PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F01

F01N - Gas-flow Silencers OR Exhaust Apparatus FOR Machines OR E…

Gas-flow silencers or exhaust apparatus for machines or engines in general; gas-flow silencers or exhaust apparatus for internal-combustion engines. 12,144 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

12,144
US patents granted
F01
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-12%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Gas-flow Silencers OR Exhaust Apparatus FOR Machines OR E… ranks #154 of 670 CPC technology areas - 12,144 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 12% over five years.

#154
of 670 CPC technology areas
12,144
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Toyota Jidosha
leading assignee (978)
-12%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (978 patents)

CPC subclass F01N - GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES - covers 12,144 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 F01N is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha leads with 978 patents, followed by Ford Global Technologies, Llc at 775 grants and GM Global Technology Operations Llc at 409.

Filing activity in F01N is down 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 F01N innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F01N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 12% versus 2015–2019.

4006008001,0001,2001,4001,600 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 491

Who leads F01N?

The 12 most active assignees in GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Toyota Jidosha is the most active filer in F01N, holding 978 of the 12,144 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 F01N
Rank Company Patents in F01N
#1 Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha 978
#2 Ford Global Technologies, Llc 775
#3 GM Global Technology Operations Llc 409
#4 NGK Insulators, Ltd. 319
#5 Cummins Emission Solutions Inc. 309
#6 Cummins Inc. 256
#7 Johnson Matthey Public Limited Company 237
#8 Caterpillar Inc. 223
#9 Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Llc 164
#10 Isuzu Motors Limited 151
#11 Eberspächer Exhaust Technology Gmbh 136
#12 Umicore Ag & Co. KG 131
#13 Cataler Corporation 124
#14 Faurecia Emissions Control Technologies, USA, Llc 119
#15 Volvo Truck Corporation 118
#16 Komatsu Ltd. 111
#17 Vitesco Technologies Gmbh 108
#18 Yanmar Holdings Co., Ltd. 107
#19 Emitec Gesellschaft Fuer Emissionstechnologie Mbh 102
#20 Continental Automotive Gmbh 100

About This Class

CPC subclass F01N belongs to class F01.

12,144 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 F01N 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 F01N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F01N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F01N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F01N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 020040060080010001200 Patents in F01N Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Toyota JidoshaFord GlobalGm Global Technology…Ngk InsulatorsCummins Emission Solu…CumminsJohnson Matthey PublicCaterpillarTenneco Automotive Op…Isuzu MotorsEberspächer Exhaust T…Umicore & KgCatalerFaurecia Emissions Co…
Top 14 F01N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F01N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F01N?
CPC subclass F01N covers GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES. It belongs to CPC class F01 (MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; STEAM ENGINES), with 12,144 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F01N?
12,144 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F01N between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F01N?
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha leads F01N with 978 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F01N 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 F01N 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.