PlainPatent

CPC technology class · F17

F17D - Pipe-line Systems

Pipe-line systems; pipe-lines. 1,470 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

1,470
US patents granted
F17
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
-1%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Pipe-line Systems ranks #407 of 670 CPC technology areas - 1,470 US patents granted since 2015, with filing down 1% over five years.

#407
of 670 CPC technology areas
1,470
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Saudi Arabian Oil
leading assignee (69)
-1%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Saudi Arabian OIL Company (69 patents)

CPC subclass F17D - PIPE-LINE SYSTEMS; PIPE-LINES - covers 1,470 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F17 (STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F17D is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Saudi Arabian OIL Company leads with 69 patents, followed by Kohler Mira Limited at 31 grants and Marathon Petroleum Company Lp at 19.

Filing activity in F17D is down 1% over the past five years versus 2015-2019, a relatively steady filing pace. All counts come directly from USPTO PatentsView and reflect US granted utility patents only.

Is F17D innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F17D, 2015–2025 - recent five years are down 1% versus 2015–2019.

100120140160 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 103

Who leads F17D?

The 12 most active assignees in PIPE-LINE SYSTEMS; PIPE-LINES - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Saudi Arabian Oil is the most active filer in F17D, holding 69 of the 1,470 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 F17D
Rank Company Patents in F17D
#1 Chengdu Qinchuan IOT Technology Co., Ltd. 36
#2 Kohler Mira Limited 31
#3 Marathon Petroleum Company Lp 19
#4 HIFI Engineering Inc. 12
#5 WINT WI Ltd 12
#6 Mueller International, Llc 11
#7 Trinity Bay Equipment Holdings, Llc 11
#8 Aperia Technologies, Inc. 11
#9 Liquidpower Specialty Products Inc. 11
#10 Phillips 66 Company 9
#11 Itron, Inc. 8
#12 Brandeis University 8
#13 Mobile Technology Corporation 8
#14 Proteus Industries Inc. 8
#15 Atlas Copco Airpower, Naamloze Vennootschap 7
#16 Equinor Energy AS 7
#17 Reliance Worldwide Corporation 7
#18 Vortex Pipe Systems Llc 7
#19 Technip France 6
#20 ADEY Holdings (2008) Limited 6

About This Class

CPC subclass F17D belongs to class F17.

1,470 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 F17D 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 F17D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F17D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F17D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F17D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 10152025 010203040 Patents in F17D Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Chengdu Qinchuan Iot…Kohler MiraMarathon PetroleumHifi EngineeringWint WiMueller InternationalTrinity Bay Equipment…AperiaLiquidpower Specialty…Phillips 66ItronBrandeis UniversityMobile TechnologyProteus Industries
Top 14 F17D assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F17D. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F17D?
CPC subclass F17D covers PIPE-LINE SYSTEMS; PIPE-LINES. It belongs to CPC class F17 (STORING OR DISTRIBUTING GASES OR LIQUIDS), with 1,470 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F17D?
1,470 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F17D between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F17D?
Saudi Arabian OIL Company leads F17D with 69 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F17D 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., F17) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F17D 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.