CPC technology class · F41

F41A - Functional Features Or Details Common To Both Smallarms A…

Functional features or details common to both smallarms and ordnance, e.g. cannons; mountings for smallarms or ordnance. 3,993 US utility patents granted 2015–2025, with the leading assignees and year-by-year grant trajectory.

Compiled by PlainPatent · May 15, 2026

3,993
US patents granted: #1/7
in F41: 29.9%
F41 class share: +7%
5-yr velocity

The verdict

According to USPTO PatentsView, Functional Features Or Details Common To Both Smallarms A… ranks #274 of 670 CPC technology areas - 3,993 US patents granted since 2015, with recorded grant volume up 7% over five years.

#274
of 670 CPC technology areas: 3,993
US patents granted, 2015–2025: Smith & Wesson
leading assignee (86): +7%
grant velocity, last 5 yrs

How F41A's grant cadence moved

Between 2020–2024, F41A recorded 1,914 grants versus 1,784 in 2015–2019 (+7% equal-window velocity). Across complete years, output peaked in 2019 at 467 grants and bottomed in 2015 at 299 (+56% peak-over-trough). Lead assignee Smith & Wesson Inc. holds 2.2% of the class ; the top three share 6.1%.

Leaderboard read

F41A concentration, lead at 2.2%

Smith & Wesson Inc. leads this historical grant record at 2.2% of F41A - us corporation assignees hold 78% of class grants (1,979 of 2,552). Figures describe granted US utility patents in this CPC subclass, not current investment or legal strength.

Leader's share: 2.2%
Top three share: 6.1%
Lead over #2: 6

Where F41A sits inside F41

Among 7 subclasses in F41 (Weapons), F41A ranks #1 and holds 29.9% of the parent class's 13,338 recorded grants. Sibling chips below are the other subclasses in the same parent class, not the nationwide volume/lead-share peers further down.

F41H 2,723 F41G 2,623 F41C 1,639 F41B 1,581 F41J 473 F41F 306

Rising assignees active in F41A

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 Biofire Technologies Inc. 22x 0 → 22 company-wide · 34 in F41A
#2 Polaris Capital Corporation 17x 0 → 17 company-wide · 16 in F41A
#3 Federal Cartridge Company 17x 0 → 17 company-wide · 5 in F41A
#4 NEW Revo Brand Group, LLC 15x 1 → 15 company-wide · 9 in F41A
#5 Gel Blaster LLC 13x 0 → 13 company-wide · 5 in F41A

F41A grants by year, peak 2019 (467)

US utility-patent grants per year in F41A, 2015–2025 - recent five years are up 7% versus 2015–2019.

Smith & Wesson

86
Sig Sauer

80
Magpul Industries

79
Whg Properties

75
The United States of…

70
Sturm Ruger &

58
Lwrc International

49
Vista Outdoor…

46
Glock Technology

43
Armaments Research

39
Biofire

34
Rheinmetall Waffe…

29

What this shows Smith & Wesson is the most active filer in F41A, holding 86 of the 3,993 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 F41A
Rank	Company	Patents in F41A
#1	Smith & Wesson Inc.	86
#2	SIG Sauer Inc.	80
#3	Magpul Industries Corp.	79
#4	WHG Properties, LLC	75
#5	The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army	70
#6	Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.	58
#7	Lwrc International LLC	49
#8	Vista Outdoor Operations LLC	46
#9	Glock Technology GmbH	43
#10	Armaments Research Company, Inc.	39
#11	Biofire Technologies Inc.	34
#12	Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH	29
#13	Heckler & Koch GmbH	29
#14	R A Brands L.L.C.	28
#15	Strike Industries, Inc.	27
#16	Crosman Corporation	24
#17	Franklin Armory Holdings, Inc.	23
#18	Saab AB	21
#19	Savage Arms, Inc.	21
#20	Axon Enterprise, Inc.	19

Footprint here vs. claim strategy

Each dot is a leading F41A 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 F41A assignees by class footprint. Bubble size = patents in F41A. Source: USPTO PatentsView (claim depth is company-wide across all classes).

Classes near F41A's 3,993-grant footprint

Nationwide nearest neighbors for F41A (#274 of 670 by volume ; lead share 2.2%) - not the F41 parent-class siblings above.

Nearest by grant volume

B66F 4,001 B06B 4,009 H05H 3,951 D21H 4,080

Nearest by lead-assignee share

F27D 2.2% A61M 2.2% B65B 2.2% G01G 2.1%

Questions about F41A

Which company holds the most patents in F41A?

Smith & Wesson Inc. leads F41A with 86 patents (2.2% of the subclass). By PatentsView assignee type, us corporations account for 78% of class grants.

Which F41A assignees grew fastest recently?

Among assignees with ≥5 grants in F41A, Biofire Technologies Inc. shows the highest company-wide grant multiple (22x: 0 grants in 2019–2021 → 22 in 2022–2024) while holding 34 patents in this subclass. Growth is company-wide, not class-only.

How does F41A compare inside parent class F41?

Inside F41 (Weapons), F41A ranks #1 of 7 subclasses by grant volume and holds 29.9% of the parent class total. The largest sibling is F41H (2,723 grants).

What to do with this data

F41A in context - here's where to go next.

Smith & Wesson Inc. leads F41A with 86 grants in this class. See full portfolio
F41A ranks #274 of 670 by grant volume among all tracked CPC technology areas. See the ranking
Inside parent class F41, the largest sibling subclass is F41H with 2,723 grants. Explore F41H

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

Methodology - F41A figures are USPTO PatentsView granted-utility totals for this subclass (3,993 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.