PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B61

B61H - Brakes OR Other Retarding Devices Specially Adapted FOR R…

Brakes or other retarding devices specially adapted for rail vehicles; arrangement or disposition thereof in rail vehicles. 502 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

502
US patents granted
B61
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+0%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Brakes OR Other Retarding Devices Specially Adapted FOR R… ranks #544 of 670 CPC technology areas - 502 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 0% over five years.

#544
of 670 CPC technology areas
502
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Westinghouse Air Brake
leading assignee (34)
+0%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (34 patents)

CPC subclass B61H - BRAKES OR OTHER RETARDING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAIL VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR DISPOSITION THEREOF IN RAIL VEHICLES - covers 502 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B61 (RAILWAYS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B61H is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation leads with 34 patents, followed by New York Air Brake Llc at 33 grants and Knorr-bremse Systeme Für Schienenfahrzeuge Gmbh at 25.

Filing activity in B61H is up 0% 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 B61H innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B61H, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 0% versus 2015–2019.

203040506070 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 29

Who leads B61H?

The 12 most active assignees in BRAKES OR OTHER RETARDING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAIL VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR DISPOSITION THEREOF IN RAIL VEHICLES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Westinghouse Air Brake is the most active filer in B61H, holding 34 of the 502 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 B61H
Rank Company Patents in B61H
#1 Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation 34
#2 New York Air Brake Llc 33
#3 Knorr-bremse Systeme Für Schienenfahrzeuge Gmbh 25
#4 Wabtec Holding Corp. 15
#5 Amsted Rail Company, Inc. 14
#6 KYB Corporation 12
#7 Faiveley Transport Amiens 11
#8 Faiveley Transport Italia S.p.a. 10
#9 Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd. 7
#10 Hyperloop Technologies, Inc. 5
#11 CRRC Qingdao Sifang Rolling Stock Research Institute Co., Ltd. 5
#12 Duplicent, Llc 5
#13 Railserve, Inc. 5
#14 CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co., Ltd. 4
#15 Korea Railroad Research Institute 4
#16 CRRC Tangshan Co., Ltd. 4
#17 FINE Sinter Co., Ltd. 4
#18 Jimi IP, Llc 4
#19 Zipholdings, Llc 4
#20 Kelvin Thermal Energy Inc. 4

About This Class

CPC subclass B61H belongs to class B61.

502 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 B61H 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 B61H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B61H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B61H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B61H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 010203040 Patents in B61H Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Westinghouse Air BrakeNew York Air BrakeKnorr-bremse Systeme…Wabtec HoldingAmsted RailKybFaiveley Transport Am…Faiveley Transport It…Akebono Brake IndustryHyperloopCrrc Qingdao Sifang R…DuplicentRailserveCrrc Qingdao Sifang
Top 14 B61H assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B61H. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B61H?
CPC subclass B61H covers BRAKES OR OTHER RETARDING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR RAIL VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR DISPOSITION THEREOF IN RAIL VEHICLES. It belongs to CPC class B61 (RAILWAYS), with 502 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B61H?
502 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B61H between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B61H?
Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation leads B61H with 34 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B61H 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., B61) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B61H 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.