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CPC technology class · F21

F21S - Non-portable Lighting Devices

Non-portable lighting devices; systems thereof; vehicle lighting devices specially adapted for vehicle exteriors. 15,705 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year filing trajectory.

15,705
US patents granted
F21
Parent CPC class
20
Active assignees
+30%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

Non-portable Lighting Devices ranks #120 of 670 CPC technology areas - 15,705 US patents granted since 2015, with filing up 30% over five years.

#120
of 670 CPC technology areas
15,705
US patents granted, 2015–2025
Koito Manufacturing
leading assignee (564)
+30%
filing velocity, last 5 yrs
Top assignee: Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (564 patents)

CPC subclass F21S - NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS - covers 15,705 US utility patents granted between 2015 and 2025 according to USPTO PatentsView records, within the broader CPC class F21 (LIGHTING). See our CPC classification guide for how the system works.

The competitive landscape in F21S is shaped by 20 distinct companies actively filing in this space. Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. leads with 564 patents, followed by Valeo Vision at 416 grants and Signify Holding B.v. at 304.

Filing activity in F21S is up 30% 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 F21S innovation accelerating?

US utility-patent grants per year in F21S, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 30% versus 2015–2019.

5001,0001,5002,0002,500 20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 934

Who leads F21S?

The 12 most active assignees in NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS - wider bars mean more grants

patents

What this shows Koito Manufacturing is the most active filer in F21S, holding 564 of the 15,705 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 F21S
Rank Company Patents in F21S
#1 Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. 564
#2 Valeo Vision 416
#3 Signify Holding B.v. 304
#4 Stanley Electric Co., Ltd. 271
#5 Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd. 243
#6 LG Innotek Co., Ltd. 234
#7 ZKW Group Gmbh 213
#8 Lumileds Llc 205
#9 Hella Gmbh & Co. Kgaa 195
#10 ABL IP Holding Llc 192
#11 Osram Gmbh 169
#12 Cooper Technologies Company 165
#13 Cree, Inc. 155
#14 Hubbell Incorporated 134
#15 Valeo North America, Inc. 127
#16 Nichia Corporation 124
#17 SL Corporation 119
#18 Ichikoh Industries, Ltd. 105
#19 Ideal Industries Lighting Llc 103
#20 Philips Lighting Holding B.v. 102

About This Class

CPC subclass F21S belongs to class F21.

15,705 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 F21S 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 F21S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F21S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Top 14 F21S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F21S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes). Scatter plot of 14 data points (bubble-sized by third dimension). 510152025 100200300400500600 Patents in F21S Avg claims / patent (company-wide) Koito ManufacturingValeo VisionSignify Holding B VStanley ElectricHyundai MobisLg InnotekZkw GroupLumiledsHella & KgaaAbl Ip HoldingOsramCooperCreeHubbell Incorporated
Top 14 F21S assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F21S. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CPC class F21S?
CPC subclass F21S covers NON-PORTABLE LIGHTING DEVICES; SYSTEMS THEREOF; VEHICLE LIGHTING DEVICES SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLE EXTERIORS. It belongs to CPC class F21 (LIGHTING), with 15,705 US utility patents granted since 2015.
How many patents have been filed in F21S?
15,705 US utility patents were granted in CPC subclass F21S between 2015 and 2025, based on USPTO PatentsView data.
Which company holds the most patents in F21S?
Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. leads F21S with 564 patents, making it the most active assignee in this technology area.
How is patent data for F21S 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., F21) is a broad technology category. Subclasses like F21S 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.