PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F15

F15B - Systems Acting BY Means OF Fluids IN General

Systems acting by means of fluids in general; fluid-pressure actuators, e.g. servomotors; details of fluid-pressure systems, not otherwise provided for. 7,094 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

7,094
US patents granted
F15
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+24%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Systems Acting BY Means OF Fluids IN General ranks #205 of 670 CPC technology areas - 7,094 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 24% over five years.

#205
of 670 CPC technology areas
7,094
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Hitachi Construction…
leading assignee (204)
+24%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (204 patents)

CPC subclass F15B - SYSTEMS ACTING BY MEANS OF FLUIDS IN GENERAL; FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS, e.g. SERVOMOTORS; DETAILS OF FLUID-PRESSURE SYSTEMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - covers 7,094 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F15 (FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS; HYDRAULICS OR PNEUMATICS IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F15B is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. leads with 204 patents, followed by Caterpillar Inc. at 185 grants and Deere & Company at 164.

Filing activity in F15B is up 24% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is F15B innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F15B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 24% versus 2015–2019.

400500600700800900 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 438

Who leads F15B?

The 12 most active assignees in SYSTEMS ACTING BY MEANS OF FLUIDS IN GENERAL; FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS, e.g. SERVOMOTORS; DETAILS OF FLUID-PRESSURE SYSTEMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Hitachi Construction… is the most active filer in F15B, holding 204 of the 7,094 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 F15B
Rank Company Patents in F15B
#1 Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. 204
#2 Caterpillar Inc. 185
#3 Deere & Company 164
#4 SMC Corporation 133
#5 Kubota Corporation 111
#6 Volvo Construction Equipment AB 102
#7 Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha 97
#8 Parker-hannifin Corporation 97
#9 Komatsu Ltd. 94
#10 CNH Industrial America Llc 90
#11 KYB Corporation 86
#12 Woodward, Inc. 56
#13 Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd. 56
#14 Hydac Technology Gmbh 56
#15 Festo SE & Co. KG 55
#16 Fisher Controls International Llc 49
#17 Kobelco Construction Machinery Co., Ltd 46
#18 Caterpillar SARL 42
#19 Eaton Corporation 41
#20 ZF Friedrichshafen Ag 40

About This Class

CPC subclass F15B belongs to class F15.

7,094 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 F15B 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 F15B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F15B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F15B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F15B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 05101520 050100150200250 Patents in F15B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Hitachi Construction…CaterpillarDeere &SmcKubotaVolvo Construction Eq…Kawasaki JukogyoParker-hannifinKomatsuCnh Industrial AmericaKybWoodwardDoosan InfracoreHydac Technology
Top 14 F15B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F15B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F15B?
CPC subclass F15B covers SYSTEMS ACTING BY MEANS OF FLUIDS IN GENERAL; FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS, e.g. SERVOMOTORS; DETAILS OF FLUID-PRESSURE SYSTEMS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR. It belongs to CPC class F15 (FLUID-PRESSURE ACTUATORS; HYDRAULICS OR PNEUMATICS IN GENERAL), with 7,094 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F15B?
7,094 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F15B between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F15B?
Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. leads F15B with 204 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F15B 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., F15) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F15B 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.