PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F01

F01L - Cyclically Operating Valves For Machines Or Engines

Cyclically operating valves for machines or engines. 4,152 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

4,152
US patents granted
#3/8
in F01
7.7%
F01 class share
-28%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Cyclically Operating Valves For Machines Or Engines ranks #266 of 670 CPC technology areas - 4,152 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 28% over five years.

#266
of 670 CPC technology areas
4,152
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Schaeffler & Kg
leading assignee (414)
-28%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F01L's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F01L recorded 1,587 grants versus 2,213 in 2015–2019 (-28% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 523 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 199 (+163% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG holds 10.0% of the class ; the top three share 17.4%.

Leaderboard read

F01L concentration, lead at 10.0%

Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG leads this historical grant record at 10.0% of F01L - foreign corporation assignees hold 77% of class grants (1,768 of 2,287). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
10.0%

414 of 4,152 grants

Top three share
17.4%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
216

more grants than Eaton Intelligent Power Limited

Where F01L sits inside F01

Among 8 subclasses in F01 (Machines OR Engines IN GENERAL; Engine Plants IN GENERAL; Steam Engines), F01L ranks #3 and holds 7.7% of the parent class's 53,585 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

F01D 24,492 F01N 12,144 F01P 4,129 F01M 3,398 F01K 2,854 F01C 1,662 F01B 754

Rising assignees active in F01L

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 Federal-mogul Valvetrain GMBH 6.33x 3 → 19 company-wide · 21 in F01L
  2. #2 Jiangsu Jointek Precision Machinery Co., Ltd. 5.00x 0 → 5 company-wide · 5 in F01L
  3. #3 MAN Truck & Bus SE 4.22x 9 → 38 company-wide · 5 in F01L
  4. #4 L.E. Jones Company 3.00x 2 → 6 company-wide · 14 in F01L
  5. #5 Schwäbische Hüttenwerke Automotive GmbH 2.73x 11 → 30 company-wide · 8 in F01L

F01L grants by year, peak 2019 (523)

US utility-patent grants per year in F01L, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 28% versus 2015–2019.

0100200300400500600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 106

Who leads F01L?

The 12 most active assignees in Cyclically Operating Valves FOR Machines OR Engines - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Schaeffler & Kg is the most active filer in F01L, holding 414 of the 4,152 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 F01L
Rank Company Patents in F01L
#1 Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG 414
#2 Eaton Intelligent Power Limited 198
#3 BorgWarner Inc. 109
#4 Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha 104
#5 Mahle International GmbH 92
#6 Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. 86
#7 Jacobs Vehicle Systems, Inc. 63
#8 Mazda Motor Corporation 61
#9 Eaton Corporation 59
#10 Thyssenkrupp Presta Teccenter AG 56
#11 Cummins Inc. 47
#12 Nittan Valve Co., Ltd. 42
#13 Otics Corporation 40
#14 ECO Holding 1 GmbH 39
#15 Aktiebolaget SKF 38
#16 Suzuki Motor Corporation 35
#17 Daimler AG 32
#18 MAN Truck &Bus AG 26
#19 Delphi Technologies IP Limited 24
#20 Tula eTechnology, Inc. 24

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F01L 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 F01L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F01L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 0100200300400500 Patents in F01L Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Schaeffler & KgEaton Intelligent…BorgwarnerAisin SeikiMahle InternationalHitachi Automotive…Jacobs Vehicle SystemsMazda MotorEatonThyssenkrupp Presta…CumminsNittan ValveOticsEco Holding 1
Top 14 F01L assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F01L. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near F01L's 4,152-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for F01L (#266 of 670 by volume ; lead share 10.0%) - not the F01 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

F23R 4,138 F01P 4,129 B62J 4,111 F17C 4,101

Nearest by lead-assignee share

A41D 9.9% B41N 10.0% B31D 9.9% F23K 10.1%

Questions about F01L

Which company holds the most patents in F01L?
Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG leads F01L with 414 patents (10.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 77% of class grants.
Which F01L assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F01L, Federal-mogul Valvetrain GMBH shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (6.33x: 3 grants in 2019–2021 → 19 in 2022–2024) while holding 21 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does F01L compare inside parent class F01?
Inside F01 (Machines OR Engines IN GENERAL; Engine Plants IN GENERAL; Steam Engines), F01L ranks #3 of 8 subclasses by grant volume and holds 7.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F01D (24,492 grants).

What to do with this data

F01L in context - here's where to go next.

  • Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG leads F01L with 414 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • F01L ranks #266 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class F01, the largest sibling subclass is F01D with 24,492 grants. Explore F01D

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

Methodology - F01L figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (4,152 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.