PlainPatent

CPC technology class · B66

B66C - Cranes

Cranes; load-engaging elements or devices for cranes, capstans, winches, or tackles. 3,676 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

3,676
US patents granted
B66
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+41%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Cranes ranks #288 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,676 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 41% over five years.

#288
of 670 CPC technology areas
3,676
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Tadano
leading assignee (144)
+41%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Tadano Ltd. (144 patents)

CPC subclass B66C - CRANES; LOAD-ENGAGING ELEMENTS OR DEVICES FOR CRANES, CAPSTANS, WINCHES, OR TACKLES - covers 3,676 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class B66 (HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in B66C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Tadano Ltd. leads with 144 patents, followed by Konecranes Global Corporation at 90 grants and Liebherr-werk Ehingen Gmbh at 88.

Filing activity in B66C is up 41% 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 B66C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in B66C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 41% versus 2015–2019.

250300350400450 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 290

Who leads B66C?

The 12 most active assignees in CRANES; LOAD-ENGAGING ELEMENTS OR DEVICES FOR CRANES, CAPSTANS, WINCHES, OR TACKLES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Tadano is the most active filer in B66C, holding 144 of the 3,676 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 B66C
Rank Company Patents in B66C
#1 Tadano Ltd. 144
#2 Konecranes Global Corporation 90
#3 Liebherr-werk Ehingen Gmbh 88
#4 Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd 81
#5 Manitowoc Crane Companies, Llc 60
#6 Liebherr-werk Biberach Gmbh 59
#7 Manitowoc Crane Group France 48
#8 Itrec B.v. 46
#9 Vestas Wind Systems A/s 45
#10 Oshkosh Corporation 35
#11 Murata Machinery, Ltd. 34
#12 Liebherr-werk Nenzing Gmbh 31
#13 Liebherr-components Biberach Gmbh 30
#14 Daifuku Co., Ltd. 28
#15 Altec Industries, Inc. 25
#16 Putzmeister Engineering Gmbh 24
#17 LIKO Research & Development AB 22
#18 Tadano Demag Gmbh 22
#19 Sumitomo Heavy Industries Construction Cranes Co., Ltd. 21
#20 Xuzhou Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. 20

About This Class

CPC subclass B66C belongs to class B66.

3,676 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 B66C 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 B66C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B66C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 B66C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B66C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 050100150 Patents in B66C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) TadanoKonecranes GlobalLiebherr-werk EhingenKobelco Construction…Manitowoc Crane Compa…Liebherr-werk BiberachManitowoc Crane Group…Itrec B VVestas Wind Systems A…OshkoshMurata MachineryLiebherr-werk NenzingLiebherr-components B…Daifuku
Top 14 B66C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in B66C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class B66C?
CPC subclass B66C covers CRANES; LOAD-ENGAGING ELEMENTS OR DEVICES FOR CRANES, CAPSTANS, WINCHES, OR TACKLES. It belongs to CPC class B66 (HOISTING; LIFTING; HAULING), with 3,676 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in B66C?
3,676 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass B66C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in B66C?
Tadano Ltd. leads B66C with 144 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for B66C 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., B66) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like B66C 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.