CPC technology class · E02

E02F - Dredging

Dredging; soil-shifting. 7,816 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

7,816
US patents granted: #1/4
in E02: 60.0%
E02 class share: +6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Dredging ranks #197 of 670 CPC technology areas - 7,816 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 6% over five years.

#197
of 670 CPC technology areas: 7,816
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Caterpillar
leading assignee (1,041): +6%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How E02F's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, E02F recorded 3,633 grants versus 3,430 in 2015–2019 (+6% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 886 grants and bottomed in 2016 at 639 (+39% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Caterpillar Inc. holds 13.3% of the class ; the top three share 32.6%.

Leaderboard read

E02F concentration, lead at 13.3%

Caterpillar Inc. leads this historical grant record at 13.3% of E02F - foreign corporation assignees hold 59% of class grants (3,989 of 6,740). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 13.3%
Top three share: 32.6%
Lead over #2: 131

Where E02F sits inside E02

Among 4 subclasses in E02 (Hydraulic ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; Soil Shifting), E02F ranks #1 and holds 60.0% of the parent class's 13,033 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

E02D 3,369 E02B 1,837 E02C 11

Rising assignees active in E02F

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 Danfoss Power Solutions II Technology A/S 35x 0 → 35 company-wide · 9 in E02F
#2 HD Hyundai Infracore Co., Ltd. 22x 0 → 22 company-wide · 26 in E02F
#3 Jiangsu Xcmg Construction Machinery Research Institute Ltd. 16x 2 → 31 company-wide · 10 in E02F
#4 Doosan Bobcat North America, Inc. 15x 0 → 15 company-wide · 27 in E02F
#5 EQUIPMENTSHARE.COM Inc 12x 1 → 12 company-wide · 8 in E02F

E02F grants by year, peak 2024 (886)

US utility-patent grants per year in E02F, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 6% versus 2015–2019.

Caterpillar

1,041
Komatsu

910
Hitachi Construction…

595
Deere &

487
Kubota

320
Kobelco Construction…

250
Volvo Construction…

198
Cnh Industrial America

178
Sumitomo Construction…

167
Sumitomo Heavy…

122
Caterpillar Sarl

116
Doosan Infracore

107

What this shows Caterpillar is the most active filer in E02F, holding 1,041 of the 7,816 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass E02F
Rank	Company	Patents in E02F
#1	Caterpillar Inc.	1,041
#2	Komatsu Ltd.	910
#3	Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.	595
#4	Deere & Company	487
#5	Kubota Corporation	320
#6	Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd	250
#7	Volvo Construction Equipment AB	198
#8	CNH Industrial America LLC	178
#9	Sumitomo Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.	167
#10	Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd.	122
#11	Caterpillar Sarl	116
#12	Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd.	107
#13	Clark Equipment Company	76
#14	Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha	69
#15	Harnischfeger Technologies, Inc.	68
#16	Joy Global Surface Mining Inc	65
#17	Esco Group LLC	61
#18	Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.	55
#19	Hitachi Construction Machinery Tierra Co., Ltd.	55
#20	Caterpillar Global Mining LLC	54

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading E02F 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 E02F assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in E02F. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near E02F's 7,816-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for E02F (#197 of 670 by volume ; lead share 13.3%) - not the E02 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

F05B 7,808 A47B 7,915 H04S 7,918 G01P 7,932

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G04G 13.4% C11D 13.4% B64C 13.2% B27G 13.1%

Questions about E02F

Which company holds the most patents in E02F?

Caterpillar Inc. leads E02F with 1,041 patents (13.3% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 59% of class grants.

Which E02F assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in E02F, Danfoss Power Solutions II Technology A/S shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (35x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 35 in 2022–2024) while holding 9 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does E02F compare inside parent class E02?

Inside E02 (Hydraulic ENGINEERING; FOUNDATIONS; Soil Shifting), E02F ranks #1 of 4 subclasses by grant volume and holds 60.0% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is E02D (3,369 grants).

What to do with this data

E02F in context - here's where to go next.

Caterpillar Inc. leads E02F with 1,041 grants in this class. See full portfolio
E02F ranks #197 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class E02, the largest sibling subclass is E02D with 3,369 grants. Explore E02D

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

Methodology - E02F figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (7,816 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.