PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F16

F16C - Shafts

Shafts; flexible shafts; elements or crankshaft mechanisms; rotary bodies other than gearing elements; bearings. 14,627 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

14,627
US patents granted
#6/14
in F16
10.6%
F16 class share
-5%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Shafts ranks #128 of 670 CPC technology areas - 14,627 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume down 5% over five years.

#128
of 670 CPC technology areas
14,627
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Aktiebolaget Skf
leading assignee (1,085)
-5%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F16C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F16C recorded 6,427 grants versus 6,734 in 2015–2019 (-5% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 1,630 grants and bottomed in 2023 at 1,148 (+42% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Aktiebolaget SKF holds 7.4% of the class ; the top three share 14.0%.

Leaderboard read

F16C concentration, lead at 7.4%

Aktiebolaget SKF leads this historical grant record at 7.4% of F16C - foreign corporation assignees hold 74% of class grants (6,969 of 9,361). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
7.4%

1,085 of 14,627 grants

Top three share
14.0%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
595

more grants than Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG

Where F16C 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), F16C ranks #6 and holds 10.6% 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 F16B 14,787 F16F 10,113 F16M 8,559 F16J 7,442

Rising assignees active in F16C

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 HL Mando Corporation 212x 0 → 212 company-wide · 9 in F16C
  2. #2 Copeland LP 47x 0 → 47 company-wide · 5 in F16C
  3. #3 General Electric Renovables Espana, S.L. 17x 8 → 132 company-wide · 13 in F16C
  4. #4 Wavetamer LLC 15x 0 → 15 company-wide · 16 in F16C
  5. #5 SPM Oil & Gas Inc. 14x 4 → 55 company-wide · 6 in F16C

F16C grants by year, peak 2019 (1,630)

US utility-patent grants per year in F16C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 5% versus 2015–2019.

6008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 815

Who leads F16C?

The 12 most active assignees in SHAFTS; Flexible SHAFTS; Elements OR Crankshaft MECHANISMS; Rotary Bodies Other Than Gearing ELEMENTS; Bearings - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Aktiebolaget Skf is the most active filer in F16C, holding 1,085 of the 14,627 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 F16C
Rank Company Patents in F16C
#1 Aktiebolaget SKF 1,085
#2 Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG 490
#3 NTN Corporation 471
#4 Jtekt Corporation 276
#5 NSK Ltd. 275
#6 US Synthetic Corporation 175
#7 Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation (HSC) 148
#8 United Technologies Corporation 121
#9 ZF Friedrichshafen AG 110
#10 Daido Metal Company Ltd. 109
#11 THK Co., Ltd. 102
#12 BorgWarner Inc. 97
#13 Eagle Industry Co., Ltd. 93
#14 IHI Corporation 86
#15 Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp. 81
#16 Taiho Kogyo Co., Ltd. 79
#17 Mahle International GmbH 78
#18 thyssenkrupp AG 77
#19 Oiles Corporation 70
#20 Roller Bearing Company of America, Inc. 67

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F16C 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 F16C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 050010001500 Patents in F16C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Aktiebolaget SkfSchaeffler & KgNtnJtektNskUs SyntheticHamilton Sundstrand…UnitedZf FriedrichshafenDaido MetalThkBorgwarnerEagle IndustryIhi
Top 14 F16C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near F16C's 14,627-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for F16C (#128 of 670 by volume ; lead share 7.4%) - not the F16 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

H01B 14,745 C02F 14,501 H01H 14,753 F16B 14,787

Nearest by lead-assignee share

B23D 7.4% G21D 7.4% C23C 7.4% D21H 7.4%

Questions about F16C

Which company holds the most patents in F16C?
Aktiebolaget SKF leads F16C with 1,085 patents (7.4% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 74% of class grants.
Which F16C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F16C, HL Mando Corporation shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (212x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 212 in 2022–2024) while holding 9 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does F16C 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), F16C ranks #6 of 14 subclasses by grant volume and holds 10.6% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F16H (27,860 grants).

What to do with this data

F16C 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 - F16C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (14,627 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.