CPC technology class · F16

F16T - Steam Traps OR LIKE Apparatus FOR Draining-off Liquids FR…

Steam traps or like apparatus for draining-off liquids from enclosures predominantly containing gases or vapours. 144 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

Compiled byPlainPatent Editorial, US Patent Intelligence Editorial Team · May 15, 2026

144
US patents granted: F16
Parent CPC class: 20
Active assignees: +68%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Steam Traps OR LIKE Apparatus FOR Draining-off Liquids FR… ranks #614 of 670 CPC technology areas - 144 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 68% over five years.

#614
of 670 CPC technology areas: 144
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Tlv
leading assignee (23): +68%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs

Top assignee: TLV Co., Ltd. (23 patents)

CPC subclass F16T - STEAM TRAPS OR LIKE APPARATUS FOR DRAINING-OFF LIQUIDS FROM ENCLOSURES PREDOMINANTLY CONTAINING GASES OR VAPOURS - covers 144 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 F16T is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. TLV Co., Ltd. leads with 23 patents, followed by Spirax-sarco Limited at 6 grants and Everactive, Inc. at 4.

Filing activity in F16T is up 68% 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 F16T innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F16T, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 68% versus 2015–2019.

Tlv

23
Spirax-sarco

6
Everactive

4
Armstrong Internation…

4
Beko

3
Kepco Engineering & C…

2
Haldex Brake Products…

2
Consolidated Edison O…

2
Xdi Holdings

2
Allied Air Enterprises

2
Control Devices

2
Numerical Design

2

What this shows Tlv is the most active filer in F16T, holding 23 of the 144 patents in this class. Concentration at the top signals how contestable this technology area is for new entrants.

View data table

Top patent holders in CPC subclass F16T
Rank	Company	Patents in F16T
#1	TLV Co., Ltd.	23
#2	Spirax-sarco Limited	6
#3	Everactive, Inc.	4
#4	Armstrong International, Inc.	4
#5	BEKO Technologies Gmbh	3
#6	Kepco Engineering & Construction Company Inc.	2
#7	Haldex Brake Products Aktiebolag	2
#8	Consolidated Edison Company OF NEW YORK, Inc.	2
#9	XDI Holdings, Llc	2
#10	Allied Air Enterprises Llc	2
#11	Control Devices, Llc	2
#12	Numerical Design, Inc.	2
#13	Velan Inc.	2
#14	Daikin Europe N.v.	1
#15	Foshan Shunde Midea Electrical Heating Appliances Manufacturing Co., Ltd.	1
#16	Cameron Solutions, Inc.	1
#17	Latency, Llc	1
#18	Powerphase Llc	1
#19	Airgas, Inc.	1
#20	Milaebo Co., Ltd.	1

About This Class

CPC subclass F16T belongs to class F16.

144 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 F16T 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 F16T assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F16T. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F16T?

CPC subclass F16T covers STEAM TRAPS OR LIKE APPARATUS FOR DRAINING-OFF LIQUIDS FROM ENCLOSURES PREDOMINANTLY CONTAINING GASES OR VAPOURS. 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 144 US utility patents granted since 2015.

How many patents have been filed in F16T?

144 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F16T between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.

Which company holds the most patents in F16T?

TLV Co., Ltd. leads F16T with 23 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.

How is patent data for F16T 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 F16T 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.