PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F16

F16K - Valves

Valves; taps; cocks; actuating-floats; devices for venting or aerating. 17,624 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

17,624
US patents granted
F16
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+21%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Valves ranks #107 of 670 CPC technology areas - 17,624 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 21% over five years.

#107
of 670 CPC technology areas
17,624
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Hamilton Sundstrand (…
leading assignee (309)
+21%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation (hsc) (309 patents)

CPC subclass F16K - VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING - covers 17,624 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 F16K is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation (hsc) leads with 309 patents, followed by Fisher Controls International Llc at 309 grants and Fujikin Incorporated at 153.

Filing activity in F16K is up 21% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a sharp acceleration suggesting an emerging or fast-moving technology area. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is F16K innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F16K, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 21% versus 2015–2019.

5001,0001,5002,000 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 1,031

Who leads F16K?

The 12 most active assignees in VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Hamilton Sundstrand (… is the most active filer in F16K, holding 309 of the 17,624 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 F16K
Rank Company Patents in F16K
#1 Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation (hsc) 309
#2 Fisher Controls International Llc 309
#3 Fujikin Incorporated 153
#4 Cameron International Corporation 136
#5 Emerson Process Management Regulator Technologies, Inc. 129
#6 Halliburton Energy Services, Inc. 123
#7 Mueller International, Llc 110
#8 Kohler Co. 103
#9 SMC Corporation 101
#10 Parker-hannifin Corporation 98
#11 Eagle Industry Co., Ltd. 92
#12 Illinois TOOL Works Inc. 89
#13 Borgwarner Inc. 87
#14 Goodrich Corporation 82
#15 Dresser, Llc 80
#16 Schaeffler Technologies Ag & Co. KG 78
#17 VAT Holding Ag 70
#18 Continental Automotive Gmbh 66
#19 Samson Aktiengesellschaft 62
#20 KYB Corporation 59

About This Class

CPC subclass F16K belongs to class F16.

17,624 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 F16K 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 F16K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F16K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 05101520 50100150200250300350 Patents in F16K Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Hamilton Sundstrand (…Fisher Controls Inter…Fujikin IncorporatedCameron InternationalEmerson Process Manag…Halliburton Energy Se…Mueller InternationalKohlerSmcParker-hannifinEagle IndustryIllinois Tool WorksBorgwarnerGoodrich
Top 14 F16K assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16K. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F16K?
CPC subclass F16K covers VALVES; TAPS; COCKS; ACTUATING-FLOATS; DEVICES FOR VENTING OR AERATING. 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 17,624 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F16K?
17,624 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F16K between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F16K?
Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation (hsc) leads F16K with 309 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F16K 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 F16K 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.