PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B64

B64B - Lighter-than AIR Aircraft

Lighter-than air aircraft. 560 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

560
US patents granted
B64
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+22%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Lighter-than AIR Aircraft ranks #527 of 670 CPC technology areas - 560 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 22% over five years.

#527
of 670 CPC technology areas
560
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Google
leading assignee (54)
+22%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Google Llc (54 patents)

CPC subclass B64B - LIGHTER-THAN AIR AIRCRAFT - covers 560 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B64 (AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B64B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Google Llc leads with 54 patents, followed by Loon Llc at 41 grants and Aerostar International Llc at 41.

Filing activity in B64B is up 22% 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 B64B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B64B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 22% versus 2015–2019.

203040506070 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 40

Who leads B64B?

The 12 most active assignees in LIGHTER-THAN AIR AIRCRAFT - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Google is the most active filer in B64B, holding 54 of the 560 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 B64B
Rank Company Patents in B64B
#1 X Development Llc 46
#2 Loon Llc 41
#3 Aerostar International Llc 41
#4 World View Enterprises Inc. 20
#5 LTAG Systems Llc 16
#6 Space DATA Corporation 15
#7 Space Perspective Inc. 14
#8 H2 Clipper, Inc. 9
#9 Stratospheric Airships, Llc 9
#10 Raven Industries, Inc. 8
#11 Flying Whales 8
#12 LTA Research And Exploration, Llc 7
#13 Urban SKY Theory Inc. 6
#14 Altaeros Energies, Inc. 6
#15 Hyalta Aeronautics, Inc. 5
#16 Mores, Inc. 4
#17 Sceye Sa 4
#18 Cohere Technologies, Inc. 3
#19 X-control System Co., Ltd. 3
#20 Urban SKY 3

About This Class

CPC subclass B64B belongs to class B64.

560 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 B64B 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 B64B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B64B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B64B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B64B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 1020304050 01020304050 Patents in B64B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) X DevelopmentLoonAerostar InternationalWorld View EnterprisesLtag SystemsSpace DataSpace PerspectiveH2 ClipperStratospheric AirshipsRaven IndustriesFlying WhalesLta Research and Expl…Urban Sky TheoryAltaeros Energies
Top 14 B64B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B64B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B64B?
CPC subclass B64B covers LIGHTER-THAN AIR AIRCRAFT. It belongs to CPC class B64 (AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS), with 560 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B64B?
560 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B64B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B64B?
Google Llc leads B64B with 54 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B64B 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., B64) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B64B 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.