PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F02

F02N - Starting OF Combustion Engines

Starting of combustion engines; starting aids for such engines, not otherwise provided for. 3,467 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

3,467
US patents granted
F02
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-24%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Starting OF Combustion Engines ranks #297 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,467 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 24% over five years.

#297
of 670 CPC technology areas
3,467
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Ford Global
leading assignee (509)
-24%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Ford Global Technologies, Llc (509 patents)

CPC subclass F02N - STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - covers 3,467 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F02 (COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F02N is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Ford Global Technologies, Llc leads with 509 patents, followed by Briggs & Stratton, Llc at 56 grants and The Noco Company at 28.

Filing activity in F02N is down 24% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a notable slowdown that may signal a maturing field. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is F02N innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F02N, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 24% versus 2015–2019.

0100200300400500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 88

Who leads F02N?

The 12 most active assignees in STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Ford Global is the most active filer in F02N, holding 509 of the 3,467 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 F02N
Rank Company Patents in F02N
#1 Cummins Inc. 57
#2 Briggs & Stratton, Llc 56
#3 The Noco Company 28
#4 Borgwarner Inc. 26
#5 Remy Technologies, Llc 26
#6 Valeo Equipements Electriques Moteur 25
#7 Oshkosh Defense, Llc 24
#8 Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. 17
#9 Andreas Stihl Ag & Co. KG 16
#10 Paccar Inc 15
#11 Schumacher Electric Corporation 13
#12 SEG Automotive Germany Gmbh 12
#13 Shenzhen Zhanpusida Technology Co., Ltd. 12
#14 Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha 11
#15 Linde Hydraulics Gmbh & Co. KG 10
#16 Northstar Battery Company, Llc 9
#17 Mitsuba Corporation 8
#18 Starting Industrial Co., Ltd. 8
#19 Jatco Ltd 7
#20 Shindengen Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 7

About This Class

CPC subclass F02N belongs to class F02.

3,467 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 F02N 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 F02N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F02N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F02N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F02N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 0204060 Patents in F02N Avg claims / patent (company-wide) CumminsBriggs & StrattonThe NocoBorgwarnerRemyValeo Equipements Ele…Oshkosh DefenseBombardier Recreation…Andreas Stihl & KgPaccarSchumacher ElectricSeg Automotive GermanyShenzhen Zhanpusida T…Mitsubishi Jidosha Ko…
Top 14 F02N assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F02N. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F02N?
CPC subclass F02N covers STARTING OF COMBUSTION ENGINES; STARTING AIDS FOR SUCH ENGINES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR. It belongs to CPC class F02 (COMBUSTION ENGINES; HOT-GAS OR COMBUSTION-PRODUCT ENGINE PLANTS), with 3,467 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F02N?
3,467 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F02N between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F02N?
Ford Global Technologies, Llc leads F02N with 509 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F02N 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., F02) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F02N 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.