PlainPatent

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 grant trajectory.

15,330
US patents granted
#4/14
in F16
11.1%
F16 class share
+0%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Couplings For Transmitting Rotation ranks #122 of 670 CPC technology areas - 15,330 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 0% over five years.

#122
of 670 CPC technology areas
15,330
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Schaeffler & Kg
leading assignee (738)
+0%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F16D's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F16D recorded 6,905 grants versus 6,886 in 2015–2019 (+0% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 1,621 grants and bottomed in 2016 at 1,176 (+38% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG holds 4.8% of the class ; the top three share 8.6%.

Leaderboard read

F16D concentration, lead at 4.8%

Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG leads this historical grant record at 4.8% of F16D - foreign corporation assignees hold 68% of class grants (6,261 of 9,214). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
4.8%

738 of 15,330 grants

Top three share
8.6%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
429

more grants than Goodrich Corporation

Where F16D 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), F16D ranks #4 and holds 11.1% 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 F16B 14,787 F16C 14,627 F16F 10,113 F16M 8,559 F16J 7,442

Rising assignees active in F16D

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 · 82 in F16D
  2. #2 Kawasaki Motors, Ltd. 146x 0 → 146 company-wide · 7 in F16D
  3. #3 Continental Automotive Technologies GmbH 54x 0 → 54 company-wide · 11 in F16D
  4. #4 Brembo S.p.A. 50x 0 → 50 company-wide · 45 in F16D
  5. #5 Aisin Corporation 50x 9 → 447 company-wide · 26 in F16D

F16D grants by year, peak 2019 (1,621)

US utility-patent grants per year in F16D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 0% 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

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). 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…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).

Classes near F16D's 15,330-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for F16D (#122 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.8%) - not the F16 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B01L 15,586 F21S 15,705 C04B 14,853 G01M 14,845

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F04C 4.8% B60M 4.8% B22F 4.8% F16H 4.8%

Questions about F16D

Which company holds the most patents in F16D?
Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG leads F16D with 738 patents (4.8% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 68% of class grants.
Which F16D assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F16D, HL Mando Corporation shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (212x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 212 in 2022–2024) while holding 82 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does F16D 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), F16D ranks #4 of 14 subclasses by grant volume and holds 11.1% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F16H (27,860 grants).

What to do with this data

F16D in context - here's where to go next.

  • Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG leads F16D with 738 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • F16D ranks #122 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class F16, the largest sibling subclass is F16H with 27,860 grants. Explore F16H

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

Methodology - F16D figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (15,330 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.