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 filing trajectory.

14,627
US patents granted
F16
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+8%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Shafts ranks #128 of 670 CPC technology areas - 14,627 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 8% over five years.

#128
of 670 CPC technology areas
14,627
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Aktiebolaget Skf
leading assignee (1,085)
+8%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Aktiebolaget SKF (1,085 patents)

CPC subclass F16C - SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS - covers 14,627 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F16 (ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F16C is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Aktiebolaget SKF leads with 1,085 patents, followed by Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG at 490 grants and NTN Corporation at 471.

Filing activity in F16C is up 8% 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 F16C innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F16C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 8% 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

About This Class

CPC subclass F16C belongs to class F16.

14,627 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 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).

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).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F16C?
CPC subclass F16C covers SHAFTS; FLEXIBLE SHAFTS; ELEMENTS OR CRANKSHAFT MECHANISMS; ROTARY BODIES OTHER THAN GEARING ELEMENTS; BEARINGS. It belongs to CPC class F16 (ENGINEERING ELEMENTS AND UNITS; GENERAL MEASURES FOR PRODUCING AND MAINTAINING EFFECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MACHINES OR INSTALLATIONS; THERMAL INSULATION IN GENERAL), with 14,627 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F16C?
14,627 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F16C between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F16C?
Aktiebolaget SKF leads F16C with 1,085 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F16C 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., F16) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F16C 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.