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CPC technology class · F16

F16D - Couplings FOR Transmitting Rotation

Couplings for transmitting rotation; clutches; brakes. 15,330 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

15,330
US patents granted
F16
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+12%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Couplings FOR Transmitting Rotation ranks #122 of 670 CPC technology areas - 15,330 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 12% over five years.

#122
of 670 CPC technology areas
15,330
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Schaeffler & Kg
leading assignee (738)
+12%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG (738 patents)

CPC subclass F16D - COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES - covers 15,330 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 F16D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG leads with 738 patents, followed by Goodrich Corporation at 309 grants and NTN Corporation at 273.

Filing activity in F16D is up 12% 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 F16D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F16D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 12% versus 2015–2019.

6008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 823

Who leads F16D?

The 12 most active assignees in COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Schaeffler & Kg is the most active filer in F16D, holding 738 of the 15,330 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 F16D
Rank Company Patents in F16D
#1 Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG 738
#2 Goodrich Corporation 309
#3 NTN Corporation 273
#4 ZF Friedrichshafen Ag 216
#5 Borgwarner Inc. 208
#6 Jtekt Corporation 169
#7 Akebono Brake Industry Co., Ltd. 144
#8 Knorr-bremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge Gmbh 131
#9 Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd. 109
#10 Shimano Inc. 108
#11 Exedy Corporation 108
#12 Deere & Company 107
#13 DANA Automotive Systems Group, Llc 104
#14 Freni Brembo S.p.a. 87
#15 NSK Ltd. 84
#16 Advics Co., Ltd. 84
#17 Steering Solutions IP Holding Corporation 82
#18 HL Mando Corporation 82
#19 Aisin AW Co., Ltd. 80
#20 Arvinmeritor Technology, Llc 80

About This Class

CPC subclass F16D belongs to class F16.

15,330 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 F16D 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 F16D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F16D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 0200400600800 Patents in F16D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Schaeffler & KgGoodrichNtnZf FriedrichshafenBorgwarnerJtektAkebono Brake IndustryKnorr-bremse Systeme…Hyundai MobisShimanoExedyDeere &Dana Automotive Syste…Freni Brembo S P A
Top 14 F16D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F16D?
CPC subclass F16D covers COUPLINGS FOR TRANSMITTING ROTATION; CLUTCHES; BRAKES. 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 15,330 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F16D?
15,330 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F16D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F16D?
Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG leads F16D with 738 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F16D 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 F16D 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.