PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F17

F17C - Vessels For Containing Or Storing Compressed

Vessels for containing or storing compressed, liquefied or solidified gases; fixed-capacity gas-holders; filling vessels with, or discharging from vessels, compressed, liquefied, or solidified gases. 4,101 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

4,101
US patents granted
#1/3
in F17
73.5%
F17 class share
+26%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Vessels For Containing Or Storing Compressed ranks #270 of 670 CPC technology areas - 4,101 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 26% over five years.

#270
of 670 CPC technology areas
4,101
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Toyota Jidosha
leading assignee (195)
+26%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F17C's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F17C recorded 1,963 grants versus 1,556 in 2015–2019 (+26% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2024 at 464 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 234 (+98% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude holds 4.0% of the class ; the top three share 6.8%.

Leaderboard read

F17C concentration, lead at 4.0%

L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude leads this historical grant record at 4.0% of F17C - foreign corporation assignees hold 57% of class grants (1,042 of 1,817). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share
4.0%

166 of 4,101 grants

Top three share
6.8%

of the class's recorded grants

Lead over #2
103

more grants than Gaztransport ET Technigaz

Where F17C sits inside F17

Among 3 subclasses in F17 (Storing OR Distributing Gases OR Liquids), F17C ranks #1 and holds 73.5% of the parent class's 5,576 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

F17D 1,470 F17B 5

Rising assignees active in F17C

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 Plastic Omnium NEW Energies France 13x 0 → 13 company-wide · 14 in F17C
  2. #2 Rotarex S.A. 12x 0 → 12 company-wide · 7 in F17C
  3. #3 Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. 9.00x 0 → 9 company-wide · 10 in F17C
  4. #4 AMT Co., Ltd. 9.00x 1 → 9 company-wide · 6 in F17C
  5. #5 National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy 5.80x 5 → 29 company-wide · 11 in F17C

F17C grants by year, peak 2024 (464)

US utility-patent grants per year in F17C, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 26% versus 2015–2019.

200300400500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 352

Who leads F17C?

The 12 most active assignees in Vessels FOR Containing OR Storing Compressed, Liquefied OR Solidified GASES; Fixed-capacity GAS-HOLDERS; Filling Vessels With, OR Discharging From Vessels, Compressed, Liquefied, OR Solidified Gases - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Toyota Jidosha is the most active filer in F17C, holding 195 of the 4,101 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 F17C
Rank Company Patents in F17C
#1 L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude 166
#2 Gaztransport ET Technigaz 63
#3 Praxair Technology, Inc. 49
#4 Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. 43
#5 Hexagon Technology AS 41
#6 Entegris, Inc. 36
#7 Chart Inc. 32
#8 Engineered Controls International, LLC 30
#9 Tatsuno Corporation 29
#10 Linde GmbH 28
#11 AIR Products AND Chemicals, Inc. 28
#12 Amtrol Licensing Inc. 24
#13 Agility Fuel Systems LLC 21
#14 Scott Technologies, Inc. 18
#15 Marathon Petroleum Company LP 17
#16 Intelligent Energy Limited 16
#17 Samsung Heavy IND. Co., Ltd. 16
#18 Hydrostor Inc. 16
#19 Westport Power Inc. 14
#20 Worthington Industries, Inc. 14

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F17C 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 F17C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F17C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 5101520 050100150200 Patents in F17C Avg claims / patent (company-wide) L'air Liquide Societe…Gaztransport Et…Praxair TechnologyDaewoo Shipbuilding &…Hexagon Technology AsEntegrisChartEngineered Controls…TatsunoLindeAir Products And…Amtrol LicensingAgility Fuel SystemsScott
Top 14 F17C assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F17C. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near F17C's 4,101-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for F17C (#270 of 670 by volume ; lead share 4.8%) - not the F17 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B62J 4,111 D21H 4,080 F01P 4,129 F23R 4,138

Nearest by lead-assignee share

G16C 4.8% F16H 4.8% G01T 4.7% B28B 4.7%

Questions about F17C

Which company holds the most patents in F17C?
Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha leads F17C with 195 patents (4.0% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, foreign corporations account for 57% of class grants.
Which F17C assignees grew fastest recently?
Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F17C, Plastic Omnium NEW Energies France shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (13x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 13 in 2022–2024) while holding 14 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.
How does F17C compare inside parent class F17?
Inside F17 (Storing OR Distributing Gases OR Liquids), F17C ranks #1 of 3 subclasses by grant volume and holds 73.5% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F17D (1,470 grants).

What to do with this data

F17C in context - here's where to go next.

  • L'Air Liquide, Societe Anonyme Pour l'Etude et l'Exploitation des Procedes Georges Claude leads F17C with 166 grants in this class. See full portfolio
  • F17C ranks #270 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
  • Inside parent class F17, the largest sibling subclass is F17D with 1,470 grants. Explore F17D

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

Methodology - F17C figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (4,101 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.