Ford Global Technologies, LLC leads this historical grant record at 7.1% of B60Q - foreign corporation assignees hold 55% of class grants (4,593 of 8,425). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
7.1%

959 of 13,530 grants

Top three share
14.1%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
467

more grants than Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Where B60Q sits inside B60

Among 19 subclasses in B60 (Vehicles IN General), B60Q ranks #6 and holds 5.5% of the parent class's 247,467 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

B60R 42,931 B60W 39,530 B60K 34,645 B60L 29,944 B60Y 14,131 B60N 13,335 B60T 11,759 B60C 9,320

Rising assignees active in B60Q

Company-wide grant multiples (2022–2024 vs 2019–2021) among assignees with ≥5 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide; class patent counts are subclass-specific.

  1. #1 Mercedes-Benz Group AG 257x 0 → 257 company-wide · 27 in B60Q
  2. #2 HL Mando Corporation 212x 0 → 212 company-wide · 5 in B60Q
  3. #3 Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. 146x 0 → 146 company-wide · 10 in B60Q
  4. #4 HL Klemove Corp. 109x 0 → 109 company-wide · 7 in B60Q
  5. #5 Panasonic Automotive Systems Co., Ltd. 89x 0 → 89 company-wide · 9 in B60Q

B60Q grants by year, peak 2019 (1,564)

US utility-patent grants per year in B60Q, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 20% versus 2015–2019.

6008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 907

Who leads B60Q?

The 12 most active assignees in Arrangement OF Signalling OR Lighting Devices, THE Mounting OR Supporting Thereof OR Circuits Therefor, FOR Vehicles IN General - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Ford Global is the most active filer in B60Q, holding 959 of the 13,530 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 B60Q
Rank Company Patents in B60Q
#1 Ford Global Technologies, LLC 959
#2 Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 492
#3 Hyundai Motor Company 460
#4 Valeo Vision 268
#5 Magna Electronics Inc. 236
#6 Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd. 205
#7 State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company 179
#8 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. 170
#9 Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. 148
#10 KIA Corporation 143
#11 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft 126
#12 Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA 122
#13 Audi AG 112
#14 Yazaki Corporation 104
#15 ZKW Group GmbH 103
#16 Magna Mirrors of America, Inc. 97
#17 Valeo North America, Inc. 92
#18 Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft 91
#19 Nissan North America, Inc. 85
#20 SL Corporation 82

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading B60Q 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 B60Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 51015202530 020040060080010001200 Patents in B60Q Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Ford GlobalKoito ManufacturingHyundai MotorValeo VisionMagnaHyundai MobisState Farm Mutual…Stanley ElectricToyota Motor…KiaBayerische Motoren…Hella & KgaaAudiYazaki
Top 14 B60Q assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B60Q. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near B60Q's 13,530-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for B60Q (#141 of 670 by volume ; lead share 7.1%) - not the B60 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B22F 13,344 B60N 13,335 A01N 13,786 F02M 13,937

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F23D 7.1% F21L 7.1% F24F 7.1% A61N 7.1%

Questions about B60Q

Which company holds the most patents in B60Q?
Ford Global Technologies, LLC leads B60Q with 959 patents (7.1% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 55% of class grants.
Which B60Q assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in B60Q, Mercedes-Benz Group AG shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (257x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 257 in 2022–2024) while holding 27 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does B60Q compare inside parent class B60?
Inside B60 (Vehicles IN General), B60Q ranks #6 of 19 subclasses by grant volume and holds 5.5% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is B60R (42,931 grants).

What to do with this data

B60Q in context - here's where to go next.

  • Ford Global Technologies, LLC leads B60Q with 959 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • B60Q ranks #141 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class B60, the largest sibling subclass is B60R with 42,931 grants. Explore B60R

Figures reflect USPTO PatentsView grant data through 2026-05-15; pending applications not yet granted are not counted.

Methodology - B60Q figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (13,530 grants in the tracked window).

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.