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 grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

144
US patents granted: #13/14
in F16: 0.1%
F16 class share: +64%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Steam Traps Or Like Apparatus For Draining-off Liquids Fr… ranks #614 of 670 CPC technology areas - 144 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 64% over five years.

#614
of 670 CPC technology areas: 144
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Tlv
leading assignee (23): +64%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F16T's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F16T recorded 87 grants versus 53 in 2015–2019 (+64% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 22 grants and bottomed in 2017 at 4 (+450% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee TLV Co., Ltd. holds 16.0% of the class ; the top three share 22.9%.

Leaderboard read

F16T concentration, lead at 16.0%

TLV Co., Ltd. leads this historical grant record at 16.0% of F16T - foreign corporation assignees hold 62% of class grants (43 of 69). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 16.0%
Top three share: 22.9%
Lead over #2: 17

Where F16T 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), F16T ranks #13 and holds 0.1% 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 F16D 15,330 F16B 14,787 F16C 14,627 F16F 10,113 F16M 8,559

Rising assignees active in F16T

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 TLV Co., Ltd. 0.70x 23 → 16 company-wide · 23 in F16T
#2 Spirax-Sarco Limited 0.50x 4 → 2 company-wide · 6 in F16T

F16T grants by year, peak 2019 (22)

US utility-patent grants per year in F16T, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 64% versus 2015–2019.

Tlv

23
Spirax-sarco

6
Everactive

4
Armstrong Internationa…

4
Beko

3
Kepco Engineering &…

2
Haldex Brake Products…

2
Consolidated Edison…

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

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).

Questions about F16T

Which company holds the most patents in F16T?

TLV Co., Ltd. leads F16T with 23 patents (16.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 62% of class grants.

Which F16T assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F16T, TLV Co., Ltd. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (0.70x: 23 grants in 2019–2021 → 16 in 2022–2024) while holding 23 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does F16T 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), F16T ranks #13 of 14 subclasses by grant volume and holds 0.1% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F16H (27,860 grants).

What to do with this data

F16T in context - here's where to go next.

TLV Co., Ltd. leads F16T with 23 grants in this class. See full portfolio
F16T ranks #614 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 - F16T figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (144 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.