PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F16

F16B - Devices For Fastening Or Securing Constructional Elements…

Devices for fastening or securing constructional elements or machine parts together, e.g. nails, bolts, circlips, clamps, clips or wedges; joints or jointing. 14,787 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

14,787
US patents granted
#5/14
in F16
10.7%
F16 class share
+6%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Devices For Fastening Or Securing Constructional Elements… ranks #125 of 670 CPC technology areas - 14,787 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 6% over five years.

#125
of 670 CPC technology areas
14,787
US patents granted, 2015–2025
The Boeing
leading assignee (463)
+6%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F16B's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F16B recorded 6,930 grants versus 6,541 in 2015–2019 (+6% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 1,620 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 1,061 (+53% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee The Boeing Company holds 3.1% of the class ; the top three share 6.1%.

Leaderboard read

F16B concentration, lead at 3.1%

The Boeing Company leads this historical grant record at 3.1% of F16B - us corporation assignees hold 53% of class grants (4,178 of 7,928). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
3.1%

463 of 14,787 grants

Top three share
6.1%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
190

more grants than Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Where F16B sits inside F16

Among 14 subclasses in F16 (Engineering Elements AND UNITS; General Measures FOR Producing AND Maintaining Effective Functioning OF Machines OR INSTALLATIONS; Thermal Insulation IN General), F16B ranks #5 and holds 10.7% of the parent class's 137,714 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

F16H 27,860 F16K 17,624 F16L 16,791 F16D 15,330 F16C 14,627 F16F 10,113 F16M 8,559 F16J 7,442

Rising assignees active in F16B

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 Fulian Precision Electronics (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. 118x 0 → 118 company-wide · 7 in F16B
  2. #2 VÄLINGE Innovation AB 47x 0 → 47 company-wide · 18 in F16B
  3. #3 Archer Aviation Inc. 44x 0 → 44 company-wide · 10 in F16B
  4. #4 Reinke Manufacturing Company, Inc. 13x 1 → 13 company-wide · 6 in F16B
  5. #5 YakAttack LLC 12x 0 → 12 company-wide · 11 in F16B

F16B grants by year, peak 2019 (1,620)

US utility-patent grants per year in F16B, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 6% versus 2015–2019.

8001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 897

Who leads F16B?

The 12 most active assignees in Devices FOR Fastening OR Securing Constructional Elements OR Machine Parts Together, e.g. Nails, Bolts, Circlips, Clamps, Clips OR WEDGES; Joints OR Jointing - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows The Boeing is the most active filer in F16B, holding 463 of the 14,787 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 F16B
Rank Company Patents in F16B
#1 The Boeing Company 463
#2 Illinois Tool Works Inc. 273
#3 Airbus Operations Limited 171
#4 Hilti Aktiengesellschaft 95
#5 Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft 88
#6 Böllhoff Verbindungstechnik GmbH 82
#7 Newfrey LLC 79
#8 Valinge Innovation AB 76
#9 A. Raymond ET CIE 72
#10 Airbus Operations SAS 58
#11 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. 56
#12 Hubbell Incorporated 56
#13 Nifco Inc. 56
#14 Commscope Technologies LLC 46
#15 Lisi Aerospace 45
#16 Goodrich Corporation 42
#17 Profil Verbindungstechnik GmbH & Co. KG 42
#18 Aktiebolaget SKF 39
#19 Temper Axle Products Corporation 39
#20 Simpson Strong-Tie Company, Inc. 36

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F16B 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 F16B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16B. 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 F16B Avg claims / patent (company-wide) The BoeingIllinois Tool WorksAirbus OperationsHilti Aktiengesellscha…Bayerische Motoren…Böllhoff Verbindungste…NewfreyValinge Innovation AbA Raymond Et CieAirbus Operations SasSumitomo Wiring…Hubbell IncorporatedNifcoCommscope
Top 14 F16B assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16B. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near F16B's 14,787-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for F16B (#125 of 670 by volume ; lead share 3.1%) - not the F16 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H01H 14,753 H01B 14,745 G01M 14,845 C04B 14,853

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B21K 3.1% G06T 3.1% C12Y 3.1% F21Y 3.1%

Questions about F16B

Which company holds the most patents in F16B?
The Boeing Company leads F16B with 463 patents (3.1% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 53% of class grants.
Which F16B assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F16B, Fulian Precision Electronics (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (118x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 118 in 2022–2024) while holding 7 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does F16B compare inside parent class F16?
Inside F16 (Engineering Elements AND UNITS; General Measures FOR Producing AND Maintaining Effective Functioning OF Machines OR INSTALLATIONS; Thermal Insulation IN General), F16B ranks #5 of 14 subclasses by grant volume and holds 10.7% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F16H (27,860 grants).

What to do with this data

F16B in context - here's where to go next.

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

Methodology - F16B figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (14,787 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.