CPC technology class · F01

F01M - Lubricating OF Machines OR Engines IN General

Lubricating of machines or engines in general; lubricating internal combustion engines; crankcase ventilating. 3,398 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

3,398
US patents granted: F01
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +12%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Lubricating OF Machines OR Engines IN General ranks #300 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,398 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 12% over five years.

#300
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,398
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Ford Global
leading assignee (244): +12%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Llc (244 patents)

CPC subclass F01M - LUBRICATING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; LUBRICATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES; CRANKCASE VENTILATING - covers 3,398 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F01 (MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F01M is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Ford Global Technologies, Llc leads with 244 patents, followed by Mann+hummel Gmbh at 69 grants and Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. at 65.

Filing activity in F01M is up 12% 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 F01M innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F01M, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 12% versus 2015–2019.

Cummins Filtration Ip

85
Mann+Hummel

69
Pratt & Whitney Canada

65
Mahle International

60
Cummins

47
Suzuki Motor

34
Brunswick

30
Toyota Boshoku

23
Castrol

23
Man Truck &Bus

21
Nidec Tosok

19
Yamada Manufacturing

19

What this shows Ford Global is the most active filer in F01M, holding 244 of the 3,398 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 F01M
Rank	Company	Patents in F01M
#1	Cummins Filtration IP, Inc.	85
#2	Mann+hummel Gmbh	69
#3	Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.	65
#4	Mahle International Gmbh	60
#5	Cummins Inc.	47
#6	Suzuki Motor Corporation	34
#7	Brunswick Corporation	30
#8	Toyota Boshoku Kabushiki Kaisha	23
#9	Castrol Limited	23
#10	MAN Truck &bus Ag	21
#11	Nidec Tosok Corporation	19
#12	Yamada Manufacturing Co., Ltd.	19
#13	Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd.	17
#14	Donaldson Company, Inc.	16
#15	Aisan Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha	16
#16	Mahle Filter Systems Japan Corporation	16
#17	Isuzu Motors Limited	15
#18	ALFA Laval Corporate AB	15
#19	Briggs & Stratton, Llc	15
#20	RPM Industries, Llc	15

About This Class

CPC subclass F01M belongs to class F01.

3,398 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 F01M 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 F01M assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F01M. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F01M?

CPC subclass F01M covers LUBRICATING OF MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; LUBRICATING INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES; CRANKCASE VENTILATING. It belongs to CPC class F01 (MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES), with 3,398 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in F01M?

3,398 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F01M between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in F01M?

Ford Global Technologies, Llc leads F01M with 244 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for F01M 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., F01) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F01M 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.